Donna Isabella Koraneliya ( si, දෝන ඉසබෙලා කොරනෙලියා) ( Gajaman Nona) (10 March 1746-15 December 1815) was a Sri Lankan author who was noted for having the ability to write and recite impromptu
Sinhala poetry.
Biography
She was born in
Marawila
Marawila is a town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka.
It is located on the A3 highway, which connects Negombo and Chilaw. The town is located away from Negombo
Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the w ...
,
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
as the second daughter of Don Francisco Senarathna Kumara Perumal and Francina Jasenthu Graivo. Gajaman was baptised as Donna Isabella Koraneliya at
St. Paul's Church, Milagiriya
St. Paul's Church is situated in the Milagiriya district of Colombo, the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. It is one of the oldest churches in Sri Lanka as now part of the Anglican Church of Ceylon.
The Portuguese Era
The church was first built ...
in
Bambalapitiya
Bambalapitiya is a southern coastal neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The area also known as Colombo 4, spans about along Galle Road. The western boundary of the suburb is the Indian Ocean and it is bordered to the east by Havelock Town, t ...
. As a baby, she was brought to Marawila in
Beliatta
Beliatta is a town located in the Hambantota District of Sri Lanka.
Geography
It is an inland town, approximately, from the coastal town of Tangalle. Beliatta has the second highest mountain range located in the Beliatta Divisional Secretari ...
as her father was undertaking
Rājākariya, a system where the individual provides services in exchange for land. She had her early education within her own family.
She was talented and earned her honorific name Gajaman Nona (Lady Gajaman) from her mother. She grew up in
Matara,
with a taste for dressing like a Dutch woman, which came from her partially 'Westernized' background.
She had a surprising talent in literature, which was highlighted by the women of her community and status.
Her talents were noticed at an early age when someone hid her water pot, and she wrote this Sinhala poem:
Later in life, when married, Gajaman Nona was left almost destitute by the death of her husband. She couldn't get a proper job. As she had several children to take care of, she asked the then Fiscal Collector for the Matara district, D'Oyly, for some kind of assistance.
granted her Nindagama (an area of land in which one is able to live and farm for one's own needs). In gratitude, she wrote poems with Sir D’Oyly. Today, a statue of her stands at
Ambalantota
Ambalantota is a coastal town in southern Sri Lanka. It is located in Southern Province in Hambantota District between Matara and Hambantota.
The Valave River meets the sea near Ambalantota.
The Ambalantota is famous for its ancient ruins of ...
, Nonagama Junction (the name derived from Gajaman Nona).
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nona, Gajaman
1746 births
1815 deaths
Kandyan period
Sinhalese writers
People of the Kingdom of Kandy
Sri Lankan women poets
19th-century Sri Lankan writers
19th-century Sri Lankan women writers