|
Fools Rush
in Where Devas Fear to Tread!
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
SINHALA OR SINHELA?
Aloy Perera Toronto, September 12th
2006
I honestly find the use of the newfangled, whimsical word "Sinhela"
to describe the Sinhala Nation or anything Sinhala really irksome! I
believe that it does not stand scrutiny either philologically or etymologically!
I have been an ardent supporter and an enthusiast of the Hela School
since I was fourteen and consider respected stalwarts of the movement
my gurus. Never have I seen any of them during my time in Sri Lanka
supporting the term "Sinhela" in place of "Sinhala".
Of course, like many other words, some pundits in the past had tried
to use the 'contrived' word "Sinhela" as a meaningful substitute
for Sinhala and as the internationally known name of the Sinhala people.
Nor has anyone of the Hela School ever suggested Heladiva or Hele or
Sinhale for purposes of constitutional change. Lanka, the international
appellation for the island was good enough for the Hela School then
and now for a variety of good solid reasons not the least of which is
because it's a beautiful way to name a nation!. Sinhala people who have
taken the trouble to learn their mother-tongue have known all these
different terms very well and have been using these terms and will do
so in the future. The origin of the word Sinhala is shrouded in myth
and at best there's much controversy surrounding it. I remember, the
most well known Master, Hela Guru Arisen Ahubudu, may he live long!,
has theorized on etymological grounds that the term Sinhala was derived
from Siv Hela denoting the four(siv) tribes, Deva, Naga, Yakkha and
Rakshsasa that comprised the earliest inhabitants of Lanka. His theory
was that Siv-Hela became> Sihala >Sinhala and not "Sinhela"
- Language and grammar rules do not permit Sin + Hela. As a modern hybrid
word? Yes! Ex Siv Hela> Sihala>Sinhala came also the term Sinhala
Dipa or Sihala Dipa; The The Jews & Arabs of West Asia picked up
this term transforming it to Serendib. Romans preferred the alternate
term, Tambrapani, 'romanizing' it to Taprobana [which obviously came
after Vijaya's landing denoting the place Vijaya and his retinue landed
and found brown sands in their palms - tambra(brown) pani(hand) ] while
the Spanish and the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English picked up
the same word Sihaladipa or Sinhaladipa or Sinhale and made it into
zeylao, zeylan, Ceylon etc. In fact Guru Arisen Ahubudu has ventured
to suggest that "Ealam" too is another term used by indigenous
Tamils of Sri Lanka to identify Sinhala Dipa. Heladiva was the name
by which the island was known locally (mainly in written form) among
its inhabitants from time immemorial but the word as such never seemed
to have gained international currency as much as "Lanka" by
which it was known in Vedic and perhaps in pre-Vedic times.
The Word "Sinhela" on the contrary defies etymological process
and lends itself a hybrid serving no special purpose. And experts concur!
Hela Diva is its Pure Sinhala form. Hele, Sinhale, Tun Hele, Tun Sinhale,
Tri Sinhale all refer to the tripartite geographical division (Ruhunu
- Pihiti and Maya - in which Sinhala or Hela people lived); each part
an independent kingdom, after their integration with the descendents
of the North Indian 'interloper' called Vijaya whom the epic Mahavamsa
inaccurately implies to be the 'father' of the Sinhala race. Legendary
tales the newcomers brought in trace the origin of Vijaya to his great
ancestor, an offspring of a Lion who was killed by its own son therefore,
Sinha+la> Sinhala etc. with which you are familiar! Obviously the
author, Venerable Bhikkhu Mahanama of the Mahavamsa in the task of producing
an epic history had to conform to the politically correct behavior/beliefs
of those times, unfortunately for us, burying in the process so tragically
a checkered history of a pristine culture. The words, Hela, Elu and
Helu at times, were alternatively used to denote both the people and
their language and are just what they are, alternatives.
"Eliminate Lanka!" They Say!
That's all fine and dandy but the term Heladiva never gained international
or local currency except in literature. Another word is, "Lanka",
which some of the self styled "Sinhela" pundits of the internet
type want to eliminate from the face of the earth! If the ancient inhabitants
of the island had called it by any name other than Lanka for purposes
of international identity sure, it would have gained international currency
in the days of the island's prehistory! It can be safely concluded therefore,
that "Lanka" is not a word coined by some poet of Jambuddvipa(India).
It is indeed the magic password which, the moment it hits the ear,
is capable of enkindling ambers of latent patriotism in any Sinhala
dude to make him want to rush to the battlefront where there is action!
In fact all of us Sinhalayas or Helayas should be proud of that wondrous
word "Lanka", meaning "resplendent", albeit "Sinhale"
or "Hele", both locative nouns in grammar, have been in regular
spoken and written usage for centuries mainly in the literary works
of the nation..
Any way, to flog this word "Sinhela" ad infinitum as some
do, making it an 'issue' of national importance while clamoring for
yet another constitutional name change for Sri Lanka at this tragic
hour of Sri Lanka's history is ridiculous and most inappropriate, to
say the least.
When the need of the hour is an attitude of inclusiveness ensconced
in the word "Lanka" or Sri Lanka it is unimaginable that some
of our compatriots are moved to thinking exclusiveness and isolation
as solutions to the ethnic issue complaining aloud and complacent like
the ostrich that buries its head in the sand in denial! - muttering
the while, their favourite slogan, "There's no ethnic issue in
Sri Lanka!" like a mantra a thousand times a day when official
communiqués of the SL government, the media and even President
Rajapakse himself identify the current problem in Sri Lanka an ethnic/racial
issue (Jana vargika prashnaya). Get alive! Be real! Set your lenses
right!
The simple fact is that trash like this tossed around by purveyors
of perpetual dissension can leave unnecessary negative impressions in
the minds of the uninitiated and can create confusion we do not need
especially at this juncture when the Sinhala Nation is in the throes
of an agony for its survival.
"Sinhela" Does Not Inspire!
But Alas! As always, when all of our energies are most needed and when
victory over the enemy seems within sight some wiseacre among us comes
up with trash like "Sinhela", brandishing it for everyone
to see as if it were a new discovery that will set afire the psyche
of the Sinhala Nation. (I picked it up in the popular Lanka Web) And
others of a similar mindset follow suit slavishly - that's not unusual!
To tell you the truth, this word Sinhela does not inspire! It hardly
stirs up pangs of patriotism in me as the word "Sinhala" does!
Nor does it propel me to the battlefront to save the nation! Kumaratunga
Munidasa's famous battle hymn (poem) addressed to lethargic Helayas
or Sinhalayas of his time does! Sunil Santha's "Lanka! Lanka! Pembara
Lanka!" does give me goose bumps making me drunk with patriotic
fervor as do exhortations of Anagarika Dharmapala and poems of Venerable
Mahinda the Tibetan Monk, Reverend Senior of Trinity fame, Reverend
Father Marcelline Jayekody, Chandraratna Manavasinghe, P.B.Alvis Perera,
Dalton Alwis and Mahagama Sekara! Not the hybrid, nonsensical word "Sinhela"!
I'll tell you what it does! It makes me angry and loathsome that some
of these internet prone puny/phony Sinhala pundits of an insular mindset
who peddle their xenophobic propaganda through popular websites like
the "Lanka Web" at the most inappropriate time and place lending
themselves easy targets for LTTE propagandists eagerly waiting for a
chance to portray Sinhala people as rabid racists are being tolerated
and allowed do it with impunity. Shame!Shame!
I have discovered that the new breed of these so called "Sinhelayas"
in many city centres across the world, academically qualified though
ignorant with warped minds for the most part, are but a miserable lot
who usually write in the electronic media to get over perhaps a sense
of guilt having abandoned their motherland that had invested heavily
in their education and travel abroad. In Patriotism they find a scapegoat
proving the Johnsonian dictum, "Patriotism is the last refuge of
a scoundrel!"(Samuel Johnson - circa 18th century). If their remorse
is genuine, one thing left to do is for each one to buy a one way ticket
to Colombo and take their place in the battlefront in the Vanni defending
the nation! Then and then only one can really say that they had at last
expiated their act of betrayal. Cleansed thus, we'll be able to count
them in the numbers our legitimate heros!
Believe you me when I say that some of our Sinhalayas have a near suicidal
trait of quibbling over some useless word or assuming a victim mentality
digging up past wrongs and getting all worked up, shook up, debilitated
and weakened in a frenzied revival of pristine hatreds and past grievances
displaying utter immaturity not pondering for a moment that grievances
they whine about for the most part have been their own making; doings
of their own lay and religious leaders. Acquaint yourselves with Koda
Vagga of the Dhammapada for Goodness sake, for a calming respite from
this madness.
Sinhala Buddhist Politics
At its most irrational level, self pity or self martyrdom has been
the badge and bane of Sinhala Buddhist politics in the island nation
in recent times appealing to the baser instincts of man with its built
in potential for bigotry and mob violence - a bonanza for the average
wily politician to manipulate the suckers to get the vote!
We have seen many examples of this through the years and the most recent
being the torching of mainstream churches of the Christian Sinhala people
in the aftermath of the demise of the controversial Gangodawila Soma
Thera whose baggage contained in addition to pansil and patriotic fervor,
hatred and bigotry in a big way! (see his writings! Listen to his talks!
Digest his sermons in the light of reality! - I am reliably informed
that newer editions of books by him and about him are being carefully
and heavily edited in an attempt to rewrite history) Post mortem, the
country in a stupor whipped up by the national media witnessed this
monk who also had publicly displayed deep seated political ambitions
and whose spawn was the politician monk (a new phenomenon that reflects
decadence and the very notion of which was vehemently opposed by the
late saintly Supreme Head of the Amrapura Nikaya, the Most Venerable
Madihe Pannasiha Maha Nayaka Thera) becoming chastened overnight; to
be hailed as 'saint' and 'hero'!
While Sinhala Buddhists the majority of whom are decent and loving
people by nature and repute are deceived by their self styled leaders
into believing that they are the victims rather than the masters of
their own house? Why is it that their self styled leaders cause to make
the Sinhala people to always cry foul declaring that they are the real
victims even when the spoon is in their hands! Instead why do they not
urge the Sinhala people to act and feel as masters of their own house
and not victims; men and women of common sense and not stupidity? In
presenting their noble cause in public, why is it that they never urge
them to do it with national pride and from a position of strength and
power. In the reality of their own inadequacies and failures, why are
the Sinhala people made to always seek refuge in a cowardly blame game
instead of an honest admission and a determination to pick up the pieces
and move on with courage and self respect? Enfeebled whining was not
the way of the Helayas!
Indeed! A vulgar spectacle of diminishing discipline, decadence, and
degenerate petty-mindedness of today's unworthy inheritors of one of
the most refined, compassionate and glorious cultures that ever existed
on the face of this earth in this era of our planet! Instead, all true
Sihalayas or Helayas should exert all their efforts to refrain from
indulging in vile luxuries of worthless intellectual sophistry and descend
from their citadels of ignorance down to earth for a reality check!
Sinhalayas Who Became Tamils
Then there's this important point that pundits of an emerging Heladiva
seem to ignore.
Among the indigenous peoples who were citizens of the three autonomous
kingdoms of Tun Hele were also tens and thousands of our own Sinhala
ancestors who became Tamilized during the centuries of Dravidian invasions
and their aftermath that brought protracted periods of Tamil rule. These
ordinary Sinhala brothers and sisters of our antiquity, through no fault
of theirs never had a dog's chance of returning to their old language
and culture. This is not mere speculation or some educated guess! There's
clear evidence that can be gleaned out from the Mahavamsa itself and
the earlier Dipavamsa and other period texts to support this view. A
casual examination of some of the family names of Tamils from Jaffna
to Anuradhapura bears out this fact. Their descendents to this day remain
as Tamils, perhaps some of them among the terrorists fighting against
their own kinsmen! Research done in this area in the Kelaniya, then
Vidyalanakara University some years ago provides added weight to this
fact and should be an eye opener for those of us who often tend to seek
after the purity of the race before the purity of the mind..
Don't get me wrong! Terrorism must be wiped out and there are many winning
ways to do it with confidence, courage, dignity, compassion, in accordance
with Ethics and above all from a position of strength, not of fear nor
weakness!
According to what the Leader of the House of Parliament of the SLFP
led Ruling Alliance, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, President Mahinda
Rajapakse's protégé and Chief Negotiator in the current
Peace Talks told me a few weeks ago in Toronto, in response to my query,
that that was exactly President Rajapakse is determined to do despite
rumblings coming from the JVP or the JHU quarters. "Ours is a dedicated,
inclusive approach!", the Minister added. So that's good news!
Mahinda Cintanaya
Mahinda Cintanaya seems to embrace these ideals more than most super
patriot Sinhalayas living in glorious and polarized isolation particularly
in North America would like to admit. Some of these know-it-alls seem
to get their inspiration from a few of the rotten apples in the ranks
of Jatika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Buddhist monks and their warped rhetoric.
True, the 'political bhikkhu' has come to stay as a factor in the nation's
politics and one or two of its monks have performed admirably in their
parliamentary roles. "But for all the noise they make JHU monks
have been rejected by the wise Sinhala people of Sri Lanka who gave
them a paltry 4 to 5% electoral support in the last election and it
is diminishing. "It is estimated that JHU support will dwindle
to a further low of a mere 1% in the polls", A senior Buddhist
prelate confided. I am reliably informed that JVP with its socialist
bias, for its part has no truck in reality with the extremism of some
of the JHU monks and had in the past privately spurned and scoffed their
bigoted stances and their penchant for rousing up racism or religious
hatreds.
By contrast, here in Toronto, commendably, the Sri Lanka United National
Association (SLUNA), a nationalist lobby group, has been presenting
balanced views over the years keeping the focus on solutions and has
achieved a lot for Sri Lanka such as getting the Canadian government
to open its eyes to the dangers of LTTE terrorism and its massive fund
raising (for arms) efforts on Canadian soil leading to the subsequent
banning of the LTTE; albeit there are in its ranks a few of intolerant
JHU ilk who can only cause problems for its own credibility.
More than anything else let these 'patriots' who are too eager to proffer
'solutions' first have a sense of history and not become all gooey and
emotional keeping in mind that Tamils, Moslems and Malays born and bred
in Sri Lanka are as indigenous as the Sinhala people one hundred per
cent! Not less, not more!
Some of the so called solutions of the poisoned pen or 'keyboard?'
and the vitriolic these Monday morning quarterbacks seem to offer in
the aftermath of the few recent spectacular victories by the Sri Lankan
Forces against the LTTE are so horrendous and xenophobic. I can understand
the euphoria but this is not the time or the place!
Take for instance the jingoistic shibboleth that spewed out filling
my monitor screen as I opened my E mail last night -9/11- contained
in a Heladiva Nation promo document written by one Anura Seneviratna
who seems to set himself as the Pooh-Bah of the 'emergent' Hela Nation
pompously doling out answers to imagined Sinhala or Hela beggars who
would but ask! This hate mongering document is full of chaotic irrelevancies,
half truths, unambiguous falsehoods, unimaginable bigotry and jingoistic
over-sell totally lacking in any sense of history or human decency.
It exhorts the Sinhalayas to go backwards into a 'new and improved'
pan- Sinhala - Heladiva nation!
I felt I was reading a page from one of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kamf essays!
After all, that was how the dictator began! Shame on you fellow!
I pity the man for his ignorance! I would urge all Sinhalayas to protect
their time honoured Sinhala values and throw this disgraceful document
in the wastepaper basket! But read it first and you'll get a little
practice on how to either control or express your expletives in amu-Sinhala!
A Pan Heladiva Nation Disenfranchising Minorities?
Changes these self appointed constitution builders on remote control
such as Anura Seneviratna contemplate for a new Order/Constitution of
the Nation of Heladiva or Hele or Sinhale constitute depriving the ethnic
Tamils, Moslems, Malays and other non-Hela people of their 'indigenous'
status and categorizing them as foreigners who would then be issued
permits as TRP holders and denied / shut out of the special privileges
that the Heladiva(Sinhala) citizens of a pan Hele Nation or whatever,
would exclusively enjoy by right! Man, it's too, too late!
Xenophobia! Xenophobia! This being the most repulsive suggestion I
have encountered in the internet in recent times!
And this is twenty first century of the enlightened era! Sometimes
you wonder if writers of this kind of trash could possibly be coming
from some other planet! With Shakespeare I may as well muse, "O
judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts! And men have lost their reason!"
or as the Bard does it again, "You blocks! You stones! You worse
than senseless things!
Thus, Anura Seneviratne's 'Sinhela' document and his scandalous propositions
are nothing but a showpiece of chronic hypocrisy which only senseless
nationalism can engender on lines of Puritanism. More often than not,
false pride in ancestral blood, conceit and ruinous vanity such as being
displayed by this fellow and those of his ilk blasts noble ideals of
peace and closes all windows opportunities in Sri Lanka's tragic hour
of need.
This man Seneviratna who authored the document and others similar Hela
heretics who contribute to Lanka Web and are waiting to jump into his
bandwagon are sick in their minds! As such they can be justifiably called
aturayas (sick people) who need to be made whole/cured! Let's call them
"Hela Aturayas"!
A Tovile To The Rescue!
I have an excellent idea! The need of the hour being a remedy, performing
a Tovile (exorcism) seems a good idea! let's get a Kattadiya (exorcist)
down! Get the ves (masks) and the vas-danda (whistle), tom-tom-drums
and the beravayas (drummers), the jingles, torches of rags soaked in
coconut oil, gok-kola (palm strips), water, bulat (betel), plantain
leaves, lemon, turmeric, sandalwood, incense and most of all get the
cock! - For a worthy "Pideniya" (offering) to the communion
of yakkhas (devils)! Let the tom tom drummers drum their drums bringing
the beat into a maddening pitch! Blow the whistle till your lungs burst
and summon the devils; Kalu Yaka, Riri Yaka, Sunni Yaka and ubiquitous
Maha Sona! Also possibly, Kalu Kumaraya, the Black Prince who according
to Hela lore has a fondness for women! Our Hela Aturayas may be possessed
by more than one Evil Spirit you never know! So let's exorcise them
all! So our Sinhala Dvipa or Lanka will be rid of the extreme menace
of "Heladiva Nation" promoters at least for the moment, so
we can create an environment conducive to the elimination of the LTTE
Tiger menace and building bridges to the hearts and minds of Sri Lanka's
Tamil/Moslem brothers and sisters! Let's celebrate the victories of
Lanka's sons and daughters over their enemy the LTTE with pride and
a sense of history and equanimity and not the mentality of the mob and
the vulgar!
Sri Lanka is on the threshold of stupendous changes requiring an agonizing
reappraisal of what has happened since independence! To what extent
are we prepared to sit and think boldly both individually and collectively
as to how we can face the challenge of the grim reality unfolding before
our very eyes? We owe it to our posterity! Those, like the Heladiva
nation puritans, wanting to regress into the past are enemies of the
Sinhala Nation and are cowards who spread doom and gloom and are fearful
of the challenges and the realities of modern times. It's patriotism
these fellows lack most!
Romans merely Romanized the Sinhala word, Tambrapani as Taprobana.
Tambrapani (copper color hand) was another name for Lanka alluded to
Vijaya and his retinue denoting the place where their ship landed; rest
of the story everyone knows! No matter what, in world's known history,
the most ancient reference to the island so far remains as "Lanka"
and the term describing its inhabitants as "Sinhala"; there's
a delightful ring and a natural sophistication to these two words! Lanka!
And Sinhala!, good enough for me and infinitely better than the hybrid
non-word SINHELA !
Name Change Diversionary Tactic?
A friend writing from New York muses: "Sirimavo Bandaranaike not
finding solutions to nationally burning issues needed a diversion and
changed the name of Ceylon to Sri Lanka which itself was derived from
the word "Sinhala" into "The Republic of Sri Lanka",
ironically wiping out Sinhala people from the country's name for ever!
Junius Richard Jayawardene, who was hardly a democrat or much less a
socialist, in a monumental act of hypocritical posturing and 'crouching'
before the socialistic trends of the times, rechristened the nation
as "The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka!" Ranasinghe
Premadasa in fit of inexplicable stupidity changed the Sri in Sri Lanka
to Shri Lanka in line with Sanskrit which is not the language of Sri
Lanka! In spite of its constitutional sanction, nobody in the nation
seems to use this last one! Thus Sri Lanka qualifies to enter the Guinness
Book of World Records as the nation that changed its name on the average,
every twenty years since Independence in 1948!
(Aloy Perera* Toronto, September 12th 2006 - a freelance writer based
in Toronto - formerly Editorial Staff, Independent Newspapers - Dawasa-
Sun publications - Colombo, Sri Lanka and Reporter, "Sunday Express",
Montreal, Quebec, Canada E-mail: stephenperera@rogers.com )
|
