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Gasthara

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

Gasthara agricultural serfs
Regions with significant populations
Sri Lanka
Languages
Sinhala language
Religion
Predominantly: Theravada Buddhism
Related ethnic groups
Sinhalese people, South Asian ethnic groups

‘Gattara’ is the word used in ancient Sri Lankan rock inscriptions and literature to refer to agricultural serfs who involved in tillage and cattle cultivation. Serfdom status was common under feudalism in South India and landless and poverty-stricken agricultural workers of Shudra caste who, occupying the lowest position in the existing caste hierarchy, landed in Sri Lanka and settled the county over. The seven sub-groups of Gattara or Gasthara sub caste is the main social group consist of the main Govigama caste in Sri Lanka.[2][3] Gastharas are Theravada Buddhists by religion. They are ethnically Sinhalese people[4] but many of them proclaim their Dravidian peoples ethnic origin to South India. Many of them have distinctive Tamil surnames just changed to Sinhalise names droping "M" letter (Ex: Senavirathnam - M - Senavirathna) and Bandara (Pandaram) caste surnames.[5] Gasthara or agricultural serfs indicate a complex migration history from India to Sri Lanka.

Etymology

Indian Hindu culture[6] used the term Gotra [7] (ගෝත්‍ර) considered to be equivalent to lineage. The linguologists says that word Gotra changed to Gattara and then to Gasthara within Sinhala language. Bada Gaththara (workers for stomach), Kusa Raksha (workers of stomach) means farmers who involved in tillage[8] and cattle cultivation.[9] Bada Gotra is the most old form of word used for the present day Govigama [10] caste in Sri Lanka.

History

Dravidian settlement and Sinhalisation refers to the settlement of Tamils or other Southern Indian to Sri Lanka. Due to Sri Lanka's close proximity to Southern India for different reasons, Dravidian influence occurred. South Indian soldiers who got to settle down due royal grants but the actual time and the king(s) who granted them these privileges happened much later than indicated by their origin myth. Research on origins was carried out during the British Colonial period and is dated.

Polonnaruwa period history records a few instances of the influence from the Hindu caste system with the changing of pure Sinhala Buddhist society in Anuradapura by Tamil invasions. Raja, Bamunu, Velenda, Govi the four-fold caste division was mixing up by foreign invaders to cause confusion and destabilise the established social order. (Kuladaruvan sivasi kara in the Pujavaliya meaning High castes were made cultivators Pjv 122 and Kudi kota in the Rajavaliya meaning made low caste Rjv 231) It goes on to say that subsequent kings and queens quickly restored the social order by clearly re-segregating the four caste groups. There are also recorded instances of nobles being degraded to the status of cultivators by foreign invaders and also by local rulers, for falling into disfavor with the ruler. Although degrading a high caste individual to the Govi caste was possible, restoring such an individual back to nobility was not possible.

The North Gate rock inscription in the ancient city of Polonnaruwa depicts the Gaththara (Govi Kula) in its comparative rhetoric as the lowest extreme of society and goes on to say that anyone from such a low caste should never aspire to any high office (EZ II.164). The inscription says " ..raise ye to kingship a member of the Kshatriya families, not the other castes.........as much as the crow envies the swan's gait, the mule envies the Sindhu stallion, the earth worm envies the king cobra, the firefly the sun, the snipe the elephant, the jackal envies the lion, the Gaththara caste must never wish to be Kings. No matter how powerful they may become, never look to Gaththara (Govi) caste people as rulers......"

Origins

As the mainstream Sinhalese speakers claim North Indian ethnic origins, the presence of many South India type like the Gasthara indicate a complex migration history from India to Sri Lanka.[11] Gasthara were classed as a sub-caste of the Govigama caste. Many are agriculturalists and workers.

The Sri Lankan Vellalars share common origins with the Gasthara caste. In the time of Portuguese Ceylon, the Vellalars were described as husbandmen, who were involved in tillage and cattle cultivation.[12]

South Indian roots

Medieval society of Sri Lanka has linked and heavily influenced by Hinduism and continues migrations of Hindus from Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms[13] of South India. Some of the Gastharas are believed to be descended from Tamil Hindu origins of Pandaram caste[14] of South India who also play an important role as priests in Hindu influenced Buddhist Devalayas medieval Sinhalese kingdoms.


Sub castes or Hath Gasthara Castes

The Hath Gasthara (Sinhala language : හත් ගස්තර) or seven types of Gastharas[15][16][17] had been recognized by sociologists in the Kandyan areas. They are as Rate Gasthara, Nilame Gasthara, Patti caste Gasthara, Vadda Gasthara, Poro Gasthara, Adiya Gasthara, (Professional mourners), Vahal Gasthara,

Rate Gasthara රටේ ගස්තර

In the period of Gajabahu 1[18] (c. 113 – c. 135) of the Anuradapura kingdom [19] invaded Chola[20] (Kerala) territory and liberation of the 12,000 Sinhalese prisoners seized in his father's reign and taken back of 24,000 persons after a successful military campaign. He settled them in the island and took away the jewelled anklets of the goddess Pattini, and the insignia of the gods of the four Devala. Gasthara Rate aththo is the caste of people who settled by Gajabahu 1 in certain villages throughout the country.[21]

File:Battle of kedah.jpg
A Siamese painting depicting the Chola raid on Kadaram (Kedah).

Nilame Gasthara නිලමේ ගස්තර

Nilame position is the office of the chief in Devalayas.[22][23] Nilame word from Tamil origin நிலம் (land). what-is referred to the Buddhist Temples or Hindu Devalaya[24] officials. The names of the officials were given according to their position in each Devalaya out of four Devalayas in Kandy. Due to the development of language and change of requirements, the Nilame [25] positions were changed and its names were changed.

Before Kirti Sri Rajasinha of Kandy of Nayaks of Kandy dynasty,[26] the Buddhist monks were not in the position of Upasampadā (high ordination). 

Under the guidance of Weliwita Sri Saranankara Thero[27] with Dutch assistance, king Kirti Sri Raja Singha successfully invited Bhikkus from Siam (Thailand) to revive the higher ordination of Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka. The chapter of Ganinnanses was over with this new situation. That was a period when the Vinaya[28] had been virtually abandoned and some members of the Sangha[29] in the Kingdom of Kandy privately held land, had wives and children, resided in private homes and were called Ganinnanses.[30]

The children of the Ganinnanses were named as Saga Pataw (children of Ganinnanses) [31] and the living places of them called Vihara Gedara (temple houses). The children of Ganinnanses also became a part of Nilame Gasthara.

Patti Gasthara පට්ටි ගස්තර

Patti caste or Patti Gasthara is a traditional caste of Herdsmen from Sri Lanka's feudal[32] past under the Nayaks of Kandy. They were a part of the feudal land tenure system and a sub-caste of the main Govigama caste. Found in the highlands and the maritime provinces.


In India, Patti Gasthara as a caste are a cluster of many endogamous communities which are traditionally categorised as Shudra.[33][34] In Sri Lankan history, Patti Gasthara caste had good and enduring relationships with other Govigama subcastes and they provided valuable supplement to agriculture.[35]

Vadda Gasthara වැදි ගස්තර

The Vedda [36] (Sinhala: වැද්දා [ˈvædːaː], Tamil: வேடர் Vēdar), or Wanniyalaeto, are a minority indigenous group of people of the island. Other than few surviving villages, Vedda minority in Sri Lanka become assimilated to Sinhalese nationality becoming Govigama caste as Vadda Gasthara caste. The Ratnapura District, which is part of the Sabaragamuwa Province, is known to have been inhabited by the Veddas in the distant past. The very name Sabaragamuwa is believed to have meant the village of the Sabaras or "forest barbarians". Place-names such as Vedda-gala (Vedda Rock), Vedda-ela (Vedda Canal) and Vedi-Kanda (Vedda Mountain) in the Ratnapura District also bear testimony to this. Vadda has a name of Vanniyala Aththo that mean Vanniar or Vanniyar,[37] was a title used by tribute-paying feudal chiefs in medieval Sri Lanka. It was also recorded as the name of a caste amongst Sri Lankan Tamils in the Vanni District of northern Sri Lanka during the early 1900s. Many Vaddas became Gasthara Govigama caste in history has been recorded.[38]

Poro Gasthara පොරෝ ගස්තර

Porovakara (wood cutters) or an ax users also was a sub caste of the main Govigama caste commonly used the word as Poro Gasthara. They were a minority community of wood cutters and a part of the feudal land tenure system of Sri Lanka but have now got absorbed into main Govigama caste but This community was classed as a sub-caste of the Govigama during the British period. In the period of Nayaks of Kandy the Porovakara caste observed by the monarch under the Porovakara Munandiram Nilame.[39]

Adiya Gasthara ඇඩියා ගස්තර

In the rule of Nayaks of Kandy only the lower-caste women are allowed to mourn publicly.[40] It's seen as inappropriate for privileged, Malabar royal women to cry in front of common Kandyan people. Because of this, professional mourners known as "Adiya Gasthara" caste of people are the ones hired to perform the task of mourning at royal funerals.[41]

Vahal Gasthara වහල් ගස්තර

A majority of historical Indian immigrants to the island from the most impoverished regions in South India, where they were predominantly landless and poverty stricken agricultural workers (Govi) of Shudra caste occupying the lowest position in the existing caste hierarchy. Some of them who doing free works under royal service and Devalayas (temples) as slaves named as Vahal Gasthara who later enter to the main Govigama caste.[42] Ancient rock inscriptions of Sri Lanka[43] and historical literature refer to this community as Pamunu Parapuruin contexts such as “........vahal, sarak, pamunu parapuru......” which translates into English as "slaves, oxen and heritable agricultural labour" (Epigraphia Zeylanica III.87,105,126& 132)


References

  1. ↑ Jayawickrama, Sarojini. An historical relation of the Island Ceylon (Thesis). The University of Hong Kong Libraries. doi:10.5353/th_b3123864.
  2. ↑ "Sri Lankan Caste System". Archived from the original on 8 December 2004. Retrieved 6 March 2009. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  3. ↑ Sarkar, Jayanta; Ghosh, G. C. (2003). Castes & Tribes at the time of Sanghamitta (Populations of the Saarc Countries: Bio-Cultural Perspectives By Jayanta Sarkar, G. C. Ghosh, p.73). ISBN 9788120725621. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help) Search this book on
  4. ↑ Chicago Anthropology Exchange. Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago. 1987. p. 54. Search this book on
  5. ↑ Maloney, Clarence (1974). South Asia; seven community profiles. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 64. ISBN 9780030118562. Search this book on
  6. ↑ "Hinduism". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Singer, Milton; Cohn, Bernard S., eds. (2007). Structure and change in Indian society (1. paperback printing ed.). New Brunswick, N.J.: AldineTransaction. p. 408. ISBN 978-0202361383. Search this book on
  8. ↑ "Types of tillage". Knowledge Bank. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  9. ↑ "livestock". Britannica.com.
  10. ↑ Hussein, Asiff (2001-01-01). The Lion and the Sword: An Ethnological Study of Sri Lanka. A. Hussein. p. 18. ISBN 9789559726203. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help) Search this book on
  11. ↑ Indrapala, K. (2005). "Early Tamil Settlements in Ceylon." The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, vol. 13, 1969. Due to Sri Lanka's close proximity to Southern India, Dravidian influence on Sri Lanka has been very active since the early iron age or megalithic period. pp. 43–63. ISBN 0-646-42546-3. JSTOR 43483465. Retrieved 4 March 2021. Search this book on
  12. ↑ Fernando, A. Denis N. (1987). "PENINSULAR JAFFNA FROM ANCIENT TO MEDIEVAL TIMES: Its Significant Historical and Settlement Aspects". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka. 32: 84. JSTOR 23731055.
  13. ↑ Peter Schalk, A. Veluppillai (2002). Buddhism among Tamils in pre-colonial Tamilakam and Ilam: Prologue. The pre-Pallava and the Pallava period. Uppsala University Library. Search this book on
  14. ↑ Thurston, Edgar; Rangachari, K. (2001). Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Asian Educational Services. p. 46. ISBN 9788120602885. Search this book on
  15. ↑ The hybrid island : culture crossings and the invention of identity in Sri Lanka. Silva, Neluka. London: Zed Books. 2002. ISBN 1-84277-202-3. OCLC 48977638. Search this book on
  16. ↑ Identity, consciousness and the past : forging of caste and community in India and Sri Lanka. Seneviratne, H. L., 1934-. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 1997. ISBN 0-19-564001-2. OCLC 37130224. Search this book on
  17. ↑ Yalman, Nur. (1967). Under the bo tree; studies in caste, kinship, and marriage in the interior of Ceylon. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-02054-5. OCLC 282805. Search this book on
  18. ↑ "Chapter II". Lakdiva.org.
  19. ↑ De Silva, K. M. (2014). A history of Sri Lanka ([Revised.] ed.). Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications. ISBN 978-955-8095-92-8. Search this book on
  20. ↑ "Archived Copy". Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2021.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  21. ↑ Indrapala, Karthigesu (1965). Dravidian Settlements in Ceylon and the Beginnings of the Kingdom of Jaffna. University of London. pp. 109–110, 371, 373. Search this book on
  22. ↑ Esala Perahara rituals and their significance
  23. ↑ Diyawadana Nilame - a crisis?
  24. ↑ "Protected Monument List 2012-12-12" (PDF). Department of Archaeology. 12 December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  25. ↑ "BUDDHIST TEMPORALITIES ORDINANCE". Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  26. ↑ University of Ceylon. (1956). University of Ceylon review, Volumes 14-16, p.129 states: Kirti Sri in turn married two daughters of Vijaya Manan Naicker, the grandson of a former king of Tanjore named Raja Vijaya Ragheva Naicker [1]
  27. ↑ Ratnasinghe, Aryadasa (June 19, 2002). "Ven. Welivita Saranankara - the last Sangharaja". Daily News. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  28. ↑ New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions, page 380
  29. ↑ "Definitions for sangha". Suttacentral.
  30. ↑ "ගණින්නාන්සේලා කියවිය යුතු සංඝරජ වැලවිට සරණංකර චරිතය". Archived from the original on 2017-01-20. Retrieved 2010-01-20. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  31. ↑ Thudugala. "Mudiyanse". http://www.worldgenweb.org/lkawgw/gen3143.html. http://www.worldgenweb.org. Retrieved 12 September 2021. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help); External link in |website=, |publisher= (help)
  32. ↑ feodum – see The Cyclopedic Dictionary of Law, by Walter A. Shumaker, George Foster Longsdorf, pg. 365, 1901.
  33. ↑ Guha (1993), p. 83.
  34. ↑ Singh (2004), p. 496.
  35. ↑ Feldhaus (1989), p. 105.
  36. ↑ "Evidence for persistent forest reliance by Indigenous peoples in historical Sri Lanka". www.shh.mpg.de. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  37. ↑ Rudolph, Lloyd I.; Rudolph, Susanne Hoeber (1967). The Modernity of Tradition: Political Development in India. University of Chicago Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-226-73137-7. Search this book on
  38. ↑ Boyle, Richard (2004). Knox's Words: A Study of the Words of Sri Lankan Origin Or Association First Used in English Literature by Robert Knox and Recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary. Visidunu Publication. ISBN 9789559170679. Search this book on
  39. ↑ Porawakkara. "Gasthara" (PDF). Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  40. ↑ Trawick, Margaret (2007). Enemy lines: childhood, warfare, and play in Batticaloa. University of California Press. p. 40. ISBN 978-0-52093-887-8. Search this book on
  41. ↑ Rajpal Kumar De Silva, Willemina G. M. Beumer. Illustrations and Views of Dutch Ceylon, 1602–1796, pp. 351–352. Brill Archive, 1988. ISBN 90-04-08979-9 Search this book on .
  42. ↑ Reeves, Peter (2014). The Encyclopedia of the Sri Lankan Diaspora. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet. ISBN 978-981-4260-83-1. Search this book on page 31.
  43. ↑ "Decayed fence discolours ancient inscriptions". sundaytimes.lk. 9 August 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2015.

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