Despite these setbacks Senarat survived as king and in had even concluded a treaty with the VOC. When help came it was in the form of a Danish East India Company fleet which arrived in , but failed to secure Trincomalee and was expelled by the Portuguese. The Portuguese strengthened their position throughout the s, building forts at Kalutara , Trincomalee , Batticaloa , and in Sabaragamuwa , and upgrading fortifications in Colombo , Galle , and Manikkadawara.
The battle was to be the last major military victory for the kingdom of Kandy, and succeeded in severely weakening the Portuguese presence in Sri Lanka. In May of that year he concluded a wide-ranging alliance with the Dutch, who were by now in control of Batavia. Batticaloa and Trincomalee fell in , Galle in , and Kandyan forces seized Portuguese territories further inland. Relations between the Dutch and the Kandyans had been difficult from the onset and the alliance fell apart in the s.
The two sides joined forces again in the s to expel the Portuguese, but a final break occurred in in the aftermath of the fall of Colombo after a six-month siege and the final expulsion of the Portuguese from Sri Lanka. Rajasinha demanded that the fort be handed over to the Kandyans for demolition; in November, the Dutch refused and drove the king and his army from the vicinity.
Rajasinha's hold over his own population was tenuous, and rebellions against him in and gave the Dutch the opportunity to seize large parts of Sabaragamuwa in , as well as Kalpitiya, Kottiyar, Batticaloa and Trincomalee. The seizure of the ports was a serious blow to the Kandyan kingdom — not only were Dutch holdings now more or less coterminous with the territory the Portuguese had held, but all Kandyan trade was now in Dutch hands.
Rajasinha attempted to negotiate an alliance with French , who seized Trincomalee, but were expelled by the Dutch in Kandyan campaigns in and recaptured some territory, but by the time of Rajasinha's death in neither city had returned to Kandyan control. Rajasinha's son ascended to the throne as Vimaladharmasuriya II , and his twenty-year reign — proved relatively peaceable.
A trade war broke out in , when the Kandyans closed their borders with Dutch territories in order to stimulate trade through the ports of Puttalam and Kottiyar. As a result, the Dutch lost control of the areca nut trade and retaliated; by Kandyan borders had reopened and both ports were closed. Several anti-Dutch uprisings occurred in the lowlands during the course of the s and s; the Kandyans in turn declared war in the Dutch in and seized some territory.
Hostilities subsided with the appointment of Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff as Governor, and by the Dutch and Kandyans were once again at peace. A succession crisis emerged upon Narendrasinha 's death in The king had one son — Unambuve Bandara — by a Sinhala consort. However, succession to the Kandyan throne was reserved exclusively for those of kshatriya ancestry on both their mother and father's side, and Unambuve's mother had been of a lower caste. With the support of the bhikku Weliwita Sarankara, the crown passed to the brother of one of Narendrasinha's senior wives, a member of the Telugu -speaking and Tamil -speaking Nayak house from southern India.
Relations between the Sinhala populace, including the Kandyan aristocracy, and the Nayakkars remained fraught throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. As early as Narendrasinha's reign, attempts at appointing Nayakkars to prominent positions in court had caused rebellion, including one in that the king had only been able to crush with Dutch assistance.
The Nayakkar nobility — which tended to be exclusivist and monopolise access to the king — was seen as forming an elite group privileged above the native aristocracy, the powerful adigars. Though Sri Vijaya Rajasinha's reign — proved relatively peaceful, his successor Kirti Sri Rajasinha had to deal with two major rebellions. The first, in , was directed at his father Narenappa; the second, in , was a far more dangerous insurrection which attempted to replace him with a Siamese prince.
Throughout the reigns of Sri Vijaya Rajasinha and Kirti Sri Rajasinha the Kandyans launched numerous raids and incursions into Dutch territory, including the annexation of villages in , , and The Dutch governors , subservient to Batavia , were under strict orders to avoid conflict with the kingdom, without ceding any of their privileges, including monopoly of the cinnamon trade.
In , however, Kirti Sri Rajasinha launched a major invasion of the low country, annexing Matara and Hanwella as well as numerous frontier districts. It was to prove to be a disaster; the Dutch re-captured Matara and Hanwella in , seized Puttalam and Chilaw in , and then drove inland in a two-pronged invasion. The Kandyans evacuated Senkadagala , which the Dutch torched; outlying agricultural lands were also ravaged, leaving the kingdom on the brink of starvation by Kirti Sri Rajasinha requested assistance from the British in , but failed to secure an alliance.
By the Dutch were in a position to force a treaty upon the Kandyans returning not only the border districts but all of Kandy's coastal provinces to the Dutch; henceforth, the kingdom would be effectively cut off from the outside world. Though several British sailors and priests had landed in Sri Lanka as early as the s, [19] the most famous was Robert Knox who published An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon based on his experiences during the reign of Rajasinghe II in One hundred years later, British involvement in Sri Lankan affairs commenced in earnest with the seizure of Trincomalee by Admiral Edward Hughes as part of general British-Dutch hostilities during the American War of Independence.
The tumult of the French Revolution had spread to the Netherlands by , and Dutch Zeylan sided with the Batavian Republic during the ensuing conflict. The British rapidly annexed Dutch possessions in Sri Lanka, taking Trincomalee which had been returned to the Dutch in between 28 and 31 August, Batticaloa on 18 September, and the entirety of Jaffna on 28 September. Migastenne Disawa, the Kandyan ambassador, negotiated a treaty in Madras securing the return of much of the eastern coast to the Kandyans in February ; by the 15 of that month, Colombo had fallen and Dutch rule on the island had come to an end.
Kirti Sri Rajasinha died in the midst of these events in January , and was succeeded by his brother Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha. The new king rejected the terms of Migastenne's treaty, depriving the kingdom of the opportunity to regain the lands it had lost a generation earlier. With the appointment of Frederick North — as the first British governor of Ceylon , any hope of the Kandyans regaining their eastern territories essentially disappeared. Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha died of illness on 26 July with no heir.
The English East India Company and the Crown both had control over the island from until it became the British crown colony of Ceylon in Much of the king's reign had been dominated by the powerful First Minister, Pilima Talawe, who now moved to enthroned a young relative of the king, year-old Konnasami as Sri Vikrama Rajasinha.
Muttusami, brother-in-law of Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha also claimed the throne of Kandy, but Pilima Talauve arrested him and his sisters. The First Minister, was close to the British however could not control Sri Vickrama Rajasinha, he coveted the throne for himself, and at meetings with the British at Avissawella between and requested British assistance in deposing Sri Vickrama Rajasinha.
Complex negotiations ensued, with various ideas — including the king being moved to British lands with Pilima Talawe acting as his viceroy in Kandy - were discussed and rejected by both sides. The territories still possessed by the Dutch on the island were formally ceded to the British in the treaty of Amiens , but the English Company still retained a monopoly on the colony's trade. Agents of the British were put in charge of lucrative pearl fisheries, cotton plantations, salt, and tobacco monopolies. This compensated for the lower price of cinnamon because of Dutch stocks in Amsterdam.
Amidst rising tension, matters came to a head when a group of Moorish British subjects were detained and beaten by agents of Pilima Talawe's. British demands for reparations were ignored by the Kandyans and so North ordered a British force to invade Kandyan lands starting the First Kandyan War. The British force installed Muttusami, but he was not respected by the Kandyans. The British were surrounded by hostile people, lacked food, and suffered disease.
Macdowall became ill and put Major Davie in charge. The British abandoned Kandy with the sick left behind were put to death. Kandyan forces defeated the retreating British at the Mahavali River, executing Muttusami and all the British prisoners except Davie and three others. This Kandyan war lasted for two years, becoming the longest and most intensive period of the Kandyan Wars , because Governor North continued to send forces to the frontiers. The British fought their way to Kandy, encountering Kandyan resistance led in part by a Malay commander known as Sangunglo.
Rather than torching it, they installed a puppet king, Muttusami, and left a small garrison in the town before withdrawing. The Kandyans recaptured the city, leaving only one survivor, and harried British forces down to the Mahaveli river, but were routed at Hanwella. The following year another British incursion resulted in stalemate, and an uneasy truce was in place by In the following decade Sri Wickrama Rajasinha's increasingly erratic and capricious rule led to serious unrest amongst the population. A major rebellion in the Seven Korales nearly dethroned him in The powerful Pilima Talawe rebelled in , was captured, and executed.
Ehelepola, suspecting a trap, refused; in revenge, the king had his wife and three children executed. Such was the cruelty of the execution that the Kandyan populace, not unused to sights of public execution, now turned en masse against the king. In November , ten British subjects were captured and mutilated in Kandyan territory.
Governor Robert Brownrigg ordered several British forces moved inland from their coastal strongholds in January , accompanied by native forces under Ehelepola. His son died childless in , bringing the Nayakkar line to an end. On 2 March , British agents — including Robert Brownrigg and John D'Oyly — met with the nobility of the kingdom and concluded in a conference known as the Kandyan Convention.
The resulting agreement allowed for the protection of Buddhism and the preservation of local systems of government under the authority of the British Governor in Colombo and supervised by British agents in Sabaragamuwa, the Three Korales, and Uva. In practice, however, local chiefs such as Ehelepola and Molligoda were acutely aware that they were ultimately answerable to the British, and were in practice junior to British military officers who now had free access to their domains.
Rebellion broke out in in Wellassa, spreading rapidly to Uva and Walpane. Keppitipola, Dissave of Uva, was sent to quash the uprising, but defected and joined the rebels instead. By July, every major Kandyan chief except Molligoda had joined the rebellion; several, including Ehelepola, had already been captured. Molligoda however ensured the road to Kandy remained open and on 30 October Keppetipola was captured. His associate Madugalle Adikaram was captured on 1 November, and thereafter the rebellion collapsed. Both leaders were beheaded on 26 November Though smaller uprisings occurred in , , and , none of them seriously threatened British government of the highlands.
The area of the central highlands in which the Kandyan kingdom was situated had the natural protection of rivers, waterways, hills and rocky mountainous terrain. The prominent location of the Kandyan kingdom with its cool climate had greatly contributed to protect the independence of the nation for nearly three centuries. According to the Kandyan administrative system, the king was head of all spheres. He was also known as "Lankeshwara Thrisinhaladheeshwara". It was accepted that the king owned all lands and therefore was known as "Bhupathi".
Even though the king was called "Adeeshwara", he had to rule according to the advice of the Buddhist priests and chieftains. The king had to follow the customs and traditions which were in popular practice at that time, otherwise the people would rebel against him if he did not. Not obeying these would be detrimental to the power of the king, an example being Vikrama Rajasinha , who had to surrender to the British , merely because he ignored the advice of the Buddhist priests and chieftains and did not follow the age old traditions.
The kings of Kandy became the rulers of the whole island with Vimaladharmasuriya I. Persons were appointed to the title and office by the King , these appointees made up the King's council of ministers. Only a very few Adigars existed at one given time and most senior of Adigars was known as the Maha Adikarm or 1st Adikar; similar to the post of a modern Prime Minister. There was no time limit for the office holder as he held the post at the pleasure of the King, which meant throughout his life, if not incurred the displeasure of the King. It was not hereditary, although members of the same family have been appointed.
Persons were appointed to the title and office by the King , these appointees headed the administration of a large province of the Kingdom known as a Dissava and was the king's personal representative, tax collector in that area. In modern terms the post was similar to a combination of the post of Chief Minister and a governor of a province of Sri Lanka. There was no time limit for the officer holder as he held the post at the pleasure of the King, which meant throughout his life, if not incurred the displeasure of the King.
Persons were appointed to the title and office by the King , these appointees headed the administration of a large locality known as Korale , which was a division of the province of the Kingdom known as a Dissava and as such he would be subordinate to the local Dissava. Diyawadana Nilame was an office of the Royal household, charged with safeguarding and carrying out ancient rituals for the sacred Relic of the tooth of the Buddha.
People drive the way they want. That is what causes the traffic. The most idiotic comment of the century!. Most definitely not from this planet. Which is more valuable to you? Please make sure this error is rectified. Vatican is the remains of the Roman Kingdom. Catholics were too strict, so the christians came. Evengelical christianity is like Wahabism to Islam. It is there to derstroy their founding religions. YOu can not translate Sathi Sampajannaya as conscience. Cross was used to punish the traitors of the Roman Kingdom.
My Dear Softy, I think you are more of a genuine character than most of the participant writers. I do agree with some of the things you have mentioned, for instance: This sentence does not makeany sense to me. Please be more precise in what you meant. An Outline of the teaching of the Buddha in the words of the Pali canon.
Compiled, translated, and explained by. Thank for your comment. At that time, I had forgotten it. Dimwit Jim Shitty, bible was a fiction? Go to Israel and see for yourself whether it is fiction or not. Your mahawansa is a day dream you fools have been cooking up. When did Buddha ever say that he was God or he had Godly powers. You made him God!!! I cannot believe there are idiots of such low caliber living amongst us. Keep dreaming about Buddhism, idiot!!!
Please go back to the beginning of the lesson. It is not 32, it is Who says Lord Buddha ever said not to worship his corporal remains even when he himself gave away flocks of his hair whenever he visited Sri Lanka which were deposited to build stupas? Lord Buddha clearly stated whose corporal remains are worthy for enshrining i. After the parinirvana, the four canine teeth were taken away by Gods, Nagas, a King and a Monk. The one took by the Monk was given to King Kalinga who sent it to Sri Lanka for protection when it received threats from Brahma rulers which is now in the Temple in Kandy.
Sacred Tooth Relics came a long way despite various attacks but miraculously saved from all atrocities. Therefore, humans should improve their understanding to respect a clean environment and show a genuine interest to overcome the problem which can easily be achieved by following traffic rules and not using vehicles that are major pollutant contributors. Idiot Champa, Buddha never visited Lanka. That story is a fabrication by the safron Toga wearing rogues. Buddha never asked anybody to worship parts of his body nor did ask you and me to worship the shitters, better known a Monks. Buddha wanted us to worship his Dhamma and nothing else.
The bloody ganayas had been demanding women not only of yore but even today. He said listen to Dhamma and follow the path. Stop insulting this greatest human being ever lived, Stupid. Ignorance is unbelievably corrupting all views of Sri Lankans, including on road congestion. OMG, is this only what you know about the word Lord?
In religion, the meaning of Lord is different. It is used to show respect and admiration. Some people inadvertently describe their own self when insulting others.
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I am sure you can do better. The simple answer is that the Sinhalese call him Budu Hamudurowo. My answer was relevant to the comment made by Pena Kiyanna. Champoo, Are you sure the Tooth Relic is real. It is about 3 inches long. Yes, I am sure.
Kandy: Visiting a City in Mourning
Do you know Christians and Muslims believe Adam was 30 feet tall? How big is Lord Shiva? It is believed that his head is equal to that of a full grown ancient stallion. The Buddhist scriptures state that he was a man of normal size.
Kandy Traffic Problem: Congestion, Pollution & Kandy Kassa – Colombo Telegraph
Please tell us what scripture says otherwise? What others believe about their gods is not relevant. Are you saying that Buddhists must believe bogus fairytales because others do it? Christians allowed the Shroud of Turin to be tested. It was a fake. Why not the Tooth Relic??? Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth with an image of a crucified man which had no origin. Some blood particles had found in the linen. Obviously, you have your own selective version of the truth. There is no such problem with the Sacred Tooth Relics. And most importantly, unlike the Shroud of Turin, Buddhists have no problem with that.
What non-Buddhists think about the Tooth Relics is not our concern. Champoo the liar, The Shroud of Turin was dated to around the 13th Century. So it is a fake. If it is real, no need to be afraid. Of course you are in doubt. When there are reasons for doubt, uncertainty is born. You are non arguably in the fourth. Kalama Sutta, I know, was not preached targetting Buddhism. What Lord Buddha meant was; as there were many religious leaders who forced people to belive in them as their respective doctrine is the only one that tells the truth and not others, and as a result people became vulnerable not knowing who to believe, Lord Buddha said people should feel free to inquire and then believe in such doctrines.
Buddhism is preserved in Sri Lanka due to great efforts by people who are genuine Buddhists. Buddhism is not only Dhamma, it is Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. Buddhists need to protect Sangha too. That is why we need to protect our temples, Ashrama and holy shrines like Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relics so that Buddhism will prevail for future generations.
Buddhism is a part and parcel of Sinhalese Buddhists which is what shapes our nation. There is no stopping. The manner in which you all have expressed your opinion on another religion shows who you are. Wisdom and compassion are core to Buddhism. Therefore a reply is not necessary. Non-Buddhists and seculars deserve my sympathy. My answers were relevant to the comments I chose to reply.
Anybody who observes your comments can see that you jump from one point to another picking few words here and there to reply like a gangster who shoots his gun sideways without any aim. Learn to think before you write incoherent arguments. If you argue rationally, you will get rational replies. Find some logical viewpoints and stick to them. It is easy to talk to people who knows the subject. IT is simply impossible to talk to idiots who pretend to know everything and talk only because of jealousy and hatred. As you know well about your Almighty Creator, tell us where is him.
Jimmy the dummy, I thought one needs a brain to use a computer. Well, wonders never cease!!!! How did Christianity spread all over the world, did Jesus visit those countries? The answer to that question is the answer to your lame question. If you are a Buddhist you should know the difference between Sri Lanka and those countries in terms of Buddhist traditions. As your questions prove again and again that you are not a Buddhist, I forgive you.
We follow the same tradition. The main reason is to give utmost protection to the Sacred Tooth Relics at the highest level of the reign which is believed to be protecting Sri Lanka despite all calamities. I have never seen this connection between religious relics and the ruler in any other country. Buddhism in Sri Lanka is unique to us. Even our ancient civilization was built on Buddhism and agriculture.
Kandy and the hill country
Champa I thought stupidity has a limit but not in your case and everybody on CT is laughing at or ridiculing you for exhibiting your stupidity in public. Israel was a Jewish country before, during and after Jesus. Just because Jesus Christ was born there, Israel did not become Christian.
India and Nepal were Strong Hindu countries before, during and after Buddha. Just because Buddha or any other religious leader being born there does not mean that the country should become Buddhist. According to your logic, Buddha should have visited all these countries for Buddhism to prevail but none of these countries claim that Buddha visited them.
Fortunately, for rational thinking people, even the Buddhist scriptures Tripitika does not say anywhere that Buddha travelled to such faraway places and nothing about his sermon or preaching in places like Lanka. Until today, even with the modern technology, none of the archeologists and history researchers in Sri Lanka are able to find any evidence what so ever to prove Buddha visited Sri Lanka.
Foolish Sinhala-Buddhists not all are made to believe the Mahavamsa Myth as truth and it goes on from one generation of fools to another. He must have had a long dream after having the locally brewed arrack. Why get all riled up by these stories? The Buddhists in Sri Lanka are made to blindly believe the fairy tales created by some pot smoking Buddhist monks.
They are fooling these ignorant SinhalaBuddhist idiots like Champa by showing a huge Dinosaur footprint and a huge animal tooth. There is another christian writing here who says, there are only 32 bodhi paakshika ddammas. Are you a Tamil christian? I heard that the actual Tooth was sold to the Portugese by the crooked B. I am sorry for your grandfather who lost one tooth to Portuguese.
And the smart Portuguese smashed and burned something they had bought? What is corrupt is your head. Yeah, a kid like you might not believe but a religion like Buddhism which has a history over years has its roots, foundation, rituals and civilization. By the way, is your name real? My grandfather also had a name Appuhamy plus 3 other before that who hailed from a village in down south.
Champa sounds like an Abiththaya who worked in the Buddhist temple. What did they feed you, the left over dana or punnakku? Unfortunately, years of Buddhism in Sri Lanka has not influenced any major changes in the Sinhala society in terms of attitude, character, behavior, morality, intelligence and so on. The Buddhist Monks in Sri Lanka are the most corrupt, most racist, and the most dangerous. How do you know it is 3 inches? Did you see it? You have absolutely no understanding of what you are talking about.
Being Tamil makes a good excuse for you not understanding the Sinhalese or for that matter the teachings of Buddha, or Buddhist culture, since you do not have the cultural background or roots or attachments to understanding anything other than what is practiced in Tamil Nadu. FYI the tooth relic of Buddha is sacred for all Buddhists in the world, and you are not capable of understanding what this relic signifies to the Buddhists of today and the Buddhist kingdoms of the past, since you simply do not understand anything outside of your Tamil universe.
It is longer than a human tooth. There are many descriptions by travellers too. That is an utter lie. No ordinary people or travellers were allowed to see the actual relics even in the ancient time. There are several caskets that protect the actual tooth relics. The tooth relic of Buddha is sacred for all Buddhists in the world with punchi brain like you and Champa, it signifies nothing but stupidity and blind belief.
Only a few Sinhala-Buddhists are unable to understand the teachings of Buddha and that is why you people venerate the bo-tree, a fake tooth and a mammoth footprint. As per the descriptions provided by J. Willis and Sir Emerson Tennent prove that the original tooth was carried to Goa and destroyed burned and pulverized by the Portuguese in It is a clumsy substitute too large to have been a human tooth , manufactured by Wickrama Bahu in , to replace the original Dalada destroyed by the Portuguese in Ernst Haeckel a well-recognized German scientist of the 19th century has said, it resembles the tooth of a crocodile or an ape rather than that of a man.
The Tooth Relic is exhibited! You are just exhibiting your hatred and ethnic jealousy. Really, spare me of these dumb Tamil theories. Sinhalese have fought precisely against Tamils like you invading our island killing us, destroying our temples and sacred books and killing our monks and trying to destroy our culture and religion.
Your Prabhakaran tried it and failed too. You and the ghetto refugee Tamils in the west are not going to succeed. Alternatively he could have pulled one of his teeth or got somebody to donate a tooth, if that was necessary. Nobody is going to take a 3 inch piece of ivory or some other animal tooth and say it is a human tooth, let alone a famous tooth as The Tooth Relic.
Relic worship has nothing to do with the Buddha Dharma itself, and no Buddhist says that it does. There is a controversy about what Buddha told about this, but calling the veneration of the Tooth Relic blind faith and ridiculing the relic itself is absolutely disgusting and it just demonstrates the hateful Tamil mentality. The problem is your hatred and your ignorance about the Buddhist culture and society in combination with your hateful Tamil mentality makes you incapable of understanding anything other than your Tamil culture, which makes it an impossible task for you to distinguish between Buddhist teachings i.
That is why the Portuguese called you people Modayass only good for gobbling kavum. When the British captured Kandy from the last king Kannasamy Nayakar aka Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, they were able to see this fake tooth and they have written about it. That is how Sir James Emerson Tennent, the colonial secretary of Ceylon was able to tell us it is not a human tooth. I am not interested in your gibberish bull crap about Tamil mentality, hatred, bla, bla, bla.
If that is what you think with your punchi brain, so be it, who cares. First, the road came first then temple came or road and temple came together unlikely. Nowhere in the world temple come first and road comes after a century. A similar ceremony Indira Vizha was being held in TN hoping, rail will fall in time for cultivation. Celebration make have started at even before 1st or 2dn century CE. Temple is Nathan Temple — Siva temple. Siva temple usual annual celebration is for nine days. That is why the celebration in for nine days.
The Hindu time them for harvesting seasons, where the vegetables are about to keep going 10 days of feats. That is why the Nathan temple nine days celebration is in august. The water is the celebration is the Theertha Thiruvizha, the symbolic final days of all Hindu temples festivals. When one temple starts celebration, neighbouring temple participating in that Hindu customs.
That why the plant Jackfruit tree at the start of ceremonies. The current ceremony created by Vivkramarajasinhan, a Hind King. He allowed the Casket to be carried in the Hindu Peruvizha. As a Hindu king who believed keeping tiger tooth in his palace is Luck-and Victory, he personally owned the tooth casket.
When the Nilame was appointed by English ruler they handed over everything to Buddhists. As per the materials I read it is not sure when the first Shiva title was awarded or Shiva was born. Mohenjo Daro was rebuilt four times from years back. Between that time interval Dravidian Brahmins have had many leaders and all were called Shivas. I did not read any numbers for how many shivas lived or I cannot guess any numbers on that either. That is why they call Shiva as Ananthan. Robert Knox who lived in the Kandyan kingdom for nearly twenty years before the British wrote about the Life in the Kingdom of Kandy.
The Tooth Relic was taken in the Perahera for the very first time during the reign of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe — at the request of the Siamese Monk Upali to give a Buddhist touch to the festival. That practice was later stopped. These days only the empty casket is mounted on the elephant. Since then it was held annually. However as various princes tried to keep the ownership of the Sacred Tooth Relics to themselves and due to many atrocities, it had to be kept in hiding for protection. There were separate pageants honouring four deities three guardian and one Bodhisatva — Upulvan a form of Vishnu , Pattini, Katharagama and Natha Maitri Bodhisatva due to Mahayana influence.
It was the book written by Robert Knox which made the British greedy about the wealth and the prosperity of Sri Lanka which led to their invasion. You must be out of your mind!! And Murugan is in Tamil Nadu, not in Kandy. What we have in Kandy and other Sinhalese cities is Kataragama deviyo and Pattini. Not Murugan and Kannaki Amman. This Punchi point is displaying his punchi brain.
I am not interested in your foot. Sinhalese were the first Hindus on the island. Long before the Tamils came here, or the Lord Murugan became associated with Kartikeya, Kataragama has been a place of Sinhalese worship of Kartikeya. When Sinhalese adopted Buddhism they never stopped worshiping Hindu Gods or practicing their pre-Buddhist animistic religious beliefs.
As for Pattini — Some say Kannaki worship was brought here by Keralite and Tamil settlers who settled among the Sinhalese and have got assimilated into the Sinhalese population , while others say it was brought here by Gajabahu. Whatever the story about how this Goddess got here, Kannaki has been modified and adopted by the Sinhalese as Goddess Pattini and so it is a Sinhalese deity and has nothing to do with the Tamils occupying the north and east today. Sinhalese were first Tamils in this island.
Even though the written language started only after the invention of the Brahmi script, Tamil was a spoken language thousands of years before it was put to writing. Ancient Shiva temples were all built by the Tamil Hindus. Kataragama was not only a Tamil place of worship but it was also occupied by the Tamils. The Sinhala government stopped archeological excavations in this area after the German team of archeological excavators found potsherds and other artifacts with Tamil inscriptions at Tissamaharama.
The German scholars who undertook the excavation provisionally dated it to around BCE.
During the early historic period, Tambapanni presently Sri Lanka and the southern part of India was inhabited by the Tamil speaking tribes. According to historians, the Naga tribes were also moving back and forth between Sri Lanka and South India. Later, those who moved towards the South of Anuradapura created their own language Sinhala because they were isolated from others whereas those who moved towards the North of Anuradapura closer to the Tamil mainland continued to use the Tamil language due to the influence from across the palk strait with free movement due to the Rama Setu bridge.
Please spare me of these dumb nonsensical Tamil theories. Please get it in your head that you are not convincing anybody of anything with these theories, because there is a big question unanswered in your theory — why did only a section of the Tamils adopt a new language, and a language not found anywhere else, and who are the Tamils presently occupying North and east. Tamils had your kingdoms in Tamil Nadu, not anywhere else. Vijaya is supposed to have come here in the 6th century B. C BC , and at that time there was no Tamil language. According to linguists eg Kamil Zvelebil at that time the proto South Dravidian language which was the root language for all the south Dravidian languages approx 20 languages was still in the pre-Tamil state, that is Tamil had still not differentiated.
So, just stop these absurd obnoxious theories about Sinhalese being Tamils and our kings being Tamil. Sinhalese practice Hindu religious practices because Sinhalese were Hindus at one time, not because they were Tamils. As far as potsherds with Tamil Brahmi — even if any potsherd with was found, it is not going to prove anything expect that there have been Tamils living or trading there. FYI Tamil trading guilds were all over the region.
Also note that the plantation Tamils too will have the exact same historical and cultural connection to any potsherd with Tamil Brahmi found in Sri Lanka. First of all it is not a Tamil theory, it is based on facts gathered from historical records and there are no unanswered questions. During the early historic period, the human settlements and civilization started around the Anuradapura kingdom. The Sinhala language evolved not in years but in centuries from Tamil and Pali.
Those who moved to the North closer to the Tamil mainland continued to use the Tamil language and practiced the Tamil Hindu religion Saivism. After the Chola rule of Anuradhapura and then Polonawara kingdom a kingdom created by Rajendra Chola ended, Sinhala Kingdoms were established in Kandy, Kotte, and many other places in the South and a Tamil kingdom was established in Jaffna. Kamil Zvelebil very clearly says Tamil is the longest-surviving language in the world. The solution to the problem is to throw some shit into the temple.