BOOK REVIEW ATAPATTU WALAWWA RESIDENCE OF GOONERATNE & DIAS ABEYSINGHE FAMILIES OF GALLE Edited by Janaka Goonetileke by Hemantha Situge

Atapattu Walawwa Residence of Gooneratne & Dias Abeysinghe Families of Galle    is a richly illustrated antiquarians miscellany on one of Sri Lanka’s well preserved Walawwa’s – an ancient manor house found in the Southern part of Sri Lanka -.

The editor Janaka Goonetileke a consultant Obstetrician and Gynecologist in Britain with his marriage to Dharshani Dias Abeysinghe the sole heir to the Atapattu Walawwa the ancient manor house, which has survived in the family for well nigh 25 decades has gone in search of his wife’s own roots. The book states that the other contributors of this work as Senaka Bandaranayake and Susil Sirivardana.

I read and re-read this fascinating book what amazes me as a Gallean is the designing part accredited to Albert Dharmasiri, the magnificent photographs of Malaka Weligodapola that appears in the book, special portfolio of drawings executed by Thushara Illeperuma and the two drawings of Babara Sansoni from her Vihara and Verandahs. Atapattu Walawwa contains 172 pages of pure bliss, with each page evoking the contributors affection for this unique manor house.

You cannot open this book without wanting to go there. Just after the book launch at the Barefoot Gallery Bambalapitiya on Friday 3^rd July, at 6.00 p.m., the following Saturday morning it whetted my curiosity to be in Galle to visit Atapattu Walawwa to find out the indeciphered date inscription bearing 1742 that is found at the entrance of the floor of this edifice that is embedded in my memory. This book does not answer my intrigue or the perplexed question.

From the word Atapattu a term used in feudal administration the title of the book – it appears that it is a misnomer. Atapattu though there is a family name in existence has no connection with the Sinhala word ATA (eight). There are no eight pattus in Galle. This is the holder of the post of chieftain or Mudliyar in the officialdom or Mudliyardom who is in the closest proximity to the Governor. None of the contributors, endeavours to go into the derivation of the word Atapattu the first part of the title of the book. The other part of the title of the book is Walawwa. According to the Sinhala Dictionary it is derived from the Tamil word “Walaw” which denotes that it is the residence of an aristocrat. This book does not cover the origin of the title of the book.

What I have learnt that, when learnt on Galle, that there were de facto  Walwwa’s and de jure  Walawwa’s. The Atapattu Walawwa is a de jure Walawwa. The family has held it by virtue of their office for generations to generations.

At page 8-9 of this book refers to China Koratuwa (Chinese Quarter) more commonly known as China Gardens or Cheena Koratuwa. This is the place where in 1810 the British got down the Chinese to cultivate their vegetables. Hence the Sinhalese word Koratuwa the place where they cultivate vegetables. The other salient error found in the book vide at page 9 is that : “the ‘China Koratuwa’ the Chinese Quarter probably recalling a time before the Dutch intervention disrupted the intra-Asian trading networks”. Also please refer to pages 18-20 of Gaalu Ithihasaya (History of Galle) by E.V.G. William 1967 which also supports this position. Somasiri Devendra has erred in his article titled : TRILINGUAL INSCRIPTION OF GALLE that Cheng Ho’s visit in 1409 is connected with China Gardens or Cheena Koratuwa of Galle.

At page 9 in paragraph  2 parenthetically you have said that : “(Valuvatta – the land of Walawwas today a municipal ward of that name.)” The municipal ward system was repealed/abolished in 1976. Walawwatta was never a municipal ward of the 15 municipal wards that prevailed in the Galle Municipal Council. The ward No. 2 was China Gardens and the ward No. 3 was bazaar (Kadaveediya) to which the area of Walawwatta belonged.

This book Atapattu Walawwa bears ample testimony to the fact (vide: page 11) that the List of Walawwas in Sri Lanka (Sri Lankave Walaw Namawaliya) written by Dr. Mirando Obeysekera is a haphazard incomplete work not only pertaining to Galle but on the Walwwas of Sri Lanka.

Once E.V.G. William told me that the Atapattu Walawwa originally owned a large extent of land that went up to Minuwangoda junction where the tortoise shell shops in this junction drew income to the Walawwa. It would have been a worthwhile study to go into the adjacent Regional Survey General’s maps and plans on the area for the study to the extent of land originally owned by the Atapattu Walawwa.

Another salient omission is that the Atapattu Walawwa’s graphic reference found in Arnold Wright’s Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon published in 1902 (vide: pages 754 -5) A.E.S. edition 2009.

My indefatigable, passionately curious study on Galle has found the least references on Atapattu Walawwa the ancient manor house in books on Galle. The abundance of details are found on Goonaratne and Dias Abeysinghe families in the All Saint’s Church records (Church minutes Baptism registers, Marriage registers and the Burial registers) which substantiates their allegiance to the Anglican Church and the British rulers. Did the rebel of the family Mudliyar Edmund Rowland Gooneratne “Gentleman- Scholar of the Sri Lankan Renaissance-” his fight against the system – made the British rulers to show any antipathy towards the family ? This is a moot point which remains unanswered by the contributors of this book. All Saint’s Church Fort Galle has had a vicar named Felix Dias Abeysinghe (1967-1977) Vernon Dias Abeysinghe was also a warden of the Church.

Furthermore, the History of  Methodist Church in Ceylon edited by Rev. W.J.T. Small 1964 records the First Methodist School was found at the upper storey of the Atapattu Walawwa. This is another point to the fact that the Walawwa had a pride of place for liberal thinking.

However, the remains interred in the vault of the Dutch Reformed Church of Fort Galle of “Don David De Alvis Attepattoe Modiliar of Galle” whose tombstone is paved on the floor of the Church ‘who departed this life 5^th October 1817 aged 43 years, 3 months and 17 days’ is cogent evidence to the fact that the post of Atapattu Mudliyar did not remain with Gooneratne and Dias Abeysinghe families. Also vide pages 155 – 174 in J.P. Lewis’s ‘List of Tombstones and Memorials.’ Furthermore, E.R. Gooneratne’s genealogy does not establish that the Atapattu Mudliyar De Alvis belongs to their family. Was his tenure of office was only for 5 years after Don Bastian ?

All these evidence establish beyond doubt that the name Atapattu Walawwa emerged as a manor house after the Atapattu Mudliyar title was invested in Don Bastian Jayatilleke Gooneratne (1758-1812). This provides some credence to the legend that is recorded by Janaka Goonetileke on the origin of the Atapattu Walawwa.

The chapter that deals on furniture found in pages 109- 116 of the book should have been gone into with the perusal of two authoritative works on the subject. viz: Dutch Furniture – R.L. Brohier and European Furniture – Joseph Pearson J.R.A.S. (CB) article. None of the photographs depict furniture in a bed room of the era. The timber should have been identified with their botanical names. This chapter has not adequately dealt with the subject on furniture.

The contributors have extensively used Sinhalese words in their contributions in the book. Had these Sinhalese words were indentified with diacritical marks it would have been convenient in the interest of the readers.

Despite these errors, inaccuracies, inelegancies and shortcomings Atapattu Walawwa the opus edited by Janaka Goonetileke remains as a splendid work on the social history of the yester year on Galle that stimulates further more research on Galle.

Goonetileke’s Atapattu Walawwa is a kind of ‘enthusiast’s guide’ to the unique Sri Lankan real estate in the by-gone era.