Keppetipola Disawe, proclaimed national hero, posthumously: To rest in honour, at last!

The 1818 Uva-Wellassa uprising was the third Kandyan uprising against the British during the period of Governor Robert Brownrigg. After the Northern Lords signed an agreement with the British colonials in Ceylon, on March 2, 1815, there were those who opposed British rule and organized a freedom movement. They were captured after their failed uprising in 1818, and consequently executed and declared as traitors, for rebelling against the King of England, and their property confiscated. Thus, they remained till today.

Following a recommendation from the Minister of Justice, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, President Maithripala Sirisena issued a special decree on Thursday (8) to overturn the proclamations declared in the Ceylon Government Gazette No 851 of January 10, 1818, and decriminalize the 19 nationals, including Monarawila Keppetipola, who led the movement, and declare them national heroes. The Ministry of Justice spokesperson said, the decree will be followed by another gazette notification.

It was not a rebellion, it was the first ever struggle for the independence of Ceylon, Prof. Emeritus Malini Handagama, former senior Prof of History, Sri Jayawardenapura University said. “That is the first mistake we make. It was not a rebellion, they simply wanted independence.” Those who have studied the Uwa-Wellassa freedom struggle have been struggling to clear the names of these heroes for some time, Handagama said, and although it took a long time, finally, it has been done.

The names cleared are: Keppetipola Disawe, Godagedara Rate Adhikaram, Ketakala Mohottale, Katharagama Maha Bethme Rate rala, Katharagama Kuda Bethme Rate rala, Palangolle Mohottala, Wattekaale Mohottala, Polgahagedara Rehehenaraale, Poserewatte Vidane, Kiwulegedara Mohottala, Kalugamuwe Mohottala, Udumadura Mohottala, Kohukumbura Walauwe Raterala, Kohukumbura Walauwe Mohottala, Butewe Rate rala, Bhaginigahawela Rate rala, Mahabadulla Gammane Rate rala, Bulupitiye Mohottala and Palle Malheyaye Gamathirala.

Three years after the signing of the Kandyan Convention, British rule proved to be disappointing and the local lords began to complain of violation of conditions in the Convention. The 1818 rebellion begins with Governor Brownrigg refusing to place a Kandyan on the throne and grant administrative powers to the local lords, as previously agreed. This breach of agreement and other actions of the Governor are said to have been questioned in the British Parliament as well.

In 1817, a layman from Kataragama claimed the Kandyan throne and started a freedom march to Kandy, which other Rate Ralas supported. This was attacked by the British armies, and one such troop was led by Sylvester Douglas Wilson, the Assistant Resident in Badulla. Butewe Rate Rala, whose name is included in the list, was the one time hero who shot Wilson with an arrow, from the top of a rock, when the troops marched past a small town near Bibile, called Yalkumbura. The armies scattered on the death of their leader. However, it is reported that Governor Brownrigg sent special platoons to look for the person who killed Wilson.

History doesn’t elaborate on the contribution of the rest of the rebels in the list as much as it dotes on Keppetipola Disawe. The famous of the rebels is Monarawila Keppetipola, a lord in the Kandyan Kingdom, representing the Uva area, who was sent to stop the uprising by the British government after the attack on Wilson, but ended up joining the freedom struggle instead, as its leader. A famous version about him says, he marched towards the ‘rebels’ with the British army, and without any prior hint, gave an order to the army to retreat and joined the ‘rebels’. He is celebrated for his actions in Sri Lanka.

During the 1818 uprising, the ‘rebels’ captured Kandy and Matale before Keppetipola fell ill and according to history books, was captured on October 28, 1818 along with Pilimathalawe Disawa, another ‘rebel’ leader. It is said that they were captured by Captain O’Neil of the British army with the assistance of Native Lieutenant Cader-Boyet of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment. When his house was surrounded by the troops, it is said that Keppetipola boldly came out of the house and greeted Capt O’Neil, identified himself and gave himself in. History narrates that the valiant Keppetipola, with the rest of the ‘rebels’ captured, refused to seek pardon from the British, though the latter was willing to pardon had they asked for it. Instead, it is said, Keppetipola pointed the exact location on his neck, to the executioner, where he needed the head to be severed.

“The destruction caused to property, cultivated lands and people’s lives and lifestyles, with villages being wiped out driving people into forests, was so severe that the Uva Province is still recovering from the destruction”, Prof. Handagama said. People were robbed of their property and taxes imposed to suppress them further. “The Uva Province is still considered laid back. The local leaders too have failed to support the area after independence in 1948, to return the lands once robbed, to the families, rebuild irrigation systems to its former glory, and pay reparations for all they lost, harbouring the first struggle for independence in Ceylon,” she said. 

 

Source: www.sundayobserver.lk (11 December 2016)

Traditional dance in modern times

By KAMALIKA PIERIS

Udarata dance made the transition from ‘traditional ‘to ‘modern’ society during the last phase of British rule. The move was carried out by the dancers themselves. Their main concern was the survival and preservation of traditional dance. By the time the country regained its independence in February 1948, traditional dance was well entrenched. The independence celebrations of 4th February 1948 included a very effective Udarata dance by Nittawela Gunaya. He danced the Turanga vannama.

Traditional dance was treated as a valuable component of the indigenous heritage. A postage stamp with a picture of a Ves dancer, in a dance pose, was issued in April 1950 . In 2000 there was a new stamp, featuring Maligawa dancer Simon Malagammana, in ten colors for ten denominations. A ‘dancer series ‘of currency notes were issued in 2011. Rs 20 note had Ves dancer and geta bere, Rs.50 note had Vadiga patuna and yak bere, Rs. 500 had Thelme and yak bere, Rs. 1000 had Sabaragamuwa dance and davul bere, Rs. 5000 had Nagaraksha and Gurulu raksha.

Traditional dance was also given prominence in tourist promotion. The first Tourist Board dance poster with C. K. L. Samarasinghe’s drawing of a Ves dancer ,appeared in 1948, followed by a poster with a stylized drawing by Harry Rogers for Quantas-Ceylon in 1950. A poster of Dalada Maligawa, drummers and dancers appeared in 1956, the Buddha Jayanti year. Then came the well known poster of Vajira in Gajaga vannama (photographed I am told by Nihal Fernando of Studio Times) and a less well known one of a Ves dancer and female dancer, both in the 1960s.

‘About twenty years ago, Udarata dance was not known outside the Udarata except for a handful of connoisseurs ‘said George Keyt in 1953. ‘It is now receiving growing recognition in Ceylon and abroad. The status of dancers has improved, and side by side with the traditional art there has arisen a creative and interpretative aspect,’ he added. ‘Kandyan dance has surprisingly retained its fundamental character and it basic purity of technique and style’, agreed A.H.E Molamure in 1956.

That is because the transfer was led and supervised by the traditional dancers themselves, notably Jayana, Pani Bharatha and Chitrasena. These three dancers arrived at the right time. They were born in the early 1920s. Pani Bharatha in 1920, Chitrasena, Heen Baba and Jayana in 1921. When Ceylon reached the pre-independence period of the 1940s, these dancers were in their prime. They started dance schools, established their own dance troupes and also got dance into secondary school. They were helped by well off, well connected patrons who came from the westernized elite. This was crucial to their success. E.P.A. Fernando, a graphite merchant and one of the richest men in the country supported Chitrasena. He funded Chitrasena productions and rehearsals and gave him a house at a low rent. The Burgher elite helped Jayana and Suramba with money and encouragement.

Dance troupes flourished from the 1950s onwards. The leading dancers of the time, such as Sri Jayana, Pani Bharatha and Heen Baba had their own dance troupes. For many years Pani Bharatha’s dance troupe functioned as the state dance ensemble. The tall and majestic figure of Pani Bharatha was a familiar sight leading his troupe, whenever there was a ceremonial occasion or indeed any occasion demanding a dance performance, said D.C.Ranatunge. If any organization needed a dance and drum performance for a function they turned to Pani.

Dance troupes were invited to perform abroad. Pani Bharatha’s troupe went to West Germany in 1953. In Tokyo, on a subsequent tour, the whole troupe including Pani had got drunk. The audience had gradually left the hall, saying the drums were too loud. The drummers had said they did not know how to drum softly. Jayana’s troupe visited a staggering 30 countries and in 1989, had won the most popular dance group medal at the "Festival folklore de Pyrenees".

The most publicized tours were those of the Chitrasena troupe. Between 1957 and 1972 Chitrasena Company had danced in Australia, Brunei, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Singapore as well as Madras, Bombay and Delhi, Moscow, Tashkent, St Petersburg and Alma Ata. On their first tour, rice, dhal, dry fish and other food stuffs accompanied them from stop to stop. The dancers said they needed the food they were used to. But they also liked the vodka, plum brandy and Scotch whisky which was offered.

The State Dance Ensemble was created in 1976, for the fifth Non Aligned Conference held in Colombo. They danced ‘Asa disi mihira’ directed by W.B.Makuloluwa at this Conference. The dance ensemble of the National Youth Council was created soon after. Both troupes are excellent, said Tissa Kariyawasam in 2008. The armed forces and the police also established dance troupes in the 1970s. Many of the dancers recruited were from natum parampara. I thought their dancing very good, but I am not an expert on the subject.

Sri Lanka’s traditional dances continued to win recognition abroad, in the post independent period. Audiences abroad are usually spellbound by the dance forms and by the drums, said Upekha Chitrasena. The Chitrasena dance troupe had rave reviews, rapt and enthusiastic audiences and standing ovations around the world, particularly in India ‘where they recognize the difference in technique between our traditional dances,’ she said. ‘ My father, Chitrasena, was treated with great respect and looked up to in India’. Upekha added,’ I enjoy doing workshops and demonstrations, particularly for children and try to organize these whenever we perform abroad’.

Dance departments in foreign universities recognized our traditional dance. Piyasara Silpadipathy said in 2007, ‘I have done workshops and lectures in renowned institutions such as University of London, Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, in London, University of Canterbury, New Zealand and University of Ottawa, Canada on drums and dancing. If they were not interested then I would not have been invited to visit their universities so many times. Foreign dance experts visited Sri Lanka to research traditional dance. Their findings were published.

Historical sources indicate that from the ancient period up to the Udarata period women danced. George Keyt who lived in Kandy and knew Udarata dance said, in 1953, that the kalagedi dance was initially done by women. There was a special naiyyadi dance also which was exclusively danced by women. ‘To see it danced by Ransina of Amunugama is an experience never to be forgotten,’ he said. Both dances are now performed by men, he added.

This indicates that at some point, during British rule, men had taken over the performing aspect of dance, but women were not completely excluded from dance activity. They taught dance. Pani Bharatha (b. 1920) recalled that in his youth, when the male dancers left to carry out their ritual duties elsewhere, the wives took over the classes. The film ‘Sakkarang’ (2016) set in the British period also showed this. In the 1950s women from the natum parampara, such as Ransina, obtained land form the government and started dance schools of their own in the Udarata.

Women outside the natum parampara were exposed to dance when Udarata dance was included in the school curriculum. They now study dance at the University of Visual arts. They dance in both lasya and masculine styles but the preference is definitely for the masculine style. At the National dance festival, Colombo in 2002, I found that the women danced predominantly in masculine style. Most dance teachers provide ‘graduation’ ceremonies for women dancers without the Ves. But in 2003, Miranda Hemalatha held Ves bandima ceremonies for women dancers. Traditional gurus and veteran Kandyan dancers are usually present at a Ves mangalyaya but none were present on the occasion. The dancers were not invited for any events thereafter either. Miranda Hemalatha, undaunted, said at the time that she was planning a Kohomba Kankariya with women dancers.

Ruhunu dance flourished without interruption in the south in the pre- independence and post independence periods. The guru gedera tradition was still in existence in the 1950s. Perera (pseud) from Uhanovita village, Pitigala, started to study dance under his father at eight years. His father was an astrologer, healer and pahata rata dancer. Perera then went on to study dance at a kalayatanaya and later established in his own dance troupe. ‘Those days it was the men who danced, now it is the females who are showing an interest in Ruhunu dance, he observed.

Tissa Kariyawasam said in 2009 that traditional rituals were ‘still carried out in Ambalangoda and Weligama.’ ‘I can remember that even up to the end of the 20th century, we used to hear a distant beat of a drum on the night air at least 4 days a week’ said a resident of Ambalangoda. . ‘The Modera devale perahera in Ambalangoda went on for nearly two hours, ending at Randombe. It had almost one hundred dancing groups, each different from the other, with separate sets of drummers.’

Ruhunu dance is now included in dance presentations abroad. For a performance in Australia, one presenter eliminated the Sinhala dialogue in the Daha ata sanniya and replaced it with mime. The dance consisted only of masked dancers. "We got much applause and 8 or 9 curtain calls. Pandam paliya and Gini sisila had to be done out of doors, due to fire restrictions. The audience was fascinated by the fire dance acrobatics and the fire eating especially since they had a great fear of it", he said (2007).

The Daha ata sanniya continues to be performed, for its ritual value and as a spectacle. In 2003 Rotary Club of Colombo District 3220 organized a performance of the Daha ata Sanniya at BMICH western garden. The performance was edited to suit urban audiences as well as tourists but the seven paliya and the 18 sanni dances were performed. Chitrasena Foundation had a performance in May 2016 in Colombo by dancers from Matara led by Kalasuri Parawahara Somathilake. In July 2016 there was a performance of the Daha ata sanniya at Walisinghe Harischandra Park, Anuradhapura, organized by the Provincial Ministry of Cultural affairs.

Source: www.island.lk (07 December 2016)

Caste and class in Udarata dance

By KAMALIKA PIERIS

The Udarata (Kandyan) dance was performed by a distinct caste of dancers and drummers, the ‘berava’ caste. This caste of traditional drummers and dancers ranked very low in the caste structure and traditional dancers were treated in a demeaning manner by society. They were not allowed to enter houses and sit. They were given to drink in cups made of leaves. Caste attitudes towards dancers were strongest in the Udarata.

Ransina of the Amunugama dance family had been asked to teach Kandyan dancing at Hillwood College, Kandy, which is where most high caste Udarata girls went to study. This was probably in the 1950s. When she greeted them with a namaskare, the pupils had responded sullenly, with frowns and hands held firmly by the sides. The Principal had scolded them later. Ransina however, said tactfully, she had come to teach dancing, not to receive greetings from the pupils. There was caste reluctance elsewhere too. Officials asked to accompany dance troupes abroad, tried not to be seen with the group. Some officials treated dancers with disdain, however, others were very kind to the dancers.

The westernized elite in Colombo who admired Udarata dance ignored caste conventions. In the 1920s George E. de Silva allowed dancers to sit on chairs and eat at the table with the family, when they came to teach his daughters. Lionel Wendt made studio photographs of Jayana, Suramba and Gunaya. George Keyt designed Suramba’s dance school building. D.B. Dhanapala had addressed the dancer as ‘Mahatha’ instead of Gurunanse, recalled Pani Bharatha.

In the 1930s Seebert Dias, father of Chitrasena treated the berava dancers with respect in his home. ‘My father gave a seat to the dancers when they came to perform’. Chitrasena’s first dance teacher, Urapola Banda visited him at his home, to teach him dance. He stayed in the house and was treated as a respected visitor and a revered teacher. He was probably one of the first berava allowed to enter the house of a Goigama, and Chitrasena was perhaps the first male Goigama pupil of a berava teacher. Seebert paid Chitrasena’s dance teachers much more than was customary, not only to help them financially but also to build up their social prestige.

But that was in Colombo. Caste had to be respected in the village. When Chitrasena started his apprenticeship under Kiriganitha in Algama, in the late 1930s, he did not stay at Kiri Ganitha's house but at the house of the village school master who belonged to Chitrasena’s caste. Chitrasena had to face criticism from his Goigama community for doing traditional dance at all.

Whenever Udarata dance is discussed, the low position of the traditional dancer is commented on. Tudor Silva, the sociologist, observed that no researcher has been able to explain why the dancer is ranked so low. Chitrasena (b.1921) recalls ‘I went to Delgoda Rate Mahattaya's house in Kegalle when I was young. There was a small hut built by the main house for the dancers to stay. They could not enter the main house. They were the custodians of a rich heritage but had to undergo this humiliation. ‘The nakati caste, in addition to being dancers are astrologers, drummers and conductors for puja in temples. The court astrologer was also a nakati caste man. Therefore how they can be an untouchable caste, Chitrasena asked.

In a strong caste system, a low caste accepts its low position without a murmur. In this case, however, the dancers deeply resented their low ranking and said so to anyone who would listen to them. They had complained bitterly to Ralph Pieris in the 1980s saying that they had not been allowed to use the toilets in the Kandy Club despite the fact that they had hired the lawn for a performance. The Kandy Club had been only too happy to rent the lawn to them and make some money. The dancers had reasons for their resentment. They were professionals, not paupers. Their status as yakdessa was respected in the village. They held nindagam lands, including paddy fields. They possessed valuable skills which society needed, such as medicine and astrology. They had links to specific temples. Some belonged to the Maligawa dance troupe.

The move from caste to class, literally, was initiated by the traditional dancers themselves. Dancers led by Jayana and Sederaman succeeded in getting traditional dance into the school curriculum. With this move, the caste barrier was immediately broken. The school children, regardless of caste started to dance and drum. There would, I think, have been a few mutterings about ‘low caste’, but on the whole the parents accepted the situation.

Dance prospered in schools. Dance teachers taught with dedication . The children were eager, pliable and promising. Several schools gave public concerts of dance. Girls High School, Kandy had ‘Swarna Hansa ballet ‘in 1954. The dance students of Dharmaraja College, Kandy enthusiastically presented a dance concert in Colombo in 2003. I am not an expert on the subject, but I thought the dance and drumming was good, especially for a school. It was certainly quite vigorous. The dance teacher was a pupil of Kulasiri Budawatte. He had his own dance school as well.

The Department of Cultural affairs set up Kalayatanas which taught dance to anybody who wished to learn it. Some of these schools also had ves bendeema ceremonies for select dancers. In 2003, four youths who learnt dancing at Galewela Divisional Cultural centre were conferred their ves tattuva at Bambawa Raja Maha Vihara, Galewela. Private dance schools also helped to break the caste barrier.

In 1952, traditional dance moved up the academic ladder into higher education. Traditional dance became a subject in the Government Technical College, at the initiative of J.D.A.Perera, the Goigama head of the College. Later this institute was absorbed into the university . Traditional dance now came within the aspirations of the ‘respectable’ middle class. The move away from the hereditary dancer was complete. Talented dancers from urban areas took to dancing professionally. They obtained university degrees in dance, taught in government schools, had their own private dance schools and led their own dance companies.

Traditional dance jumped from low caste to high caste in one single leap, with the arrival Chitrasena. Chitrasena and Vajira were from the Goigama caste and pupils of Goigama and other castes attended their classes. But their main impact was on social class not caste. Chitrasena and Vajira belonged to the urban middle class and they made traditional dance acceptable to the middle and upper middle class persons, whose children attended their dance school. In their school traditional dance was taken very seriously and pupils were made to show respect to the traditional dancers who were teaching there.

Chitrasena and Vajira were based in Colombo, the home of the westernized elite of Sri Lanka. This westernized elite were eager to sample national culture, provided it was dished out by their own class. They went happily to see Chitrasena-Vajira performances. There was however, no ‘elite appropriation of Kandyan dance’ as stated by a foreign anthropologist. After generations of sedentary living, the elite could not move their limbs, let alone dance. Instead they sent their children to the Chitrasena School of Dance. I doubt whether the children could dance any better, but the school grew. When the original set of pupils grew up, they sent their own children also to the school. So, thanks to Chitrasena and Vajira, the westernized elite were encouraged to take Udarata dance seriously and to even try and dance it. However, very few pupils in the school went on to the master class from which the Chitrasena troupe was recruited. As late as 2010, Vajira observed ‘people who come from villages are better dancers.’

 

Source: www.island.lk (03 December 2016)