Govigama

Govi or Govigama ( Sinhalese ගොවිගම ) is the largest and most influential caste in Sri Lanka , which, together with the Bathgama, was traditionally responsible for the field work in the Rajakariya lease system (“obligation”; compare Raja ). While Govi (from goyam "rice field") means "rice field farmer", the name Govigama comes from the time of Dutch imperialism. Originally all land belonged to the king and according to the Rajakriya system the rural population was obliged to work on a certain piece of land (compare feudalism ). Private land ownership by the bourgeoisie did not develop until after European colonization.

history

jobs

The Govigama are a caste whose traditional occupation is rice cultivation. The members of the caste were tenants in the feudal system of Sri Lanka. The caste system was based on the "services for the king" ('raja kariya') and land ownership. The monarch owned all the land and the Govigama cultivated the land on his orders. Rice production and service to the king gave the Govigama an important role in the agricultural society. It is said that some kings participated in the harvest festivals at the end of each Yala (dry season) and Maha (rainy season).

Only now has it become a custom for the head of state to be a member of the Govigama cast. President Premadasa was an exception. Some Govigama, who were originally Anglicans and returned to Buddhism , spread the myth in the last century that the colonial rulers, i.e. the Portuguese , Dutch and British occupiers, tried to push back the dominance of the Govi by giving preference to other castes, by giving government posts and the Education improved. Indeed, the facts speak a different language. In the post-colonial era, the lower castes came to power. The Dutch and the British popularized the ideas of republicanism .

Even today, many members of the caste are farmers in Sri Lanka. However, farmers who do not grow rice are not considered govigama. These belong to castes like the Salagama . Bathgama farmers who also grow rice, on the other hand, are a "lower caste". With the Govigama the women work with the harvest.

Names

A noticeable characteristic of the Sinhala caste system is that the family name reflects details of the family tree. The original name was given according to the place of residence. Later, honorary designations given by the king on the basis of merit were appended to the name. This continued for generations and resulted in very long names. Generally, the names Mudiyanselage , Appuhamilage (among the highland residents ), and Arachchilage , Vidanelage , Pathiranage (among the lowland residents ) are considered names adopted by Govigama and others to improve their social status. In the course of time they were expanded according to the ranking in service to the king. Further variations resulted from changes during the colonial period. Even today, names and ancestry play an important role for Sinhalese when it comes to marriage.

Some Govigama families also converted to Christianity and adopted Portuguese Christian names, such as Don Davith (Rajapaksas), Barthlamew (Senanayakes), Ridgeway Dias (Nilaperumal / Bandaranaykes), Arnolis Dep (Wijewardane), de Sarem , de Alwis , among others In addition, all better-off Sri Lankans received English first names during the British colonial period and the Goyigama were also pioneers of arrack production.

Social status

Buddhist monks are at the forefront of traditional Sinhalese society . Regardless of a monk's birth caste, even the king had to honor him. Some Buddhist orders only allowed Govigama to join, contrary to the Buddha's instructions. Other castes, such as the Karava , Durava , Salagama, and Wahumpura, have their own Buddhist orders, but have no caste or race restrictions. This practice, practiced by the Govigama sect, gave Buddhism a bad name in Sri Lanka, especially among the Indian Dalits , from whose ranks the largest number of converts to Buddhism come. Historically, however, the Govigama have often also accepted Indian migrants into their ranks.

antiquity

Ancient texts such as Pújavaliya , Sadharmaratnavaliya and Yogaratnakaraya list four boxes in descending order: “Raja” - “Kshatriya”, “Bamunu” ( Brahmin ), “Velanda” ( Vaishya ) and Govi in descending order. The current caste system in Sri Lanka, however, disempowers the Rajas, Bamunu and Velanda and puts the Govigama at the top of the hierarchy: Govi, Karave , Durava , Salagama etc. The Pujavaliya also records that even a Buddha was born in the Govi caste although the Buddha was actually born in the Kshatriya caste. The Theravada -Buddhismus believes that in every person aged only a Buddha occurs. The Dampiyaatuvagetapadaya from the 10th century and the Darmapradeepikava (12th century), on the other hand, represent the Govi as a middle caste compared to the kings. These changes represent a gradual rise in society.

Other ancient texts such as the Gavaratnakaraya and the Sarpothpaththiya, however, even divide the cattle of Sri Lanka and the snakes into the same four castes “Raja, Bamunu, Velanda, Govi”, where the Govi is again the lowest of the castes. Sub-castes such as the Durava and Salagama are not mentioned in these texts, as they only emerged later through Dravidian immigrants in Sri Lanka or other small groups, whereby the Govi community also repeatedly accepted Dravids. Ballads that are sung to this day in the ancient Gammaduva rituals also refer to the four castes in the same order and describe the respective regulations and privileges. The household utensils of the Rajas are described as golden; Silver and copper are destined for the next two sets and ultimately earthenware for the Govi .

King Nissanka Malla , who drove out the Indians who wanted to overturn the castes through forced mixed marriages, is the author of a stone inscription, Gal Potha , in Polonnaruwa , in which it is clearly stated that the Govi should not even have the thought of kings of Ceylon become.

Even if modern authors have tried to portray the four-part caste system as a rather outdated division with no relation to reality, the constant return of the same caste hierarchy - even into the 18th century, even under British rule or in the Kandy period - shows that there is a continuity the tradition up to the most recent times. However, it must also be admitted that there were famous families from the casts of the Karava and Salagama in the Kingdom of Kandy and that the Govigama are considered the highest caste in Sri Lanka not because of their numerical superiority, but because of their age in Sri Lanka. The "Karava", who are considered to be the second highest caste in Sri Lanka, were the specialized seamen and navigators, many of whom came to Sri Lanka as Dravidian warriors. The “Salagama” on the other hand had their origins in Kerala as “Saligrama Brahmins”, who are still among the highest castes in Kerala, and in the “Wahumpura”, who were equated with the Deva (mountain peoples) of the Mahavamsa .

Kandy period

For the past 1,700 years, the only undisputed symbol of royal rule in Sri Lanka was the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha . Whoever had this under his control was recognized as the rightful ruler of Lanka. The possession of the tooth relic was therefore always a privilege of the ruling dynasty of Sri Lanka. With each change of capital, a new palace was built to store the relic. In 1595 it was brought to Kandy , where it is still located today, in the Sri Dalada Maligawa (Temple of the Tooth). However, even in the inland Kingdom of Kandy , an Unambuwe , son of a concubine, was not considered 'royal' and therefore a royal Telugu was brought in from Madurai . This last royal dynasty in Kandy (four kings) had its origins among the Nayaks of the Balija caste . King Senarat Adahasin's regent , Antonio Baretto Kuruwita Rala , Prince of Ouva , did not come from the Govi caste either.

The oldest Buddhist sect in Sri Lanka, the Siam Nikaya (founded July 19, 1753) is the guardian of the tooth relic. The Siam Nikaya is divided into caste-based divisions and since 1764 has granted higher ordination (Upasampada) only to members of the Radala and Govigama castes, excluding other castes from their ranks. Sitinamaluwe Dhammajoti (Durawa) was therefore the last non-Govigama monk to acquire the Upasampada. This attitude spoiled the Siam Nikaya as a whole and Moratota Dhammakkandha , the Mahanayaka of Kandy, with the help of the last two Telugu kings of Kandy, suppressed the Mahanayaka Karatota Dhammaranma from the lowlands by confiscating the temple at Sri Pada and the associated villages and appointing a rival Mahanayaka.

present

The representation of non-Govigama in parliament has steadily declined since independence and is far below the proportion in the population. Caste representation in the cabinet has always been limited to a few visible but unrelated members from a few leading castes.

swell

Darmapradeepikava Sri Dharmarama edition, 1951.
Epigraphia Zeylanica (EZ) Colombo Museum, Sri Lanka
Gammaduwa, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka

literature

HW Codrington, Ancient land tenure and revenue in Ceylon Colombo: Ceylon Government Press, 1938.
Jayawardena Kumari: 2000 Nobodies to Somebodies - The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka. [1]
Patrick Peebles, Amita Shastri, Bryan Pfaffenberger: Article in Journal of Asian Studies. 1990.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (JRASCB)
Patrick Peebles: Social Change in Nineteenth Century Ceylon Navrang. 1995. ISBN 81-7013-141-3 .
Bryan Pfaffenberger: Sudra Domination in Sri Lanka. Syracuse University 1982.
Michael Roberts: Caste conflict and elite formation Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press (1982) 2008.
Nira Wickramasinghe: Civil Society in Sri Lanka: New circles of power. New Delhi; Thousand Oaks (Ca): Sage Publications 2001.