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Elephant Symposium: A chance to
do something At the turn of the century 30,000 wild elephants roamed the jungles and plains of Sri Lanka, while a human population of over 2 million inhabited the infant towns, ploughing the fields that bordered a wilderness spanning over 60% of the island. Today a human population close to 20 million has reduced that forest cover to 20%, and the population of wild elephants has been reduced to estimates between 1500 and 5000. Much of this decimation has taken place within the last two decades In the 1960s Sri Lanka was hailed as a leader in conservation, particularly in elephant conservation, when its policy of ensuring the preservation of elephant corridors between protected areas was lauded throughout the conservation world. Today we lag far behind. Our recent record — the debacle at Handapanagala, the comedy at Uda Walawe, the tragedy of Kahala Pallekelle — begs many questions raised by our former admirers. No policy Elephant conservation in Sri Lanka has not only lost direction, but it also lacks the intensity required to deal with what are now critical numbers of elephants and areas of forest cover. Both the Department of Wildlife and Conservation (DWLC) and relevant Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) seem to be beset with problems about getting a cohesive plan of action together. There seems to be no coherent policy, planning, or proper implementation of existing plans to deal with elephant conservation. Apathy in the past and now will soon lead to the irreversible path of extinction. Jayantha Jayewardene and Charles Santiapillai have for some time been names synonymous with the conservation of the Asian elephant. Along with Lyn de Alwis, they have been acknowledged by the international community as the three foremost experts on the Asian elephant. They were all three members of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group. Sadly this acclamation seems to have been made use of in every place other than Sri Lanka; prophets are rarely recognised in their own country. Messrs Jayewardene and Santiapillai, well aware of the desperate need for action, and with the kind sponsorship of the Ceylon Tobacco Company, have organised a Symposium on Elephant Management and Conservation at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) scheduled for 29 and 30 May 1998. All who have any interest in the fate of the Sri Lankan elephant in the wild are invited to attend, and to contribute of their knowledge. The aim of the symposium is to (1) Draw up set of Proceedings, in the form of a well edited volume of papers, both technical and non-technical. In addition to publishing results of completed research and projects, it would also be an ideal forum for researchers on any ongoing projects to share their early results and knowledge. Such a sharing of ideas and information should prove not only of interest to all participants, but to everyone who has a stake, both local and foreign, and wishes to donate funds for the conservation of elephants. Therefore, it is important that any who are unable to attend this Symposium, but who are engaged in ongoing research, to have summaries of their work presented at the workshops. (2) Evolve a Unified Policy Statement for addressing the problems of elephant conservation in Sri Lanka for the next century. Hardly an easy task, such discussions should address general issues of principal such as land use, research, habitat fragmentation, ex situ conservation, etc. Anything more specific would be ambitious, and pre-empt the ideas and developments of a new age. (3) Work towards an Action Plan which may involve the planning of further such Symposiums where progress can be monitored, and revised plans put forward. (4) Identify and Implement Specific and Urgent Measures, especially where particular elephant populations are at imminent risk. (5) Attempt formally to Bridge the Gap between the DWLC and the Scientists/NGOs influencing the government towards appointing an Elephant Specialist Committee which will advise the DWLC on relevant matters, and (6) Propose Legislative Reform relevant to elephant conservation, and to promote the proper enforcement of the Wildlife Act. Dr. Raman Sukumar, the Chairman of the Asian Elephant Specialist Group, will make the keynote speech. Specialist speakers are also giving of their time to share their research into areas such as Human-Elephant Conflicts, Status and Distribution of both Wild and Tame Elephants, DNA finger printing, the economic value of elephants, supplementary feeding, and the legal implications of the Wildlife Act. Some of those listed to speak are Dr. Prithviraj Fernando, Dr. Nandana Atapattu, Dr. S. H. Cheong, Prof. Charles Santiapillai, and Ravi Algama all eminent scholars in their field, and well known advocates for conservation in Sri Lanka. The whole question of conservation, particularly that of elephants, has for long been an emotive topic of conversion in Sri Lanka. Sadly this has not been translated into any constructive action. This is the ideal opportunity for all who believe that they have the answers actually to do more than just talk! The younger generations and those yet to come in the new millennium are and will be far more appreciative and aware of the value of wildlife and the environment for the well-being of the Earth, and of Man. Our children will conserve and appreciate elephants and the wild places of Sri Lanka. It is our duty to ensure that we do not destroy it all before then!
The hour of the Unexpected Some time back there was a centre page report "Doomsday on May 8th, 1999," in The Island based on a provocative story in an Indian magazine, The author cites the Bible, the Quran, the Indian Puranas, (ancient scriptures), Nostradamus, mystics and myths of all ages in support of his claim that mankind will be wiped out from the face of the earth on May 8, 1999. To quote the correspondent, "Eight planets will line up on that unfortunate day and the world will come to an end." In Europe, fast selling, serious novels are based on doomsday happenings. Jean Dixon spoke of a holocaust where a large portion of America will be sliced off by a large meteorite or swallowed up by the fierce sea. Our own, Ananda Maitriya of Balangoda, is quoted as having said, that the coming of pralaya (end of the world) is in 2002/3. Religious cults are preparing for the end; god-fearing individuals have predicted the end at an appointed hour and mass suicides have taken place to escape to a comfortable shore before the dreaded event. Americans have always been fearful of an enemy, either human or alien, that would destroy their world — America. Russia is fragmented and is now no threat, but some imagine a powerful Middle-Easterner, must be more hateful of Americans than Jews, to surreptitiously fly to the States and destroy Washington with nuclear weaponry. Saddam Hussain is a demon now, like the Russians sometime ago were inhuman specimens. Imagination, instinct or intuition an uneasy feeling pervades and extends further when films and TV serials depict alien invasion — Independent Day was a sell-out. Not only in America, in god revered India, the magazine that carried the "doomsday" article had unprecedented sales and caused dread and confusion in Bangalore. Special pujas were held to propitiate the gods. School children refused to study declaring, what for, when the end is so near. Orwell George Orwell wrote of 1994, but 1994 passed by uneventfully. Like Orwell, many others have given predictions but we are still witnessing the sunrise. A strong spiritual movement in Japan that is becoming Universal, Mahakari, believes that the time for the change is now. Then, very recently the Pope has said to his weekly audience not to predict the end of the world. Does all this point out to an uneasy feeling in the air? Some ponder; some say yes, intuitively, and some others strongly believe in an universal calamity as God’s response to the decline of religious worship, the prolification of the black occult and moral turpitude. The warming of the earth and its serious repercussions are factual. El Nino is no more a strong speculation but a fact. New Year in England was storm and floods; in January its effects were seen in Europe and in February and March the devastation was in the east coast of America. The unprecedented incidents of fires and floods could make some of us believe that El Nino may even be a premonition and a precursor to the event. It is escalating at an unbelievable pace and, very frightening. Is it going to be a catastrophe like Lemuria or Atlantis or of a greater magnitude? But are we not in the age of the Aquarius, the Satwa Yuga — the Golden Age, free of calamity? Or have the calculations gone wrong? It is said that the aquarian age dawned after the second world war. No doubt we have seen and are still witnessing great changes. Are these changes progressive? Certainly from a spiritual point of view though not necessarily from a moral or religious standpoint. Religion is predominantly an adherence to dogma and cult; living spiritually is going inwards. We are aware that the old values are crumbling down and that new age values are more in harmony with the truth. Aurobindo According to the Aurobindian philosopy, these changes had to come to prepare for the next stage of evolution, which is a divine life on earth and would naturally occur in a Golden Era. Evolution is progression, climbing the rungs of the evaluative ladder — from the first stirring of the impregnate void to amoeba, plant, animal and from the ape to the homo sapiens we have developed to a mental man who is half-animal, half-human. An imperfected product like man cannot justify the ultimate goal of evolution. "The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth’s evolution," Sri Aurobindo has said. The Aurobindian superman is not a Batman or Flash Gordon type, but would be a spiritual being surpassing the limitations of the present mental being. It would necessitate the transformation of the lower or animal nature in man to live in a spiritually refined higher order. It would be a Supra-Mental Being and man would have to make a conscious attempt, and a sincere and constant aspiration too are required, for man to exceed himself. These alone are insufficient, says Sri Aurobindo, man needs divine help. To mans’s aspiration and attempts there should also be a response or a force must come down to earth. If the earth has been sufficiently prepared the forces would respond. He describes it as an Ascent from Earth and a Descent from Heaven. The Mother of Pondicherry declared that the supramental force descended to earth on February 29th, 1956. It is the force that will enable Man, the mental being, to gradually surpass his imperfect mentality to become a supramental being. It is forty two years to date and a supramental force that has descended in 56 should have had its impact on earth by now. Is it palpable? Mother’s theory? There is evidence that a new consciousness is felt on earth and more and more people are testifying its authenticity, giving that force various names and descriptions. Scientists, doctors, writers, philosophers, and eminent men have endorsed the Mother’s claim. As far back as 1972, Dr. William Tiller, a professor at Stanford, spoke of a transformation that is occurring in man and called it the beginning of the Psychic Age of Man. Satprem in his book "On the way to Supermanhood" called it a new evolutionary crisis as radical as must have been the first human aberration among the great apes. Very recently in a local daily an article in the World of Science carried, "New and surprising evidence that the universe is permeated with a strange force that is pushing it apart could turn the whole science of cosmology on its head, astronomers said on Thursday. The strange repulsive force seems to be working against gravity to speed up the expansion of the universe." According to that article, Adam Riess, a cosmologist at the University of California at Berkeley affirms, "We are scratching our heads to think if there could be an alternative explanation for it — something more mundane than a repulsive force. The force is very weak on a small scale and it only becomes important when you are looking back. Its like a lot of little ants — one is weak but a lot of them can lift a big weight." Repulsion Repulsion in this context means a force that is not genial to the prevailing earth forces. The dominant forces in today’s world are money, egoism, hypocrisy and falsehood. We have to only look at the politicians in power, that govern the world, to justify these claims. Not only in politics, but in every field, the criteria for success and fame are superficial achievements — most celebrities are empty of inner development. If a spiritual force has to manifest on earth then falsehood has to give away and such a force will repulse exiting forces. A churning process is inevitable. "Man is a transitional being; he is not final," Sri Aurobindo has said. Are all these indications that the transition has begun and is nearing its culmination point. Is the hour of God at hand, "for it is the hour of the unexpected, the incalculable the immeasurable." Sri Aurobindo continues, "Unhappy is the man or the nation which, when the divine moment arrives, is found sleeping or unprepared to use it, because the lamp has not been kept trimmed for the welcome and the ears are sealed to the call. But being pure cast aside all fear; for the hour is often terrible, a fire and a whirlwind and a tempest, a treading of the winepress of the wrath of God." Its Happening, the hour is near, are we a fortunate lot to witness this great event or be a part of the common herd that would be crushed and trampled by the wrath of God? Ports
in ancient Sri Lanka Sea-borne commerce in ancient and medieval times was carried on by mercantile groups who extended their activities over a number of ports along the countries lying athwart the sea routes. Foreign mercantile groups established close links with indigenous traders on whom they had to depend for the collection of merchandise as well as for the distribution of the items they brought from abroad. Monarchical or feudal administrative units in countries along the sea-routes encouraged the growth of sea-borne commerce whenever it was considered to be advantageous to them. Foreign traders were provided with facilities in most countries in return for the payment of taxes and customs duties. In certain instances the rulers themselves participated in sea-borne trade by having direct contact with foreign traders and organizing their own ships. Because of Sri Lanka's central position in the Indian Ocean along maritime trade routes and its numerous bays and anchorages providing adequate facilities for ships, the island was a centre of transit trade from very early days. Its natural products such as gems, pearls, ivory and spices made the island an important centre for exports. The monarchical and semifeudal socio-political structure of the island led to a demand for luxury commodities imported from abroad. The island was connected by sea routes with ports in the southern, western and north-eastern regions of the Indian Sub-Continent and also with ports in the Arab world as well as South-East Asian Kingdoms and through the latter with China. Several Sri Lankan ports played important roles in maritime trade carried through these sea-routes but the importance of some of these ports varied from time to time. In the period prior to the thirteenth century Mahatittha or the great port, opposite Mannar on the north-western coast facing the Arabian Sea was the most important trading port of the Island. A large number of articles of foreign origin including coins and porcelain-ware have been excavated at Mahatittha by archaeologists. In Sinhalese inscriptions and Pali chronicles Mahatittha is variously referred to as Mahavoti, Mahaputu, Mahavatu, Mahavatutota, Mahapattana and Matota while it is called Mattottam in Tamil. It was the most important port for vessels coming from South India and there was a strong South Indian element in the population of this port during most periods of history. Mahatittha located at the mouth of the Malvatu river had easy access to the capital Anuradhapura, which was located on the banks of the same river. However with the increased emphasis on the South-East Asian Sri Vijayan Kingdom as the main centre of entrepot trade after the seventh century A.D. the importance of the port of Mahatittha had diminished to some extent. Owing to this change even the capital Anuradhapura lost much of its attractiveness. After the seventh century, the principle arena for the East-West exchange trade had shifted from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. Consequently there was an increasing interest in the north-eastern zone of Sri Lanka wherein was located Gokanna (Trincomalee) port. It is significant that between seventh and tenth centuries A.D. four Sinhalese Kings Aggabodhi IV, Aggabodhi VII, Udaya I and Sena I left Anuradhapura and ruled from the north-eastern city of Polonnaruwa, situated on the banks of the Mahaweli Ganga within easy access to Trincomalee. Thus, the emergence of Polonnaruwa and the port of Gokanna is significant in terms of the changing patterns of trade in the Bay of Bengal and Sri Lanka's interest in it. The South Indian Chola occupation of Polonnaruva (1017-1070) was partly motivated by the commercial policy of the Cholas aimed at controlling the western sea-board of Bay of the Bengal. The importance of Gokanna for the Bay of Bengal and South-East Asian trade was realized also by the Sinhalese rulers of Polonnaruva particularly Vijayabahu I (1070-1110) and Parakramabahu (1153-1186). However Mahatittha did not completely lose its glamour in the period between the seventh and the twelfth centuries and it functioned as an important trading centre where South Indian merchants flourished. In addition to the ancient temple of Tiruketisvaram at Mahatittha another temple named Rajarajavarattu Mahadeva was constructed near the port in the eleventh century for the worship of the trading communities and soldiers living there by the Chola conqueror Rajaraja I. The new commercial policy of the southern Sung dynasty (1127-1278) of China deviated from the "tributary trading system" in south East Asian and South Asian waters. As a result, the role of the intermediaries in the Bay of Bengal trade declined drastically. Once again the coastal ports in India regained their eminent position in trade and the theatre of activity shifted from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea. Mahatittha continued as the chief port of Rajarata at least up to the middle of the thirteenth century. The Rasavahini written in the Polonnaruva period implies that traders collected various commodities from Mahatittha and sold them in the interior. The Saddharmalankara refers to a merchant of Mavatupatuna who went eastwards for trade. However, by the fifteenth century Mahatittha appears no longer to be an important port. The Kokila Sandesa written during the reign of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte, in giving a description of the important places along the western littoral of the Island does not mention Mahatittha. In the Jaffna Peninsula there were two important ports Jambukolapattana and Uraturai. Jambukolapattana which can be identitified with modern Kankesanturai is not mentioned as a port of maritime commerce but was widely used as a port of embarkation and landing in the Anuradhapura period. Its importance is testified to by the fact that there was a connecting high road from Jambukolapattana to the capital Anuradhapura. The other port in the Jaffna Peninsula, Uratota or modern Kayts attained importance as a port of maritime commercial activity especially during the time of the Polonnaruva kings. The Nainativu Tamil inscription datable to the reign of Parakramabahu I, suggests that foreign vessels laden with merchandise arrived at the port of Uraturai. This edict, besides proclaiming that foreign traders should be given the due protection, contains regulation regarding wrecked ships which brought in merchandise. A Chola inscription datable to 1178 A.D. refers to the building of ships and the assembling of troops at Uraturai by Parakramabahu I during his South Indian campaigns. Both Jambukolapattana and Uraturai would have continued as important ports connecting South India and Jaffna even in the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries A.D. as rulers of Jaffna maintained close contacts with South India. Several other less important ports of the north, north western and eastern coast are referred to in the Culavamsa as ports of the Island in the twelfth century. The port from which Parakrambahu I's expeditionary force set sail for Burma was Pallavavanka. This has been identified by Codrington as modern Palvakki four miles north of Kucaveli. Although the Culavamsa reference is the only one made to this port it can be inferred that this was a port of some importance as it would not have been used as a base for a critical invasion had facilities for launching an invasion not been available there. Another port Madupadatittha was a landing place occupied by Magha in the thirteenth century. According to Nicholas the name may be preserved in modern Illupakadavai. The landing places on the north-west or north coast which though referred to in the chronicles cannot be identified are Mattikaratittha, Pulacceri, Bhallatittha and Deberapatan. None of these ports, however seem to have been played any significant role in inter-oceanic trade. Although the ports in the south are not mentioned like those in the northern, north-western and eastern parts of the Island in the early period of the Anuradhapura kingdom, one exception is the port of Godapavata (Godavaya) in the Hambantota district. In an inscription of Gajabahu I (114-136 A.D.) found at Godavaya near the mouth of the Walave Ganga, it is stated that the customs duties obtained at the port there were dedicated to the Godapavata Vihara. Nicholas points out that the appearance of the little bay at Godavaya today does not suggest that Godapavata port was more than a place of hazardous anchorage for an occasional sailing ship in times past. The ports of the south and south-western coast however became important in international commerce after the drift of the political centres to the south-western regions of the Island. Perhaps international trade could have been one of the important factors influencing the Sinhala rulers in the choice of capitals in the south-western regions. One of the natural ports in the south, Galle had gained prominence at least by the middle of the fourteenth century. Ibn Batuta states that he journeyed from Dondra(dinavur) to Galle(quali) and that he was treated by a Muslim named captain Ibrahim at Galle who had a residence in the town. The Chinese junks that came through the Straits of Malacca touched at Galle. The Galle Trilingual slab inscription datable to the first few decades of the fifteenth century written in Chinese, Persian and Tamil indicates that Chinese, Muslim and South Indian Hindu and Jain traders frequented the port. The fact that Galle had been a well established commercial centre by the fifteenth century is also attended by Sandasa poems. It was a town with wide streets beside which were locatded shops of all kinds. Dondra was another important commercial port in the south in the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Dondra inscription of Parakramabahu II (1236-70) contains regulations to prevent evasion of customs duties at the port of Dondra by traders. According to this epigraphs the sea port of Devinuvara or Tendiratota was administered by an officer titled Mahapandita. Customs duties were imposed by Mahapandita and merchants were safeguarded from illegal imposts. Those coming from foreign countries were not allowed to set up places of business without permission and royal officials were required not to accept gifts from foreign merchants. Parevi and Hamsa Sandesas also refer to Dondra as a flourishing trade centre in the fifteenth century. The Galle Trilingual slab inscription informs us that the Chinese emperor sent various kinds of offerings through his envoys including gold, silver silks and sandalwood to the temple at Dondra which was probably constructed by a princeling of southern Sri Lanka in the seventh century A.D. and was dedicated to Varuna the guardian god of the sea. The port of Weligama too, had come into prominence at least from the twelfth century A.D. onwards. It is first mentioned as a port where affluent merchants dwelt during the reign of Parakramabahu I. The Kalyani inscriptions state that a ship sent by the Burmese King to Sri Lanka arrived at Weligama. The Tisara, Parevi and Kokila Sandesas indicate that Weligama had become an important and prosperous port about the fifteenth century. It was predominantly settled by Muslims whose background and interests were entirely commercial. They spoke Tamil and sang Tamil songs. In this connection we may note the Portuguese writer Barbosa's statement that many Malabar ‘Moor’ came to live in Sri Lanka as it was luxuriant and healthy. With the shift of the political centres to the south-west and the development of the south-western parts of the island several other ports such as Beruwela, Bentota, Wattala and Chilaw too turned out to be of significance in the island's trade with foreign countries. According to the Parevi, Gira and Kahakurulu Sandesas, large groups of sailing ships could be observed regularly from several points of the western coast. In the fourteenth century, John De Marignolli arrived by ship at the port of Perivils in Sri Lanka on his way to China. According to Henry Yule, Perivills was the port of Beruwela. From Marignolli's account it may be inferred that Beruwala was settled by Muslims. He states that the administrator at Perivills was Coya Jhan, apparently the name of a Muslim chief. From the Sandesa poems it can be ascertained that Beruwala was a Muslim trading centre in the fifteenth century with many beautiful mansions and large shops. Salawata or Chilaw was also an important landing place from the twelfth century onwards. Between 1188 A.D. and 1200 A.D. the Cholas landed at Salavattota. The Dambadeni Asna refers to the landing of foreigners at the same port. According to the Nikaya Sangrahaya in the middle of the 14th century the Arya Cakravarti had encampments at Colombo, Wattala, Negombo and Chilaw. At the time the rulers of Jaffna apparently attempted to control Sri Lanka's foreign trade. Colombo, the most important port of the island today was a town largely inhabited by Muslims whose presence there can be traced as far back as the tenth century A.D. According to Iban Batuta, Colombo (Kalanbu) was the greatest city of Serendib. He further states that Colombo was controlled by a person named "Jalasti" who had five hundred Abyssinians under him. Batuta describes Jalasti as a prince of the sea which indicates that Jalasti had been actively engaged in foreign trade. When the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in the beginning of the sixteenth century Colombo was the island's major port. Sri Lanka's foreign trade and the international sea borne commerce in the Indian Ocean underwent many changes with the advent of the European powers in the Indian Ocean. The Portuguese in the 16th century and subsequently the Dutch, the French and the British dominated sea-borne commercial activity in the Indian Ocean. In order to monopolize the export trade of Sri Lanka, the Portuguese and the Dutch attempted the territorial conquest of the Island. In 1815, the British succeeded in gaining supremacy over the whole island. Under their rule, plantation agriculture was given priority as a result of which tea, rubber and coconut became the main exports of the island. Sri Lanka became a dependency of the West and turned out to be a market for western products. It was the commercial or economic interests of the West which paved the way for the transformation of the island's whole political and social structure. |
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