130 JOURNAT/, R.A.S. (CEYT,ON). [\rOL. xvl]I.

NOTIIS (}N A DI]TCH }TEDA], 1:,1

11o.54'-190i)'l

NOTES tJI{ A. DUTCII MEDAL.*'

By P. E. Ptunrs, M.A., C.C.S., Brrrister'at-Law.

'I'HE medal inluesiion is a small plain oval one of goldi

rnanifestly of European workmanship; antl resembling ia
size and make the one presentecl in 1682 to the Mecla K6ral6
Dissav6 (R. A. S. Journir,l, vol. X\{I., p' 54). The eclge had L
$
a
been once clipped, anil has been replacecl locally, apparently
in l-876 (uid,eD. C., \Iatara, No' 31'035)"
'\
The lettering is fortunately intact. On the obverse is
the follorving inscriPtion :-
l'cr t.
Door den r\drnirael
Ryclcloff van Goens
Voor goede cliensten
Yereert Aen Ileester'
Authonio Rabel OPPer:
Vidane Van de Betmes-
etr Colalc Van elo clolcs
clas Corla 1661.
Tra,nslctt'iort
Presentecl by the Acimiral Ryckioff van Goens l,r Meester
A.nthonio Rabel, Upper Yicl5,n6 of tho Beimas ancl K6rdla
of the Dolosdd,s K6ral6, 1661, for his gooci services.
On the reverse, rvitilin a wreath, is-
Ceyr,oN
*sNx
.-Sl -: SSc{"S S
e4
L
:
ra

lecnr MEESTETi
The last rvorcls mean " master of the hunt."
A special interest attaches to this medal from its date and
from the caste ol thp r'lonee. It js the oidest Dutch medal
$N$${s
{' *
See footnote, p, 137.-B., I:foLt, *et:,
{ 1l-) Jc)uliNAT,. R.A.S. (CrryrrON). [vOL. xvlII. 1r4. ;14.-19011.]
llorus oN A DUitcH MEDAI,.
1
':)

that has yet been tracecl, for the one 'lvhich accoriling to
traclition hacl been conferred on Doir Joan cle Costa Manam-'
peri Rajapakse, Maha Mutlaliydr oll the Governor's Gate,*
is not forthcoming.
The grantee, Rabel, is clescribecl b5. I3ald:.eus as "a brave
Siphalese, a native of Mature, in our sel'\,ice," during whose
absence from the Fort of Hakmana in Jtly, 1656, it .ivas.
stormed by King Rija Sigha,'s i,roops.]' By caste he q'as a
Smith, a member of the important colony of tat"altctlaw6,
which is saicl to have been estab]ished in ihe eig]rth century of
the Christizr,n era by l{ing Dripulu Sen, in the neighbourhood
of Devi Nurvara, in connection s,ith tlre rvorship of the red
sanclal*pood image of Vishnu. Accorcling to the local belief,
he was born of humble parents at Belid eniya in Bambarencla
of the Wellaboda Pattuwa, and as an infant was abanclonecl by
his parents, n'ho left him in the hollorv of a jah tree, rvhere
he nras cliscoverecl by n passer-by. As a ;'outh he learnt to
support himself by making tish-hooks, rvhich he sold to the
fishermen along the coast, tiil one day he chanced. on sorne
shipwrecked I'hite men: to whom he rva,s of assistance ancl
one of s'hom subsequentlv returned as a irigh official ancl
pusheil his youthfui friend int<l 1l'ominence.
Rabel died before 1667. There is iu existence a lare ola
book of verse, apparently the rvork of a contemporary l'riter,
l'hich deals rvith his career ; but the only complete copy
that I have hearcl of appears somehow to have got irrto the
possession of the late IIr. H. Nevill of the Civil Servicer
ancl has since disappeared.
Besid.es this meclal, ancl abotc t,hree others conferred on
ruembers of the petted Chaliya, or Salagama caste,f no medals
appear to have been granted b--r- the Dutch to any save people
of the Goyirvansa.\
x R. A. S. Journal,
vol, XI., p. 366.
'i sne + r: J.. l|.j l!8.
I I'irLc E. A.. S. Journal, vo}. XYIL, p. {i2 ; I C, li. l!,., J0i1,
$ !'or an interqsting sidelight on the position occupied by
oaste at this time. ,r:irZc Le Grancl's Note. Zurl,s ltibeiro. p.6J.
It is not cleilr rvhether the \erm n'reester has zrny special
significance in this inscription; such an honorifrc cloes not
iippear in any of the seventeen other Dutch rnetlals tr am
a,oquainteal \Yith. l{r. }-. H. de Vos has pointecl out to
rne
rlrat the Portuguese-speaking class in Ceylon call auedarcilcr,
'[ounc[ llne term uerJa
(nrlive doctor) a meester. I have
iriistri apptied to a t"ctclaul (ilhobv) in a ileecl of 1E59.
We Sir3halese a,lso apply ihe term ntistri, to a barber, rvho
q,..;ye the original surgeons anxong European races ; among
ihe Gaile smiths t" rtt'ilstt''i is said to have been a pett.v
hearlman attachetl to the local arsenal. The smith family,
kr:orvn in 1730 as irt,ct',:1,r,' Arihd,rigi (t..e', arrowsmiths), had.
becorne in 1808 in'ilciu ni6stt'igd (Pror" Ct., Mi,iara,No' 1,470)'
'' ficttl7c{.s," says NIr. d.e lios, " were ilistricts in which the
lrrrni look place." In 1650 there rvere to:r:.-r betrn'ctsr\iz.;-
Flitigalle Uacune8otlile
II
Golloga,rnma Gilrervay
Hach had its t:itl,rittd or chief, ancl the hunt was unaler lh
sriperintendence of the Dissiir'6'
iii 1758 tr]ne J:iefuii6-t'dkt, t'ttt's al officel of th.e hunting
,,stablisbment, s'Jrose em.oluments consisteal of six amunatrs
,tt tlccon'r,ntot!.dssrrn fiel(ls. In 1821 tlrere r,vere four Betme
tr{rr-lranclirams. The rvord }}etnte, rvhich is probably from
the same root as tire Sir3halese {-tan,drrlta and the English
/vi.t'r,d^is still appliecl in the Matara Disirict to a strong glue
plepared froin lesin" The ollice of Master" of the llunt
lepresents the Sighalese $tbond,a'itu V'i,tltin6, which subse-
rlrrently ileveloped into the K{wu,tud Rcila ancl Kttruwd
tr*tr.l,cttiyr,i,r'. The title of Tritfuind s':rs helcl by some officers
,rt' the highest rank: Dou Davicl Jayaiilleke Abeysiri-
rvartlhana Tllangakoon, l\faha Muclaliyirr, was also Vidri,n6
ul- ltrd,kervita ; ancl Louis cle Sararn Wijesekera Karunaratne,
Second Maha lVludaliyd,r, "nvas l\{aha Yiclind of Pd,nadur6.
1!'ol partipuiars regarcling the elephant hunt, uid'e
ti. :\. S. Journal, vol. XI., p. 249, r'ol. XY., p. 190, ancl
the Smith
llrr,nuers, Portuguese Recorrls, p. 13ii. All castes were
1:14 .rouRNArr, ri.A.s. (cnyr,oN). Ivolr. xvIII.
engaged in the hunt, but the Gajam:r,rt llanchrrs appear to
have beerr recruited. from the Chand.o or DurAw6 castes, one
rnember at least of rvhich rose to the high position of
Gajanriyctka. Boih the Chando and Smith castes claim to
have iniiiatecl the elephant hunt.
The follorving is a list of offi"cers rvho hrlcl tahen part in
the hunt, so far as I have succeecled irr tracing thenr :-
(1) Don Philippo \{anamperi Arachc}ri, Ohief Vidrin6 in
1650.
(2) Ukkurvela Rale, engaged. in the huut, inrtl also in the
Giruwd, pattu : presentecl rvith fielils in Attairagala anil
Ampitiya.
(3) Kapugama Rale, son-in-larv of tlre above, rvho rvas
succeeded in his office by his son-itr-law--
(4) Ekanaike Don Simon Appuhami, rvho rvas granted a
complirnentary ola by Governm.ent.
(5) Ameresekere Rale, brother-in-1al' of No.3 : he had the
title of Jaagmeester.
All these held ofEce before 1696. It is pr:obable that-
(6; Anthonio Rabel rvas the predecessor of No. ir : meclal
in 166i.
(7) Don SimonWijeywardhana ('I'ennelioou ?), X[udaliydr,
Gajaniiyaka, ancl Jaagmeester : medals in 1715, I718, and 1720.
He before 1724, after serving Government forty-six
clied,
years in all capacities.
(8) Don Joan Seneviratne Wijeyrvickreme lllennekoon?
Mudaliyd,r, Gajaniiyaka, ancl Jaagmeester: medals in 1724
anit 1731 ; tlieil before 1744.
(9) Don Constantyn Wijediwakere Ekanaike, \fuclaliyar
and Gajand,yuka.
(10) Don Constantyn Dissanaike, Muclaliydr and Gaja-
nd,yaka : commissioned by Governor Loterr (l{ay 20,\756)to
leacl thirty-ono elephants to Jaffna.
(11) Don Simon Wijeyr,vardhana N&varatne 'JJennekoon,
Mudaliyrir ancl Gajandyaka : living in b:rnishmeni in 1760.
No. ir4.--1903.] Nonus oN A DUl'oH lrEDAr,.
135
(12) Don Bastian Tilekewardhaira Abeyratrre (a Chando),
Sajand,yaka: rolinquished office in 1763; succeeded by-
(13) Don Constantyn Dissanaike'Iillekeratne, Muclaliydrr.
(1.1) Don Petrus Abeysirirvardhana lliangakoon, Mucla-
Ji1 ar ancl Jaagmeester, 1781.
(15) Don Johtr,nnes Wijeyrvartlhrun Navaratne Tenne-
in 1786, tr,lso Gajand,yaka
koon, Mudaliyir anclJaagrneester
in I793.
116) Adrian Perera \Yickremeratne Ameerakoon Eke-
nzrike, GajandYaka in 1786.
(J-7) Don Thomas Rodrigo Wije;'ratne Siriwardhana,
MudaliyJr,r ancl Master of the lInnt:'diod in 1835 (rnedals
florn Governors North and Brorvnrigg).
Ali these were in the hlStara Dissdvoni.
1n the Colombo Dissdvoni I finct as Krirurv6 }fudaiiyrirs-
(trS) r\braham Perera IMijesekere Gunarvardhana.
(19) JohanLouis Perera ALreyesekere Gunawarclhana, son
of *bove : mealal 1819 ; diecl 1849.
(20) John Abrtrharn Ferera Wijeyesekere Guuarva,rdhana.
]faha Mudaliyi,r, the last Gajanri)aka7 son of above : meclal
187i ; Jied 1879.
l'or the term " Cird,ld " see 2 C. L.ll., l4l\'
The Dolosdii,s l(6ra16 is the GiruwdL Dolosdds of the Si4-
h.alese, which originally appears to have been far more
extensive than the Giruwd, pattu of to-day.t"
Mr. C. M. FunnaNlo said he would like Mr. Pieris to continue his
researches, anil he clid not think he would adhele to the statement thai;
uo other medals had been granteil to any other caste than the caste
uan:reil by him. Ele was certain if his frienil Mr. Pieris was asketl the
tluestion two years ago he would have saicl that no medal rvas given
bv the Dutch to the Smith caste, This was a subject which they had
not gonc into before. Mr. Pieris was just beginning his researches'
If he 'rvoulcl continue his researches he wouid find that metlals were
given to the Sinhalese of other castes, ancl the speaker woulcl be glad
1o tell him, if asked, in which direction to make search.
'r l,irle Dervuntlara D6v5,16 Sannas (;lrcl rzttLrtglit:ttl Iiiqall'u
^'R'eltort,
1/i.sf rt:cd, p, 96).
 JouRNAr/, R.A.s. (cHYLoN). [Vor,. XVIII- po. 54.-1903.1 Nolns oN A DUrcH MEDArr. J.B7
136
theAncntrtr'rcoN asked rvhat tire lettels " Y 0 C " on the Mr. Wnrrr said that from the spelling it lool<ed as if ((Ceylori ', was
The Ynx.
intlicated' 66ded afterwards.
medal
-- 1'he CaernueN : IIow do you suppose .. Ceylon', would be spelt?
Mr. Frrinrs sz'lid it leprelentredl.-err,cni,Etl,eOosLfntlisclzcConqtagni7- Mr. Wurrn : " Ceylon " at various periods has had many different
tTnited Dast India Compnny. Repiying to Mr' Fernando,
he saii[ hg
sPellings"*
did not commit himself to saying these were the only medals granted yorps on TseNrs.
by the Dutch. His worcls were '( no meilals appecn' lo have been
Erar,teil," ancl none lve|e mentioned in the publisheil Menzoirs of 111" The VoN. theAncnouacoN had much pleasure in proposing a cordial
lu"ioo* Gover'o's. FIe felt constrained to acld that, accorcling t6' vote of thanks to the reaclers of the three papers they irad l[tened io.
commor talk in the Southern Province, there was a genuine medal '1'he first
Paper showed a great deal of care in preparatlon. The second
with a forged name in i,he possession of a priest at Weligama' paper might have been more interesting if thev hail hacl some more
i\Ir. Wnrrn sajcl he 'would like to know whether in 1682 Ceylon was
tr extraots. At the same time the Paper was of great interest. IIe was
spelt by the Dutch as ib rvas on the meilal Qsylorr'" specially interested in the question of the Church in the Fort. He
'Mr. itrnnrs pointed out tirat a facsimiic of Ure medal ryas printed'
believed it was the custom of the Dutch to builcl a Church within
Mr. Tnncusox thought that if Mr. Pieris was certirin he hail a the boundaries of their Forts. The third Paper they had the aclvantage
correct representation of the medal it might be a
mattep for inquiry
of having had before them. It was very interesting to read of the
whether
'' it was a genuine medal' curious use of the word " meegter," and the question of the date of the
n[r. prnnrs quoted autholities in which the mcdal rvns mentionetl modal.
in the court of Mrlarar3), down
rir*r.,ai"g " -"ii1 of lglSwhich he saw FIon. 1\4r. OeRynsuxnnu secondeil.
io rvithin 50.Ytrts of the granL'
'wa's such a medal as
,\ M". T'u*crisoN saiil he hatl nb cloubt there
grantecl, but it was a question r'vhether this one A Usurur, Sur+r+nsrrou.
I Mr. Fieris described
parailel to that
{ u"to." tt.* was the real medal. Tr might be a case Sir W. Mncsulr, proposeil a vote of tbanks to the IIor. the
of the Tooth et K:rndY' Lieutenant-Governor for occupying the chair. Theyhad had, he said,
Mr.Pnnnru saicl that there was a <lescriptioil of rncdals irr the " cevlon l very interesting meeting-more interesting than the titles of the
Liie"aryRegister,"vol.II., p' 284, and Ceylon was spelt"' Oeilon" in 1686' P:rpers to be read gave prornise of. At the same time he thought-if
tttr. C. m. FpnxlNno pointed out horv smllns were formerly forgecl, he uright be alioweil to say so-these meetings might be made still
ancl qr.otecl at length a particular c1sc, where ultimately the accused
mole interesting if the Council endeavourecl to have Papers reacl bearing
confessed. on or connectecl with the natural history, geol.ogy, or inilustrial arts in
Mr. FpncusilN suggesteC thtt the n:r'tne of Ceylon might have been
Cevlon" Ile might be pardoned for making the suggestion when
aclded afterwards. novilE a vote of thanks to the IIon. the Lieutenant-Governor.
The Cn'trnrt*t'tt : Might I ask lvhere the originai oF the medal is ?
I'Ir. I{. Wurrr had pleasure in seconding ihe vote of thanks. He
Mr. Prnnrs : At Mlltara. had known Mr. im 'Ihurn on paper from a very early age. ITe was one
The Cn.rrnlr-rN : Yorl have seen it'? of a large family, and had an elder brother at Marlborough School"
Mr. Prnnrs : I ha.ve seen it mYself' FIe usecl to take a great interest in his brother's cloings, anil especiallv
Th"Cr,l,*onLNsaiditappearecltohimtherewasconsiderably in the school magazine, and he coulil remernber some 35 years back
*orn ob;""t in forging scwLis lhalr rnoclals' SuttrutB carriecl certain Mr'" irn Thurn appearing in the "Marlburian " as the life and soulof a
ir"a-, rr..lt L" *opp"."J*"dals carriecl none' Though his experienceof r\:rtur':rl llistory Society. IIe (Mr" Whiie) hoped he woulil be t.he life
;;;;;;;"".ry smail a'nd Mr' Ferna'do's very great, yet the 19* .L" with
iLntl soul of the Ceylon Branch of the Roynl Asintic Society.
I
hu..i .*""r,, .rvouiil not have been very d.if6cult to forge ai* comparecl llire ffon. Mr. rn 'I'rrunu saicl he thought Mr. White's lirst rernarl<
b r. nreilal. IIe s''as not alluding to the handwriting : that was a trap
t'vas in a way a bappy one. for it allowecl him to say what was irr his
t many forsers fell into, but to the thin strip of metal' tnirr,l t.o srry 1or some time, ancl it fell in more or less with rvhat Sit
-- s"Jrn"*.iti o"' s;-i"' n"""-d;\'-;;tt'";*t, *"*"u'J* W. MitcLeil lutd srirl. He had never been a,ble duriug his shor.t
f "r
da.tecl 9th December, 181i, ancl fi1etl in Prov' Ct', M5'tara, Case
No' 2,859'
I 'Ihe testator there lefers to this meclnl as a " breast jewel or medal whioh
the testator inheiited fron his ancestots, who leceivecl' it as a gift or token'
.iry'3 .{l.l e{forts to induce the owner ol the medal to permit itto be examinerl
:ru expert, antl photouraphetl. have failed.*8.. I[ott, Set.
of honour from H. E. the late Dttch Governor Ryhlof van Goers."
I, 29-03
 o
lSlJ .touRNAtr. R A.S" (CEYLON)" [voT,. xvIII- I]ROCESDINGS"
yo. 54.--19tllt'l 139
rrn nection with that Society to understand
why they shouldlrot [1vu
of the present passenger jetty" It then proceedecl up
,,"i r"f" natural history papers, but also occasionailv exhibitions' neigh6ourhooil
along the_ canal, which r.an in a straight line the whole
FL" irr*iutt"., if Mr'. Peiris, having procured it on ioan? procure'l the {roit *tr'".t
,f lire rorrd, and then at right angles as far as the opposite side
meilal for: inspection, it would have added greatly to the- interest. l*e'gih
of it," I,'"t.
Those.who sarv Colombo as it was about thir{yyears ago,
fnut i* a subject they might consider at a next meeiiug of Council, foltrltciitrons rvere removed, must remember bhis canal very
bef,,ru the
whether they might not have Papers with an exhibition-just a ferv
things. Ile thankecl them for the vote of thanks' well. Iis coulscis still.iniiicated by the lower level of the rotr,d along
ihe BLi,,iul Tlotel and the Registrar-Gerreral,s Office. ,,Beer stleet,;
i'to rvhicl.r tlie procession then tuurecl, .lvas, f believe, Canal roai.
rrBeer," pronounced bcr,t.c, and still preserved
The woril in the name
r,Bera Lalie," has given rise to various theories. lhe most probable
APPENDIX. is, t thirrli, that it is thc name of the Dutch engineer who desig-ned anCl
conslnu[utl i,]re work. A stone bearing the following insiription:
Norn nv Mn. R. G. ArqrnoNrsz, GovDRNTIENT AncnIYrsr.
Tsp following facts, bearing on some of the points raisecl in
Mr. de Vos's Paperr would I think be interesting :- -',
cliscussion on
the lr"t
j snen.
i Ao. rzrro.
I

1. B,obertus Cramer, whose funeral is the first treated ofr was

Dessaue of Colombo, an office which corresponclecl in many respects to t=_- I

that of Government Agent of the Wesiern Plovince, and which carrietl nray bo seen the srnall sluice opposite the Fort railway station.
en-ofr,ci,o membership bf the Political Council of Ceylon' The Dessaae -at
The men employed in the constluction of this work, if they could be
had his offices and establishment at Hulftsclorpr rvhere also a commoilious fouurl. may be able to say where the stone was discovered at the iime
residence was proviclecl for him by the Government. Illustrations of the foii,ifications lvere b'oken up. Irom Canal road, rvhich at that
some of these buildings may be found among the series of Hegdt's time rvas not bfocked up by the builclings that have since sprung up, an
Plales, recently procured for the Society's Library at the Colombo errtry was made i'to Queen's street, where the church *tooa, arrA ilruu
Museum. The long funeral procession must have wended ii;s way ir complote oi.r'cuit of the fort was made by the procession. The ,,great
either along Dam street or San Sebastian and enterecl the Fort at the plain " r..eferreti to was probably the large open ground which stooil on
northern gate, where the present police station stancls. The burial, of ihe sido r.rf the Church, rvhere the present eueen's IIouse grounds now
course, took place in the Fort Church,'which stooil on the site of the sta,n cl.
higher terrace of the present Gordon Gardens. Up to the end of the
Dutch occupation of Ceylon this continued to be the burial-place of Rn,uanrs ny ilIn. D. B. Jaya.r'rr,AKA oN Mn. W. A. oE.Srr,v,s.'s
the Governors and high offlcials, although it had been given up as a Pepon.
place of worship for many years. Wolfenclahl Church, which was fo?* certainiy strike one as strange that Sighalese literature,
completed in 1749, was erectecl in consequence of this olcl church, " .Il
fairly tirll in other.respects, should be e=rrtirely lacliing in works of J
buill by the Portuguese, getting into ilecay. I finil that so early as dramatic chalacter. Several callses appear to have operatecl
against
1?36 reports were sent to Batrivia condemning the building as dangerous the cultirabion of the dramatic art in Ceylorr. Mr. Arthur
de Silva has
for use owing to the rotten state of the roof. Old residents, who saw pointer:i oui, the most important
of tlern-bhe religious view, that
the building in the early years of the British occupation, found only reglt"cled all kinds of dramatic
shows and performances as vain
the walls standing : it was then almost a complete ruin'
2. The Governors Yan Eck and Falck (accounts of whose funerars lLd ::-,t spiribually harmful. Besides, ,* o outioo, the Sighalese of
.olct'^lil'e the ancient B,omans, seem to have lookecl clown upon the
follow) resideil, ancl proirably diecl, at Government l{ouse, which -stoocl profession of the
dancer ancl the actor. Dancing, it is true, was
on the site of St. Peter's Church. I am not sure that the ohu perfolmecl as
a religious ceremony in trhe Deaulas, as we read in the
itself is not a part of the original builtling. At any ra,te, St. Pete but the dancers were apparenily not of ih" Siphol.*"
Church is not tnown to have undergone nruch alteration in the l' itllr'',;'".t
unong the Si4halese, dancing anil singing were confined "u"u,
hunclreclyears. The route taken bythe Governors'funeral !o^the iorvest as professions
classes. Hence possi'bly o**" that utter inilifference to
is,I think, clearlyindicated in the account of Baron van Dck's poetry which not even the influence of fnclia, so powerfully
Leaving the porch in front of St. Peter's Church, a turn was taken ;:i:lttl:
.vcr'|,o.I iu
othcr departments of Sighalese literature, iia* beeo *trong
the right, in the direction of the '( I:eyden Bastion," which stood in cnough to
rerrove,