October 29, 2012 · 6:09 pm
Janaka Goonetileke’s Atapattu Walawwa
Hemantha Situge, courtesy of The Nation,
28 October 2012, where the title is “Enthusiasts’ Guide to unique Sri Lankan
Real Estate“
Atapattu Walawwa, the residence of
the Gooneratne and Dias Abeysinghe families, is a richly illustrated
antiquarian miscellany on one of Sri Lanka’s well preserved treasure trove walauwwas
– an ancient manor house – found in Galle – the capital of the Southern
province of Sri Lanka.
A Consultant Obstetrician and
Gynecologist in Britain, Janaka Goonetileke, with his marriage to
Dharshani Dias Abeysinghe, the sole heir to the Atapattu Walauwwa, which has
survived in the family for well nigh 23 decades, has gone in search of his
wife’s roots and has documented the same for posterity. The book states that
the other contributors of this work are Senaka Bandaranayake and Susil
Sirivardana.
I read and re-read this fascinating
book and what amazes me as a Gallean is the designing part accredited to Albert
Dharmasiri, the magnificent photographs of Malaka Weligodapola,
special portfolio of drawings executed by Thushara Illeperuma and the
two drawings of Barbara Sansoni from her Vihara and Verandahs. Atapattu
Walawwa contains 172 pages of pure bliss, each page evoking the contributors’
affection for this unique manor house.
You cannot read much of the book
without longing to go there. After the book launch at the Barefoot Gallery,
Bambalapitiya on Friday July 3, the following Saturday morning it whetted my
curiosity to such an extent to have been at Atapattu Walauwwa to find out the
indecipherable date inscription bearing 1742 at the entrance of this edifice
which was embedded in my memory. Apparently, it is a later inscribed
inscription. There are several salient features found in the contents of the
book under the sub titles i.e A Protected Monument, The Setting, Architecture,
Stage of Construction, Technology, Garden and Courtyards, Furniture, Daily
life, Social Background, Edmund Rowland Gooneratne, A Biographical Sketch, The
Gooneratne Mudalindarama, The Cemetery and the Selected Writings of E.R.
Gooneratne.
The most remarkable salutary feature
is the Biographical Sketch (page 136 to 161 ) of that foremost erudite oriental
scholar Edmund Rowland Gooneratne the 19-20 century diarist of par excellence,
who bestrode like a mighty colossus in the Sri Lankan nationalist Buddhist
renaissance and carved niche in the annals of national resurgence in the
country. The book contains a rare photograph dated 1917 of the Anuradhapura Sri
Maha Bodhi. The word Atapattu, a term used in feudal administration as the
title of the book – appears a misnomer. Even though there is family name called
Atapattu, it has no connection with the Sinhala word ata (eight). There are no
eight pattus in Galle. This is the holder of the post ‘chieftain’ or ‘Mudliyar’
in the officialdom or Mudliyardom who was in close proximity to the Governor.
The other part of the title of the book is ‘Walawwa’. According to the Sinhala
dictionary it is derived from the Tamil word “walauw” which denotes ‘Residence
of an aristocrat’.
According to what I have learnt that
there were de facto waluwwas and de jure walauwwas. The Atapattu Walauwwa
is a de jure walauwwa. The family has held it by virtue of their office for
several generations. 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 vegetables.
The Sinhalese word Koratuwa denotes ‘a piece of land with vegetable
cultivation’. The other shortcoming found in the book is at page nine is ‘China
Koratuwa’, the Chinese quarter, probably recalling a time before the Dutch
intervention that disrupted the intra-Asian trading networks. Also refer to
pages 18 to 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’ describing that Cheng Ho’s visit in
1409 is connected with China Gardens or Cheena Koratuwa of Galle.
At page nine in paragraph two
parenthetically the book states that: “(Waluvatta – the land of Walawwas today
a municipal ward of that name.)” The municipal ward system was repealed in
1976. Walauwwatta 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 Walauwwatta
belonged. According to old deeds and plans “Kekiribokkawatta” in China Gardens
where the Mahagala Walauwwa (vide page 11 of the book) is situated is the place
where the Chinese grew the Sinhalese vegetable kekiri. This book Atapattu
Walawwa (vide: page 11) bears ample testimony to the fact that there had been
seven walauwwas in the vicinity of the walauwwa, that the List of Walauwwas in
Sri Lanka (Sri Lankave Walauw Namawaliya) written by Dr. Mirando Obeysekera is
a haphazard incomplete work not only pertaining to Galle but also on the other
waluwwas of Sri Lanka. Once E.V.G. William told me that the Atapattu Walauwwa
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 walauwwa. 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 Walauwwa.
My indefatigable, passionately
curious study on Galle has found the least references on Atapattu Walauwwa –
the ancient manor house – in books on Galle. The details abound on Goonaratne
and Dias Abeysinghe families in the All Saint’s Church records (Church minutes,
baptism registers, marriage registers and the burial registers) which
substantiate their allegiance to the Anglican Church and the British rulers.
All Saint’s Church Fort Galle has had a vicar named Felix Dias Abeysinghe (1965
to 1975), Vernon Dias Abeysinghe (vide page 124) was also a warden of the
Church. The rebel of the family of Mudliyar Edmund Rowland Gooneratne
“Gentleman- Scholar of the Sri Lankan Renaissance”- his fight against the
system –it appears that the British rulers have shown a sense of antipathy
towards the family by not appointing any one thereafter for the said
appointment.
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 Walauwwa. This
is another point to the fact that the walauwwa had a pride of place for liberal
thinking. It was the family Gooneratne who was instrumental in establishing the
Batemulla Sinhalese mixed school in Imaduwa which was later taken over by the
Government in 1957.
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 October 5, 1817 aged 43 years, three 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. J.P. Lewis in his
monumental work, ‘List of Tombstones and Memorials’ does not record this
tombstone. Furthermore, E.R. Gooneratne’s genealogy does not establish that
Atapattu Mudliyar De Alvis belongs to their family. His tenure of office, it
appears only for five years after Don Bastian. All these evidence establish
beyond doubt that the name Atapattu Walauwwa emerged as a manor house after the
Atapattu Mudliyar title was invested in Don Bastian Jayatilleke Gooneratne
(1758 to 1812). This provides some credence to the legend that is recorded by
Janaka Goonetileke on the origin of the Atapattu Walauwwa.
The chapter that deals on furniture
found from pages 109 to 116 should have been written 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 bedroom of the era. The timber should have been
identified with the botanical names.
The contributors have extensively
used Sinhalese words in the book. Had these Sinhalese words were identified
with diacritical marks, it would have been convenient in the interest of the
readers. The editor of the Lloyd’s Press, Arnold Wright in his prestigious
monumental record “Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon” published by the
Lloyd’s Great Britain company in 1907, sheds more light on the Atapattu
Walauwwa.
Mudliyar E.R. Gooneratne in this
account (page 754 to 755) recounts that the Atapattu Walauwwa was built by his
grandfather which substantiates the position maintained by Janaka Goonetileke.
The photographs of the facade of the walauwwa in the era depicts that it still
remains in its pristine glory (figure 1) The others that portray in the
book from this manor house are Arthur Alfred Dias Abeysinghe (at page 764)
Eugene Godfred Dias Abeysinghe (at page 758-759) together with a photograph of
Maha Mudliyar Nicholas Dias Abeysinghe (figure 2) and Abraham Dias Abeysinghe
(at page 768), whose wedding photograph with Eva Tagora Gooneratne is amongst
the few rare Sinhala Govigama elitists prominent ceremonies celebrated in 1903
in Galle is published in the rare opus with Janaka Goonetileke’s Atapattu
Walawwa.
The other only known elitist Karawa
wedding ceremony recorded from Galle is provided by Norah Roberts in her
compendium entitled Galle as quiet asleep. (page 404) where that affluent
aristocrat Charles Henry Soysa’s son, Arthur Soysa’s betrothal to Regina Perera
Abeywardena of Closenberg fame held at the All Saint’s Church Galle which was
reported in “London Daily Graphic” on March 2, 1899. They were indeed landmarks
in the heydays of Galle.
The Atapattu Walauwwa has withstood
the vagaries of time. It is a unique architectural legacy gifted to posterity.
The families of Gooneratne and Dias Abeysinghe should be commended for their
unremitting perseverance and the exemplary conduct to preserve this manor house
for the future generation. Janaka and his wife Dharshani who continues the
family tradition deserves from the Sri Lankans and the Galleans a special word
of appreciation for bestowing this monumental saga to the posterity,
undoubtedly a veritable mine of information 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.
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