Features
Listening to Songs about Bees in Nineteenth-Century Ceylon: Hugh Nevill and the Hugh Nevill Collection
by Tom Peterson
School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Univesity of London
It is fairly well known that, in London, there is a major collection of Sinhala olas. To be more precise, within The Hugh Nevill Collection of Sinhalese Manuscripts at the British Library, there are 2,224 of them. They have been in London since 1897, the year that Hugh Nevill (1847–1897), a British Civil Servant, collector, and scholar in Ceylon, returned to Europe. Today, most of Nevill’s objects and manuscripts are split between the British Museum and the British Library.
The manuscripts in the collection are all at least 120 years old, but many of them are significantly older. They are also incredibly rare, and some are unique. The Nevill Collection is the largest archive of Sinhala manuscripts anywhere in the world outside of Sri Lanka, and it presents us with a critical and unmatched archive for studying the social histories of the country.
Because of the incredible number of incredibly old and rare olas, perhaps understandably, people generally focus on the olas in Nevill’s collection: so much so that it is usually thought of as being a collection of Sinhala olas. But, as an ethnomusicologist, of particular interest to me are the lyrical texts in the collection, of which there are several thousand. These texts tell a more complicated story. Aside from the lyrics in his remarkable ola collection, the British Library holds reems of Nevill’s paper folios, often neglected, and many of these also contain songs.
These tend to relate to Nevill’s studies of folklore and devotional practice in Ceylon, two major and often overlapping themes of his scholarship and collection. In order to collect his lyrics, Nevill and his associates journeyed to meet with people who knew the songs they sought, listened to them sing, and transcribed what they heard onto paper, sometimes with transliterations and descriptions of the songs and their performance practices.
These transcriptions offer us a chance to listen in to an echo of Sri Lanka’s past, a moment of musical aurality transcribed and recorded with the technology available at the time. While the value of Nevill’s olas is well known, we are only just starting to use Nevill’s paper folios for studying Sri Lanka’s history; and the number, rarity, and formation of these transcriptions present a source of enormous potential for such a study.
The songs that Nevill transcribed himself draw us to another misconception about the Nevill Collection: that it is ‘Sinhalese’. True, the vast, vast majority of Nevill’s olas are written in Sinhala script (two are written in Telugu, while one is written in Tamil). But there is no such imbalance in Nevill’s paper folios. In fact, there is a more-or-less equal representation of Ceylon’s population among his own transcriptions.
Why would the compositions of his ola and paper collections be so different? My forthcoming thesis addresses this question in detail. But, for now, we can say that this equality broadly reflects Nevill’s interests and opinions. Unlike many of his peers in the colonial administration, Nevill was not interested in discursively distinguishing Ceylon from India (in fact, he is known to have drawn connections between the two, particularly with South India).
Nor was he more interested in Sinhala culture than any other. Instead, Nevill was of the opinion that all of Ceylon’s population were ‘Dravidian’ and had arrived in Ceylon from a progenitive community in ‘Dravida’, which he equated to Chaldea, a region in the south of modern-day Iraq.
However doubtful the Chaldean origins of Sri Lanka’s population may be, Nevill’s Dravida theory informed much of his scholarship and is revealed in the title of his journal: The Taprobanian: A Dravidian Journal of Oriental Studies in and around Ceylon, in Natural History, Archæology, Philology, History, &c. It therefore follows that he did not distinguish which community was ‘more’ or ‘less’ Sri Lankan, or which community was ‘more’ or ‘less’ interesting or worthy of study, but instead paid equal attention to Ceylon’s population, an approach that is reflected in his paper folios and scholarship.
In this spirit, I want to briefly draw your attention to some of the Vedda songs in the Nevill Collection, as well as how Nevill collected and theorised them. In an article on the Veddas, Nevill included a short subsection titled “Bee-hunters’ songs”, in which he gave two songs “sung by Vaeddas when collecting the combs of the large black “bambara“ or “bumbeli” bee, from the cliffs against which they attach their hives”. While on vacation in 1887, Nevill visited Vedda communities in Walimbe Hela, or ‘Friar’s Hood’, and transcribed, translated, and described one of their songs as follows:
Raja Omangaliya
Me guruwara ammâ mô
Kâpana yanyâyi
Rang kende elannyâyi
Rang kâdu elannyâyi
Bâlanno tawa duwagana
Warêwu mâge kuda nangimô
Rang kenden bassalâ
Me guru hela ammâ mô
Dun pallayen pannâla
Rang kaduwen kapâla
Hang pallaye damâla
Me mullen iyôden genôden
Rang kusayen niwara yanamo
Wara nangi!
Oh Omangali Raja!
These venerable mothers
I am going to eat;
I will suspend the gold ladder,
I will suspend the gold sword,
The youngsters too hastening,
Come my little sweetheart!
Having descended by the gold ladder,
These venerable hill mothers
Having driven off with the incense pail,
Having cut with the gold sword,
Having put into the leather pail,
When all these are brought up,
Finishing (what is) in the golden pot,
Let us go,
Come sweetheart.
I have here translated nangi “sweetheart,” as this is the exact sense. It is here used to indicate the bee-hunter’s young wife, or the cousin he is entitled to marry on her reaching the right age. It means “younger sister” [in Sinhala], but has no such sense to the Vaedda. The Omangali Raja probably alludes to Omanegala of Lower Bintenne, especially sacred to Gale Bandára or the Rock God. The bees are alluded to with excessive respect as the venerable mothers.
Nevill’s transcription of these lyrics encapsulates not only the devotional cosmology associated by nineteenth-century Veddas between honey collection and singing, but also a moment of song and listening shared between Nevill and a Vedda who was willing to share the song with him.
During his 1887 vacation, Nevill also visited Veddas in Omane Gala and collected another Bee-hunters’ song:
Maehi-keli Waniyâ
Gal naewili Waniyâ
Maehi kelanne mahi urâl
Hinâ-maten keli kôpayen
Oppu ganawâ tobâ deyiyen…
Oh Lord of the Bees!
Oh Lord of the Rock!
Honeycombs of honey bee,
With laughter and with merriness,
I offer them to Thee…
After each line [the singer] threw a little honey, the first cut from the cliff, to the Spirit of the Rock, and then proceeded to take the rest of the combs. He told me that it was an ancient custom his ancestors followed, called “paeni adina yádinda,” or to “charm the drawing of honey.”
Nevill’s bee-hunters’ songs show how, for Veddas in Omane Gala and Walimbe Hela, singing, metaphysics, and gathering honey formed part of a single act. This is also how Nevill theorised and presented their songs: as sources for understanding peoples’ lives and devotional worlds in nineteenth-century Ceylon, the study of which drove much of his collection. Such insights are littered throughout Nevill’s collection and scholarship, which provide us with fascinating and unique opportunities to learn about musical practices in Sri Lanka’s past, about how song was entangled in people’s lives. These opportunities are not limited to the olas and Sinhala texts in the Nevill Collection, but instead cover a whole range of the island’s social history.
The Nevill Collection is remarkable and exciting from the perspective of studying Sri Lanka’s past. This is particularly true because of how musical the collection is, a reading that stands in sharp contrast against the myth that Sri Lankan musical culture is somehow lacking. This aspect also illustrates how Nevill’s scholarship and collection can nuance how we think about musical interactions between colonial administrators and Ceylon’s population in the nineteenth century: interactions that scholars have shown to be overwhelmingly biased against music in Ceylon and yet instrumental for modern readings of Sri Lanka’s musical histories and cultures.
My thesis, which will be submitted this summer, considers at length the Nevill Collection as an archive of Sri Lanka’s musical history, exploring the musical qualities of its contents, Nevill’s theoretical framework, his collecting practices and associates, the internal logic of the collection, and the afterlives of its songs, revealing a rich musical history in Sri Lanka and a critical source for its study (as well as some nice songs about bees).
(tompeterson.ethnomusicology@gmail.com)
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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