The Spirit Keeper of Fathima, continued ….
THE YAKKADA DOLIYA
(This may have happened exactly as I imagine)
It is a day of celebration.
With the first harvest for the year in the Maha season, the first portion of rice is given to the Temple. People from the kingdom of Kurunegala gather in celebration at the Aluth Sahal Mangallaya and the king is invited with his retinue.
Fathima adjusts her light Blue shawl over and around her face and looks at her reflection on the highly polished Brass. She is told by her mother to dress simply for the Mangallaya, but her eyes sparkle with the Black kohl she has mischievously applied making them more mysterious and alluring. She giggles and yells at her sister to hurry up.
She is looking forward to joining the festivities and her family is excited to be invited by the officials. The invitation arrived without fail, on time as usual. After all people from The House of Khorazan in Persia settled in Maddeketiya have made their presence felt in Royal courts ever since. They have offered their services of diplomacy and trade across the seas.
Her grandmother tells her stories of several hundred years. Various kings rewarding people of the faith, with lands ‘as far as the eye can see’. She has to guess which king for which land to which family. It is a game they like to play.
The Sinhala brothers are good on the land at agriculture, but the Muhammedans are known for their astute business skills and sailing the seas among other things. The family is connected to various Muslim clans that make Lanka their home. And like them they have sailed from faraway lands and been welcomed with open arms and admiration for the skills they bring. Their collective community boasts among others, famed doctors and her father’s friend from the land of Somalia in Beruwela is one such scholar. It is a harmonious relationship and a successful one for the kingdom.
* * * * * *
Following the wafting scent of incense and flowers she and her sister move through the crowd, holding hands. The sister carries a Nelum leaf with Jasmine to offer, as they make their way towards the holy chant. The family is already standing at a vantage point, to watch the drummers and the priests in procession. Fathima drags her sister and manages to squeeze themselves in place, as her mother glares at them for wandering off. She cannot reach Fathima to pinch her, as here come the horses… and here comes the King.
* * * * * *
The village of Aswedduma still stands today.
The literal translation of the name As–Wedduma means ‘eyes struck’ or ‘eyes met’.
It can also mean Harvest.
The Aluth Sahal Mangallaya happened here, where Bhuvenakabahu I and Fathima were both present.
When the King saw the girl with the unforgettable eyes, wrapped from head to toe, it is said that he commanded his minister to bring her to his harem, as he wanted to discover the rest of her.
This corroborates with most versions I have heard.
As we listen to Mehru, she further confirms the story that has been passed down from her family for generations.
* * * * * *
But at this first meeting with Mehru, I feel this is not the way I want it to progress. My approach has a level of ease and trust that gives way to subtle and in-depth conversations. There has never been a harried effort or persistence nor cold inquiry to any information.
Though I let Irosha ask the predictable questions, I know I shall return to this place, alone. As I listen to Mehru, I can feel her eyes never leave me even though she is answering Irosha.
A day later we sit side by side on the low dusty wall.
She shows no signs of surprise when I seek her again, and leads me inside. I try to explain with clarity why I am here, but I know she has already made up her mind, and it does not matter what my reasons are.
Then she tells me a story. A long one that have me hurting. Have me questioning, and those we mull over together and attempt to answer together, the women we are.
When Fathima gives birth to the Prince, she knows she is at a better and stronger position.
The palace harem has not been a place of joy for her. She is very alone, an outsider and considered a heathen though she has the privilege of the Yakkada Doliya. She has been constantly targeted by 66 other princesses vying for his attention. The principal queen (Ran Doliya) herself has been on a constant collision course, with all of the king’s attention on the new consort.
He has been her only joy. He, who beds her daily, stays with her, laughs with her and loves her.
And he has been generous and kind despite the despair of the Ran Doli and the monks. He has treated her family well, gifting lands and positions in court.
And now, he has the son he craved for and adores.
When she asks him to make the prince his heir, he does so without hesitation.
The prince is sent to Beruwela for his education among his own.
The Kapu Mahaththaya and Mehru are both in sync here.
She & I are of the view this could be because the palace was not a safe place for the only heir of the king among people who ostracize him for his mixed blooď.
His aunt accompanies him, and is by his side until he is of age to return. Fathima maintains her Favourite Wife position back in the palace.
On the return of the prince, the king entrusts him with the duties of the treasury.
The Title Wathhimi now firmly part of his identity is derived from ‘Wasthuwata Himi’
Wasthuwa - treasure/treasury/fortune
Himi - owner/belong
* * * * * *
When his father goes to war with the neighbouring kingdom it is known that the Ran Doliya (Principal Queen) is pregnant and gives birth to a baby boy.
This prince is smuggled away to Kalundawa by a washer woman and raised as a Farmer – Kalundawe Gamarala Appuwa. (There is a subplot here with a Royal Elephant and how he became Parakramabahu II)
At this point history books are very sketchy and confusing and we are subjected to a lot of assumptions and contradictions of the ruling monarchs themselves. The identities have multiple narratives and most contradict. There are times too that this could be two separate events.
It is strange why Prince Wathhimi’s name has been erased and nonexistent in chronicles. It feels like a systematic omission.
Though Pujawaliya and Nikayasangrahaya during Gampola period, mention a similar king with the name Wathhimi Wijeyabahu depite his mixed race paying homage to Buddhism with great respect, it is unclear in reference to others and timelines, as well as in name - Wijeyabahu.
It is also an odd observation, with so much folklore corroborating and supporting the mixed race Prince, and after his untimely death being conferred as the deity Galebandara who is venerated in these lands, a record nor clear mentioned is found in historical documents of that period, except in two recent studies - Kurunegala Vistharaya and Religious Interface & Contestations being the only documents with comprehensive mentions.
Stories passed down orally have in later centuries given birth to numerous kavi, Nadagam and folk theatre despite this. I encounter many people, both Muslims and Buddhists daily visiting shrines associated with Galebandara for blessings before work. I speak to them and he is an essential and intricate part of their lives. Then Why would a supposedly scheming, demonic king be conferred as a God by Buddhists is another reason to doubt many versions of the story.
* * * * * *
Mehru & I try to imagine the news of a new baby boy, Prince Kalinga, the day the King leaves for war.
We both feel that given the King’s deep love for Fathima, a son that he clearly trusts and respects and far older than the new baby, there is little chance of him changing his mind. But would Fathima feel secure in the face of pressure from the Sinhala Buddhist court, citizens and monks? Then again, would she dare conspire in the face of such a large opposition, knowing she has nowhere to run?
There are many versions of the Flag conspiracy.
The king informs the Harem that if he wins the war, the White flag will be hoisted and if not, the Black. They crowd on top of Balumgala (lookout rock) in Polgahawela, the kingdom where King Agbo II ruled, the king’s father.
What happens thereafter is a dramatic tragedy worthy of any Greek play.
Bhuvanekabahu wins the war, but all they see is the Black flag. The Harem, all women and children jump to their death in grief. Except Fathima and Wathhimi.
At this point, questions arise.
There is no indication that the King too will follow this path soon after hearing the tragedy, and for all purposes he is alive and well on his way back, jubilant in his win.
Wouldn't Fathima be accused of conspiracy by the King? Why would she chance the wrath of the King by the mere fact that only she and Wathhimi are alive?
Here Mehru and I grapple with the idea of death with our children. I cannot imagine ever resorting to it and did Fathima know that the second prince was smuggled out of court in the hope of one day ascending to the throne? If so, then she knows that Ran Doliya jumped to her death without her son. Was that the deciding factor for her and the prince not to join the rest in death? Her son, only has her as a supporting ally in court. It is important she stays alive to make sure as the Eldest Heir he is rightfully in place.
Depending on which side of the religious divide it is related by, the following are several versions of the flag incident I have come across among these people:
-Both sides agree it could be a joke gone badly wrong, and this is a popular narrative - where the King to tease the harem hoisted Black, to follow it with White, unaware of the pact the harem had made of mass suicide.
-Fathima, planned it by suggesting mass suicide and bribed the messenger. (In this case why would the harem listen to a queen ostracized by them?)
-The Messenger, in his drunkard joy of winning the war, hoisted the wrong flag.
-Ran Doliya decided, in the hope that Fathima and Prince Wathhimi too would join them, safe in the knowledge Her son was being groomed in obscurity to claim his place as the pure Sinhala Budhhist King. This version is of my own and a great possibility of a mother sacrificing herself for the benefit of her child.
* * * * * *
With everybody dead including his father- the king, Wathhimi at one point takes reign.
It is a bad time for the kingdom with crops failing and a strife beginning to form between his clan and the monks with a mixed blooded King on the throne.
There is a possibility of a great treasure in the lake that can end most of the woes of the people. The king is determined to lay his hands on it and help the kingdom. He resorts to human sacrifice suggested by Kattadiyas/witch doctors. The monks are agitated as most sacrificed are Buddhists not Muslims. They hatch a plan and invite the king for a Pirith ceremony to get the treasure, on top of Ethagala, and put assassins dressed as monks in place.
4 years after he took the throne, The King is dead.
Fathima flees to the jungle.
(
*****************************
Further notes:
-Photos are published with permission.
facingmaha.blogspot.com
On the foot of Ethugala. Where the king plunges to his death when the stage collapsed, lies Galebandara Devale.
The king in Demon form rampaged the country seeking revenge for his murder and to appease is conferred as a regional deity God Galebandara, by all the Gods of this nation. It is the Only Devale in Sri Lanka paying homage to all Gods as a result.
(There is a sub plot of a wood cutter manifesting the spirit of Galebandara in human form, and that is why the God is depicted wth a Keththa/sickle. I find it poetic justice that the sickle also is in the shape of the crescent moon)
-Close by lies the Muslim pilgrimage site or Ziyaram for the Awliya/ God Galebandara in the Sufi tradition, with hereditary custodians looking after it. It is said the head of the King that separated from the body by the fall, landed/was brought here.
-The Salagama caste of Sri Lanka has connections to the story. For Prince Wathhimi’s coronation and marriage, Nambudiri Brahmins from India were brought in by Lebbe Marikkar and Periy Mudali Marikkar of Beruwela, as the monks and officials refused to perform the rights for a Mixed Blooded King. Weerakkody, Wijerama and names ending with Muni are from those who came for the rituals, and they were given lands by the king to settle in Lanka.
-Buvenakabahu I sent Al Haj Aby Uthman to the Mamluk Court in Egypt to negotiate trade – Dr Lorna Devarajah/ Muslims of Sri Lanka. A clue as to the functions and workings of the Royal court of Lanka and the role of the Muhammedans
-Doliya is a pallenquin, pronounced 'Dhorliyer'.
Ran (Gold) Doliya is the Principal Queen. Yakkada (Metal/Steel) Doliya, the Lesser Queen.
Further sources:
-Religious Interface & Contestations between Buddhists & Muslims in Sri Lanka – Kalinga Tudor Silva, Afrah Niwas, W.M.K.B. Wickremasinghe
-Kurunegala Wisthara – Rangana Kuruwita
-Pujawaliya/Nikayasangrahaya interpretations by Prof. Gananath Obeysekere
- Poojya Degammada Samajothi Himi - 1964
Continued. Final Part. Mehru’s Story
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