Early Settlement Period

6th Century B. C. to 377 B. C.

Traditional History

Traditions handed down over centuries and recorded much later in the Pali Chronicles and, sometimes, substantiated by earlier Indian literature and writings of Chinese (Buddhist) travellers have formed the basis for a history verging on mythology. This cannot be called history as the term is understood today. Nevertheless it does have a basis of truth, as most myths do, and provides a framework from which one can attempt to deduce the actual happenings in this dim and distant past.

The story begins in northern India. The geography and place names as related in the Mah&amacronva&mdotsa are confusing and inconclusive as to where exactly the story begins. The present consensus of opinion is that it began in ancient L&amacron&ldota (or L&amacron⃛a), which was in the region of modern Gujerat in northwestern India. It was here that Si&mdothala (or Sinhala), the son of a legendary union between a princess and a lion, formed his own kingdom with Si&mdothapura as the capital. His eldest son, Vijaya (or Wijayo), was a wayward youth whose misbehaviour angered his father who banished him from the kingdom.

Vijaya, the hero of the traditional history of the Sinhalese race, set sail from the northwestern coast of India with seven hundred followers. They put in at Supp&amacronraka (modern Sop&amacronr&amacron, north of Bombay) but were evicted by the local inhabitants because of their violent behaviour. After many adventures, akin to those of Ulysses, they reached Sri Lanka. They landed on the northwest coast of Sri Lanka and because of the red colour of the coastal soil in this area due to its high copper content they named the area Tambapa&ndot&ndoti. According to the Mah&amacronva&mdotsa they landed in the year 543 B.C. on the same day that the Buddha attained Nirvana. The demon queen, Kuve&ndoti, accosted Vijaya and his followers soon after their arrival. Vijaya managed to overpower her and make her his consort. She helped him to kill her subjects, the Yakkhas, and take over her kingdom.

Vijaya ruled from Tambapa&ndot&ndoti whilst his ministers founded various settlements to which they gave their own names. He did not wish to be consecrated king unless he had a queen from a noble house alongside him. His ministers, therefore, obtained for him a South Indian princess from Madurai. Kuve&ndoti, who had borne two children from her union with Vijaya, went back to her own people with her children and was killed by them for her treachery. Her children escaped and from their union arose a hill people called Pulindas. It is likely that this name was applied to the jungle people of Sri Lanka before the term Vedda ('V&aumlautdd&amacron') became common. From then on it was a success story for Vijaya and his followers. They colonised the whole island, made it fertile and attracted more colonists from India.

There are many versions of this story, from different sources, based on the same theme. An account given by the Chinese Hsuan Tsang states that Si&mdothala, the son of a merchant named Si&mdotha, founded the original kingdom in Sri Lanka (known as Si&mdothala in ancient India). He arrived on the island with five hundred followers and underwent the same enticements, by cannibalistic women, as Vijaya. The Chinese traveller, Fa Hsien, gives a more realistic version of the story. He maintains that merchantmen of different countries visited the island. The island, at that time, was populated by demons that did not appear in person but only exposed their valuable commodities with the value affixed. "In consequence of these visits," he says, "men of other countries hearing of the wonderful attractions of the place, flocked there in great numbers and a kingdom was founded."

Vijaya died without legitimate male issue in 505 B.C. His uncle, Upatissa, rules as Regent for about a year until Vijaya's nephew, Pa&ndot&ddotuv&amacronsudeva (Pa&ndot&ddotuvasdev), arrived. He is said to have come from the North-Eastern coast of India with his retinue and landed at Goka&ndot&ndota, near modern Trincomalee, before travelling to Upatissag&amacronma, the seat of government at the time, to be consecrated king in 504 B.C. He was succeeded by his eldest son Abhaya (in 476 B.C.) who was dethroned by his nephew Pa&ndot&ddotuk&amacronbhaya in 437 B.C. Pa&ndot&ddotuv&amacronsudeva was probably the first king to build a tank. Irrigation by means of tanks and canals became an important part of this agricultural society living in an arid zone.

Recent theory

Recent research by some historians has put a new and controversial slant on traditional history. The story now starts with Si&mdothala, a chief of the Gr&amacronma&ndoteya clan in the Indus valley. Alexander the Great had marched into India and was in control of the Indus valley around 325 B.C. but his army was tired. He did not advance any further into India, where more opposition from the new Mauryan empire was likely. He returned to Babylon and died in 323 B.C., at the age of thirty-two. However, he left behind troops with generals in command to keep the conquered territory under control. Si&mdothala made a secret alliance with one of Alexander's generals (Seleucus Nicator) against Chandragupta Maurya, ruler of the Mauryan Empire. Chandragupta overpowered Seleucus Nicator and Si&mdothala, who had married the Greek general's daughter, fearing reprisals, fled south. He invaded the Pu&ndot&ddotra (west Bengal), P&amacron&ndot&ddotya and C&omacron&llinea countries. His son Muru&ndot&ndota Śiva (Mu⃛asiva of the Mah&amacronva&mdotsa) sailed south and established himself in Sri Lanka, becoming king of Pu&ndot&ndotra, P&amacron&ndot&ddotya, C&omacron&llinea and Sri Lanka. He ruled circa 307 - 281 B.C. His son Pa&ndot&ddotuk&amacronbhaya made Anur&amacrondhapura his capital. Traditional history places the foundation of Anur&amacrondhapura at 377 B.C. but if the new research is believed it was actually founded about 100 years later. In this version, Vijaya, Pa&ndot&ddotuv&amacronsudeva and Abhaya are not mentioned and Mu⃛asiva and Pa&ndot&ddotuk&amacronbhaya have changed places in the chronological order of kings.

Epigraphical evidence

The earliest evidence of these migrations are the many hundreds of caves with inscriptions engraved on their brows and found in various parts of the island. The script of these records is the same as that used in northern India from about 600 B.C. The edicts of Emperor Asoka are in the same script, called Br&amacronhmi, and a comparison with the letters of these edicts leads to the conclusion that the Sri Lankan inscriptions were made from (approximately) the last quarter of the third century B.C. to the end of the first century A.D. More recent dating of inscriptions in this script made on fragments of pottery suggests that the earliest inscriptions were made around 500 B.C. The language of these inscriptions belongs to the Indo-Aryan family of languages, of which Sanskrit was the most developed, and it is from this that the modern Sinhalese language evolved.

A realistic view

If we put aside the myths, the legends, the racial and religious bias we are left with some assumptions from which a more realistic story may emerge. There was migration to the island from northern India commencing somewhere between the sixth and the fourth century B.C. These early colonisers were of Indo-Aryan origin and we know this because the language they brought with them and which ultimately became Sinhalese is akin to the Indo-Aryan languages. There is a certain uniformity in the various reports about the island at that time, which maintain that the island was peopled by man-eating demons. R&amacronm&amacronyana, the Indian epic, written circa 300 B.C. and recounting events that took place about six hundred years earlier, depicts R&amacronva&ndota, the king of Sri Lanka as a demon. It is likely that this describes the Neolithic culture that existed in the island at the time. Recent excavations have suggested that the 'Bala&ndotabovegoda Man' (remains of a Neolithic man, circa 500 B.C. excavated near Bala&ndotabovegoda) was cannibalistic. On the other hand, merchants who tried to keep competition away from the island may have originated these horror-stories.

The reason for this sudden surge of immigration at this particular time is not clear but this is a similar pattern of migration to that of the Celts in Europe at about the same period. The reasons for the migration were similar. These were young people, looking for a new life in a land, which they felt offered better economical prospects. Most of them could have been merchants who arrived to trade and decided to stay. It has been suggested that these early immigrants were merchants attracted by the pearl banks in the northwest and the gem trade in the southeast.

This migration (in common with similar migrations in other parts of the world) occurred in successive waves over several years. With each wave, a tribe or connected tribes would move in and either absorb, push into the remoter parts of the island or exterminate those already inhabiting the area. It is clear that the Si&mdothala (or Sinhala) tribe ultimately became dominant. They may or may not have been the first of the immigrants.

Immigration from North-Eastern India also occurred and is confirmed by the affinity between the Sinhalese language in its early stage of development and the languages of eastern India. These people from North-Eastern India arrived at Goka&ndot&ndota, near modern Trincomalee. It seems, therefore, that the earliest Indo-Aryan immigrants arrived in North-Western Sri Lanka, made their way inland along the Malvatu Oya and established various settlements on the banks of this river. One of these settlements, Upatissag&amacronma, became the first seat of government and Anur&amacrondhapura, further up the river, was the next. Those immigrants who landed on the North-Eastern coast made their way inland along the Mahav&aumlautli Ga&ndotga. Another group of immigrants settled in the southeast at the mouth of the Valav&emacron Gaňga near modern Ambalantota. They made M&amacrongama (modern Tissamah&amacronr&amacronma) the seat of government for their region, which was named Ruhu&ndota.

All these early settlements were in the dry-zone, which occupies about two-thirds of the island, and their staple crop was rice. The earliest colonists depended on the North-Eastern monsoon for the rain to cultivate their single annual crop of rice. These rains are, notoriously, unreliable. It is difficult to understand why these early immigrants, who were agriculturalists, decided to settle in the driest part of the country rather than the wet-zone in the west. Could it be that there was already basic irrigation available in these dry areas, instituted by their predecessors? Or was it because the wet-zone, covered by thick, tropical jungle and uneven terrain was not as attractive as the dry-zone with its open spaces and more even terrain? Perhaps it was because of both of these factors. We don't really know the answer. As the settlements expanded, a regular source of water for cultivation became essential. This was obtained, initially, by cutting channels from rivers and later by constructing tanks (reservoirs). These early immigrants had the use of iron, which was available in India from the tenth century B.C. and had probably been introduced to the island even before their arrival. A village system, similar to that existing in India, was established. The religion practiced prior to the introduction of Buddhism was Hinduism, which originated in northern India.

The people already in the Island at the time of this immigration, the Veddas and even people of a Megalithic culture (thought by some archaeologists to be Dravidian or proto-Dravidian), would either have been driven away into the jungles (as the Veddas were) or assimilated into the immigrant culture (as, it is likely, the early Dravidians were).

The first few hundred years of colonization were exceptionally productive in the spread and development of agriculture as a result of a superb system of irrigation. Traditionally it was Pa&ndot&ddotuv&amacronsudeva who started the building of tanks under the guidance of Jotiya, a Brahmin from India. There is evidence, however, that these tank-building skills already existed in the island. The whole expanse of the dry northern plain was transformed from jungle into cultivated fields, villages, towns and roads.

Dravidian influence
The earliest evidence of a possible Dravidian (or proto-Dravidian) presence is that of a Megalithic culture at Pomparippu in the northwest of the island. Significantly, a similar site is present in the adjacent part of South India at Adichchanalluri. This site is dated somewhere between 300 and 500 B.C. The implements used by this group of people were made of iron. Their settlements had four distinct areas - a living area, a tank (reservoir), fields and a burial place. They are thought to have introduced irrigation systems to South India and some researchers suggest that they were the originators of the Dravidian group of languages. There are several such Megalithic sites in Sri Lanka and if they are, in fact, of Dravidian origin, there is no doubt that this culture from South India had a strong influence on Sri Lanka.
By the third century B.C. there were substantial urban and trading centres of Dravidian origin in South India. These were sea-faring people and it does seem likely that they did come to the island either to trade or to settle in the same way that the Indo-Aryans did. There must have been trade relations between Sri Lanka and South India in these early times and trade between Sri Lanka and the countries of the classical Mediterranean world was probably occurring through South Indian ports.

The first recorded invasion by Dravidians was in 237 B.C. (according to the Mahavamsa) or in 177 B.C. (according to recent research). Two mysterious characters, identified as Tamils by the Mahavamsa, but thought by some historians, on rather tenuous grounds, to be merchants from the Sindu (Indus valley) region, killed King Suratissa and ruled in his place for twenty-two years.

It is clear that Sri Lanka was a multi-ethnic society from very early times and the Dravidian component was always present but not powerful or influential enough to alter the Indo-Aryan character of the island.
