Jaffna in 1893

Ceylon in 1893.

DESCRIBING

THE PROGRESS OF THE ISLAND SINCE 1803,

ITS PRESENT

AGRICULTURAL AND" COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES,.

AND ITS

Unequalled attractions to Visitors.

WITH

USEFUL STATISTICAL INFORMATION, SPECIALLY PREPARED MAP,.

AND UPWARDS OF ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS.

BY

JOHN FERGUSON,

Co-Editor of " Ceylon Observer," " Tropical Agriculturist," " Ceylon Handbook," etc. Life Member of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society ;

Honorary Corresponding Secretary of the Royal Colonial and Imperial Institutes,

" Embassies from regions far remote ;

From India and the Golden Chersonese,

* * * *

And utmost Indian Isle TAPEOBANE."—MILTON

Excerpts

THE 'NORTH'.

The Lady Gordon approached Kangesanturai, the port of Jaffna,

during the south-west monsoon, at early daylight. It would be of

greater interest perhaps to make the passage to Jaffna in the other

(north-east) monsoon,'when the steamer has to thread her way among

the eight or nine little islands west of Jaffna, passing Delft—Pliny's

"island, of the sun"—noted in modern days as a breeding place for

horses, some R.2,000 worth of which are still annually sold by Government—

Punkudutivu, Kayts, Mandativu, etc.

W c soon made experience of the far-famed Jaffna roads, which in the

forty-five miles of the day's driving altogether proved as smooth and

pleasant as the best of our Colombo cinnamon-gardens roads.

Our first stage was to Tellippalai, the seat of the very interesting

branch of the American Mission under the care of the Rev. T. S. and

Mrs. Smith. Unfortunately they were away in Southern India, and it

being vacation time, the scholastic and. industrial institutions could not

be seen to advantage. But some of the native teachers and scholars

located in the place did their best to give us some idea of the arrangements,

and the work done in " Sanders Hall" and other educational

sections, while the intelligence manifested in reference to the carpentry,

ironwork, taxidermy, printing and book-binding industrial departments,

showed a deep interest on the part of the lads and their leaders in their

industrial occupations.

Our next visit, after turning a little off the mainland to Jaffna through

carefully fenced fields, some of which still bore crops of different kinds

of grain, gardens of vegetables, or, farther on, of tobacco—all manifesting

the utmost care in culture—was to Uduvil, one of the oldest and bestknown

stations of the American Mission. Here we saw the venerable

Dr. Howland, senior, and his estimable daughter, who, with a large

staff of competent Tamil teachers of both sexes, manage one of the

largest educational and boarding establishments for girls in the island—

perhaps the very largest and most complete. Dr. Howland, though now

over seventy-three * years of age, is wonderfully active and interested

* He died in August 1892,

Appendix V. 313

in his church and "parish," as well as schools. The sight of over 100 Tamil

girls, from five or six to, I suppose, twelve or thirteen years of age, assembled

in their commodious and comfortable though plainly-built hall, and

their singing of English, as well as vernacular, hymns and lyrics, was a

novel and pleasing experience, and one never likely to be forgotten. The

dormitories, kitchen, and other arrangements by which the girls are

taught to make themselves generally useful were pointed out, and wc

were persuaded, with kind help, to go further afield (in place of going

direct to Jaffna) to see the similar boys' establishment, or rather the

"Jaffna College " at Batticotta. This enabled us to call at Manippay, the

station for village and school work of Mrs. and Miss Hastings, who had

recently been bereaved by the widely-lamented death of Dr. Hastings,

so universally esteemed in the north for his good works and devoted

loving character.

314 Ceylon in 1893.

The drive along this cross-country road for some seven miles to Batticotta,

and afterward for seven more miles by a different road, into Jaffna

town, I may at once say, was most enjoyable. Batticotta is surrounded

by far-extending arable farms alternated with groves of palmyra and

coconuts, and vegetable gardens cultivated to perfection. The Batticotta

educational establishment for boys and young men must certainly be

the most extensive in the island. Dr. W . W . Howland (son of the veteran

at Uduvi) and Mrs. Howland actively supervise, assisted by Mr. Wallace

and a large staff. About 400 collegians and scholars of all degrees are

•connected, with this division of the Mission, and the arrangements for

the different branches are most complete, not the least interesting to us

strangers being the spacious (though simply built) " hall" or circus for

gymnastics.

At Batticotta there is, in a comparatively good state of preservation,

a fine specimen of the churches, dating from the middle of last century,

with which the Dutch endowed each " parish" into which they divided

their much-loved Jaffna possession. In the " God's acre " at Tellippalai

and at Uduvil, and in the church of the latter and at Batticotta, many

such names came before m e in gravestone or wall, including Father and

Mrs. Spaulding and Miss Agnew, who gave over half-a-century each to

the Mission and never returned to the Far West; Dr. Poor, who was

attended in his last illness by Dr. Green (M.D.), would have his little

joke even when dying, as he said : " A poor patient and a green doctor!"

Dr. Green himself, after leaving as notable a mark on the island, or

rather on its sons, as any man who ever came to Ceylon—by so many

Tamils trained in his medical class—returned to America, only to find

that, practically, .his lifework had been given to Jaffna, I hacl the

privilege of visiting his home at Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1884, but

I found the good doctor on his deathbed. Then there were the names

of Hoisington, Sanders and Apthorp, who used to tease his Virginian

wife about her slave-owning relatives, and some more, alhclassical and

revered in the history of Tamil Missions in the north. An interesting

feature of the same is the extent to which son and daughter have followed

father and mother in this Mission.

In one respect, I could not help feeling during this visit to the north

—as afterwards in the Eastern Province—the great advantage held by

the missionaries to the Tamils over most of their brethren in the

Sinhalese districts, at any rate in Colombo, Galle and Kandy. It lies

in the far closer relation existing between them and their native work

—the absence of calls on behalf of English-speaking congregations and

operations which necessarily absorb so much attention in the south.

The town of Jaffna appeared to advantage as we approached it from

Batticotta in the early afternoon. In contrast to the expanse of lowlying

fields and bare tidal shore tothe west, the fort looked quite commanding

in position. Looking at the flat and apparently stoneless country comprised

in the peninsula, surprise may be felt as to where the materials,

especially for the walls, were obtained to construct the Jaffna fort.

The native town in its many admirable streets looked the perfection

of cleanliness, though the continuity of close fencing, preventing the

free circulation of air, could not but be objected to in the case of the

dwellings of Hindus and Moormen. There is no want of open spaces,

however, on the fort and esplanade side of the town. The latter looks

well with the " Longden clocktower," though the timepiece like its

founder is inclined to "wait-a-bit" or "bide-a-wee" occasionally.

Inside the fort the most conspicuous object is the old Dutch Presbyterian

church, after the pattern and very much of the size of Wolvendal.

Appendix V. 315

Facing the esplanade are the Anglican and Wesleyan churches, and

close to the latter the headquarters of the Mission, in an ancient Dutch

residence. This has been added to from time to time in order to

accommodate the very extensive educational establishments both for boys

and girls, with a training institution for teachers just over the w a y—

•all carried on under the immediate superintendence of the resident

missionary and his wife, for the time Mr. and Mrs. Rcstarick, with Miss

Stephenson in charge of the girls' boarding school. The work done here

by a succession of able and. devoted missionaries of both sexes, the

Percivals, Kilners, and Biggs, has had a notable effect on the youth and

manhood and womanhood of Jaffna. The Rev. J. and Mrs. Pickford had

recently taken charge of the Church Mission in the north, with headquarters

at Nellore. Before, however, reaching that suburb of the

capital we had a message that enthusiastic Father Lytton of railway

fame was on the look-out for ns, and our coachman seemed to know all

about it and what to do ; for without a word he drove into the quadrangle

of St. Patrick's College, where a juvenile brass band, in neat uniforms,

were performing. This is the only band in Jaffna, and entirely composed

of young Tamil lads, some of whom at least belonged to families or

" caste," who considered it greatly beneath them to touch wind (" blowing

") instruments, but the " Fathers" remaining firm as to the foolishness

of such prejudices and determined to make no caste distinctions—even

though some mothers besought them with tears—the result is now a

very competent, contented, indeed proud band of players. Most of the

pupils were absent, but those who were hastily called together and made

to stand in line by the Principal, Father Dunn (like Father Lytton,

from the Emerald Isle), were sufficient to show the great importance of

the institution.

Though so late for our-engagement at Point Pedro we did not miss

Nellore, I am glad to say : the fine old church is situated in what may

be considered "the most pleasant suburb oE Jaffna—distinguished by

nmbrageous trees and an abundance of vegetation. W e were glad to

find Mr. and Mrs. Pickford so fully entered on their extensive and

responsible work—a work which it is feared caused the premature death

of the Rev. E. M. Griffith through its pressure of manifold duties. Mr.

Pickford was enjoying better health than in Colombo, the overseeing and

directing of Chundlkuli and Kopay, as well as Nellore, stations entailing

a good deal of travelling. W e visited the very interesting girls' boarding

school so intimately connected with the earnest labours of Mrs. and

Miss Griffith, and now under Mrs. Pickford's care; and then Mr. Pickford

accompanied and helped us along our road as far as Kopay church, the

steeple of which, in the great "cyclone" of December 1884, was blown

down, falling into and exactly filling an adjacent well! The station is a

flourishing one, and a training institution for teachers and catechists is

located there.

Continuing our journey, we had now a wdde stretch of agricultural

•country before us, and plenty of leisure to observe various forms of

agricultural labour among the most industrious people of the north.

Working at their wells, raising water for irrigating their fields, was that

which more particularly claimed attention. Well sweeps, such as may

be seen in the gardens of some Tamils in Colombo, were universal; and.

the walking up and down the long lever as the bucket rose and fell must

be wearisome labour when continued for hours. Occasionally two men,

or father and son, stood on the sweep, while a third attended to the

hucket. The care taken of the water and the " neatness " of the fields

and little vegetable gardens were very striking. Here were half a dozen

316 Ceylon in 1893.

labourers busy digging—trenching in manure under the farmer's direction,

probably for a crop of tobacco. Here again a large herd of cattle, or of

goats, or rather Jaffna sheep, returning home from such pickings of

pasture as could be found on roadsides or damp hollows, while the goats

and sheep showed their agility, in this the dry season, in standing up

to the lower branches of trees and making a meal of the leaves. Here

again were boys watching for the ripe fruit of the palmyra to fall. Of

course, it is well known that, what the coconut is to the Sinhalese between

Colombo and Galle, that and much more is the palmyra to the Tamils of

the Jaffna peninsula.

But we arc now hastening on towards Point Pedro ; we crossed a

great estuary of the sea (Sirukalli ?)' by a grand viaduct, and the view

over the expanse of low fields with the estuary running out to meet

what seemed the ocean in the distance led our military companion

to exclaim, " The Medway ! " and certainly the resemblance to that

lowlying pari of Kent was very strikingly seen as the shades of evening

were falling. In the immediate neighbourhood of Point Pedro, the

village cultivation—horticulture and market gardening—has always been

described as carried almost to perfection; every house or hut has its

carefully tended garden, with fruit trees or beds of vegetables or both,

each with its well or wells, and enclosed in a perfect fence. These

fences, by the way, among the Jaffna Hindus, in the country as well as

the towns, have one useful (?) purpose in keeping off the effects of the

" evil eye," in which they arc firm believers I

It is curious to read of H. M. 52nd Regiment invading and occupying

Point Pedro "Fort " from Negapatam, and thence marching to Jaffna.

How strange to read even as tradition that the " King of Jaffna" some

500 years ago organised a fleet in which an army was carried to fight

against the troublesome Moormen and their forts at Chilaw, Negombo,

and Colombo ! Of the great coasting trade to and from Jaffna in the

past much could be said : also of local industries, in boat and ship

building, spinning and weaving cotton, working in metals, especially as

jewellers, etc. The "King of Cotta" in 1410 is said to have loaded a ship

at Colombo with goods to despatch to his son, the " King " or " Prince "

of Jaffnapatam. The prosperity of the little peninsula was, however,

we may be sure, never greater than at present. The growth and export

of tobacco, a really important industry, of sheep, cattle, etc., and of

palmyra timber, enables the people to buy grain and all other necessaries

to supplement their local production; there is a considerable trade in

chank shells—we found the shore in front of the Custom House at Jaffna

strewed with bags or piles of them ready for shipment to Southern

India. An average of some 50 to 60 elephants are shipped yearly from the

Northern Province (paying R.1,000 a head each as royalty to Government)

; but wc found afterwards when at Batticaloa that perhaps half

of this number are from other than the Northern Province ! At any

rate the Government Agent of the Eastern Province gave passes for 21

elephants caught in his territory which were to be travelled overland to

the north for shipment.