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BOOK REVIEW BEMTOTA RUHUNU DORATUWA AUTHOR : THOMPSON A. VAN DER BONA PUBLISHED BY SARASAVI PUBLISHERS REVISED 2ND EDITION REVIEWED BY HEMANTHA SITUGE
BOOK REVIEW
BEMTOTA RUHUNU
DORATUWA
AUTHOR : THOMPSON
A. VAN DER BONA
PUBLISHED BY
SARASAVI PUBLISHERS REVISED 2ND EDITION
REVIEWED BY
HEMANTHA SITUGE
e-mail :
hemantha.situge@gmail.com
web : Hemantha
Situge @ blogspot.com.
Bemtota Ruhunu Doratuwa – Bemtota Gateway to
Ruhuna is a landmark book written in Sinhalese by Thompson A. Van der Bona the
revised 2nd edition was released recently, published by the Sarasavi
Publishers. This book was republished after an elapse of sixteen years where the
1st edition was published by the ANCL publishers.
Van der Bona by dedicating the book to his mother
and father who regaled interesting snippets and stories on his ‘ape gama’ has recorded these
experiences with a sense of nostalgia for posterity. In other words this book a
study treatise that is encapsulated with his decades of experiences documented for
the future generation.
Reading Thompson A. Van der Bona’s Bemtota Ruhunu
Doratuwa takes me into reveries of Sri Lankan village life in Martin
Wickramasinghe’s Ape Gama (Lay Bare
the Roots translated by Lakshmi De Silva into English), J Wijayatunga’s Grass
for My Feet (Ma Payata Tananilla
translated into Sinhalese by Newton Goonesinghe). Both these books do
essentially portray the snippets of the Sri Lankan coastal village life style
during childhood of both authors, Wickramasinghe in Koggala Malalagama and
Wijayatunge in Urala, in the pre-independence era. But Van der Bona’s present
work on his ‘apegama’ or his village,
is infused with a new lease of life that critically examines some episodes of
this villages culled from history, folklore, legend, and from literature.
The cover of the Bemtota-Ruhunu Doratuwa – is adorned
with a photograph from the landmark entrance of the Galapatha Viharaya which
has carved dancers (vide: the only of its kind Sri Lankave Narthana Ithihasaya – Prof. Mudiyanse Dissanayake) on
the stone entrance. This stone entrance was declared as an Archaeological monument
by virtue of Gazette notification bearing No. 1299-236 dated 13th
September 1974 and the second photograph is on the Bentota river and another on
the golden beaches that has been the cynosure of all the tourists. The book
contains twelve chapters. They are viz. Historical background and Setting, Flora
Fauna, Villagers of the village, The Villages in the Environs of the River, The
River, Beliefs Yantra Mantra, Old Temples, the Learned Men produced from the
area, notes during the 2nd World War, Changes after the War, Change
of the Village, the Decline of the Village. From pages 168 to 191 contains as a
highlight of the book the reproduction of the rare complete book the Bheematheerthalankaraya alias Bentota Lakara - The beauty of Bentota -
of that erudite scholar, pioneer writer of par excellence produced from Bentota,
Albert de Silva in 1890 printed by H. W. Hettiarachchi at the Vidyaprakasha Press in Dodanduwa
respectfully dedicated to Arthur Jayawardena Mudliyar of Wellabada Pattu of
Galle from Atadahewatta Walauwwa Kataluwa.
Van der Bona retrieving part of same from the British Museum Library has given
to the present reader of his book. The book is replete with 202 pages with a
useful bibiliography, a complete account of the Grama Sevaka divisions
bordering the Bentota river from Bentota and from Kalutara and some historical
notes. There were five other books in verse that germinated the seed of thought
from Albert De Silva’s renowned work. They are viz. in 1902 Kalutota Lakara by M. C. F. Perera, in
1916 Hambantota Lakara by Lionel W.
De Silva, in 1934 Matota Lakara by
Amarasiri Gunewardena and in 1936 Bentota
Lakara by Mullapitiye K. H. De Silva.
As one enters Bentota from Galle, Thompson A. Van der
Bona’s Bemtota Ruhunu Doratuwa reminds me of two significant landmarks on
Bentota which riveted my eye since my childhood when one enters Bentota from
Galle. They are the Pintaliya – the wayfarer’s pot of water – which was kept in
a canopy, the other is referred to by Vander Bona (at page 11) the old iron
bridge which has fallen into disuse which bears the inscription dated 1902 Mr.
E. K. Sunil Premasiri now the Director [Maintenance] Department of Archaeology
who as the Assistant Director of Archaeology Southern Province shifted it from
the main road to adjacent to the AIDA shop when the road was widened.
The 14th century Gira Sandeshaya – the
parrots epistle in verse has stated an ambalama – a wayfarer’s place of rest –
found on the right side of Bentota named Elitota (edited by Makuluduwe
Piyaratana 1963 page 21-22 in Sinhalese). This place name and the place of rest
is today unheard and unknown.
The author Van der Bona examines another proverb
that is embedded in the minds of southerners. His analysis on the origin of
this proverb that: “No kitten who has opened one’s eyes should reach beyond the
Bentota river” is incisive. Firstly (at page 19 of the book), the lore whether
is it because of the “Bemrakusa” as
once who were beyond the river were of Yakkha,
Raksha origin. Secondly (at page 22, 26 of the book), the comely lasses of
Bentota would entice anyone reaching from their guiles and viles as recorded in
the 14th century Gira and
Tisara Sandesha Kavya’s – epistles – Thirdly (at page 36-7 of the book), the
once who are beyond the Bentara river are considered as crafty by their nature.
The fourth Chapter the villages around the river
the writer Van der Bona goes into the origins of the toponymy or place names.
They are viz; Hungantota, Pahurumulla,
Yathramulla, Honduwa, Dope, Hendagala, Nissankagala, Berawagoda, Gasdekawatte,
Urugasmanhandiya or originally the Urugasmankadahandiya
– the longest place name in the world – The author gives us a vivid account on
the volunteer camp at Urugasmanhandiya
commenced in 1889 and draws out on the beginning of the “Boer bed” or “Booru enda” (colloquially known to the
local folk as).
The seventh chapter is on places of worship, the
author confines same to five ancient temples. They are viz. Galapatha Viharaya, Malmaduwakanda Purana
Viharaya, Bem Vehera Raja Maha Viharaya, Bentota (Udakotuwa) Raja Maha Viharaya
and Vanavasala Raja Maha Viharaya.
The author exhaustively deals with the Galapatha inscription reported in
Epigraphia Zeylanica Volume IV and Ven. Medauyangoda Wimalakiththi Thero’s
Sheela Lekhana Sangrahaya Volume V.
The eighth chapter has dealt on the Learned men of
repute produced from the area. They are : T. W. Rhys Davies, Robert C.
Childers, Ven. Potuwila, Bentota K. Albert De Silva, Piyadasa Sirisena Proctor
James De Alwis and also an account on the Bentota Pahurumulla Secondary school.
I fervently believe that it would being apt if Yathramulle Dhammarama Thero’s
name would have been included to this account in a separate heading. In 1870 when
the second son of Queen Victoria the Duke of Edinborough, Prince Alfred visited
Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) the epistle in verse from the Pali language bestowed by Dharmakeerthi
Mangalabhidana Maligaspe the leader monk which was written or composed by
Dhammarama Thero of Yathramulla who resided in the Wana Wasala Viharaya. (Vide
at page 695 to 698 Journal of the Sri Lanka Oriental Studies Society, Centenary
volume 1902-2002 edited by Theripehe Somananda Anu Na Himi et. al. published by
the Sri Lanka Oriental Studies Society) Robert C. Childers was instrumental in
translating from the Pali language into English the first volume of the Jataka
or Stories of Buddha’s Former Births in 1895 edited by Prof. E. B. Cowell
published by the Cambridge University Press.
Ninth chapter are notes on the Second World War
the Welhena Camp; as one passes the bridge found in the place name ‘Wadiya’. The
tenth, eleventh and twelfth chapters deals on the changes after the war change
and the decline of the village. This account of Van der Bona is dejected,
forlorn and filled with abyss of despair.
Van der Bona’s well-known book has lead to many
another work on the village or ‘gama’.
One of them is Nugegoda by Mervyn Herath and Savanadasa. Van der Bona has made
us to re-think of our villages or develop a deep abiding interest or penchant
on the once own place of birth.
It whetted my curiosity when I posed the question
as to ‘what were the four gravets of Bentota’ from Van der Bona. Answering same
I said that one gravet point could be the Bentota bridge as a toll station. The
second Hungantota (at page 48 of his book), the third and the fourth remains a
moot point. Van der Bona is reluctant to accept another as Kaikawala because it
is far away in Induruwa (Kaikawala
Murakawal rekha sitina vide Sinhala
Vishwakoshaya) It is my view that this book has opened a forum for further
research on Bentota.
The last two decades have ‘spawned’ the interest
of a new generation of few Sinhalese laymen writers firstly there was a
precursor to the book of Van der Bona, entitled Bemganga Asabada Viththi by N. H. Karunathilake which was later
translated into English.
Later Jithendrawansha de Silva wrote “Ambalangoda Puranaya” (History of
Ambalangoda) The last decade brought two additions to the District of Galle.
They were viz. Ape Gama Rajgama (Our
village; Rajgama) by Jansen Rannoolu and Hikkaduwa
Puranaya Saha Venath Rasa Katha (History of Hikkaduwa and other interesting
stories) by Theodore Samson.
I fervently think Galle owes a debt of gratitude
to two retired professors both scholars of repute namely, K. D. Paranavitana who
hailed from Baddegama and Bandusena Gunasekara from Randombe for spawning this
new generation of writers on Galle. Energetic Paranavitana with his stint at
the Archives came out with a book in Sinhalese titled Galupuranaya published by Godage in 1991 wrote a series of articles
on Galle. Some of them were ‘Gama
Gaallede’ and another series of articles on the Learned Buddhist Priests in
the area and on Galle Fort.
Gunasekara after doing his Master’s thesis on
place names on Galle (Galle Grama Nama ha
Ehi viththi 2nd edition Godage Publishers 2010) enthused in
Bentota by writing on Bentota Puranaya,
on Balapitiya by penning Balapitiya
Puranaya, on Ratgama by writing Ratgama
Puranaya (Devapathiraja Vidyalaya 50th Anniversary Volume) and
on Galupuranaya and also on Seenigama Devalaya.
Before these writings came into light what remains
unpublished today is the learned treatise submitted by Ven. Nagoda Pagngnananda
Thero to the Oriental College Society or Pracheena
Bhashopakara Samithiya in 1945 entitled “Gaalu
Ithihasaya” (History of Galle) where he was awarded the Pandit Degree,
which would be released as a publication shortly. All these writings are “gems
purest ray serene blushed unseen” on Galle. Ven. Pagngnanada Thero would have
been one of the foremost pioneers to place on record in Sinhalese a glimpse on
Bemthota or Bentota.
Thompson A. Van der Bona’s attachment to once own
village or ‘gama’ or place of birth is proverbial. To Van der Bona as he wished
to have a dent in the world of writing and business, he intended to leave his
village with the irresistible nostalgic memories. Van der Bona’s Bemtota Ruhuna
Doratuwa - Bemtota Gateway to Ruhuna - is a priceless book to be reposed at the
libraries in the island, which is undoubtedly a must read for all those who
loves the values of the village and who wish to maintain those ideals.
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