Any misapprehension regarding them is due to utter ignorance says Gustavus Jayewardene.
The Kshatriya fishers of Negombo and Moratuwa have been eminently active in the direction of self-reliance. According to the Portuguese writer Rev. Fr. Manuel Baradas ” they have certain points of honour that they would rather die than go contrary to them,” in keeping with the ancient naval traditions of their military race. The danger to which they are exposed and the courage and bravery required show that this particular tribe of intrepid seamen are a people who have not lost their ancient martial ardour.
Precisely a vigorous WARRIOR RACE large of limb, stout of heart, tenacious in will and FIGHTING BY CASTE with abundant energy against all manner of evil and FISHING BY INCIDENTAL OCCUPATION; the ancients had in the remote past ‘naturally taken pleasure in HUNTING & FISHING as royalty in all ages and climes of the civilised world did and do still indulge in this ROYAL PASS TIME. The British Press depicted King George V as a Fisher ia the nineteen twenties. His Majesty was fond of salmon fishing and did indulge in this royal pastime when at Balmoral Castle. The Duke of Windsor as Prince of Wales, bore the proud title of Master of the Merchant Navy & Fishing Fleets, while Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II took a delight in taking lessons in fishing.
It is as a deep-sea fishing nation that Great Britain is supreme says H. G. Maurice C. B. B. A., and adds ” Fishing is probably the earliest form of hunting, and. as men were surely hunters before they were cultivators, is actually the oldest industry in the world. The merchant and fighting navies are the lineal descendants of the pre-historic fisherman in his dug-out. Thus fishing may be presumed to have prepared the way for sea-trade, without which modern civilisation is inconceivable. Moreover, throughout the history of Great Britain, the fishermen have directly contributed their quota to the fighting forces at sea “
This is equally applicable to Indo-Aryan civilisation so far as the changing background of social life was rooted in a system and in the attitude of the Brahmins who took pleasure in the chase. As the Dasa-brahamana Jataka shows the Brahmins were engaged in fishing and hunting as in various other occupations. Let us take as an instance the fighting, trading and fishing vessels officered, manned and owned by Kuruwansa naval and trading sector that followed King Moggallana who built a fleet in India and landed here to wage war against his brother in 510 A. D. This fleet was in existence for nine hundred years until King Parakrama Bahu VI of Kotte had to organise a standing Army & Navy for the protection of the Island.
If one would turn over the pages of Green’s History of England, he would find the following allusions most interesting and helpful. Speaking of Englishmen Green says ”And next to their love of war comes their love of the sea. The Englishman was as proud of his sea-craft as of his war-craft; sword in teeth he plunged into the sea to meet walrus and sea-lion; he told of his whale-chase. Hardly less than his love of the sea was the love he bore to the ship that traversed it … a step on shore at once transformed the boatmen into a war-band.”
All this might equally well have been written of Ceylon. Only variations in the names of different kinds of fish would be required to make the above comments apply to Kshatriya Fishers of Lanka. It fell to their lot to develop the fishing industry in a special manner during the closing stage of the Kotte period. Negombo the celebrated fishing centre had made a remarkable contribution to the fighting forces on land and sea. Representatives of the Kurukulasuriya Warunakulasuriya and Mihindukulasuriya clans of the ruling race, by reason of their quality and descent had figured as Maha Patabendi Rulers and leaders of the people and were bred in the school of industrial experience as also in military and naval pursuits in the North Western Province. We read in press reports the exploits also of Kaurawa fisher folk of distant Devi Nuwera famous for its most ancient Devale and Gandara, famous for its Walauwa of Mudaliyars and Mudandirams and other fishing centres in the south.
Mention must also be made of another feature in the history of the Kings of the Island. The simple title. Master of the. Fisheries of Pearl, was adopted by Don Juan Wimaladharmasuriya, King of Kandy in 1590 A. D. As for the Kshatriyas they have been men of the Army & Navy from dim centuries past. Kaurawas of South India as the “most warlike race in the Naique’s dominions have been almost indispensable in those troublous days during the Portuguese era. They came directly from North of India as well as from the South. Even as Pescadors in Portuguese times they were fighting on one side or the other or on both sides in turn. So were the Vischers in Dutch times. ”The Careas (or Caureas) being the most courageous should be employed as soldiers.” is a command that occurs in their official documents. The Fishers as early British scholars found were none: other than the Kaurawa of the Kshatriya race, despite certain misrepresentations made by Sinhalese interpreters and translators of old who merely borrowed a few wrinkles from reality and had thus made a vain attempt to mislead the public and disfigure the whole picture by taking things in their face value.
To clear a certain misconception, it must be well understood that fishing has never been an occupation the people in question were obliged to follow by the rules of caste. It would therefore be necessary to emphasise the oft repeated expression that “all fishermen are not Karawas, nor are all Karawas fishermen”. Hence, even those who have been actually fishing cannot be classed as a new caste of people as some detractors of old have adopted dubious methods to do so in their nefarious attempt which boomeranged on them and was ultimately exposed. Their fishermen assisted by other prominent, popular and numerically pre-eminent fishermen of other castes supply fish to the entire Island, and no want of this staple had been felt definitely before the last great war.
Moreover in choosing an ocean faring life they seem to have been actuated also by what look like certain accepted notions of the honourable in plebian employments.
Father Barradas referring to them in 1613 A.D. says: They fish only in the ocean, not in the river; not ( even ) in the winter, when he sea is impracticable, in spite of the greater need which presses on them for they consider it a degradation.” Don Jeronimo Corea was once looked down by his people for having fished madakari, the occupation of the fresh water fishers the Kevullu as defined in the Sanskrit Grammar, Mugdha-bodha.
However, Robert Knox found (Kshatriyas) ” the chief and principal men, of Udu Nuwera and Yati Nuwera in the royal and chief city, engaged in another kind of plebian occupation, ” insomuch that it is an usual saying among them ” in keeping with the ancient political faith in Kshatriya Kingship, “that if they want a king, they may take any man of either of these two counties engaged in this occupation and (as Knox makes it clear) “HE BY REASON OF HIS QUALITY AND DESCENT IS FIT TO BE A KING.”
To make it more intelligible it may be added that there were Kshatriya farmers too is evidenced in the Pali Katthiya Kassapo. The Pali expression ‘Ketthanang Adhipathi Katthiyo ” occurs in Manoratha Pooranaya.
Over the caption ” Kaurawa Fishers of Ceylon” there appeared a two column article in the Ceylon Daily News which the present writer contributed on 25th August 1932. This forcibly reminds us of the right royal Matsya Vansa in ancient history referred to there in. However, John Garth one time inspector of Schools in his informative lecture in 1851 commenting on those who were engaged in Fishing by Incidental Occupation says that “deep sea fishing is carried on in full rigged craft by bold warlike men, delighting in adventure and perhaps worth their salt.” Mr. Garth was one among those who utilised their power of discretion to extract the genuine from the spurious. In 1890 it was observed that those engaged in sea faring pursuits were naturally possessed of an indomitable spirit and of a frame incapable of fatigue. They have shown physical powers and strength and a vitality as declared by the Govt. Ethnologist Dr. De La Haule Marrett in 1939 in a blood test of these people. It is indeed as Havell states the inextinguishable vitality of the military ace.
Occupations in the deep sea require a daring and dexterity some-what different from what is needed for most avocations on land. The people in question always preferred to rely on the strength of their army, and the native courage of their race. Even in the face of penury these people aimed at as much individual independence as possible and took to the royal pastime of fishing, that off time occupation when they were not engaged in war in bygone days. Far from cringing and servile in their manner portions of them, all had taken to seafaring and those engaged in this incidental occupation showed partiality to be bold, courageous, industrious, intrepid and adventurous being descendants of Kurus who manned and officered the great Sinhala Royal Navy.
Carpentry & Fishing among other industries have been the shaping factors in the development of the economy of the population in those respective centres, which have achieved fame throughout the country. However, their military, engineering and naval pursuits constituting their race as Kshatriya form the base of their social structure. It would, therefore, be well to understand that the most basic shaping factors in their social structure are the virile and vigorous military and naval roots from which they sprung. So that most of their problems inherited and otherwise stem from these roots. An ancient people must be judged ancient by standards (of Manu IV, 5). Any misapprehension regarding them is due to utter ignorance.
Tail Piece:
At an all Island Rally of Fishermen held very recently at the Uyanwatta Esplanade, Matara delegates from distant places like Trinco, Batticaloa, Negombo, Nattandiya etc paraded the streets and shouted slogans like ” Goiya Apata Bath Denawa – Bathata Malu Api Denawa” (The cultivator supplies rice – to eat rice we give the fish.)
From: The Searchlight Magazine, Pages 6, 7 & 11. Around 1932.