l

Early Tamil Settlements in Ceylon

K. INpnApara, Ph.D.
Public Lectu,re deliveyed, an 3rd, ntay, ry6g.

An historical stucly of- ancicnt-for_eign settlements in any country

presents a number oI problems which iannot be solved. pjr"tv *ittt
the help of such rn-aterials as chronicles and inscriptions. Archaeology,
-historical
physica I anthropology, historica I geography and
linguist"ics
have all an impoltarit part to play in the solution of these pr6Hems.

These problems. would include among others the determining of the

original home of the settlers, the causes of their migration, t[e areas
of settlements and the extent of the survival of the earlier inhabitants.
The study of the Anglo-Saxon settlements in England provides a tynical
example,in thls,fieid. (We have tried tc foliow the methods adopibdin
this study and because of this we have drawn attention to some-of the
similarities between Anglo-Saxon settlements and the Tamii settlements of Ceylon.) While the works of Bede, Gildas and Nennius and
the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle have forrned the main basis of this stucly,
these have not been very helpful in-the reconstruction of the full story.
Questions concerning the routes of migration and the areas of settlement have been answered mainly with the help of archaeolosical
evidence. Though the Anglo-Saxons have not left 6ehind coins or"inscriptions, their cemeteries and grave-goods have been of immense value
for this study. The historical linguist has made an irnportant contritrution in analysing the place-nanre evidence which has helped a sood
deal in the trnderstanding of the social conditions under'whiclithe
settlement took place and the institutional ties which first bound the
settlers together as well as in the location of the early habitation sites.
Flace-narnes have also hejped to ,an extent in the inquiry into the
extent of the Celtic survival. The historical geographer-hai helped in
the understanding of the influence of such factors as physical features
and de{ence on the location, and sometimes on the foim, cf the setflements. Physical anthropologists have also endeavoured to contribute
to this study..Attemptshave-been made_, though not with much sdccess,
to use the evidence derived from a study of cephalic indices and. tables
of nigrescence. In this manner, light generated from a variety of sources
has been thrown upon the difficulties that confront the historians of
the Anglo-Saxon settlement.

A similar study of the early Tamil settlements in

Ceylon has

to a variety of reasons. As in the c-ase of all

students of ancient history we are confronted in the first piace with

been rendered difficult due

43

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the problem of inadequate sources. While the Pali and Sinhale-se chronicles provide very reliable, fairly adequate and surprisingly continuous
information regarding the poiitical, and to an extent the religious,
history of the fsland, their contribution to our inquiry is very littJe.
The activities of the Tamils in Ceylon find mention in the chronicles
only when these affected the political or religious afiairs of the Sinhalese
kingdom. On the Tamil side the chronicles that are extant are those
written nearly three centuries after the foundation of the Tamil kingdcm in the Island in the thirteenth century. The sections of these works
dealing with the period prior to the thirteenth century, i.e. the period

to make use of any evidence of

For tire present \ve cannot hope
-geographl'
or place-names for the
physicai antfiropology, historical
these fields so as to be
in
hone
been
has
il*pte reason tfiat n'o work
of Jny help to us. A preliminary survey of the place-name materiatr
showJ thai much valiable inlormation could be gleaned Jrom _it^for
our s1ud.y. For instance, the earlier Sinhalese occupation oJ the Jaffna
peninsula, the iong survival of the Sinhaiese there and the Tarnil
Lccupation o{ the \orth-Central Province before the Sinhalese resettled there are unmistakably indicated by place-names. Although a
considerable amount of place-name material that will prove valuable

in Ceylon.

;;;;;;a

during which the earliest Tamil settlements were established-are

full of legendary material and are wholly unreliable. The Tamil works
of South India have no notable allusions to the activities of the Tamils

The evidence of the archaeological materials is far more encouraging in this respect but by no means adequate. Evidence similar to
that used in England is sadly lacking. Excavation work in almost every
region in England has brought to light cemeteries, grave goods and
several other artefacts which throw a direct light upon the early settlements. But excavation is still an undeveloped branch of archaeological research in our country. As long as excavation work remains
undone, much that is relevant to our study will be wanting. We cannot,
of course, hope to discover cemeteries and grave goods that relate to
the greater part oI the period covered by our study. But at least for
the period prior to the third century A.D. we may reasonably expect
a few sepulchral remains to be brought to light. The only burials which
could be taken to relate to Tamil settlements in the Island were discovered by chance, and today nearly forty-five years after the discovery, the site still awaits a proper scientific excavation.l For the
period after the third century a.D. it is Saiva and Vaipr,lava temples
and icons as well as Tamil inscriptions that will help in our inquiry.
Here too, owing to the lack of excavation work, we have to depend
solely on the surface finds. Archaeologists have not helped us so far
to know something of the earliest Saiva temples referred to in the
literary sources, such a"s the Tiruk6tiSvaram temple at Md,tota. No
surface ruins of these exist now and only an excavation of the sites
is likely to yield something of value. However, it is the archaeological
material that forms the main basis of our study for the period prior
to the r3th century, although the picture reconstructed.ritli it rvill by
no means be complete.

r.

We refer to the megalithic site at Pomparippu, in the Nortb-western Pro-

virce. Ceylotc Journal, of Science-Section G (CJScG), I, Pl. z, pp. 5r-52;

Archaeological Suraey of Ceylon Annual Report (ASCAR) for tg57, pp.
ra-r7,3o-3r; ASCAR for 1956, p. r5. fn recent vears megalithic sites rvere
discovered at Gulsohanhanatte, Kokebe, Gurugalhinna, Padiyaganpola,
Kondadeniya and the Walaw'e Basin but details about these still remain
unpublished. V. Begley, 'Archaeological Exploration in Northern Ce1'lqr,'
Expedition, IX, No. 4, 1967, pp. z8-zg (Pennsylvania).

for our Durilose has beei collected, we are not in a position to use it
*iifr*t'r'piop.i tinguirtic training. The establishment of soundoedisrees #it5'tne hejp of earlier f"orms and the analysis of sound

substitution and Sinlalese-Tamil compounds are beyond thc

scope of our work.

Some attempts have been made by certain physical anthropologists

to a""5rt. the physical characteristiis of the b*.ol]" of Ceylon' Their

surveys are neiiher exhaUstive nol complete and their results are not
of ani h"lp to us. Perhaps not much coulci be expected from the physical
.ntniopotbeists even irirhe luture owing to the complex nature of the
orobleir. Iiis perhaps difficult to lrold now that distinctions between
irr*un stocks a?e easilyrecognizablc in differences of physical structure"
In fact, ir is now geneially 1;ld that the larvs governing the inheritance
oi ptrviicai charaiteristics are so complicatcd as to make distinctions
U"i"d on them most unreliable in the present state of knowledge"
iurther, even if they were reliable, neith& the Sinhalese nor the Tamils
can be regarded., iri view of their previous history, as a- sufficiently
fro*og"".6"s group to enable any suferficial distinctions to be used with
confidince in their difierentiation.

In this study, therefore, oul sources h-a1e begn -nearfy a hundred"

Trmii inscriptions, the Sinhalese, Pali and Tamil chronicles and the
U-it.a arch'aeological materials discovered so far. Wherever possible
ni"""-"u*" mater-ial has also been used but never as an independent
[,ria"t-t.". In view of the limitations that were just outlined it may not
be oossible ro srr out on our inquiry with the hope o{ arriving at the
*i,|te truttr, but at least we may be able to arrive at more than what
ha^"

been knorvn so far.

In this paper, we do not intendtodeal withallaspects of the early

Tamil settlements inceylon. Insteadwe shall take up two mail questions
ior discussion. By way of answering these questions we hope to deal
with several aspects of our subject.
(a) When

did permanent and

Uegin iir the Island?

widespread Tamil settlements

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The answer to this question cannot be found easily in our sources.

The absence of sufficient information on this polnt tias iua-to roi or
specuJation amongwriters
subject. A feiv have
th"i th"
-on-this

"rso.a
here in the
l'1prl. settled in ceylon before the rndo-Aryatrs camJ
fifth- century e.o. Some others have assigrred dates ranging from the
third century n.c. to.the tenth century e.n. Most of tiiuie-o*1iing,

cannot, however, be taken as serious woiksandhencewedonot;;;;;r"

to discuss these arguments in this paper. Instead, u"
or
the rneagre evidence available on this pbirrt witt be attempteJ.
"""*inliiJ"
Ceylon's geographical proximity to, and close contacts witn, the

Tamil country.ang early cohquests'by TamiJ adventurers ta"e-oti"n

Deen used. as the basls tor the assumption that Tamils werc settled
in
the.Island iq
of its history. our sources
f_re prly..centuries
rndicate that the Tamils had established contacts with Ceylon
""a"olt"?ry
bv about

if not earlier. The earliest i"rciiptionJas werr

as the Pali chronicles attest to the presence of ramil irua..,
o,
about the seco'd century e.c.2 From'this time onwards we get i-attered and often brief references in the chronicles to ro*it'iiaaers,
political adventurers and mercenaries. Between the second century
n.c. and the eleventh century e.n., when the colas annexed c"vlo"
to their.empire, there were severar ramil invasioniof the rrruna, ,i,ort
ol which resnlted in short periods of rule by Tamil adventureis.B In
the same period, at least oir ten occasions sinh"l"se aspirants 1o tne
throne went over to South India and took ramii
-.t.*rriii.i io u.rri"""
their ends.a These are recorded in the pali chronicle.
o" irr" iu*lfria"
tn91e js hardly.any notabte reference. A long poem of th;
anthotogy, data.ble to about the second centur;ia.t., contains p"rlirrg
reference to the trade in food-stuffs between ceyron
"
ColI
count-ry.s In the same anthology there are two poems attributed
""a
to a
the.secTrd.century n.c.,

l'

S;g;if.

poet fiom ceylon.6 From the siventh century a.o. two

"

1. q-.t-.t"*,-'Tamil
Bi,bliograpfu.o/

Householders,

si". il,npr.t

Terrace-Anurfrdhapura,, Anutal

Arclt.aeologv, XIII, pp. r3-r4 (I-evdeln); S. para.ra_

vrlana,, 'ljrehmr-I-ndian
lnscrrptions in theVavrrniya Distri ct,, E pieral>hia ZeVlanica
!EZ), )'pt. z, rerr-i, p. z4z (cotombo); Dipauamro 6;f ;iiit--Ga]"8.'c.

Law, C^olombo

(xiu\, ir:ro'(ed.'rvl'Crig'.;r,'i;fornuo

rr15o). Sena and-rg-ss)i..Iwith.aua4t,sa

Guttika, the two Tamii usurpers who ruled"Irom An,,iad.hapura in the second. centurv 8.c., appear t6 h""" U"",
*itf,
the horse-trade in the isrand, for, accoiding to the Mu, tne;r-tattreiwas au
assa-nd,aiha ot ship's captain dealing with ho'rses.
Mu, zt:ro, 13 33:39 fr.; Cillro*to (cu), 38:rr ff., (ed. W. Geiger, Colombo
19.53). Sena, Guttil<a and Erara *erd amoirg the eaitl' poriu"ui'J"*"tor"isi

.."r".LJ

?.

4,

{u,35:2p,7?,36:+o; Cu, 44:7r, ro5, r25, r2g, 152,45 t8,47:3336, +6-57,

The armies brought by Mdriavamm-i *"i" p.lr'Uu[rty mercenirS:iciri"rl
"'
Pattu,pallu-Pa.tligappatai, r. r9r (ed. U. V. Caminata Aiyar, Madras

EARLY TAMIL SETTLEMENTS

in the Island, situated at the ports of Mdtota

Cahha llahkiyarn-_Kuruntoka.i., v. 343, Nayri,nai, v. go (ect, S. Vai,vapuri_

pillai, Madrai r94o). Tiat *ris poei'Fttarric.,agar, ha,f"[ i..ri sJmft;;

of.Ceyion is rerv doubtful-K. Indrapala,,Torni4ar Ailhhattig Talaicci,,

'
Viyahecayi, zznd June r969 (Colombo).

47

(TirukEtisvaram)

and Gokar4a (Trincomalee) presumably built by Tan,il Saiva traders,

forrned the sublect of hymns by some of the Tamil Saiva revivalists
of South India.T Except for the reference to Sinhalese donors in the
pre-Christian cave inscription;, there is no mention of Ceylon in the
Tqmil inscriptions of S<iuth India till Pallava times.s However, the
meagre evidence just outlined reveals that commercial interests,
political adventure and the prospect of military employment had led
famils to come to Ceylon in the ea.rly centuries of the Island's history.
The question is whether this led to the rise of permanent and widespread. Tamil settlempnts in the Island.

Tamil traders plobably established temporary settlements in the

ports and the main towns. TheTamils mentioned in three of the Brahmi inscriptions at_Anuradhapura and Periya-puliyankulam probably

formed part of such a tra<ling community.o itre Siv-a temples dt lVtatog"a

and Gokarna were prcbably built to Cater for the intirests of suih
South Indian communities. But it is not till the ninth century that we
g^et Tamil inscriptions set up by Tamil trading communitiej. perhaps
Tamil traders were not very numerous in the early period. However,
on the slender evidence at our disposal it would be iather far-fetche d

to clainr that there were permanent or

widespread settlements of
Tamil tr'ading communities in the first mileniurn e.p.
But considering the number of Tamil irrvasions and the number

of occasions when Tamil mercenaries were enlisted, it appears that nrore

Tamils came to ce5;lon as invaders and hired soldiers^tian as traders.
Since most of theinvasions succeed.A i" o*tl"g th" Si;h"l".;;i;*
and in paving-the wa-rr for rule.by TamiJs fo,r shoriperiods, the invad.ing
troops must have rema.inecl in the Island on suih occasions till th;
sinhalese princes regained the throne. whether these armies staved
beliind- after' lhey were defeated is something regarding which ther'e is
no evidence. The Pali chronicle claims that when the Sinhalese princes
rggained.the tnrone from the South Indian usurDers they anniirilated
the Tamil armies in the process.ro It is rather diificurt to believe that
this would have been true in all the instances. At least i' one place
in the chronicle we are told that the soldiers of an invading arriy of
Tamils 'who remained oyer frgm slaughter'were subjected td all kinds
of humiliation and distributed here and there as slaves to the Buddhist
monasteries.ll It is possible that generally the defeated ramil soldiers
Tiruii.d,4,acampantar Tdudra Tiruppatihahkal, pp,8ro-8t2, 5rg_5zo (Madras).
R

r9rI).

6.

IN CEYLON

9.
ro,
rr.

C'.

Narayana Rao,'The Brdhmi Inscriptions of Sonth Indja'. Nen, Indian

Alotlt1uary, I, pp. 567,358, 375; L Maliade-'an, T'arnil byahni trr,rriitiiii

o,f th.e Sangant. Age (Paper Read at the znd International Co"fere'nce__
Seminar of Tamil Studies, Madras Jan., 1968), p. 35 (JVladras i96g).
See note z.

Mu, z5:98; Cu,3844, 58:'zo,

Ca,44:.73,

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to the monasteries or engaged in the

construction of religious structures or tanks, as in the reign of Pard,k'
ramabahu I in the twelfth century.l2 But those vrho escaped capture
probably fled back to the mainiand. Such armies w"hich accompanied"
individial political adventurers could not have been responsible for any
Dermanent or widespread settlement in the fsland uniess there lvere
beaceful migrations in the rvake of these invasions. There is no definite
evirlence oI such migration..
were enslaved and distributed

In the

case of mercenaries rvho \\rere taken to the Island from

time

to time, there is a strong possibility that they or most of them stayed

behind permanentiy. Tiie situation created by the increasing numbers
of Tamil mercenaries in Ceylon is comparable lvith that caused by
the Tetrtonic federates in England and on the Rhine and Danube
frontiers of the Roman Empire in the fifih century ,t.o. According to
Gildas, a British king employed Saxon mercenaries from the mainland.
tro

repel the invasions of his enemie,s and granted lands

in the

eastern

his kingdorn for their settleinent. Eventuaily the federates

ireated trouble over payments, plundered the country and asserted
their power. Although the situation in Ceyion rvas not similar in,magnitude, it is in the same vein that the author of. the Cd.laaamsa laments
the fate that overtook Ceylon on a number of occasions betr'veeii ihe
seventh and the tenth century. Tlie Tamil mercenaries shorvcd no
desire of returning to South India, resisted expulsion by the Sinhaiese
rulers, created trouble over payments, plundered the country and at
times took over power at the capital.13 Just as the Saxon mercenaries
founded the Teulonic settlement of Kent, it appears that somc of the
Tamil settlements of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteeuth centuries
in the North-Central Province originated as mercenary settlements in
part

bf

and after the seventh century. Before the seventh century, only three
instances ol mercenaries being invited to Ceyion are recorded in the
chronicles. Each occasion was separated from the other by about tlvo
centuries. But in the seventh century mercenaries from the mainland

poured into the Island on an unprecedented scale. The Culavary'sa

iecorcls eight instances oI mercenary troops landing in tlre Tslan4 in

the seventh century.la It is also in the same century that we first hear
vaguely of Tamils iiving in so-ne parts of northern Ceylon, presumably

beiween the port of li.a,tc.'r' ar;.. Anuradhapura, and of certain-prominent Tamils possessing viilages, tanks and slaves and building
Buddhist instituiions.ls Although it is possible to conjecture that the
Tamil mercenary elements would have founded smali settlements in
and around Anuradhapura and possibly in some other strategic places,

rz.
13.
r.4.
15.

Cu, 76:ro3-to4,78i75-77'

Ca, 45 u, tz,
note 4'

See

EARLY TAMII, SETTLE}IENTS IN CEYLON

Sevies), rg6s

54"66, 55:5-6' rz"

Cu,45:tg;46:19-24. Potthakullha and Mahdkanda were tlvo such Tamils

is not tili the tenth century that lve get more dcfinite literary or
epigraphic evidence regarding any Tarril settlement. fn the tenth
c?'tr1uiv, for the first time there are referenccs in tlle Sinhaiese immunitv
grants to Tam il ailotm enls (D etne! -ktibti lla), lanc1s enjoyed b-v-Tamils

it

\Denrelat-ucilad,e'min) and Tamil villages (D_rini!-gambim).. We^ also

get-foi the first time inscriptions in Tamil. The earliest ruins of Sa.iiaite temples are also datable to the tenth c.entury. The C-d"lauamsa,
too, has fnother vague re{erence to Tamils living scattered here and

there at this time.15'

We sl'rall, therefo.re, briefly analyse thc evidence of these diffelent
sources and see how fir they indicate the existence of Tamil settlements
in the tenth century. The term 'Tamil allotment' occurs more than once
in thc immunity grants.16 It has been interpreted to mean 'an allotment
of 'land irr a village set apart for the Tamils'.i7 These allotments, it has

to have been set apart for the maintenance of the

Tamil soldiers in the king's service and must have been administered
by tire royal officers.18 But if one examines the different occurrences
oi this term in the published inscriptions, it would appear that the
intcrpretation iust mentioned does not always yield a satisfactory
meuning. It is"difficult to arrive at the exact meaning of this term'
It appears to be an allotment of land enjoying privileges different
fromihose ofapamunw, which is an estate possessed in perpetuity
by a family in hereditary succession or by an institution. But it is
not always an ailotment from the royal household. Nor is there any
reference to a share of the revenue from a Tamil allotment being allocated for the maintenance of Tarnil soldiers. ft seems probable that it
stands for an allotment in a viiiage where Tamils were living. Such
allotments may have originated as lands set apart for the mercenary
forces. Besides'these Tamil allotments, 'Tamil lands & villages situated
in tire four directions' are referred to in another inscription.te One inscription specifically refers to lands enjoyed by Tamils.2o Since.the
Cd,tauamsi also mentions Tamils living here and there at this time,
these Tamil vilIages and lands were in all probability places where
Tamils were settled. The occurrence in the Sinhalese inscriptions of
been said, seem

5d.

r6.

Cu, 5o'.r5. This is a reference to'the many Damilas who

here and there' in the middle of the ninth century.

dt'elt

(scattered)

S. Paranavitana, 'Colombo Museurr' Pillar lnscripticn of Kassapa IV,'

Cha,mber Inscription of Abhaya
Salamevan,' EZ, TY, p. 36.

EZ, Iil, p. 272:'Polonnaruva Council

t7.
18.
19.

D. M. de Z. Wichrcmasinghe, 'AnurS,dhapura Slab Inscription of Mahendra

20.

S.

EZ, III,p.273.
Il:icl.

IV,' EZ,I, P. rr7.

Paranavitana,'Girital6 Pillar Inscription of Udaya

III,' EZ,III, p.

r43.

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1960

the terrrr Demele-h,uli,, meaning an impost coilectedfrom Tamils,2l and

the place-names Demelin-helihayaz2 and Deme]-Kiqigan2s atrso points

to the same dir ection. Demele-kuli, occurs in a few inscriptions, always
in association with Hela-kult', and the two have been rendered as {,"1res
of imposts levied from 'Iarnils and Sinhalese respectively.za The'dwo
seem to appear together in those grants relating to places where Tarnils
and Sinhalese lvere living. For, in the ca-se of most of the other records
only the ternt hw!1, meaning 'inrpmt' occurs without the epithet .&"ale
or Dem.dE. It appears that the foreign settlers had to pay imposts
different from those paid by the Sinhalese. The occurrence of the terrn

Detnel4-kuli, for the first time in the records of the tenth century
may mean that bythistimeTamil settlers in the Island were becoming
numerous so as to necessitate the levy of a separate impost from them.
For the first time thcre occur tlvo place-name,s with the first elernent
Dame!, meaning Tamil. The element Detnel in these names obviously
inclicates some association with Tamils. They denote Tamil settlements
in those places. These names, not do of course, point to a large pef,centage of Tamils; they indicate rather that Tamil villages must have been
an exception. These are comparabtre to such English place-names as
trValton and Walcot, where the elemerft zsal-indicates \Velsh settiement
(:wealas OE) in a predominantiy Anglo-Saxon area. Finally, it should
be noted that it is-not a pure coincid"ence that Tamil inscriptions of
the eleventh century have been found not far from some of the Tamil
allotments, Tamil lands and the villages associated with the collection
oI Dem,elE-kwl[ which are mentioned in the tenth century Sinha^lese
inscriptions.
Of more significance than these is the discovery of Tamil inscrip-

tions jn Saivite ruins datable to about the tenth century. Some

Saivite ruins, aptly tennecl the Tamil Ruins, have been unearthed
in a section of ihe northern quarter of Anuradhapura.zs These rttins
consist of Saiva temyles and i-esidences for pricsts, with some lesser

buildings scattered heire and there. Sorne of these are Sivalinga temples
wbile some others are dedicated to I{aJi, the Mother Goddess. Several
stonelihgas, too, have been unearthed in different places in this sector.
All the shrines are of one design, which is simple and reminiscent of
the early Dravidian tempie-<. The style is in marked contrast to the
embellished granite temples of the Co]a and later periods. Judging
on the basis of the style, these temples are datable to either the ninth

or the tenth century. This is further confirrrred by the Tamil inscriptions discovered among these ruins, which are also datable to the
same period.26 The Saivite nature of the ternples, the Dravidian
character of their style and the occurrence of Tamil inscriptions ciearly
associate them with some Tamil settlement in that area. The internal
evidenee of the inscriptions also reveals the existence of a'Iamil settlenrent. Two of these record certain donations to the temples and
refer to Tamil money-ienders, members of the village assembly and the
committee caTled Kurniirakaqtam, which we know from South Indian
inscriptions to be a board of managers or trustees of Saiva shrines"
This shows the existence of village institutions similar to those of Sorrth
fndia among the Tamil settlers at Anuradhapura abou.t the tenth
century.zT A third inscription from the same ruins throws filrther interestiug light on the Tamils who lived in that area. This epigraph records
the building of a Buddhist temple by the NaAku Na{tu Tamilaz rvhich,
translated, would mean 'Tamils of the Four Countries.'z8 We trearn
from some I(annada inscriptions of South India that l{d.nku I'Id,tw
or 'Four Countries' was the name of a body, often associated wittr-r
the mercantile community known as the Aiflflflg1uvar.ze They 'nvere
also probably a tracling ccmmunity like the Nblu-Nakarattdr or 'Those
of the Four Cities.'3o This shows that some of the Tamils lvho were
living at Anuradhapura at this time were menrbers of trading cornmu."
nities, and that, as in South India, there were Buddhists among thern.
The Saivite ruins and Tamil inscriptions of the pre-Cola period are
confined only to Anuradhapura and, therefore, do not help us to
confirm whether there lvere notable settlements of Tan-lils in areas
outside the capital.

Beforc we draw conclttsions from the discussion of these different

types of evidence, we have to consider an isolated but very strong
body of archaeological material relating to a probable Tarnil settlement
much earlier than the tenth century A.D. This is the group of megalithic burials at Pomparippu on the north-lvcstern littoral of Ceylon.
These burials, u'hich are datable to a time between the second century
s.c. and the second centirry A.D., are the earliest and perhaps the
most definite evidence rcgarding any Tamil settlement in the nsland.
Partial excavation at this site at difierent tirnes during the last four
Indian Instriftions (-Sff), nr, Inscription Nos. r4o3, r4o4 and r4o5
H. Krishna Sastri, Madras r9z3). K. Indrapala, 'Anurd,tapurattilulla
Naghu Nalti.v Kaluel[u,' Cintanai., I, N<i. 4, Jan. 1968, pp. 3r-35
(Peradeniva); K. Indrapala, 'Anurd,tapurattilwlla Kund'raha,nattu-pdvdtdl
Kalue!{uhka!,' Cintanai, II, No. r, April r968, pplg-23.
K. Indrapala, 'Anurd,tapurattilulla Kwnod,rahaTtattu-pEril'rdr Kaluelluhhal,'
South

(ed.

2r. I). II. de Z. Wicktemasinghe, 'Iripinniyflva Pillar Inscription of Udaya II,'

EZ,I, p. r7o; 'Rarr,b5.va Pillar Inscription,' EZ, I, p. r75;-S. ^Para-navitana,
'Miida Ulpota Pillar Inscription,' EZ,IV, p.S,t, !n. Q; C' Ii. Godakumbura,
'sigiriya Piliar Tnscription of MahapS, Kassapa,' EZ,

' pp' 352' ?'54.

22. D. M. de Z. Wickremasinghe, 'Ayitigevdva Inscription of l(assapa IV,'

EZ,II' P.38.
D. M. de Z. Wickremasinghe, 'Polonnaruva: Rdiam5,lie6,va Inscription of
2a,.
" M.hittd" IV', EZ,Il, P. 56'
24. S. Paranavitana,'Miida l-llpota Pillar Inscription" EZ,I\t, p' 54, fn. 6
25. ASCAR for r89z,p. 5: ASCAR for 1893, p. 5'

5r

29.

2t,
K. Indrapala, 'Anurd,tapurattilu!!'a Ndg,hu Ndlldl Kalaella: p. 35.
Epignphi,a Carnatica, VIII, p. 89 of the text.

30,

Madras Epigraphical, Report lor 1916, No, r3o of 1916.

p.
28,

s2

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON)

Vot.

XIII, (New Sevies), 1969

decades has uncoveted several urn-Jrurials which have rightly been

related to the megalithj.c cultrrre-complex of Sorith India. The megaliths
of the peninsulai Indian region have been generally associated with
the Drividian-speakers, wlttr- ate believed tci have occupied the area in
tlic course of the first millenium 8.c.31 This theory is heldby most moclern
scholars though there are sevelal points of controversy which have nnt

been satisfactorily solved. Although the urn-burials at Pomparippu

have been aisociated with the Soutli trndian ccmplex, thcy have
not yet been systematically excavated and it rvill bediffrcult to expre-ss
utrt'ihiug conciusive till suth an excavation is completed and the lincls
thorougf,ly exanrined. So far more than three dozen jars have been
unearthed at this site. In and around these large jars or urns there r'vere
smalier oots which contained skulls and human bones, sorne of ',vhich
*.r" po'rt-..emation remains. fn some there rvere food ald personal
beloneines. Thesc burials were either fractional or second'ary. Of the
metal"ariefacts found. in t]re urns, some were o[ bronze and a low oI
iron. Some of tlie arte{acts are similar to those discovered at Brahmagiri in South India. Though it is generally agreed thal thcs. remains
beldng to a period before the second century A.D', no dcfinite date
has sdfar been suggested. One ol the archaeologists rcsponsible for the
-ompared these with tlie finds of the fourth quarter
exacavations lias
phase of the l3ronze Age in the Deccan, datable to abcut 3oo B.c'32

If

one examines the material from the site of Pomparippu one

would easily find that it is not to the materials from the Kannada or
Telugu regions that the Ceylonese artefacts bear the closest affinity
b"t i'o th6se from the sites of tire Tamil ccuntry such as Adichchanallur. The Pclmparippu site differs in one important respect from those
of Mvsorc, Andhra and Kerala, in that its interments belong to a class
called. urn-burials and have no lithic appenda"ge either in the {orm of
a bounding circle or dolmens ancl cists. Even the absence of sarcophagi
is consoicuous. Such burials have been found in large numbers at
Adichanallur in the Tinnevelly District and are peculiar to the extrerne
south of the peninsula. The Pomparippu site lies closer to Adichchana'
Ilur in respe6t of the large contents of.bronze ware than to the sites
of Mvsore. But it ha; all the common features that make it representativL of the megalithic culture, namely iron implements, the wheel'
turned Black and Red Ware and the post-excarnation fragmentary
and collective burials. The large and pyriform urns are similar to those

from Adichcbanallur and Brahmagiri. In all probability the people

responsible for these burials were Tarnils from the neighbouring Tinnevelly District, the area rvhich is closest to Pomparip-pu. The-common
prevallnce of such urn-btrrials among the Tamils before about the

EARLY T:\X{IL SETTLDMENTS IN CEYLON

second century A.'tr. is evidcnced-by the. Sangam-,i]tt:il}T^?ryil as

taKen
evidencc' the Pornparipp* rec.l?1-c"N11.,?:
iir-irr- rtg"
('evlon'

raklng
"ithls settlement sites o{ ihe Tamils in
one o[ t"he earliest
of the-river
muuth
the
()i'titttitt,
near
ffiiil
the
into consideration
\'\'estern coas^t it is probable
Ka la oya and ciose t o til-a'settlemen!
;;;;i -L;is ofof-tirepearl-divers'
fishermen and
as
originated

that this

aimcuif to t"V *L:t1?1, ll::l,T"t

other peace{ul settlers. li it
""iv
as a distinct grot:p ttlt later tlmes
survive
to
c,f this'reeion continued
rfren eofiparippu definitely becomes -knqYn to us as a Iamll area'
or rvhether they rvere atii^iift..a to the Sinha^lese popul*1".:,}tf*
the continuous relations with the
long. The proximity to"lt *Ji
"t
to maintain their ethnic inte'
them
ttelped
i"ti,-if l""tit.y ,nuy' n"".
grity but thesL are ill mattersbI speculation'
A lossible meealithic site has also been discovered at Katiraveli
belong
B;1;t; sepulchral structures at this sitemade
on tt.,e 5;t;;;.;;.';
of
are
either
structures
Su'ch
to the class called a,rf*"-ia "ittu'
constructed
are
or
dressed slabs of ttot"^u"a .overed by a capst<-rne
;iih;;Gii;,.h.*,, tou-la.ri. In Souih fndia such cists are found in
Andhra Pradesh' *t'v:I :",,Ytl1ff- 1t"*
;h*; lil? riru,r.tu"s;A;i;
nave
'a.nd
-of all the cists in the flrst two sltes
Cochin in Kerali. Almost

the cochin region are rvithout port-holes.

not have fort-holes and.it is.possible
i;eHil";?;ti;";;i-;1so
the
ttrat ttrey belong tc the iatter class' Perfraps some settlers from
group
isoiated
this
of
erec{ion
t!e
for.
Cochin rLgion *[r" ,"ipottsible
second century'
;i;i;i;, ;ti.h .t" aut"'t l. to a period earlier than the
of.the
excavaticn
a
propel
await
r"e-have'to
In this instance, too,
site for a definiie understancling of the people assocrated wlth tnese
oort-holes whereas trros"

clo

cists.35

To sum up the evidence so far discussed, we hawe in..the first

pfu"u *fli""""[ i" ttt" Pali chronicles to the pre.sence tf]1iii*lu$t::
ls
invaders and mercenaries from about the second century B'c' rhere
Tamil
were
there
that
say
to
no ieliable evidence in the chronicles
iettlements either in the pre'Christian period or in the early centurres
Li ifr. Cniirtian era. On tie contrary, the general impression given by
the chronicles is that the Tarrils ou"re foreign to Ce5rlon' Their usurWe
ouiior-r. and unpleasnnt intrusion. ar, cicali r'rith un{avourably.to
datable
inscriptions
cave
Brairrr,i
three
of
trr"-"]* i}," &'ia"n."
about the second ."niort' B.c. for thc presence of Tamils, presumably
l;"d.;r, i" the Islancl. but here too the impression given by these
J-1.

11. ft. grinivasan and N. R. Baneriee, 'Survey

Anci,ent India,IX, pp.rr3-rr4 (Nerv Delhi).

J..

We refer to P. E. P. I)eraniyagala' ASCA R

for

of South Indian Megaiiths,'

1957,

p' r7'

51

34.

K.R'Srinivasan,.TheNlegalithicBurralsandUrn-fieldsofSouthlndia
ffg-rti J;famil literat"ure and tradition,' "4nci'ent Ind'i'a' II' pp' 9 tr'

i"'tit"

S. Paranavitana, 'Archaeological

Summary,' CJScG'

II,

pp'S+-S5'

]tis,ofcourse,possiblethatmarryofthemegalitlrsinCeylonwerebuiltthe
;;;;*; non-otiti.t;u'' people * hose culture rvas influenced bv tlat o{

megalithic-buiiders oI Soul h Indir'

54

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON)

Vol.

XIII, (Neu Seriesl, tg69

inscriptions is that these Tamils were foreigners. Although the inscriptions were set up by the Tamils whose names are mentioned in them,
the language is Proto-Sinhalcse as in the case of all the other inscriptions
of the Island at ttris time. But more important than this is thtt tbe
recorders have made special mention of the fact that they were Tamils,
which rvould indicate that they consiclered themselves tc be distinct
from, if not alien to, the general popuiation just as much as the Sinhatrese doncrs in the pre-Clrristian cave inscriptions cf the Tamil country
urade known the fact that they were Sinhalese. In later times, too,
we get instances of Tamils whc, n.rade grants to temples outside the
Tan'ril country recording the grants in the language of the area but
making mentjon of the {act tl,at thev were Tamils. It is only the archaeoIogical evidence that points to the existence of a Tamil settlement
probabiy at Pom"oarippu and possibly at Katiraveli, betweeu about
the second century n.c. ancl the secrtnd century e.p. After this there
is a long gap tiil we reach the seventb centrrry, when we gct sorne
{lirnsy cvidence that points to possible Tamil settlements in the Island.
A"ccording to the Pali chronicle, bands of Tamil mercenaries were
taken to the Island at least on eight occasions in the seventh century,
arrd tliere are vague references to Tamils lit'iug in some parts of the
Island. Certain prominent Tamils in possession of villages and tanks
also find mention. In the contemporary Tamil sources of South India,
there are references to Siva temples at the ports o{ MS,tota and Gokar4a
whicir were venerated by'lamil.r. However, it could not be said that
there is definite evidence relating to Tamil settlements in this century.
trt js in tire tenth century that we get definite evidence in the Siniralese
and lamil inscriptions, in the archaeological sources and to a small
exLent in the Pali chronicle. That by tlie tenth centrrry permanent
"Iarnil settlements had begun in tlie lsland is faily clearly borne cut
by these sources. Looking back on the whole body of evidence that is
avaitrable to us, rve have to conclude that there lvere no ividespread
'Iamil .rettlements before the tenth century. Tire settlemcnts at Pomparippu and the possible settlement at l{atiraveli have to iie treated
as isolated earlier settlements. These are comparable to the carliest
Saxon settlements at places like Dorchester where the Teutonic artefacts are so early that they are not sometinies considered to belong to
the period of Saxon setttrement at all. The brrrials at Pomparippu
apart, the evidence as a. whole does not rvarrant the assumption of so
early a date as the second century A.D. for th.e beginning of pe:':nranent
'famil settlements. In this context it is worth noting that Ceylc.n is
cnnspicuously omitted in tiie iist of Tamil-speaking areas included in
the Tamil grammar Tolkcl>l>iyana, u'ritten about the fiftir ccntury
a.D. In the seventh century, it is possible that there tvc-'re r-nercantile
and mercenary settlements in the capital and in the rna-in ports. But
evidence for extensive setttrerncnt bearing thc sigr:s of a date earlier
than the tentii century is lacking. On the basis of the present evidence
we couid say that it was only by about the tenth century that per-

EAITLY TAMIL SNTTLEMENTS IN CEYLON

Irlt

manent settlements of the Tamils began. Going by the available evid.ence, these settJements wele by no means extensive but their importance
lies in the fact that they formed the nucleus of the later settlements
that covered the greater part of northern Ceylon. After the tenth
century, Tamil settlements grew gradually but steadily until the
present northern and eastern provinces were transformed into Tamilspeaking areas. The conquest of Ceylon by the Colas late in the tenth
century seerns to have given an impetus to the migration of Tamins
into the Island. More than three dozen Tamil inscriptions and thq
ruins of a number of Saiva and Vais{rava establishments attest to the
fairly widespread nature of the settlements in the eleventh centuty.
(This will be discussed in the next section.) It is, therefore, reasonable
to conclude tirat permanent Tamil settlements on a notable scale
began very probably about tlre tentb century and these became fairly
extensive early in the eleventh century.

The second question that we r,vould like to discuss is that ot

the stages by which the early Tanril settlements were establisheql ifl
the northern and eastern parts of the Island.

The settlement of the Tarnils in the northern and eastern parts

of the Island is not a single event that resulted. frorn a mass migrltion
from the mainland, brt a continllous plocess extending over a considerable period. Hov'ever, two main stages cordd be seen in tlie course of
the early s-ettlernents. The first stage begins about the tenth century
and extends till the end of the trvelfth century. The process of settne.
ment during this stage rnay be said to have reached aTairly impressivr:
scale in the eleventh century. The Cola conquest of the Island at
this tirne was certainly responsible for this 6ut, although there is
evidence of several settlements in northern Ceylon, it cannot be said
that there was a mass scalc migration of peacelul settlers iu the wai<e
of the Cola conquest. The mercenary ancl mercantile bodies stiltr appear
to havebeen Jhe pr9{onlnant elements among the Tamils present iEi tho
lslpd in this plriod. The main areas of seltlement lay outsirle the
J1{na district rvhich in Iater ccntu'ics lrad tlre lrigitest ioncentr:lion
of Tamils. fn fact several of tire places which yield evidence of Tamil
settlement in this period are no more occupied by Tamils.
Four urain areas of settle'ient could be see' i' this periocl. one
is in the north-eastern littoral, another is in the western r"gior or what
is now known as the North-rvestern Prcvince and the otirer tlvo arer
t1r
region of tiie old capital Anuradhapura and the nerv capital of
-th*
Polonnaruva. Tamil scttlements appcar to'have been widcspr""ir i* th,"
western region and in the north-easiern littoral mcre than in the other
two places. Mg1"v- 9f tbe settleinents in the rvestern region seem to
have originated in the period of C6]a rule. According to tG pali chron.

56

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON)

Vol.

XIlI, (New Series),

1969

icle the c6!as hacl established. seven stronghoids in this region.36 Tamil
i"..+li""r of ifr" eleventh ancl twelftli centurics have been founcl
(Jne
i,, ."i o{ iire strongholds and within a fer'v miles of the others'3?
a
strongwas
C.!a
rvhich
place
a
in
temple
a"Siva
to
of ifr"* refers
ttota lU"t ogalla).:ls Only some portions cf .ttrre criginal-tempie. are to
il-.""1r l" t"hat place irirv. The-same inscription lecorcls certain gi{ts
i"ua"- to the temple by a daughtcr o{ the Cola ruler Kulottunga I.
e*"otJ,"i l"."riptio"n refels to Tairil blacksmitlis and rvashermen settled
the
i" tt-r" san-re piace.3c A tliird inscription refers to the activities of tlvo
area
to
in
an
close
Aiflfltgluvar
the
called
mercantile community
of thc cuia stronglrolis.ro Archacological eviclence in the lorm ,'f ruins
of Sri"o & Vai;ilava tcmples is. ho*eyer, lacking. Tlris se.t^ms to be
partly clue to the fact that the materials {rom the sair'a eclifices \vcre
irtilisLd {or tire construction of Buddhist structures in the later period
.tiut tt.," Saiva population ceased to exist. Tbere is at least one instance
of the materials' oi a Siva temple of this period being used to. constn ct
a Bucldhist temple sorne timein the sixteenth or seventeenth century.
(Budumuttava iemple).al In the coastal part of this area where there
ire Tamils living even now, a Siva tempie datable to this period, if
not earlier, is sti"ll in existence.'Ihis is the well-known l\{unnSvaram
temple. But more than the inscriptions and the archaeological matqrials
it is'the place-narnes of the area which preselve the memory of the
have already pointed out, the maior
Tamit setilements. But as
this toponynric evidqqce for our plrrposes
difficutty in the way of using've
is one 6f establishing the date oi their origin. Unfortunately early

records of these n^-"er are not available to us. However, the occurrerrce of a number of Tamil place-names or Sinhalese_place-names
which indicate Tamil settlement in an area which is now largeh occupied by Sinhalese-speakers suggests that-the names could not be of
iecentbrigin. It is by no *eans justifiable to assign the origin of all
36.

Czt, 58:42-d,i. These were Muhunnaru (Nuvarakii.16), Badalatthala (Batala-

goc.lJ),

Vapinagara (VEnatu), Tilagulla {TalagallE-iiJa), Ntahigalla (\tt-Salta

or'Nikaviira{'il, Ma4qlagalla (Mahamadagalla) and Buddhag6ma (MAaik-

de4a).
These inscriptions are

3t,

from Mahananneriya, Budumuttiva, Pai{uvasnuvara, Vihirdhinna, Ilakkatlu Eba and Eriya'va. Some of these are unpub-

38"

S. Paranavitana, 'Two Tamil Inscriptions Irom Budumuttil'a" EZ, IIT,

p. 3r r.

lish ed.

39.
44.

Irtid., pp.3o5-3o6.
Inscriptions from Vihdrhinna (unpublished). { Tamil slab inscription-of
the Virakoliyar, a South Indian iommunity closely associated Yith !h."
Aiiflulguvar, was discovered at Ilaklrattu Eba (Chilaw l)istrict) aiter th]s
publicGcture was de,liverecl. This site, too, is not-very far-from ttt-e Qa!aitrongholcls. K. Indrap:rla, 'Epigraphical Discor''eries in !-e-vlol in the last
deca'd"e (r95q-rgoq): A Brief Surveli', Paper read at the IInd International
Confererice'Seminir of Asian Archaeologv (Colombo 1969), p.

(unpub-

iished).
41.

S. Paranavitana, 'Two Tamil Inscriptions from Budumuttiva', p. 3o2.

EA1TLY TAMIL SETTLEMENTS

IN CEYLON

57

these names to this period. But it may not be wrong t-c -assume that
some of thein at leait originated at tliis tirr,e. Many of the Sinhalese
place-names with the liril element f)etttala (meaning Tamil) rnay
Lavc. originated in this period, for they occur close to the placcs lrtere
Tamil iiscriptions cf tdis period have been found or where the Colas
had their stiongliolds. Place-name evidence apart, the Tarnil iuscrip'

tions providc silfficient evidcncc indicating Timil settlements in this

westein region of the Island in the eleventh and trvel{th centuries.
It is cliffrc.Jt to trace ihe origin of these settlements witl'r the evidence
tirat lvc have. But considering the fact that the C6las had several
stronghold.s here and the fact-that some of the Sinhalese monarctrs
liacl Tamii armies stationecl in this region in the twelfth century it
may not be I'vrong to say t1-;at some of these settlements were founded
b)' Cola troops aia |la-it metcenaries. Some may have originated as
mercuntile settleinents. Perhaps some of the,m weie natUral extensions
of possibJe settlements of Tamil pearl-divers and fishermen along the
western coast.

The north-eastern littorai has Vielded more Tanril inscriptions

ancl Saiva rrrins providi'g d.efinite evitlence of 'Iamil settiements in
the eleventh and. twelfti centuries. In addition, Tamil chronicles
furnish for the first tirne some inforn:ration relating to these settlenreirts"
The transformation of the present Eastem Province into a' Tamil
area mav rvell be said to have begun in the eleventh century.
The rtost importani feattlre of the settlerrlent in this area is the
presence of a nuriber o{ South Indian trading ccmmunitig:,.such as
ttre AiRn.,gguvar, Nandde3is, Nagarattar and the Ce-t!,is.az This lvas a
peric,cl auri"g ,n'i.i.ti th.t. conrirunities rvere vigorbusly engaged in
bnets""s trad"e ancl besides Ceylon, tlieir Tamil inscriptions have been
found in such far-ofi places as"burma and Sumatra.a3 Their rvidespr-ead
activities have long 6eeri recognised b_v South lndian historians. Tirey
|ave often been referred to as mercantile guilds and autonomo"tls cof'
porations ot merchants. But the appiication of the ternrs 'corporation'
lnd 'gui1c1' scems to be rather u?riustified. An examination of their
...nrd. sholvs that it is more appropriate to call them commrtnities of
mercirants with coilmon crigin-,intelests and beliefs. They inay have
been looseiy organised bodiei because of their community of interests
but suffrcient evidence is lacking to call thern a colporation or a tradillg
guild. The Aiflflu11ur.ars \vere prominent anroilg these comrnunrtres'
They ivere primarily traders in various types o{ merchanchse as tlrfiy
Comnrunities ol South lirdia
and Ceylo'n,' Journal of Tamit Studics,II, No. r, April rgTo (forthcoming),

42

K. Indrapala, 'Some Nledicval Mercantiie

43.

ll. Hultzsclr, 'A Vaisnava Inscription from Pagan,' Epiqrafhia-Irtd-ic.a

(El). Vll, n. rqz; K. A. Nital;ahta Sastri,'A Tamit llcrchant Gnild in

(Madras).

iu.matra,' Tiidtih'ri7t Voo, Ind.ische Tl,aI, L.amd-en Volhen Kunde,I-.XXII"

1932. p. 3r8 (Batavia).

58

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON)

Vol.

XIII, (Neu

thernselves claim iir their inscriptions. ISut apart from their function
as traders they seem to have occupied a supreme position among a
larger number of professional bodies in the towns and acted as their
Ieaders, exercising much porver and influence. In many of their South
Indian inscriptions we ge1 as many as forty-six such bodies associated

with them. Ihese include other prominent trading communities like

the NanadeSis, Valaf,ciyar and the Nagarattar. Not all the communities were melcantile in character. There were several other occupational groups like the Paflchalas or live classes of smiths, potters and
barbers. Tlrere were also several mercenary bodies each specialising in
the use of clifferent weapons, as, for instance, the Egivirar, Mu4aivirar,
Korigavdlar, Ilaflcinkavirar and the Mummuridar,rda. The Aiflflflgruvar as well as the other mercantile communities were concedd a
share of the administrative duties of the state. We find in the inscriptions that they had a share in the collection of tolls, rates and taxes
and had the power of declaring certain towns as 'elivirapatlanas'
and, Southern Ayyd.vales, the exact connotation of which term it is
difficuXt to seek. They also reserved to themselves the power to grant
trading privileges in certain articles to individual traders. They were
great benefactors of temples to which they sometimes granted part of
the tclls and rates collected. by them. ft is important to know these
details about these trading communities because they seem to have
illayed an inrportant part in the establishment of settlements in the
north-eastern littoral by peaceful Tamil settlers in the trvelfth century.
For their activities seem to have led to the arrival in the Island of
several mercenary bodies and other professional groups mentioned
earlier. In the Tamil inscriptions of the Aififlnlluvars in Ceylcn more
mercenal'y and mercantile bodies than others find mention as their
associates. It seems very likely that in this period it was the AinflUg{xJvar or the Valafrciyar who supplied mercenary troops for tbe Sinhalese kings. Unlike in the eariier period, the Pali chronicle does not
rnention anv instance of Sinhalese princes or rulers enlisting mercenary
forces fiom the mainland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Yet
the chronicle refers to the presence of several South fndian mercenaries
such as the Vlaikkdrar and Akampatiyar in the armies of the Sinhalese kings. We also get Tamil inscriptions which attest to the preserrce
of Tamil mercenaries.aa It appears that at least some of these mercenaries were supplied by the leading rnercantile bodies, whose activities
were not always confi.ned to trade. T'he basis for this assumption is rrot
ontry the association of a large number of mercenary commrrnities with
the ,{ifffrngguvar and the Valaflciyar but also the evidence oI a Tamil
record set up by the m'ercenaries of Vijayabahu l.ar In this record one
of the bodies in the mercenary Velaikkdra arrny, namely the Mah[tantras, claim that the Valaficiyar were their leaders. The Valafrciyar
44'
45"

EARLY TAMIL SETTLEIIENTS IN CEYLON

Seriesl, x969

S. Paranavitana, 'The Polonnaruva Inscription of Vijavabahu T,' EIX\IIII, pp. 330-338; S//, IV, No. 1398.
S. Paranavitana, 'The Polonnaruva Inscription of Vijayal2fup t,, p. 337.

59

as well as other mercantile bodies lvere invited to attend important

meetings of the Velaikk6.rar. The mercantile bodies themselves employed rnercenaries to protect their trust properties and endorvments. For
this reason, too, merceriaries had been invited to the Island by the
trading comrnunities. It appears, therefore, that the mercantile bodies
were responsible for the migration of some at least of the mercenary
forces as well as other professional groups.

The location of the Tamil settlements with strong mercantile

in the north-eastern littoral is not difficult to explain. This
i-egion had two important ports, naraely Gokarla and Pallavavanka,
rvhich were centres of foreign trade in this period. The Tamil settlcnlent sites are not far from these ports where presumably the South
fndian mercantile communities were very active at this time. The
peaceful nature of these settlers in this region is also clearly indicated
in the location of several of the sites close to some of the largest irrigation tanks. For instance, in the Kantalai region, we get Tamil inscriptions as well as Saiva temples wliich unmistakably point to Tamil
settiements there. The Tamil chronicles. too, attest to this.ao This
settlement site is iocated around the Kantalai and Vendarasan tanks.
Similarly, there were other settlements in the region of the Vahalkada
and Fadaviya tanks further north. The Padaviya settlement appears
to have been bigger than the Kantalai settlement because the Tamil
inscriptions and Saiva ternples here are more thal those of I{antalai
and cover a larger area. The location of these sites close to irrigation
works may indicate that there lvas a slow infiltration of peasant settlers
from the Tamil country in this period.
elements

The other two main regions where evidence of Tamil settlement

period is to be found are around the cities of Anuradhapura
and Polonnaruva. The settlements around Anuradhapura were a-pparently older than those around Polonnaruva. The seitlements of ihe
Polonnaruva region rvere established after that place became the headquarters of C6!a administration in the fshnd. Most of the Saiva and
Vaignava temples and Tamii inscriptions found in this region are
concentrated in the capital itself and relate to the rnercenaries-and the
Cola official class. The settlement here did not last long for in the thirteenth century with the fall of Polonnaruva and the defeat of the
Kaiifiga ruler Mdgha the Tamils of this region seem to have been forced
to ahandon Polonnaruva. No evidence ofTamil settlement here, after
the rniddle of the thirteenth centurl., is available.

aqilS this

.16. .Sfl, IV, No. r39z; K. D. Swanrinathan,,An Inscription of Gaiababu II

at Kantalai,' Ce.vlon liistoyical Journal, X, Julv ri6c, April ,i6r, p. 4a
(Colornbo); S. Paranavitana, 'A"Tamil Slab l"nscripiion Ircjm paianialtai,t
p. rg t: _ A SC AR for r93j, p. 18; Tahsina-haildca-purd4an, i:zt,
^I1r,.
(ed. P. P. Vaittiyalinka Tecikir, point pedio'19r6).
p. 68
F Z:

.. ,.&!E{tiry

JOURNAL, R.A,S. (CEYLON)

Vol.

XIII, (New

Besid"es these main areas of settlement, the ancient

Seties), t969

port of Matola

continued- to be a piace settled by Tamiis. fnscriptions of the Cola

periocl atiest to thetxistence of atieast two Siva-temples here' 11 the

of this pefod, originally

i"4"" e;;G;l., ;"iy .t" T"*il inscriptionflti.
refeis to the port of
iet up'in this uiu", it", Leen d.iscov"t"d.

Uratota and is an of&cial re{ord set up by Parakramabahu I'az That

there were Tamil traderi al this port during this period -may not be
doubtecl but whether th";.;i"ttila of Jaffia had already *ttracted
mony fo-it settlers is not inown. The riccurrence of a few Tamilised
Sinhllese piace-nam es of this region in the records of this period indicates
that the Tamil settlet *iit of ?fti. peninsula had begun by about the
twelltlt century. However, the majority olthe settlerl appe?r to liave
migratecl to tiiat region in the latter"half of the thirteenth century
wh"en the first indepJna""li"Gtt of Jaffna ad"opted a policy of inviting
settlers from the mainland.

In the first stage of the -Iamil

settlements, therefore, the m'ain

areas o{ settiement lvere still outside the Jafina

district' Of

the. present-

a"y rurrr1i ut"o, onty-itl" trppeLhalf- 6t ttt" Eastern Province and'

paits of the western".";;i ir'u.4 Tamil settlers in the eleventh and
twelfth centuries. The main stage in the process r-rf Tamil settlement
which eventually led to lft" tra"nsformatibn of the present No,rt|.ern
Province into an exclusively Tamil-speaking area ]la{.ngt yet been
This stage rvas reaclred u il"1 the conquest
reachccl i* tlre twelltl,
".ntriy.
it it aoiiUtl[i'ttrat t5e iamil settlements of the period
tf lf"Sh.
thirteenth centurv would have resulted in a permanent
before"the""a
the
dir.'ision of the.oottttit it tu t'rvo linguistic rcgions' l'xcept,during

to have been somehave

appear
stage
first
in
this
what siow. The bulk oi the settlers
-to rule'
of C6la
*ig*i-a to the Islancl within tire tlree-quart-er-cenluryvery
extensrve"
Thi settiements were stiltr scattered and cannot be called
period. of C6la o..oputiott Tamil settierlent seems

except perhaps in the north-eastern-region. The predominant *l:"tu

unro|rg'tlre seitlers appr.ar to have b..in mercenaries and traders. The
alrsencc in the Tamil .i.oni.t". oi tracliti,rns relating to tlre Cola period
or to tir. tivellth cr'ntilrv may also indicate that tlrc main settlcmcnts
rvcre establishecl in the period aiter the twelfth century'as

is

seconcl and most important stage of the Tanril settlements

the
c,rvered- by alir,ost the rv1ole of the ihirteenth centurv. For

;,/

Nuinrtiru Tarnil lnscript'iorr of P;rrJliramrlrdlrri I"

fn,tr"il,'l'lrc
X.
'ir;i''l'itiiiterton

'fhe

't

Rcuiep', X X I, No' r ' April-reo3 qp; 93:r: 1l::idenir"a)'

ne""ttttt tt'io Col , in"'iptionc \vcre discovEred at Fort Hrmmenlrcil' Krvts'
ff ,"." itit"riptio,i..n iime.t.:t. sbh. whiclr aPp,ear:'^"" llY" 1?-t1n,t^d,put'
" have belo.ngedto a temple at lU"rtota and-to- have
of a docr-ja'mb, seern to
K. Indrabeen rem.&,ed to f.ott ff o-.enheif in the period l,f Dutch rtrlepa\a",'YAlppdnattu Kaluettuhha!,' Ci'ntanaz, II' No' 4' Jan' 1969' p' 4r"
pp' r6-r8 (Accuveti
48. S. Gnanapraga;::'r , Yalpp'iyta-uaipaaa-aimdr/ca'nin'

r9z8).

EARLY TAMIL SETTLEN,{ENTS IN CEYLON

6r

location of tlre settiements in the filst sterge ri'e c}:peiided rrainly on

the evidence of inscriptions and archaeologicai material. But for the

settlements of the second. stage rve have

to

depend ahnost entirely

on the evide'ce of the Tamil lhronicles and to some extent on the

Pali and Sinhalese chronicles. No Tamil inscription of the thirteenth
century has bcen cliscover:cd in the Northern oi Eastern Prr:vince and
oniy Jferv tempies clatable to this period lla'e so far been identified
in ihe Vanni districts of northern Ceylon and in the tsatticaloa region.
Thc absence of inscriptions presents a serious problem because the
Tamil chronicles are nbt contemporary sourccs and are in many ways
defective. As I inentioned earliei, the sections dealing with tlie period
prior to the thirteenth century are wholly unreliable. These do not
br.s..rr" tire mernory of the Cola occupation of the Island in the eleln fact, .u g"'ruin" trjditions of the Tamil settlernent
izenth century.
"tu"ru
pt"s.ttcd by the Tamils until they established a
or invasions
stable kingdom in ihe thirteenth century. It is oniy from. about the
time of thE foundation of the Tamil kingdom that fairly reliable traditions came to be preserved. when genuine traclitions failed, others
based partly orr later events and popr"rlar ct1-nlology were supplied to
mect ihe needs,-,I a later period.-Tllus, for instance, we find that the
account of the foundation of the Tamil kingdom of Jaffna or Yalpanam bv a blind rninstrcl is based on the popular etymology of the
ha-e Yuipanam and on the story of a blind South fndian poetwho was
the recipient of certain gifts frcm an unknown patron- in Ceylon'ae
The value of the se chronicles for our study, there{ore, is much depreciated as a result of these defects. However, for the period beginning
from about the reign of M6gha in northern ceylon we get more reliable
traditions. By a c6mpariso; of these accounis with those of the PaIi
and Sinhalese chroniiles it is possible to sift much of the facts Jrom the
confused data. rn some instances place-name evidence helps to confilm
the statements in the Tamil sources'

In this second stage of the settlement tr,vo difierent phases could

be distinguished. The first phase covers roughly the first -hali o-f the

thirteentii century and the seconcl almost the whole of the latter
half. As in the first stage, the arrival of fresh mercenary forces and a
quick succession of invasions from the Indian mainland led to the
estrblish*"nt of nerv settlements in the first phase' But the nature of
the invasions and of the settlement that followed was in many ways
different from the nattrre o{ earlier invasions and settlements. While
the earlier invasions, inch,ding even the C6!a occupation of ror7,
could be treated as episodes in the history of the Island, the invasion

of Mdgha and of the Pandya rulers in the thirteenth century. cannot be

dismissed as mere episodes. The settlements of the earlier-period,
though not very unimpressive, did not result in the visible dislodgement
of thi Sinhalde population. As far as we can see, those were not the
result of forcible bc-upation of the lands of the Sinhalese. Those early
settlers may have become assimilated to the Sinhalese population in

JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON)

Vol.

XIII,

(Nea Setiesl, r96q

due course. Brrt it was the events of the thirteenth century that prevented such an assimilation in the greater part of the northern and eastern
districts. The invasion of l\{lgha with the help of the Tamil and KeraJa
mercenaries rvas far more violent than the earlier invasions. Its chief
importance lics in the fact that it resulted in the permanent dislodgement of Sinhalese power frorn northern Ceylon, the confiscation of lancis
and properties beJonging to the Sinhalese by the Tamil and l{erala
mercenaries and the consequent migration of the offrcial class and

several of the comlnon ileople to the south-western regions. These

factors more than any other helped the transformation of northern
Ceylon into a Tamil region and directly led to the foundation of a
Tamil kingdom there. In the second phase, with the foundation of an
independent Tamil kingdom, a d"eliberate policy of settling Tarnils
in the Jaffna district and the Vanni regions rvas followed by the first
rulers of tlre Tamil kingdom. This led to a migration of peaceful settlers
from the Tamil country. It was this peaceful migration that was largely
responsible for the Tamil settlement of the Jaffna district. It wa^s a
deliberate and organised process which appears to have extended till
the turn of the century. The settlemcnt of the Tamils in the se northerrrmost regions rnay, therefore, be said to have been radically different
in character from the process of nrercenary or rrrilitary settlernent in
parts of the present day N orth-Central and North-Western provinces
and Vavuniya district. The evidence of the literary sources, which
form the main basis of the study of these settlements, clearly brings
out these distinctions. This is also amply demonstrated by the
place-name evidence. Whereas in the Jaffna peninsula wc come across

EARLV TAMII, SETTLEMENTS IN CEYI-ON

The settlernents cf the thirteenth centtry, therefore, rnarl< the

most important stage in the course o{ the early Tamil settlernents
in Ceylon. In the period prior to the middle oI the r;;th century mercenary a"nd mercantile communities played an important part in the
establishment of Tamil settlements. It is only after the middle of the
thirteenth ceirtury that u'e get evidence of Tamils migrating to the
Island with the definite aim o{ settlement. With this stage, the
northemmost region and the eastern districts emerged as a pre-'
clominaiitly Tamil area with atl the attendant political problems.ae
anallrsjs of the subjecl nf this paper, see K. lndrapalu, Drauidian Settlememts i'n Ceylon and the Buginnittgs of tl:e Kiwdom o! JafJna,
thesis submitted for the clegree o{ Doctor of Philosophy, University ol
London (unpublished 1966). This paperwas originally read at a seminat
under the chairma.nship of Prof. A. L. Rasharn on June r rg55 at the School
of Oriental and African St':dies, Universitv of r-"ondon.

49. For a detaiied

a large percentage of place-names with Sinhalese elements, the Tamil

element is predominant in the local nomenclature of the North-Central
Province and the Vanni regions.'lhe former indicate a slow and peaceful

penetration of Tamils in Jaffna and the latter a violent and sudden

occupation of the other areas. The survival of Sinhalese place-names,
especially of Sinhalese territorial names, in Jaffna tells strongly against
a wholesale exterrnination or displacement of the Sinhalese iiving
there. At the same time, Tamii names of estates denoting famiJy settlement which are found scattered across the peninsula, remarkably
confirm the evidence of the Tamil chronicles regarding the settlernent
of prominent families frorn Sortth India by the early kings of Jaffna.
As mentioned at the outset, for the beginnings of the history of the
Tarnils of Ceylon place-names can be used rvith caution to illustrate
a number of problems s.rch as the progress and character of the Tamil
occupation and the relations betrveen Tamils and Sinhalese. But
unfortunately, rve still have to ar.vait the results o{ future scientific
place-name research. Till then we have to abide by the cardinal principle that 'it is impossible to place any satisfactory interpretations
upon the history of a name until we have traced it as far back en ttre
records will allorv, and that in many cases, unless the records go a good
way back, speculations upon its rneaning are worse than useles,s"'
94I8---$

63