Religion – One of the royal temples of Nallur, the capital.
Shaivism (a denomination of
Hinduism) in Sri Lanka has had continuous history from the early period of settlers from India. Hindu worship was widely accepted even as part of the
Buddhist religious practices. During the
Chola period in Sri Lanka, around the 9th and 10th century, Hinduism gained status as an official religion in the island kingdom. As the state religion, Hinduism enjoyed all the prerogatives of the establishment during the period of the Jaffna kingdom. The Aryacakravarti dynasty was very conscious of its duties as a patron towards Hinduism because of the patronage given by its ancestors to the
Rameswaram temple, a well-known pilgrimage center of Indian Hinduism. As noted, one of the titles assumed by the kings was
Setukavalan or protector of
Setu another name for Rameswaram.
Setu was used in their coins as well as in inscriptions as marker of the dynasty. river.
Prince Sapumal (also known as
Chempaha Perumal in
Tamil), who ruled the Jaffna kingdom on behalf of the Kotte kingdom is credited with either building or renovating the
Nallur Kandaswamy temple.
Singai Pararasasegaram is credited with building the Sattanathar temple, the Vaikuntha Pillaiyar temple and the Veerakaliamman temple. He built a pond called Yamuneri and filled it with water from the
Yamuna river of
North India, which is considered holy by Hindus. He was a frequent visitor of the
Koneswaram temple, as was his son and successor King
Cankili I. King
Jeyaveera Cinkaiariyan had the traditional history of the temple compiled as a chronicle in verse, entitled
Dakshina Kailasa Puranam, known today as the
Sthala Puranam of Koneshwaram Temple. Major temples were normally maintained by the kings and a salary was paid from the royal treasury to those who worked in the temple, unlike in India and rest of Sri Lanka, where religious establishments were autonomous entities with large endowments of land and related revenue. The ceremonies and festivals were similar to those in modern
South India, with some slight changes in emphasis. The
Tamil devotional literature of
Shaiva saints was used in worship. The Hindu New Year falling in the middle of April was more elaborately celebrated and festivals, such as
Navarattiri,
Deepavali,
Sivarattiri, and
Thaiponkal, along with marriages, deaths and coming of age ceremonies were part of the daily life. Until around 1550, Buddhism continued to prevail in the Jaffna kingdom among the Sinhalese who had remained in the territory. However, around this time
Cankili I expelled the Sinhalese Buddhists and destroyed their many places of worship. Some important places of Buddhist worship in the Jaffna kingdom, which are mentioned in the
Nampota are: Naga-divayina (Nagadipa, modern Nainativu), Telipola, Mallagama, Minuvangomu-viharaya and
Kadurugoda (modern Kantharodai). Of these only the Buddhist temple at Nagadipa survive today. The Aryacakravarti kings and their immediate family claimed
Brahma-Kshatriya status, meaning
Brahmins who took to
martial life. The
Madapalli were the
Aristocrats and
cooks, the
Akampadayar's formed the palace servants, the
Paraiyar were the royal
heralds and the
Siviyar were the royal
palanquin bearers. The army and
navy generals were from the
Karaiyar caste, who also controlled the
pearl trade and whose chiefs were known as
Mudaliyar,
Paddankatti and
Adapannar. The
Mukkuvar and
Thimilar were also engaged in the pearl fishery. The
Udayars or village headmen and landlords of agriculture societies were mostly drawn from the
Vellalar caste. The Kudimakkal had ritual importance in the temples and at funerals and weddings. The
Chettys were well known as traders and owners of Hindu temples and the
Pallar and
Nalavar castes composed of the agriculturist labours who tilled the land. ;Foreign mercenaries & traders , native to East Africa, introduced in
Neduntheevu during the 7th century by Arabian sailors Mercenaries of various ethnic and caste backgrounds from India, such as the
Telugus (known locally as
Vadugas) and
Malayalis from the Kerala region were also employed by the king as soldiers.
Muslim traders and sea pirates of
Mapilla and
Moor ethnicities as well as Sinhalese were in the kingdom. The kingdom also functioned as a refuge for rebels from the south seeking shelter after failed political coups. According to the earliest historiographical literature of the Kingdom of Jaffna,
Vaiyaapaadal, datable to 14th–15th century, in verse 77 lists the community of
Papparavar (
Berbers specifically and
Africans in general) along with
Kuchchiliyar (
Gujaratis) and
Choanar (
Arabs) and places them under the caste category of
Pa’l’luvili who are believed to be
cavalrymen of
Muslim faith. The caste of
Pa’l’luvili or
Pa’l’livili is peculiar to Jaffna. A Dutch census taken in 1790 in Jaffna records 196 male adults belonging to Pa’l’livili caste as taxpayers. That means the identity and profession existed until Dutch times. But, Choanakar, with 492 male adults and probably by this time generally meaning the Muslims, is found mentioned as a separate community in this census. The rule under earlier customs seemed to have been females succeeded females. But when the structure of the society came to be based on patriarchal system, a corresponding rule was recognized, that males succeeded males. Thus, we see the devolution of
muthusam (paternal inheritance) was on the sons, and the devolution of the
chidenam (
dowry or maternal inheritance) was on the females. Just as one dowried sister succeeded another, we had the corresponding rule that if one's brother died instate, his properties devolved upon his brothers to the exclusion of his sisters. The reason being that in a patriarchal family each brother formed a family unit, but all the brothers being
agnates, when one of them died his property devolved upon his agnates. and on mathematics (
Kanakathikaram) were authored by Karivaiya. Among other literary works of historic importance compiled before the arrival of European colonizers,
Vaiyapatal, written by Vaiyapuri Aiyar, is well known.
Architecture There were periodic waves of
South Indian influence over Sri Lankan art and architecture, though the prolific age of monumental art and architecture seemed to have declined by the 13th century. Nallur, the capital was built with four entrances with gates. == See also ==