THE CEYLON

JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL
AND
SOCIAL ·sTUDIES
\
•

NEW SERIES
Vol. I I July-December1971 No. 2

CONTENTS

K. IND RAP ALA South Indian Mercantile Communitie& in

Ceylon, circa 950-1250.

GEOFFREY POWELL Tho :Fall of Kandy 1815: The Willerman

Letter s.

VIJAYA SAMARAWEERA The Judicial Administration of The Kandyan

Provinces of Ceylon, 1815-1833.

JAMES T. RUTNAM The Rev. A. G. Fraser and the Riots of 1915.

Annual Subscription Rs. 15-00. Single Copy Rs. 7-50.

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 THE CEYLON
HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL STUDIES
PUBLICATIONS BOARD
S. ARASARATNAM, B.A. (Ceylon), Ph.D. (Lond.), Professor of History,
University of Malaya, Kuala. Lumpur.
R. K. W. GOONESEKERE, LL.B. (Ceylon), B.C.L. (Oxford), Principal, Ceylon
La.w College.
H. A. I. GOONETILEKE, B.A., Dip. Lib. (Lond.), Dip. Lib. (Madr&11),F.L.A.
Librarian, University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.
H. A. DE S. GUNASEKERA, B.A. (Ceylon), M.Sc. Econ., Ph.D. (London),
presently Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Planning and Employment,
L. S. PERERA, B.A., Ph.D. (Ceylon), Professor of History, University of Ceylon,
Colombo.
RALPH PIERIS, B.A. (Ceylon), B.Sc. Econ., Ph.D. (Lond.), formerly Pro-
fessor of Sociology, University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. Editor.
K. M. DE SILVA, B.A. (Ceylon), Ph.D. (Lond.), Professor of Ceylon History ,
University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. Managing Editor.
A. J. WILSON, B.A. (Ceylon), Ph.D. (Lond.), Professor of Political Science
University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.

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 THE CEYLON
JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL
AND

SOCIAL STUDIES
•,

NEW SERIES
Vol. 1 July-December 1971 No. 2

Managing Editor
K. M. DE SILVA

Editor
RALPH PIERIS

Printed at The Colombo Apothecaries' Co., Ltd ., Colombo, for

The Ceylon Historicill aud Social Studies Publications Board, Peradeniya,

ll985-l
 THE CEYLON
JOURNAL OF HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL STUDIES

NEW SERIES
Vol. 1 July-December 1971 No. 2

CONTENTS
Page

K. INDRAPALA South Indian Mercantile Communities

in Ceylon, circa 950-1250 .. 101

GEOFFREY POWELL The Fall of Kandy 1815: The Willer-

man Letters .. 114

VIJ AYA SAMARAWEERA The Judicial Administration of The

Kandyan Provinces of Ceylon, 1815-
1833 .. 123

JAMES T. RUTNAM The Rev. A. G. Fraser and the Riot ..

of 1915 151
 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS

K. Indrapala, B.A. (Ceylon), Ph.D. (London), is a Senior Lecturer in HiEtory

at the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.

Colonel G. Powell is a retired army officer, now a civil servant in Britain.

He is the author of The Green Howards (Hamish Hamilton , Famous
RegimentsSerieE", London 1968). His book on TheKandyan Wars 1802-1818
will be published by Leo Cooper in mid-1972.

V. K. Samaraweera, B.A. (Ceylon) , D.Phil. (Oxon.), is a Lecturer in History at ~

;the University of Ceylon, Peradeniya.

James T. Rutnam is a Bibliophile, Journalist, Director, Evelyn Rutnam

Institute, Colombo, 7.
 SOUTH INDIAN MERCANTILE COMMUNITIES
IN CEYLON, ci_rca950-1250
K. INDR.A.P
.ALA.

The expansion of Co!a rule from about the middle of the tenth century .
was followed by the organization of a strong centralised administration res.ul-
ting in the maintenance of peace for over two centuries over a wide area in
South India . The more settled conditions of this period undoubtedly ~ed to
considerable economic growth . Clearly the expansion of overseas trade was an
important factor in , as well as a reflector of this economic growth. The overseas
campaigns of the Co!a emperors in the eleventh century in the Indian Ocean , ·
from the Maldives to the Indonesian Islands, probably had more to do with
overseas trade interests than has generally been conced ed. Romila Th apar 's ·
bold assertion that these campaigns were condu cted in order to strike at th e
Arab competition in the Souh-east Asian trade and to remove th e Sri Vijayan
interference in the Sino-Indian tradt' may not be far off the mark. 1 .The period
of Co!a expansion was without doubt a period of the expansion of South Indian
commerce ; and this is clearly indicated by the occurrence in Burma, Thailard ,
Indonesia and China of Tamil inscriptions left by some of the more powerful
South Indian mercantile communities . The extension of South Indian commerce
has not been studied in relation to the overseas expansion of th e Co!a power,
partly because of the insufficient data that is availabl e at present. Such a
stu1y should help to determine th e role of commerce in Co!a imperialism.
In this paper a preliminary survey of the activities of some of the major South
Indian mercantile communities in Ceylon in the period of the Co!a empire has
been attempted. It is by no means an exhaustive study of the subject but it is
hoped that this will throw a little new light on the still greatly unexplored
economic history of anci ent Ceylon.

THE BACKGROUND
Towards th e ninth century .A..D.the major kingdoms of South Asia had
developed an extensive commerce and established fairly close relations with
West Asia, South-east Asia and China. With the rise of the sea-orient ed empir e
of the Co!as in the tenth century this commerce as well as South India's rela 0

tions with other Asian empires, especially China, developed further. At th e

time th e Co!as were rising to power in South India , the political situation in

1. R. Thapar, A History of India , Vol. I (Pelican Book s 1968) , pp . 195-196 .

102 K. INDRAP ALA

China became more favourable to the development of closer Sino-Indian trade

relations. The Sung government paid particular attention to foreign trade by
making it a government monopoly and taking strenuous efforts to increase its
volume. Special missions were sent out to entice foreign traders to the shores
of China.2 It appears that the Co!as were not slow in grasping these opportuni-
ties offered by the Chinese, for we find that Rajaraja I (985-1014), Rajendra I
(1012-1044) andKulottunga I (1070-1120) had sent missions to the Chinese court. 3
The result was a brisk trade in the eleventh century in textiles , spices and a num-
ber ofluxury articles. The trade in the luxury articles, however, ran into difficul-
ties in the twelfth century, when the drain of Chinese currency and precious metals ·
resulting from its expansion led to attempts by the Chinese government to
restrict the volume of trade with South India. 4
In the West, South Indian trade with the Persians and the Arabs flouri-
shed in a similar manner, although it appears to have been dominated by the
West Asians. South Indians were no doubt among the Indian merchants who
sailed as far as Kish and Siraf in the Persian Gulf in the tenth, eleventh and
twelfth centuries. But their records have not been found in these places and it
is not possible to determine the role of the South Indians in this trade from the
general references in Arab and Persian literature.
Unlike in contemporary China, trade was not a royal monopoly in South "
India in the period of Co!a rule . It was purely a private enterprise. But the
nature and volume of the trade, both internal and foreign, that developed in
South India in this period demanded cooperation among merchants on a bigger
scale than there had been before. This kind of cooperation is to be found every-
where in economic life. As in the West of the High Middle Ages, conditions in
South India at this time made cooperation indispensable. As Pirenne put it,
'Il1:aritime or land trade was possible only by grace of the mutual assurance an
association inspired in its members, of the discipline which it imposed upon them,
of the regulations to which it subjected them'. 5 And so we find in the tenth
century the emergence of organized mercantile communities, often described
as guilds after their Western counterparts, whose strength grew almost parallel
to the expansion of Co!a power. Indeed it would appear that the Co!a flag
followed the merchant fleets of these communities.
Among the more powerful mercantile communities were the Aififiuguvar
(also called the Ayyavole, Ticai-ayirattu-aififiuguvar and Nanateciya-ticai-
ayirattu-aififiurruvar), the Vira Valaficiyar or Valaficiyar, the Nanadesi or
Nanateciyar (sometimes identified with the Aififriiguvar), the Mal).igramam (or ·

2. Chau Ju-kua, ed. F. Hirth and W.W. Rockhill (.A.m,sterdam 1966), Intro. p. 19.
3. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, The Col,a,s(Madras 1955), pp. 605-606 .
4. Ibid., pp. 607-608.
5. H. Pirenne, Medieval Cities: Their Origins and the Revival of Trade (5th ed. Princeton
1948), p. 119.
 8OUTH INDIAN MERCANTILE COMMUNITIES IN CEYLON 103

Val).ikgramam) and theNakarattar. 6 With them were associated 1:1,large number

of professional groups and mercenary bodies . They have left behind a consi-
derable number of inscriptions in the South Indian languages and these consti-
tute the main source of our knowledge of their activities.
There is little doubt that the increa!'led volume of internal and foreign
trade in the Co!a empire was largely handled by these mercantile communities
along with the West Asians. These communities claim in their inscriptions that
they carried on their trade activities in a large number of countries and that by
land routes and water routes they penetrated into the regions of the S\X con-
tinents.7 That these claims were not empty boasts is seen from the fact that
their records have been discovered in Ceylon , Burma, Thailand, Indonesia
and China, in which places they had established some of their settlements.
Already in the ninth century , the Mal).igramam had a trading settlement in
Takuapa , the ancient Takkola , in Thailand. 8 In the eleventh century the Nana-
desi had established themselves in Pagan, 9 Burma, while the Aififift!;!:uvar
had gained a foothold in Sumatra, Indonesia. 10 It appears that some of them
had ventured even beyond the Straits of Malacca and established themselves
at some ports in China.11 And, as Nilakanta Sastri surmises, 'it is possible that
sm\ 11settlements of these traders were found in all important entrepots of the
Persian Gulf' as well. 12

CEYLON
The commercial developments in South India had their natural effects
in Ceylon and, from the tenth century , South Indian mercantile communities
entered into the island's trade in a more conspicuous manner. The island's
internal and foreign trade in the eleventh and twelfth centuries appears to have
been much more important and extensive than has been hitherto thought.
But in this matter the extant sources cannot give even an approximate idea
of the true state of affairs. This is not surprising, for , on the one hand, the monas-
tic and other religious institutions , from which most of our documents, literary
as well as epigraphic, emanate , had little to do with trade and, on the other,

6. The transcription of these names is from, the Tam,il forms but in some cases the more
familiar forms (like Nanadesi and Manigramam) have been retained in order to avoid
any confusion. For a detailed account of these com,munities, see A. Appadorai, Economic
Conditions in South India, Vol. I (Madras 1936), pp. 391-402.
7. Epigraphia Garnatica, IV. ed. R. Narasim,hachar (Bangalore), Hg. No. 17; VII, Inscr .
No. 118 from, Shikarpur Taluq.
8. K. A. Nila.kanta Sastri, 'The Takua-pa (Siam) Tam,il Inscription', Joitmal of Or,iental
Research (Madras), VI, pp. 229 -230.
9. E. Hultasch, 'A Vaiahnana Inscription at Pagan ', Epigraphia Indica, VII, p . 197.
10. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, 'A Tamil Merchant Guild in Sumatra' Tijdschrift Voor Indische
Taal-, Land- en Volken Kunde, LXXII, 1932 (Batavia), p. 314.
11 . .J. Filliozat, 'Research in South-east Asia and in the Far East'. Proceedings of the
First International Conference-Seminar of Twrnil Studies (Kuala Lum,pur 1968), f,
p. 12.
12. K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, The Golas, p. 608.
104 K. INDRAP.ALA

· w_ehave only a few documents directly handed down from the merchants and
traders. Most of their documents were meant to be records of pious donations to
religious institutions rather than documents relating to trade.
The literary sources provide little information on the trade of the island
during this period . But we have about thirteen epigraphic records which refer
to the activities of the more important South Indian mercantile communities
that had come over to Ceylon. In the inscriptions of the earlier period, we get
references to the local corporate trading organizations , called 1mga and nigama ,13
but in the records of this period references to indigenous bodies of traders or
merchants are sadly lacking. It is, therefore, not known whether there were
organized Sinhalese mercantile communities which participated in the trade
of the island, especially the overseas trade. Whether the Sinhalese showed little
inclination to participate in an organized manner in the overseas trade or not
(it is even possible that they could not compete with the foreign merchants),
an examination of the inscriptions of the South Indian mercantile communities
in the island leaves one with the impression that the Indo-Ceylon trade at
least was allowed to faU into the hands of the South Indian mercantile com-
~
munities, as was the case in the later centuries. Indeed one is tempted to con-
clude that the Muslim traders from the South Indian ports who established
their settlements in the main ports as well as in the market-towns in the interior
of the island after the thirteenth century, were only taking over from the earlier
Hindu traders from South India.

THE MERCANTILE GROUPS

One of the earliest South Indian mercantile communities to gain a foothold
in the island was the Mal)igramam. In South India its activities extended over
a wide area and are referred to in inscriptions from several places in the modern
Kerala and Tamilnadu states. 14 These records range from the ninth to the
fourteenth century. As noticed earlier, in the ninth century members of this
community were engaged in activities in the Thai port of Takua-pa. In Ceylon
we get evidence of their activities in the interior market-town of Hopi~igamu,
near Mahiyangana, in the middle of the tenth century. The Badulla Pillar
Inscription of Udaya IV (946-954) refers to them as Val)igrama, a variant

13. S. Paranavitana, In.scriptions of Ceylon, I , Earl;y Brnhrni Inse1·iptions, Inscrr . Nos. 135,
138, 320, 553, 662, 696a, 726, 1182-1198; S. Paranavitana, 'Tonigala Rock -Inscription',
EZ, III, p. 181.
14. A. Appadorai, op. cit ., pp. 398 -402.
 SOUTH INDIAN MERCANTILE COMMUNITIES IN CEYLON 105

form of Mai:iigramam. 15 This variant form occurs in contemporary Tamil litera- .

ture as well. 16
The most prominent of the mercantile communities of the eleventh and
twelfth centmies was the Aififiuguvar. This community was always associated
with a large number of other mercantile and professional groups. In many of
their inscriptions from South India as many as forty-six bodies are listed among
their associates. This community, therefore, seems to have occupied a supreme
position among the professional bodies in the ports and market-towns and
acted as their leader, exercising much power and influence over them. Like
the kings of that time , they had their own pmsasti or eulogy, with which most
of their records commence. In Ceylon records of this powerful community have
been found at Vahalkada, Viharehinna, Padaviya, Ilakkattu-Eba, Ataragalla
and Anaulundava. Some of these records contain their eulogy. But this eulogy
is a shorter version of the one appearing in their Kannada records in South
India..17 The eulogy is followed by a list of other mercantile and professional
bodies which were associated ,vith the Aififiurruvar in the island. This list is
not as long as the one in their South Indian records. Among those mentioned
in the list are the Valaiiciyar, Nanadesi, Virakkotiyar , CeW , Cettiputtirar,
V alai:tkai, Ai:tkakkarar, Avai:iakkarar, Ilaficii:tkam and the Koi:tkavalar.
The Va!aficiyar (the Bai:iafijigas of the Kannada inscriptions) were an
influential body among the South Indian communities in Polonnaruva and are
mentioned in the Velaikkara inscription at Polonnaruva as ,vell as in some of
the records of the Aififiuguvar. 18 It is not known whether all the Va\aficiyar
merchants in Ceylon belonged to one organized group. There was, however,
one group of Valaiiciyar merchants who called themselves the Tel}JJ.ilankai
Valaiiciyar (the Va}aiiciyar of Southern Lanka, i.e. Ceylon). 19 The Tanjore
District of Tamilnadu was included in the sphere of activity of this grnup. 20
The Naniidesi community which, like the Valaiiciyar and the Aiiifoir_ruvar,
seems to have originated in the Kannada country (Mysore State), is mentioned

15. S. Paranavitana, ·A Revised Edition of the Badulla (Horabora) Pillar-Inscription',

Epigraphia Zeylanica (EZ ), Vol. V (Colombo) p. 182. It is Paranavitana's view that this
VaQ.igrama is the same as Skt. vai;iig-grama and that ' the Tamil Mai;iigramam ... is
doubtless a corruption of Skt. va1J,ig-grama'(Ibid., p. 190, n. 6 ). The equation of VaIJ.i-
grama with MaQ.igriimam need not be contested, for the alternative form of vai;iikki-
ramam (also 1·ead as i·atlikakiramarn) occurs in Tamil literature. The va and rna do some-
tiil\66 interchange in the Dravidian languages. Fu,rther, the occurrence of this term
as a group name in a period when the Maiµgram,am were active in South India and
outside also helps to identify the group as the Maiµgramam. ·
16. '1.'olkappiyam: Naccinarkkiniyar Urai, (Tanjavur 1962), Peyariyal, sutra II, p. 173.
17. Epigra,phia Garnatica, X, Inscription No. 170 from Kolar.
18. S. Paranavitana, 'The Polonnaruva Inscription of Vijayabahu I', Epigraphia Indica,
XVIII, pp. 337-338. The other inscriptions are unpublished.
19. Inscription from Tirukkannapuram, Nannilam Taluk, Tanj01e District--Annuc,l
Report on Epigraphyfo1· 1922 , (Madras), Inscr. No. 505, p. 32.
20. The nam,e Te12.1;i.ila1ikai(Southern La11ka) was given to Ceylon to distinguish it from
Uttara-Lanka (Northern Lanka) in South India (Inscr. No. 58 of 1908 in the South
India.n epigraphical collection).
106 K. INDRAPALA

i~ a Sinhalese inscription as well. 21 Anuradhapura and Padaviya were among

the places where they were active. The Virakkotiyar, who do not appear to
have been a very prominent trading body in South India, are mentioned several
times in the Ceylonese records.
The Cetti, who are mentioned in a number of inscriptions, appear to have
been a caste of traders, as in modern times, rather than an organized mercan-
tile community. They were traders as well as money-lenders. 22 Several place-
names in the North-Central Province and the North Western Province have
cet{i as their first element . Thes e appear to have been the result of Cetti settle -
ments in the places represented by them and date from the eleventh and twelfth
centuries. The Cettiputrar (literally sons of Cetti) who are always associated
with the Aififiuri:uvar, may also have been traders, but no evidence is available
regarding the nature of their activities.
The Nal}ku-natu (identifiable with the Nalku-nac,lu of the Kannada ins-
criptions) were among the South Indian mercantile communities that were
estab lished in Ceylon before the Cola conquest. An inscription of the late ninth
or the tenth century refers to their activities at Anuradhapura. 23
Among the mercantile communities who were not closely associated with
the Aififiuri:uvar were the Nakarattar (literally, 'Those of the City'). That ?,
they were an influential community is known from the Ve!aikkara inscription
at Polonnaruva.

TRADING ACTIVITIES
The evidence of the Ceylonese records of the South Indian mercantile
communities is not sufficient to determine the part played by them in the
internal and foreign trade of the country. However, the impression that one
gets when examining these records is that they played a considerably important
role in the trade of the times.
The South Indian inscriptions of these communities refer to their trade in
superior elephants, well-bred horses, precious stones of all sorts, spices, perfumes
and drugs. 24 But their records in Ceylon provide hardly any information on their
merchandise. The edict of Parakramabahu I at N ainativu (Nagadipa) , which was
addressed to the foreign traders who frequented the port of Urattui:ai (Sinh.
Uratota, modern Urkavagui:ai;Kayts), refers to trading vessels which brought
to the king elephants and horses, two of the major commodities in which the

21. D. M. de Z. Wickremasinghe, 'The Slab Inscription Marked D / 8 of Queen Lilavati',

EZ, I, p. 180.
22. A. Appadorai, op. cit., pp. 379-380.
23. South Indian Inscriptions, IV, ed. H. Krishna Sastri (Madras 1923) , Inscr. No. 1403;
K. Indrapala, 'Anu1·atapurattilu!!a Nti'IJ,ku Ntitta1· Kalvettu', Cintcvnai, I , No. 4, Jan.
1968 (Peradeniya), .pp. 31-35.
24 . Epigraphia Carnatica, Inscr. No. 118 from Shikarpur Taluq.
 SOUTH INDIAN MEROANTILE COMMUNITIES IN OEYLON 107

Aififiu.guvar claim to have traded. 25 The horse trade was in all probability in
the hands of the Arabs, although references are not lacking in the South Indian
inscriptions to 'Cetti dealers in horses' (kiitiraic-cetti). 26 Possibly the elephant
trade was shared by the South Indians, Sinhalese and South-East Asians. The
South Indians possibly had a share in the gem trade as well.
Whatever may have been their role in the foreign trade of the island, these
South Indian communities undoubtedly played an important part in the inter-
nal trade, and for this there is some evidence in their local records. The fact
that all their records have been discovered in the inte r ior, in ancient towns
like Anuradhapura, Polonnaruva and Padaviya and in other places, which were
also possibly market centres of that time, indicates that they were concerned
with the internal trade.
As in many other countries in this period, it appears that the greater part
of the internal trade of the island was carried on at fairs and market-towns.
These must have been the main channels of commercial intercourse. The South
Indian mercantile comm.unities seem to have played a role of some importance
in the setting-up and organization of these fairs and market-towns.
In their records there are two important term& which, if clearly understood,
are likely to throw an important light on the nature and organization of these
centres of trade. These terms occur in the inscriptions of the Aififiu.guvar,
both in South India and Ceylon. One is erivira-patfa?J,am. Pattana or pa(ta~am
stands for a township or city in most of the Indian languages. Erivirar (lit.
'warriors who throw', i.e . those who were adept in the art of throwing javelins,
etc.) refers to a class of warriors who were associated with the mercantile com-
munities. Erivira-pa(ta~am has been generally interpreted as a 'mercantile
town' .27 The records of the Aififiiiguvar refer to their declaring certain towns
as Erivira-patta:r;i.am. 28 ]from the context, there is little doubt that these were
market-towns, probably protected by the Erivirar. But it must be admitted that
there is a lack of clarity as to the nature of these towns. That the South Indian
mercantile communities created such towns in Ceylon , too , is lmown from the
Vahalkada inscription. At Vahalkada there was a town named Kattaneri which
was declared a 'Na11ateciya-vira-patta:r;i.am', where certain measures were
taken by the 'Cetti of the Eighteen Countries and the Virakkoti so that this
town may not be destroyed' .29 Possibly such towns were also set up in the other

25. K . Indrapala, 'The Nainativu Tamil Inscription of Parakramabahu I', University

of Ceylon Review, XXI, No. 1, April 1963, p. 70.
26. Inscr. No. 556 of 1904 in the South Indian epigraphical collection.
27. T. N. Subramaniam, South Indian Temple Inscriptions, III, Part 2 (Madras 1957),
Annexure, p. xv.
28. Annual RepMt on Epigraphy fo1· 1913, p. 42, Inscr. No. 342 cf 1912 in the South Indian
epigraphical collection; Epigmphia Garnatica, VIII, p. 89 of the text.
29. Unpublished inscription. The relevant phrases are: Kattanfriyana Na'!}iiteciya-virapa/-
tatiam (line 33) and Patinnetipiimi-na!/uc Oe!!ika?wm Virakko/oyomum ip-pa//atia[ m]
a?iviipa/a/akatenru vara'!}murai i/!amakka (Lines 35-36 ). Erivira-pattai;iam is sometimes
rer ered i.s Virapattai:iam. -
 108 K, INORAPA.LA

. places where records of these mercantile communities have been discovered. We

do not know how these towns were organized but from the South Indian records
we find that each such town had an official called the PaHaIJ.a-svami (Lord of
the 'L'own) at its head. It is reasonable to assume that a similar set-up obtained
in those Erivira-pattaIJ.am created by the Aififiuguvar in Ceylon. These market
towns were evidently permanent centres of trade , where a degree of security
was ensured by the warrior or mercenary bodies which seem to have protected
them.
The other term tiiva/am seems to refer to centres of trad e where distribu-
tion and exchange took place at periodical gatherings of traders . This term
crept into contemporary Sinhalese usage as well, thus providing an ind ication
of the kind of South Indian influence that was felt in the commercial sphere
in the island. 30 Paranavitana 's interpretation of this term as referring to a
place where bands of travelling traders halted for exchange of goods seems to
be tenable. 31 As he has pointed out, the Tamil word tava~kkiirar , meaning
'traders from distant parts' or 'those who keep oxen for carrying burdens ',
provides a clue to the meaning of the term tiivaJwm.32 ln the eulogy of the Aifi-
fiuti;uvar found at the beginning of their records from Vahalkada, Padaviya
and Viharehinna, there is a reference to the 'sixty.four ka[ikai tava/am' and to
the 'cetti of the tiivaJ,.am' or the 'cetti who flourish in the tiivaJam' .33 These seem
to be references to the several tiiva/mn set up by the Aififiuguvar.
In the organization of the internal trade of the South Indian communities,
the erivira-patta~am and tiiva~rn may have played a central role. Such trading
centres were possibly built by them along their trade routes or were established
alongside earlier centres. There is, however , a lack of definite information on
this point.

OTHER ECONOMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES

Apart from trade, the other economic activities in ·which these South
Indian communities were engaged are not clearly known. Pro sperity in purely
mercantile activities resulting in the accumulation of wealth normally leads
to banking activities on the part of the successful merchants . These South
Indian mercantile communities ·were no exception to this rule ; and we find that
at least one of these communities, the Cetti, were functioning as fu1ari.ciersor
money-lenders, an activity for which they became well known in later times.

30. S. Paranavitana, 'Ga lapata Viharn Rock Inscription ', EZ, IV, p. 205. The word tava-
lama occurs in modern Sinhalese too. It m,eans 'a number of oxen laden with merchan-
dise ' or 'a station on the frontier for the Pale or exchange of commodities'.
31. S. Parfillavitana, 'Civilisation of the Polonnaru Period: Political, Economic and Social
Conditions', UniversifllJ of Ceylon History of Geylo1i, I, P art 2 (Colombo 1960), p. 550.
32. S. Paranavitana, 'Galapata Vihara Rock Inscription', p. 209, n. 4.
33. Unpubli8hed inscriptions . The relevant phrases are: Arupattu-niitikii lca/ilcait-tava/amum
tava!,attu va/arlcin~a Gettiywm (Vahallrnda, lines 7-8)~
 SOUTH INDIAN MERCANTILE COMlliUNlTIES IN CEYLON 109

A tenth-century inscription rofers to such activity on the part of members of

the Cetti community at Anuradhapura. 34 It is possible that the other South
Indian mercantile communities were also engaged in similar activities.
It is the general view that the king enjoyed the monopoly of minting and
issuing coins. There is, however, some evidence in one of the records of the
Aififiiiguvar which seems to indicate that the South Indian mercantile com-
munities or their associates enjoyed some kind of privilege regarding the minting
.of coins. The Vahalkada inscription mentioned above refers to an associate of
the Aififiiin:uvar as 'Akkacalai Vikkiramatittal].' (Vikkiramatitta1J of the Mint).
It may mean either that this person owned a mint or that he worked at a mint.
In either case, it would be difficult to dispute the fact that minting of coins
formed one of the activities of some members of the South Indian communities
under discussion.
As in Europe during the Middle Ages, when a town protected its citizens
by methods which would now be considered appropriate only to a sovereign state,
particularly by the use of reprisals , in South India the eriv'i,ra-pa(ta,fi,ctm of the,
Aififiiiguvar protected its residents and conferred certain privileges on them. 35
When the Nanadesi , for instance , converted Kattiir into a virapa((a'(l,arn, they
exempted its inhabitants of all communal contributions and declared that the
town was 'not to be iuliabited by such members of the mercantile classes (1)
as demanded taxes or tolls by threatening people with drawn swords or by
capturing them and (2) as wantonly deprived people of their food or otherwise
afflicted them'. 36 It was also resolved that those who offended against this
declaration were to be excommunicated. 37 It may not be wrong to assume that
the erivira-patta?6am set up by the South Indian mercantile communities in
Ceylon also extended such protection and privileges to their inhabitants. Altho-
ugh the evidence on this point is not adequate, our sources indicate that these
South Indian communities in Ceylon did enjoy powers and privileges similar
to those enjoyed by the mercantile communities in South India. In South India ,
for instance, these communities had a share in the collection of tolls , taxes
and ·rates. 38 In Ceylon we find that the Nanadesi enjoyed such a privilege at
Anuradhapura. A Sinhalese inscription of the twelfth century informs us that
they had a customs-house atAnuradhapura. 39 Similarly, theMa1_1igramam seem
· to have enjoyed the same rights that they enjoyed in South India. The Kot-
tayam Plates of Vira Raghava and Sthanu Ravi give details of the honours and

34. K. Indrapala, 'Two Inscriptions from the Hindu Ruins, Anuradhapura', Epigraphia
Tamilica, I, Part 1, pp. 4-5.
35. T.V. llfahalingam , South Indian Polity, (Madras 1955), p. 392.
36. T.V. Mahalingam, op. cit., p. 392.
37. Ibid.
38. Epigraphia Carnatica, VII, p. 159 of the text; ARE foi · 1912, p. 32 1 No. 377 of 1911 ;
ARE for 1919, pp. 15, 19, Nos. 9 of 1918-19 and 216 of 1918,
39. D. M;. de Z. Wickren~asinghe, o:p. cit., p. 180.
110 K. INDRAPALA

privileges enjoyed by the Ma!).igramam in Kerala. Among these was a privilege

·that they had regarding the investigation of crimes. According to the above
plates, 'should they themselves commit a crime, they are themselves to have
the investigation of it' .40 That such a privilege was enjoyed by the Mai;igramam
ofHopitigamu in Ceylon is evident from the Badulla inscription. 41

EMPLOYMENT OF MERCENARIES
These mercantile communities were very closely associated with a number
of communities given to martial pursuits. Among them were the Erivirar
(Warriors who were adept in throwing javelins, etc.), Mu-g.aivirar (the Van-
guard), IJaficinka-virar (Warriors with the valour of young lions), Konka-
vaJar (Swordsmen of the Kongu country), Mummu:ri-da!).9-a(Three-fold Armyn
and the well known Velaikkarar. Like the Velaikkarar, probably the others
were also mercenaries. They were no doubt employed by the mercantile com-
munities to protect their merchandise, endowments and trust properties.
They may be compared to the merchant troops of medieval Europe. Pirenne's
conjectural description of these merchant troops may apply equally well to the
mercernaries that were employed by the South Indian mercantile communities:
"They should be pictured as armed bands, the members of which, equipped
with bows and swords, encircled the horses and wagons loaded with bags,
packs and casks ..... A chief, the Hansgraf or the Doyen, exercised his
authority over the company. This latter was composed of 'brothers',
bound together by an oath of fidelity" .42
The VeJaikkarar and other mercenary troops were bound together, like the
company of 'brothers', by an oath of fidelity. 43 The Valaficiyar-ce-g.apati (the
Army Commander of the Valaficiyar Merchants) and the (Nana)desi-da!).9-ana-
yaka (the Army Commander of the Nanadesi Merchants) were probably the
counterparts of the Hansgraf or the Doyen. 44 Apart from employing these mer-
cenaries for protecting themselves and their properties, the mercantile commu-
nities appear to have also supplied them to kings and institutions needing the
services of the mercenaries.

SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES

Mercantile communities in all countries at all times have been among the
leading benefactors of religious institutions as well as agencies by which dis-
tress was relieved. Most of the records of the South Indian mercantile commu-
nities in the island are those relating to religious grants. These communities

40. A. Appadorai, op. cit., pp. 401-402.

41. S. Paranavitana, 'A Revised Edition of the Badulla (Horabora) Pillar-Inscription,
p.190.
42. H. Pirenne, op. cit., p. 121.
43. S. Paranavitana, 'The Polonnaruva Inscription of Vijayabahu I', p. 337.
44. Unpublished Vahalkada inscription. T.V. Mahalingam, op. cit., p. 393.

I
 SOUTH INDIAN MERCANTILE COMMUNITIES IN CEYLON 111

figure very prominently among the donors of bells, lamps and money to some
of the Hindu temples at Padaviya and elsewhere. 45 One of the minor mercantile
communities, the Nal}ku-naWir, even helped to erect a Buddhist temple at
Anuradhapura. 46
Erection and maintenance of alms-houses and inns or resting-places were
among their other activities which exhibit their care for the unfortunate. In
the time of Queen Lilavati (1197-1200, 1209-1210, 1211-1212), for instance, the
Nanadesi used the proceeds from one of their customs-houses for the maintenance
of an alms-hall at Anuradhapura with supplies of spice and pther requisites. 47
As in South India, the Aififiuguvar built inns or resting-places called Aifi-
fiilguvan-ampalam. 48
These mercantile communities played an important role in the society
of the South Indian settlers in the island. As in South India, in Ceylon, too,
they were considered to be the leaders of certain other Dravidian communities.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and in fact till recent times, the various
castes of the Dravidian areas of South India were divided into two major sec-
tions, called the Itankai (Left Hand) and the Valankai (Right Hand). 49 These
°
two sections were found in Ceylon, too. 5 Certain mercantile communities
were considered to be the heads or leaders of these sections. In the case of the
V alankai the Nanadesi and the V alaficiyar were among their leaders, while the
Itankai had the N akarattar as one of their leaders. 51 That such a social structure
obtained even among the Dravidian communities of Ceylon becomes clear
from the Velaikkara inscription at Polonnaruwa. This record states that the
Velaikkara troops at Polonnaruva were drawn from the Valankai, Itankai
and other sections of the society and that the Valaficiyar were the leaders of
a section of the Velaikkara forces and implies that the Nakarattar were t,he
leaders of another section. 52
As the leaders of other Dravidian communities, the mercantile communi-
ties enjoyed a prominent position in their society and were invited for important
meetings called by the others. There are many instances in the South Indian
records of the Aififiilguvar presiding over meetings at which the affairs of other

45. K. Ind.rapala, 'An Inscription of the time of Rajaraja I from Padaviya', Epigraphia
Tannilica, I, Part 1, p. 34. Unpublished inscriptions from Padaviya.
46. South Indian Inscriptiona, IV, No. 1405; K. Indrapala, 'Anuratapurattilu?!a Nar]ku
Na/tar Kalvet/u', p. 35.
47. D. M. de Z. Wickremasinghe, op. cit., p. 180.
48. South Indian Inscriptions, IV, No. 1415.
49. B. A. Saletore, Social and Political Life in the Vij111!Janagai·
Empire, II (Madras 1934),
pp. 68ft'.
50. S. Paranavitana, 'The Polonnaruva Inscription of Vijayabahu I', p. 337.
· 51. Epigraphia Garnatica, XI, p. 61 of the text; The Imperial Gazetteer of India, XVIII,
pp. 198-199.
52. K. Indrapala, 'Some Medieval Mercantile Communities of South India and Ceylon',
Journal of Tamil Studiea, II, No. 2, Oct. 1970 (Madras), pp. 33-34. ·
 112 K. INDRAP ALA

associate communities were settled.s 3 In Ceylon, the VaJaficiyar and the Naka-
. rattar were invited for meetings of the VeJaikkarar and possibly of certain other
communities.s 4 It appears that they exercised some degree of c0ntrol over the
activities of the other communities associated with them.

RELATIONS WITH THE STATE

This brings us to the question of their role, if any, in the politics of that
time. The economic power of such communities led by necessity to political
influence, which the South Indian mercantile communities may have exerted
in some instances .
We have seen that the South Indian mercantile communities were
closely associated with the mercenary troops in the island. The VeJaikkara
army, or some of the component groups in it, considered the Va)afieiyar, and
possibly the Nakrattar , to be their leaders. These two mercantile communities
were invited for important deliberations of the VeJaikkarar. Many other mer-
cenary or warrior groups, like the Erivirar, MmJ-aivirar, Konkavalar, IJafieinka-
virar and the Mumrnuri-dai:i.c;la,,vere also closely associated with the mercan-
tile communities and are mentioned often in the records Qf the latter. In the
light of these facts one wonders whether in the eleventh , twelfth and thirteenth
centuries mercenary troops were brought to the island from South India by the
mercantile communities and supplied to the princes and institutions needing
their services. In the period before the ninth century, aspirants to the Sinhalese
throne as well as dispossessed rulers often escaped to South India, from where
they collected mercenary troops and came over to the island to capture power
or to regain the throne.ss But in the period after the ninth century, the local
sources do not refer to such instances of mercenary troops being brought by
Sinhalese royalty. Yet, there were mercenaries in the employ of the Polonna-
ruva kings and they were a powerful factor in the politics of the day . The
Velaikkara army in particular wielded much influence in the reign ofVijayabahu
I (1055-1110) and later. 56 There were occasions when it rose against the king. 57
Considering the relationship that existed between the mercenaries and the
mercantile communities at this time, it appears that the former were brought
to the island by the latter. This may be one reason why the Ve}aikkarar, or
at least an important section of this army, looked up to the Va!aficiyar mer-
chants as their leaders. The activities of the mercenaries seem to have had ' the
sanction and guidance of the mercantile communities. If this were true, the

53. Epigraphia Gamatica, VII, p. 159 of the text.

54. S. Paranavitana, 'The Polonnaruva Inscription of Vijayabahu I', p. 337.
55. Mahava'l'!lsa, ed. W. Geiger (Colombo 1950), 35:26, 27; 36:49; Giifovet1(1,8a,ed, W , Geiger
(Colombo 1953), 44:71, 105, 125 , 129, 152, 4(>:18; 47:33-36, 46-67, ·
56. Gula va'l)isci,6u:36; 63:24; 74:44.
57 . Ibid., 60:36; 74:4'!,
 SOUTH INDIAN MERCANTILE COMMUNITIES IN CEYLON 113

mercantile communities r,ould be said to have exercised some degree of political

influence through the mercenaries. In the absence of any direct evidence bearing
on this point , one has to confine oneself to mere speculation.
'.For the greater part of this period, the relations between the state and
these mercantile communities were most likely cordial. In view of the financial
benefits which the ruler derived from the commercial transactions of these
foreign mercantile communities , he was naturally interested in their protec-
tion and in the furtherance of their activities. Thus we find that Parakrama-
biilrn I issued an edict inviting foreign merchants to trade in his ports and guaran-
teeing them protection. 58 This probably shows that there was no serious rivalry
between the Sinhalese and foreign traders, at least in the twelfth century , and
that foreign merchants enjoyed the prot ection of the state.
Yet the activities of such communities were naturally dependent on a high
degree of political stability. As long as there was stability they could flourish
and develop their trade. Such a stability was there in Ceylon till the end of the
twelfth century. But from the end of that century the political upheavals that
took place in the island and the consequent division of the island into a northern
kingdom controlled mainly by foreigners and a south-western kingdom ruled by
the Sinhalese must have seriously affected the activities of the South Indian
mercantile communities. What part they played in the politics of the thirteenth
century is not known. But their activities possibly provided the economic
background to the rise of the northern kingdom, whose power and prosperity
depended on the control of the overseas trade.
The political upheavals of the thirteenth century, both in South India and
Ceylon, undoubtedly affected their activities in the Sinhalese kingdom, where
their records are not found after the thirteenth century. The growing Arab
competition was possibly an additional factor which brought about their decline
and the final disappearance of their trade in the Sinhalese kingdom. Their
activities perhaps continued a little longer in the northern kingdom.

58. K. Indrapala, 'The N ainativu Tamil Inscription of Parakramahahu I', p. 70.

11985-2