The Ancient Emporium of Kalah in the Empire of Zabedj.

8/12/2019 The Ancient Emporium of Kalah in the Empire of Zabedj.

1/15

tr

31{}YAT,,

AS{ATIC

SOCIETY.

CEYLON

BRANC}I.

Tl{E

A,A{CIEI\'T }X},{PORIUI\T

OF

I(AT,AII

IN

TIIE

E}'{PIRtr

OF

ZABNDJ,

.as

A clxYLoN

toRT,

aND THII EARLY

COLONIZATION

OI

THE

rsr,AND, SUBSIIQUENT

TO TIIE IVAR OF

Rri.MA

AND

n;ir'varyl;

wlrrd

${,}I[E

NOTES

01{

ITA

HIAN'S

ACCOUI{T

OF

CE}:LON,

Bv

II.

Nnvrr,r,,

Esq., C.C.S.

Iw

the

vcry

contplefe

compi'lation

of ancient

accounts

of

Ceylon,

wirich Sir

E.

Tennent

gives

in

the

first

Volume

of

his

rvork

on the

Island,

he

proceeds

(after

gil'ing

most

interesting

notices

of the

eurporiuur

in Taprobane,

or

Serendib,

through

vhich

the

luxuries

of

Dastern

Asia

were

gathererl

for the

marlrets

of

the

West)

to

acldrrce

reasons,

which

appeared

to

liim

plausible,

as

to

the

identification

of the

ancient

I{alah

with

the

motlern

Galle.

He

frrst clearly

shows

the errors

into

which

Bertolacci

and

other

authors

hacl

fallen, and

then

suggests

the

fresh

site, in

wirich,

as

I now hope to

prove,

he

was

deceivecl

by a

mere

similarity

of sound.

In

the

first

place,

rve at

once

fail to

trace

on

our

S.W.

coast

the

numerous Islancls

liniug

the

shore,

wiiich

forrn

so

strihing

a

portion of

tlic

ilescription

of

the

eilrlier writers"

I

["


2/15

al

lr

I

ii

68

JouRliAT,

Ir.

a"

s.

(cuvr.ox).

ftr'oi.

YtrI",

Pl. ]

i.

Again,

thc

craurped

anrl lod;y

crecli

knor"."n

oo

Gal le

I[lir*

bour

cln

scarcely

be idcntificri

with

the

capnciorts

(

Iinzr:ri'

*t:'

lagoon,

and lranquil inlarrd

wilter,

rvhicli

is

oiierr

spoiren

of ir,r

conncction with

the

emporium

tif l(alali.

Furt'her, rve have

evcry

reas{)n

to regard

tlie

Gallc

neiq-L*

lioulli,rod

as of,

comparatively

reccnl

civilizir,tir:n;

r,tr.l

posse

s"ririg

lbrv lnr,ient historica,l trariitions, at.l(1

ilo ancient

iiistorical

rcmains.

Neitlier

iu the

extrerne cot:ner

of

the

liingtlttm

cvct:

gi,rarulccl ftrr its lcgitimate

Sovercigns

by

the

lo.val,

brave.

anttr

indel,.sndsr;

mouutaineers

of liuhuna, can

we trarcc the

hllf"

?*ruitr

riistrict

of

Kalah,

'which

o\vned

tire

srvay

of

tlie

Mahr'r-

rijirs

of

'labed1,

the Sultans

of the

Islcs, who,

as Cosrnas

in

A.

D" 550,

(strpporied

by

Abou Zel d iu A.

D.

9i)0,

)

fclls

us l'erc

'tylutrut

ritrLiltror"

(opliosed

to,

or indepentlcnt i;f,

each

cltlierr'

.vhcn

spol;s11

of

in corijunction

rvith the

l{ing rvho

had

t}re

l{yacinth.

-[t

may

be

r,ve]l

to

renrarh

ircle

tirai,

the

recntriiig exprc-tsion

{

the

Iiing

rvho

iras

tire

l{yacinth,'x

scarcely

ret.ers

i,o

the

gteat

gen

tliat was

mountetl

on

t,he

pinnacle

of

a

lofty

tltiyJobn',

artl

is

celcbra,tecl

Lry

the

ttavellels

to

tire

roral city

;

or

yct

to

the

blue

sta,Lrie

oli

Tluddha

tle.qclibecl by

lt'a L{ian, butrather

mcil,ns

'the

I(ing wlio

h.ad

ihe

couni,ry

lvhere the

Elyacinth

wa,s

firunrl,'

i,

a.

S*l-raragamuvra

arcl

the acljaccut

Flighlands,

ancientl;'

incl

utlctl

in

llulruiia.

FLu'ther',

a$

lve

&r'e

told

b;' Abou Ze;'d,

Lrei,ween

the

kingc'loln

rvith the enporinm and the

Il;'acinth

couutry lies

thc

pepper

country-n

remarli

posil,ively

not

aprrlf

ing

fo

Galle,

bui

at

once

undersl,oocl,

if

rve

ailn'rit, as

Ihope hereaftel

to ,qhciw

is

the

utse, tltut

l{alah

is

t/tr,, N.W,

coast

bttttreett, the

Arippu,

rit'cr

(

t,4,e utzcir:ttt

lia,da'nba.

)

o"ntl

the

Decluru-oya;

rvhen

the

expres-

sion

may

be

amirlifierl

irto,

bctweeu

Putt,alarn

l)istrict

an


3/15

I

0

rouRNAL

R"

A. s.

(crvlox).

[Yol.

VII.,

1'L'

Itr"

are

naturally

left to believe that

once

there,

the

mariners

recognised

the country,

kne'w

their way

home,

and

ran

no

further

risk.

Also

had there

not

been

regular

intercourse

betweerr

that

port and

the

Red

Sea,

how

woulcl

the

Romans

have

found

their

way

home

? and

is

it

likely

an

embassy

would

liavc

been

sent

had

it

not

been

recogr:ised

that

there w&s

no

difficulty

in

the

relations

of

the two

countries

?

On

the contrary,

once

arrived,

having

recruited

their

strength,

the

saiiors

start

off

home

as

if

on

a

beaten

track,

and

without

cornment

on

their

safe

return,

bring

an

embassy

and

presents-

Furthet,

fl'om

I'Iiny's

sileuce,

there

can

be

no doubt the

embassy

wenb /tortte,

and

was

not condemned

to

a

perpetual

exile

at

Rome

;

and

in

consequence

doubtless

of

its saf'e

return

with

presents,

rve

find

another

arr:iving

in

Rome,

'wheu

.Tulian

was

Emperor'

Fifty

years later stiil,

in

A.

D. 110,

Ptolemy

gives

his

wonderful

map

taken

down

from

the

nalratives

of

sailcrs,

which

clearly

shows

how

weii

our

N.W.

coast was

linown

even'

in

its minuiest

details,

and

the

course

of

its

rivers

inland.

In

A.D. 41,0

Palladius

writes,

o;r

the

fhith of a

Theban mer-

chant,

that

in

the

rieighbourhood

are

a

thoustlncl

i*"landEr

one

group called

I'{aniotrte,

and

five large

rivers.

Now,

in the

bounclaries

assumed

for

Kalala

we

have

a

chain

of

islands

recently

joiued

and

forming

the

Akliara-pattu of

I(alpitiya,

the

long

islancl

of

Khrativu

(no cioubt

tJren a

group

of

detaolLed

islets),

aud

various

others

scattered from

Putta,lam

to Kutiraimalai,

while

on

the

l{orth are

Mapnirr,

Iiduesstllam,

and

the

adjacent

grollp,

parts of

which

are

now

connectecl

by

santlbanks,

and

form

Adam's

bridge

;

doubtless

tlie

IIa-

niolae.

Beyond

these

again

are

the

islands

of Jaffna,Delft

and

many

others.

By

this

hypothesis

the

untenable

supposition

of

Sir

E.

Ten-

nent and

1\{. landresse,

that the

far

distant

Mdldives

were

referred

to,

is

at

once avoideti"

No.

2.1.*188i.]

ANCTENT

KALArr,

Erc,

Ol

'Ihe

five rivers

accurately answer

to

tlie

Aril'1,u ot

Eatlaml'a

river,

the Kal6-oya,

the n{orachchikatti

liver

uear

Kutiraimalai,

the

Mf-oya and the Deduru-oya

In

A.

Il.

550 0osmas, writing

the

traveis

of

Sopater, tells

how on

thaf

trader's

arrival

at

the

emporium

he

learned

that

the

Hyacinth

was

founcl

boyond the pepper

country.

This,

1.he

ancient

}ftlvri-rata,

the

l {ahii,rva4sa

tells us

rirr}s

bounded

on the

Ncrth

antl.South respectiveiy

by the

Deduru-oya

and

the Kelani-

Bafga,

accurately elclosing

ancl dividing

the

(pepper'

from

the

(gem'

districts

and the

district

iu

.lr'hich

was

the ernporiurn"

A,gain,

he

says

around

it

are a

rnultitude

of

small

islands

containing

fresh

water and thickly

covered

with

palms

pro-

ducing

the

Indian

and the

aromatic

rruts.

In

the

islands

now

forming

the

Akkara-pattu

as far

as

I(alpiti;'a

are

abundant proofs

of

ancient

groyes

of cocoanut

and palmyra

palms,

an'l

the

latter

from

which

palm-sugar,

and

a

sweet paste

called pfi,natu, is

prepared,

was

perhaps

the

aronatic

nut,

ancl

not

the

areha, which is

a

hiii-growirg

species

and

not

likely

to

have

becn

valued

by the

lMestern

ttaders.

It

is

also of

course

possible

the

alomatic

nut

was not

grown

but

imported

for export,

and

Cosmas'

informers

mistaken

in

their statement.

l\'ith

regard

to

the

special notice

of

the

abundance

of

fresh

wa,teL

even

at this

day,

all

visitors

a,re

surprised

to

find

that

excellent

water

may be

got

in

ail

the

islands,

and

the

Akkara-

pattu, at

a

foot

ol

so

in

depth,

while

on

the mainland water

is

extreniely scarce, only

obtained

b;r

dssttt.lls

and

ancielt

tanlrs.

Sopater

was

presented to

the

King of

the district

in

which

was

the

empr-rrium,

who

was

independent

of, ol

opposed

to,

tire

Iiing

that had

the

Hyacinth.

Iu

A.

D.

850

Soleyman, a

trader

who

had

made

many

voyages, described

Aclam's

Peak

and

the

district

around

as

that

wliich

produced

the

gems,

thus

identifying

the

llyacinth

country

of Cosmas

with that

part

of Ruhuna.

f

\i


4/15

62

rolrnNAr,

ll. A.

s,

(cnrlox).

[llol.

VlI.,

pf.

IL

The

Island

was

then

(A.

D.

8b0) still subject to

its

two

Kings,

he

tells

us.

Iflhen

in

his corrtinuation

of this

work

Abou Zeyd

describes

Ibn

Wahab's

yoyages

(Teunent's

Ccylon,

Vol. 1, p.

587;

the

still water

lagoons

in

wirich

he

so

delightecl,

and

where

he

spenf months

in

coasting

about,

coultl

only

have

been

one

c'f

the lagoons

either

of Jafi'ua,

Ka.lpitiya,

or Batti-

oa,loa,

((

and it is evident,

from

the

narratives

of

Soleyman

and

Ibn

Wahab, that ships

availing

themseivesff

the

monsoons

to ct:oss

the Indian

Ocean,

crept

along

the

slore

to

Cape

Comorin,

antt

pa,ssecl

close

by

Ada,m's

Bridge

to reach

their

ctestined ports.',

Aipage

591of the

same

work

it

is

said

:-.(

The

assertion

of

Abou

Zeyd

as

to

the

sovereignty

of the

}Vlaharaja

of

Zabedj

at

Kalah,

is

consistent

with

the

statement

of

Soleyman,

that

'

the

Island

was

in

subjection

to

two

nronarchs.",

In this

we

find

still another

strong

support

for

our argumcnt,

since

the

whole

N.W.

coast

and

Jaffna

has

from

the nnost

ancient tiares

been

peopled

by Tamils

anil

Moors,

thus

account-

ing

for the district

being

under

tlie

Llah6rd,jris

of

Zabetlj,

wiro

from

B.C'

100

to

A.

D.

700 extended

their

empire

and ruled

the

Malay

fslands, Kalah,

and

Travancore

;

and

it satisfactorily

accollnts

for

the

silence

preseryed

by

the

priestly

annalists

of

the

Kings

who

possessed

the

Hyacinth,

as

to the

commercial

wealth

of.

their

rivals

who governedthe

ter.ritory

in

which

was

the

great

emporium.

Sir

E.

Tennent also cluotes

lhe

((

Garsharqt-.Nonoalf'

of

about

the 10th

century,

in which the

Mnhdrdj6

having

requested

Persian

aid

against the

'(

Shah of

Serendib,"

one

Baku,

a fleet

is

sent,

which

lands at Kalah

and

obtrins

a

signal

victory

over

Baku

;

ancl this seems authentic,

as

the

empire

of

Zabedj

was

then

breaking

up,

and

the Kalah

Yiceroy

likely

to

seeh

aid

from

Persia,

whose

merchants profiierl

so

largely

by its

trade,

and

indirectly

proving the

old enroity

between

Rnhuna

and

Kalah,

a

feud

at once

understood

as

between

the Tamil

port

and

the

SiShalese

capital,

but not alplicable

to

Galle.

No.

24.-

1881.]

ANcrENr

r(Ar,aH,

.Erc,

63

This

llaku

may

have

been

only

a

General, ol

he may

hnve

treen

the

Far/llrrama

Pd,ndi

or Bhhu,

who

in l05g

rvas

lriceroy

of lluhuna

according

to

the

Mahdwapsa,

which also

refers

to

fhe

Solian conquest

and

frequent

irruption

of

foreigners

cluring

the end

of the

1Oth

century.

Ilaku in

either

case

is

no

doubt

a

coltupt

speliing

of Bri,hu.

Still

later

in

1347

Ibn

Batuta

visited

the

districb

'where

tlie

traders

weut

for

cinnamon,

and lancling

at a place

called

(Bat-

thla' (eithel

Puttalam

or

some port

nearer

the Battala-oya)

whence

he

crossed

a

river

(the

Dgcluru-oya)

and reached

the

port

of

'Salfr,wat,'

still

called

in

Si4halese

by

that

name,

a,

little

on

the

Battala

side of

which

the infitlel

King's

territory

ceased,

thence

turning inland

he

reached

(

I(anhdr, (?

Gangd,

sripura),

either

Gampola

or

one

of

the

Sabaragamuwa

towns

on

the

Kelani-Saf;Sar

and

ascending

Adam,s

peak

he descentled.

to

(

Dinaur'

(Detu-nuaara,

Deuundara),

or

Anglice

Dondra,

rvhence he

returned

by

(

Kdli'

and

.

I(olambfr,'

then

a

flourishing

port,

to

'Battir,la.'x

This

route

would have

been

from

Dondra,

by the

ancient

port

of

\Veligam

and

the

village

of

Hiniclum,

through

the

trYalalltiwiti-k6ral6

to

Kalutara,

and not

Galle

;

ancl

(

I(ili,'

doubtless

is

a comuption

of

the word

Kalu-gaqga-tara:Kalu-

Laru, i.

e.

the

ferry

over

the black

(hatu)

fiver.

I

would

here

invite

special

attention

to

the

expression

((

the

infidel

King"

used

by

Ibn

Batuta,

when

contrasting

the

King

of

the

district

in

which

was

the

port

with the

Buddhist

King

who

ruled

the

rest

of Ceylon.

Its

use

by the

Arabian

in

this

contect

shows

the

King

of

Kalah

was

not

a

Buddhist,

but

of a

religion

hostile

io

that

of

the priestly

annalists, who

drew up

the

chronicles

of the

Kings

of

Anurddhapura

ancl

Polonnaruwa, and

accounts

for

their

silence

uponthe

flourishing

port,

and

busy

commerce

settled

in the

maritime

state

of,

[."

il

ri

r

I

I

/[

il

il

t11

ilt

lil

{L

't

[,

lt

il

l,']t

*

tr,ee's

t'

Travels

of Ibn I3atuta,"

1829,

pp.

I83-lgl,


5/15

J

A. s"

(tlf;Yi,0ll).

[Vol'

YII',

Pi'

II'

rs

it

were

of

tire

hated

Tn'ririls,

so

lilo.

24.-*1881"j ANClnNr

r{ALArr,

Drc.

we

are

told'that

onc

of

l,lieir towns

was called

Lafilir'ipura,

and

l'as

the

ca,pital

of tlie

lringrlom

;

hence

they

had

a King

ald

Chiefs

under

hiru, they

had gathered

into

torvns

and

were

rot

n)ere savo.qes

or

(as

one

popular

idea

supposes) the

same

as

the

ptesent

Rock Vgddas

;o-

also they

understood

jewellers'

claft,

since

a

1(tlrrone

of

gems" was an object

of

strife.

\\'hcre

Wijal

a first

lantled,

the Princess

whom

he

marrierl

lt'as mct

near

thc tank, though

this tanh

was doubtless

used

mcrely

as a

I'eselyoir

of water and

not

for

irrigation;

while

*most,

impoltant-here

the

Plincess ol

Ohieftain's

daughter

distributed

rice

to

his {bilowers,

wliicli. was

obtainecl

frorn lhe

shipr,vreclreri boats

of

rnariners.

l{ow,

had

there not

been

cousitlerable

commerce

on

the shore of

the

lagoon,

it

is

clear

rice

woultl

not

have

so

occurred,

not frour

one special

wreclr,

but

i'rom

the wrecked boats,

as

if such

were

of

freqrient

occrtr-

rence. This, too,

is

supported by

the tradition

extant

(Pien-i-

tien,Rool

The Ancient Emporium of Kalah in the Empire of Zabedj.

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Transcript of The Ancient Emporium of Kalah in the Empire of Zabedj.