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Vale: Preofessor Merlin Peiris, A Classicist Par Excellence – By Michael Roberts Source : thuppahis Punsara Amarasinghe, in The Guardian, 18 December 2022, where the ttile runs thus: “Prof. Merlin Peiris: The last of the Mohicans leaves the stage” The greatest quality that would aggrandize Merlin’s name above the current mediocre scholars in Sri Lanka is his intellectual tolerance towards dissent. The demise of Prof Merlin Peiris embodies the end of an epoch representing the humanities academia in Sri Lanka as he was obviously the last of those great doyens who lived when the country’s humanities education was prospering in those halcyon days at the edge of the British rule. Prof. Merlin was one of the first students of the maiden batch of Peradeniya University when it was shifted from Colombo in 1950 and began his flair for classics even before he entered the university under the wings of Noel Phoebus at St. Peter’s ...

Dec 28, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Greeks and Romans, humanities education, Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka, St.Peter's College

The Paravas in Sri Lanka and South India in the Sixteenth Century – By Michael Roberts Source : thuppahis Chandra R. de Silva It is likely that the paravas (also known as Bharathas in Sri Lanka to indicate their Indian origin) were working as fishermen and mercenaries in South India and the north western coast of Sri Lanka well before the sixteenth century. Tradition links them to the evolution of the catamaran (a small craft with two hulls) and with a major role in pearl fishing in the Gulf of Mannar. They were also proficient in chank (turbinella pyrum) fishing: chanks being seashells that were used to make ornaments and drinking vessels. The coming of the Portuguese to the region in the sixteenth century provides us many Portuguese records that illuminate the history and seafaring skills of this community.. Historian Jorge Manuel Flores, for example, quotes a mid-sixteenth century Portuguese document which records ...

Dec 26, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Duarte de Miranda, fishermen, mercenaries, north western coast, paravas, South India, Sri Lanka

MICHAEL ROBERTS – Thuppahi’s Blog Source : thuppahis MICHAEL ROBERTS was trained in history and the social sciences at Peradeniya University in Sri Lanka. This education was in the British empiricist tradition. His initial Ph.D work on agrarian policy took him into intellectual history as well as economic history and political economy. Once he began in the late 1960s to look at the social base of the nationalist movement in British Ceylon, his researches moved him into social history. That is, this involved a study of social mobility and elite formation. This shift was further promoted by his involvement in the interdisciplinary discussions of the Ceylon Studies Seminar at Peradeniya, in which he was key founder. Obeyesekere and friends at the Sociology Department also furthered this transformation. Moreover, his oral history work among administrators and politicians in the late 1960s provided a foundation for his deepening engagement with the phenomenon of nationalism. ...

Dec 25, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Michael Roberts, Sri Lanka, Thuppahi's Blog

Muralitharan: The Arm that Did Not Chuck-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Dr Barclay “Buddy” Reid …. with highlighting emphasis imposed by The Editor, Thuppahi ** Boxing Day is back, reviving memories of the 1995 no balling of Muttiah Muralitharan, the greatest bowler of all time. Following the no ball call, the focus was on Murali’s elbow. Did he straighten it during delivery? The answer would determine whether the no ball call was justified. I was the first person called upon officially to provide the answer. I say “Officially” because the request to examine Murali medically came from Duleep Mendis the Manager and Arjuna Ranatunga the Captain of the Sri Lankan team. They chose me because of my experience in my regular job as an Independent Medical Examiner of injured workers for WorkSafe Victoria. I examined Muralitharan in the dressing room on the third day of the match and my conclusion was that ...

Dec 23, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Arjuna Ranatunga, Muttiah Muralitharan

At the Feet of Meeriyabedde Upananda Mahanayaka Thera-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis Padraig Michael O’Leary Colman, in The Sunday Island on November 27, 2022, where the title reads “The Monk and Me” On October 13, 2017, we heard the sad news of the death of our very dear friend, the Most Venerable Meeriyabedde Upananda Mahanayaka Thera, the Mahanayaka of Uva Amarapura Nikaya. We knew the Most Venerable Upananda for a long time before we realized how eminent he was. We just knew that he was a special human being. As well as being the High Priest of the Pelgahattene temple, he was also responsible for 56 other temples. It is difficult to find any information about our friend by Googling, although he was a monk for 80 years and at Pelgahattene for 50 years. He was not one of those celebrity monks who haunts the media, drawing attention to the man rather than the Dhamma. My ...

Dec 23, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Upananda Mahanayaka Thera

The Colombo Chetties of Sri Lanka : Three Essays – By Michael Roberts Source : thuppahis I. The Colombo Chetties of Sri Lanka by Shirley Pulle Tissera The Colombo Chetties form an integral part of Sri Lankan society. They are a separate ethnic group different from the Tamils, Moors, Malays, Burghers, and the majority Sinhalese community. In the census of 1946 (Vol I Para I) the Superintendent of Census, Mr. A.G. Ranasinghe, states that the Colombo Chetties must receive mention in a racial distinction of Ceylon. The term does not include the Nattukottu Chetties who have formed themselves into a guild for carrying on business in Ceylon and are only temporary residents of the Island. Colombo Chetty –a representation painted by Hippolyte Silvaf in the 1840s or so ** Origin: The Colombo Chetties belong to the Tana Vaisya Caste. The Vaisyas compose nobility of the land, and according to the classification made by Rev. Fr. ...

Dec 20, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Colombo Chetties, Nattukottu Chetties, Sri Lankan society

Forging Revolutionary Paths. In the Sea. Tamil Females ‘breach’ Arugam Bay – By Michael Roberts Source : thuppahis “The Rise of Sri Lanka’s Female Surfers,” — An Article by Zinara Rathnayaake with Snaps by Tommy Schultz, …. Introduction by Glenn T Goodwin: “A new, all-women Surf Club in Sri Lanka is enriching the country’s burgeoning surfing scene while defying cultural expectations. I had a chance to live in Sri Lanka for three weeks doing humanitarian relief work after the 2004 tsunami. The tragedy of lost lives and communities just made the harsh vibe of a chronic politically torn culture even more tense. Although much of the east coast was obliterated, I did get a chance to surf at Arugam Bay, (one of the favorite spots for Aussie surfers and one of mine too, my memory still reminds me of the sweet waves at Arugam). When I came across this article, I was stoked ...

Dec 19, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Arugam Bay, Sea, Sri Lanka, tsunami

Disappearing Burgher Surnames in Island Lanka–by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis “Disappearing Burgher Surnames in Island Lanka” …. Author and location unknown at present … and not to be confused with Careem’s article on “Disappearing Burgher & Malay Surnames in Island Lanka”…at… https://thuppahis.com/2017/01/30/disappearing-burgher-and-malay-surnames-i Pix of Burgher Tennis Club in the Fort of Galle in 1928 inserted here courtesy of David Colin-Thome … for names: visit https://thuppahis.com/2017/06/29/burgher-tennis-club-in-galle-circa-1928/ Some of the most colourful surnames that once stood as a beacon to help distinguish the ethnic backgrounds of locals have now gone into abeyance. The ethnographers are of the opinion that the frequent intermarriages with members of the prominent ethnic groups and the death of male line descendants have gradually airbrushed the identities of many minorities. However, it is unmistakably clear that many of the Lankan patronymics and surnames have European roots. The Ceylon Burgher Community is the finest exponent of this European Onomatology in Sri Lanka, as the members of the community ...

Dec 16, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged David Sansoni, Ramani Barthalomeaucz

Lylie Goderich: Memories are Made of These-by Michael Roberts Source:Thuppahis “Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel,” It was in the early 1950s that I met Lylie, and it didn’t take us long to build a friendship that grew into a warm and deep rooted affection for each other. Lylie, with his parents, brother and sister lived in a modest home at Kotahena and I often visited him on my bicycle for a friendly chat. I lived at Dematagoda and although it was quite a distance to ride, it was worth the effort. During our youth we took an interest in worship at church and participated in its activities. The Anglican Church’s youth organisation was known as the “The Church of Ceylon Youth Movement” (CCYM). Lylie was a parishioner of “The Old Cathedral”, Kotahena (also known as ‘The Gal Palliya’ ...

Dec 13, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Church of Ceylon Youth Movement, Ima De La Motte

The Malay Pioneers of Cricket in British Ceylon-by Michael Roberts SP Foenander with Don Bradman in Colombo, 1930 Source:Thuppahis The Thuppahi item on “The Malays of Sri Lanka” ……………………………… (https://thuppahis.com/2022/12/04/the-malays-of-sri-lanka-a-new-book/#more-68598) encourages me to elaborate, albeit inadequately, on the pioneering role of Malay personnel in the development of cricket in British times in the 19th century. On this issue my own work in the 1980s which led to the book People Inbetween (Colombo, Sarvodaya, 1989) can be supplemented by the information compiled by two indomitable cricket historians of yesteryear: SP Foenander and SS ‘Chandra’ Perera. SP Foenander (ed.): Sixty Years of Ceylon Cricket, Colombo, The Ceylon Advertising & General Publicity Co, 1924, pp 24-26. SS Perera: The Janashakthi Book of Sri Lanka Cricket, 1832-1936, Colombo, Janashakthi Insurance., pp 29ff Contemporary enthusiasts should note that the rules of cricket in the British world in the early 19th century were quite different from those prevailing in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. ...

Dec 7, 2022 Posted by eLanka admin In Articles, Michael Roberts Tagged Sri Lanka Cricket, Vijitha Yapa Publishers