Govigama (also known as Goyigama, Govikula, Govi Vansa or Goyi Vansa) is a
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka
* Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language
** Sinha ...
caste
Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
found in
Sri Lanka
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 ...
. They form approximately half of the Sinhalese population and are traditionally involved in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
. The term Govigama became popular during the last period of the Sinhalese
Kingdom of Kandy
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
Initially a client kingdom ...
. Its members have dominated and influenced national politics and
Sinhalese Buddhism (particularly the
Siam Nikaya
The Siam (also Siyamopali and Siyam) Nikaya is a monastic order within Sri Lankan Buddhism, founded by Upali Thera and located predominantly around the city of Kandy. It is so named because it originated within Thailand (formerly known in Sri Lan ...
sect).
Geographically Govigama is highly concentrated in to Upcountry including
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
,
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
and some other interior areas of low country. These Govi and the
Bathgama Bathgama a Sri Lankan caste predominantly in the Kandyan provinces, the traditional occupation of which was the cultivation of rice paddy. Hence the name Bath (rice) and Gama (village) in the Sinhala language.
Pre History
There were Several dif ...
have traditionally been responsible for cultivation in accordance with the traditional tenure system of land-holding known as Rājākariya, where the king granted land in exchange for services rendered. The Govigama caste has several
endogamous
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships.
Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
sub divisions which include the
Radala
Radala refers to a small minority group in Sri Lanka in the former provinces of the Kingdom of Kandy, who are either descendants of chiefs and courtiers of the King of Kandy of Nayaks of Kandy or descendants of native headmen appointed by the ...
s (
Kandyan aristocracy), Rate atto (
husbandmen
A husbandman in England in the Middle Ages and the early modern period was a free tenant farmer, or a small landowner. The social status of a husbandman was below that of a yeoman. The meaning of "husband" in this term is "master of house" ra ...
),
Patti (
shepherd
A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...
s), Katupulle (
messengers or
clerk
A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...
s), Nilamakkara (temple servants), Porovakara (
wood cutter
Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...
s), Vahal (
Radala
Radala refers to a small minority group in Sri Lanka in the former provinces of the Kingdom of Kandy, who are either descendants of chiefs and courtiers of the King of Kandy of Nayaks of Kandy or descendants of native headmen appointed by the ...
servants) and
Gattara (Govigama
outcaste).
Etymology
The caste name is occupational derived. Govigama is derived from the
Sinhala word ''Goyigama'' meaning farm-land, in reference to their traditional occupation as
farmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...
s and land owners. Early Sinhalese texts such as the 13th century ''Pujavaliya'' mention a caste system of the Sinhalese society; the Raja (rulers), Bamunu (
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
s), Velanda (traders) and the Govi (Farmers).
being the forward castes.
The appellation Govi is probably derived from the Prakritic Gahapati which literally means 'householder'. We find in the 13th century Saddharma-Ratnāvaliya of Dharmasena, the Pali term being rendered as . Gahapati occurs in ancient Pali literature as the third ranking caste after the Khattiya and Brāhmaṇa and appears to have been synonymous with the Vessakula i.e. Vaiśya.
When it comes to the present day, it appears that the Govigama caste has transformed into a compound caste made out of all castes mentioned in Saddharma-Ratnāvaliya (raja, bamunu, velanda and govi) consisting of four sub-castes, Radalavaru (Governing elite), Mudaliperuwa (Knighted elite), Rate aththo (officers of state), and Goviyo( farmers).
History
Ancient period
Ancient texts such as the ''Pujavaliya'', ''Sadharmaratnavaliya'' and ''Yogaratnakaraya'' list the four major classes as
Raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
, Bamunu, Velanda, and Govi.
Kandyan period
For the past 1,700 years the only undisputed symbol of Sri Lankan royalty and leadership has been the sacred
Tooth Relic
The relic of the tooth of Buddha (Pali ''danta dhātuya'') is venerated in Sri Lanka as a sacred cetiya relic of Lord Buddha, who is the founder of Buddhism, the fourth largest religion worldwide.
History The relic in India
According to Sri Lanka ...
of
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
. Whosoever possessed this was acknowledged as the rightful ruler of Lanka, and thus the Tooth Relic was a possession exclusive to the ruling dynasty of Sri Lanka. Upon each change of capital, a new palace was built to enshrine the Relic. Finally, in 1595 it was brought to
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
where it is at present, in the
Temple of the Tooth
The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which hou ...
. However, even in the land-locked
Kandyan kingdom
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
Initially a client kingdom of the Kin ...
'Unambuwe' a son of a concubine of some considerable background was deemed not of 'royalty', hence a
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
of royalty was imported from
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
. This last
Kandyan
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
royal dynasty (four kings) of Nayake origin was from the
Balija
Balija is a caste of the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala.
Origins
Variations of the name in use in the medieval era were ''Balanja'', ''Bananja'', ''Bananju'', ''Banajiga'' and ''Banijiga'', with probable co ...
caste
[ Pre-Nayake kings of Kandy (children of Kusuma Devi) and their marriages to south-Indian Nayakes] Even King
Senarat Adahasin's
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, Antonio Baretto
Kuruvita Rala
Kuruvita Rala (also spelled ''Kuruwita Rala,'' also known as ''Antonio Barreto'' and ''Kuruvita Bandara'') was a Sri Lankan rebel leader and prince of Uva, who served as regent in the kingdom of Kandy. He was also a relation of Dona Catherina, Q ...
,
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...
of Ouva, was not from the Govi cast
The oldest
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
sect in Sri Lanka, the
Siam Nikaya
The Siam (also Siyamopali and Siyam) Nikaya is a monastic order within Sri Lankan Buddhism, founded by Upali Thera and located predominantly around the city of Kandy. It is so named because it originated within Thailand (formerly known in Sri Lan ...
(established on 19 July 1753) are the custodians of the Tooth Relic, since its establishment during the
Kandyan Kingdom
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
Initially a client kingdom of the Kin ...
. The Siam Nikaya uses caste-based divisions, and as of 1764 grants higher ordination only to the Govigama caste, excluding other castes from its numbers, Sitinamaluwe Dhammajoti (Durawa) was the last non-Govigama monk to receive upasampada. This conspiracy festered within the Siam Nikaya itself and Moratota Dhammakkandha, Mahanayaka of Kandy, with the help of the last two Kandyan Telugu Kings victimised the low-country Mahanayaka Karatota Dhammaranma by confiscating the
Sri Pada
Adam's Peak is a tall conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka. It is well known for the Sri Pada ( si, ශ්රී පාද), i.e., "sacred footprint", a rock formation near the summit, which in Buddhist tradition is held to be ...
shrine and the retinue villages from the low country fraternity and appointing a rival Mahanayaka
Current political power
Non–Govigama representation in Parliament has steadily declined since independence and representation of non-Govigama castes are well below their population percentages. Caste representation in the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
has always been limited to a few very visible, but unconcerned and disconnected members from other castes.
Customs
Occupation
The Govigama are a landowning caste.
[Sri Lankan Caste System](_blank)
/ref> The Sinhalese caste system was based on the service to the king or 'raja kariya', and land ownership. The Govigama people had the right to cultivate and use the lands of the Sinhalese Kingdom at the behest of Sinhalese King. Their contribution to rice production, leadership in Buddhism and service in royal service gave Govigama people the foremost role in the ancient agrarian society in Sri Lanka. Kings are said to have participated in harvesting festivals held end of each Yala (dry) and Maha (wet) season.
In the present era, it has been a norm that the head of the country should be a Govigama caste member, though President Premadasa was not. Colonial occupiers, including the Portuguese, Dutch and British, tried to change Govigama dominance by giving prominence to other castes by granting government posts and education under them. However they were unable to change the caste hierarchy in traditional Sinhalese society. The Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
introduced the ideas of Republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
.
Names
An important characteristic in the Sinhalese caste system is that the family name or the surname details the ancestry. The original name was given based on where one lived. Later, honorary terms, granted by the king based on a person's service to the kingdom, were added to the original name. This continued for generations and resulted in very long names.
In General , Disawe, Mudiyanse, Adikari, Appuhamy, Imiya raala, Nawaratne, Jayathilaka, Gunathilaka, Jayawardana, Wijayawardhana, Wijeyasundara, Gunawardhana, Siriwardhana, Abeywardhana, Abeysiriwardhana, Abeygunawardhana, Dharmawardhana, Bandaranayake, Dissanayake, Ekanayake ,Gajanayaka , Kulatunga, Madawala, Rathnasinghe, Ranasinghe, Wijesinha, Dunuwille, Dunusinghe, Wickramasinghe, Rajapaksha, Molamure, Meedeniya, Kiriella, Herath, Yapa, Unambuwe, Rekawa, Balasooriya, Iddamalgoda, Ganegoda, Halangoda, Kodagoda, Kobbakaduwa, Arachchi, Vidhane are considered to be names taken up by Govigama people, and these names were extended according to the ranking in the service of the kingdom. Further variations exist due to changes during the colonial period. Historic literature and inscriptional evidence from the feudal period show that this hierarchy prevailed throughout the feudal period until the collapse of Sri Lankan kingdoms and social structure under the onslaught of European colonialism. However, even in the present day, Sinhalese people look at surnames and ancestry when it comes to marriages.
As for name and religious conversions, Govigama families too became Christian and had Portuguese/Christian names (some strangely adopted during British/Dutch times) such as Don Davith (Rajapaksas), Barthlamew (Senanayakes), Ridgeway Dias (Nilaperumal/Bandaranaykes), Pererala, Arnolis Dep (Wijewardane), Corea, Ilangakoon, de Saa Bandaranaike, Obeyesekere, de Saram,Don Johannes(Padmawansha/Kumarage), de Alwis, etc. It is also why all elite Sri Lankans of the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
period be it farmer or other wise had English first names. The Goyigama also were pioneer arrack
Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon the country of origin ...
renters of the colonial era.
Social status
In traditional Sinhalese society Buddhist monks are placed at the top. Irrespective of the birth caste of a monk, even the king had to worship him. However, this led to some Buddhist sects in Sri Lanka allowing only Govigama people to join, contrary to Buddha's instructions.
Other castes such as Karava, Durava, Salagama and Wahumpura
Dewa people were one of the four main tribes (Dewa, Yaksha, Naga, Raksha) of ancient Sri Lanka who founded the coalition of Sinhalese nationality. Sinhalese people (Sinhala: සිංහල ජනතාව, romanized: Sinhala Janathāva) are an A ...
have their own Buddhist sects. The Govigama sect also known as the Mahavihara Wanshika Siyam Order hold the custody of Sri Dalada Maligawa (The temple of the tooth) and the sacred tooth relic of Buddha.
Notable people
*Nicholas Dias Abeyesinghe Amarasekere
Nicholas Dias Abeysinghe Amarasekere Maha Mudaliyar, ( Sinhala: නිකලස් ඩයස් අබේසිංහ අමරසේකර) (8 May 1719 - 10 May 1794) was a Ceylonese Dutch colonial administrator. He was appointed as the Maha Mud ...
– Maha Mudaliar of Dutch Ceylon
*Solomon Dias Bandaranaike
Sir Solomon Dias Abeywickrema Jayatilleke Senewiratna Rajakumaruna Kadukeralu Bandaranaike, ( Sinhala: සොලමන් ඩයස් අබේවික්රම ජයතිලක සෙනෙවිරත්න රාජකුමාරු ...
– Maha Mudaliar of British Ceylon[
* E. R. Gooneratne – Acting Maha Mudaliar and literary figure
* John Kotelawala – Prime Minister of Ceylon][Premadasa Exceptionalism and challenges it currently faces...]
/ref>
*Solomon Bandaranaike
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike ( si, සොලොමන් වෙස්ට් රිජ්වේ ඩයස් බණ්ඩාරනායක; ta, சாலமன் வெஸ்ட் ரிட்ஜ்வே டயஸ் ப ...
– Prime Minister of Ceylon[
*]Wijeyananda Dahanayake
Wijeyananda Dahanayake ( si, විජයානන්ද දහනායක ta, விஜயானந்த தகநாயக்கா; 22 October 1902 – 4 May 1997) was a Sri Lankan politician. He was the Prime Minister of Ceylon from Septe ...
– Prime Minister of Ceylon[How Mrs. Bandaranaike became Prime Minister in 1960 – Elections]
/ref>
*Nissanka Wijeyeratne
Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne ( si, නිශ්ශංක පරාක්රම විජයරත්න) (14 June 1924 – 7 January 2007), known as ''Nissanka Wijeyeratne'', was a Sri Lankan politician, civil servant,
dipl ...
– Diyawadana Nilame and Cabinet Minister
*Gamini Dissanayake
Dissanayake Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Lionel Gamini Dissanayake, PC (known as Gamini Dissanayake; si, ලයනල් ගාමිණි දිසානායක, ta, காமினி திஸாநாயக்க; 20 March 1942 – 24 Octob ...
– Cabinet Minister, MP & Presidential candidate
* Ruwan Wijewardene – State Minister, MP[
]
See also
* Radala
Radala refers to a small minority group in Sri Lanka in the former provinces of the Kingdom of Kandy, who are either descendants of chiefs and courtiers of the King of Kandy of Nayaks of Kandy or descendants of native headmen appointed by the ...
* Koviyar (, also known as Covia) is a Tamil caste found in Sri Lanka. They are traditional agriculturalists and temple workers. ''Kattavarayan'' as caste deity is observed by the Koviar.
Etymology
The Yalpana Vaipava Malai states that the term ''Koviyar ...
* Sri Lankan Mudaliyars
* Patti caste Patti is a traditional caste of Herdsmen from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and offici ...
* Sinhalisation
Sinhalisation is a term, derived from Sinhala, that has number of meanings in Sri Lanka. it is mainly the assimilation into Sinhalese Culture in which the members of an ethno-cultural group are steadily integrated or "absorbed" into establis ...
* Caste system in Sri Lanka
The caste systems in Sri Lanka are social stratification systems found among the ethnic groups of the island since ancient times. The models are similar to those found in Continental India, but are less extensive and important for various reasons, ...
References
Bibliography
* Abhayawardena H. A. P. Kadaim Poth Vimarshanaya, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka
* H. W. Codrington, ''Ancient land tenure and revenue in Ceylon''
* Darmapradeepikava Sri Dharmarama edition, 1951
* Epigraphia Zeylanica (EZ) Colombo Museum, Sri Lanka
* Gammaduwa, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka
* Jayathilake D. B. Dambadeni Asna saha Kandavuru Siritha
* Jayawardena Kumari 2000 Nobodies to Somebodies – The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lank
* Journal of Asian Studies 1990 Articles by Patrick Peebles, Amita Shastri, Bryan Pfaffenberger
* Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (JRASCB)
* Kumaratunga Munidasa 1958 Parevi Sandeshaya
* Niti Nighanduva The vocabulary of law 1880 LeMasurier C. J. R. and Panabokke T. B.
* Peebles Patrick 1995 Social Change in Nineteenth Century Ceylon Navrang {{ISBN, 81-7013-141-3.
* Pfaffenberger Bryan 1982 Sudra Domination in Sri Lanka Syracuse University
* Pujavaliya
* Roberts Michael Caste conflict and elite formation
* Sahithyaya 1972 Department of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka
* Sarpavedakama Colombo Museum publication, 1956
* Sri Lankáve Ithihásaya Educational Publications Department Sri Lanka
* Ummagga Játhakaya 1978 edition Educational Publications Department, Sri Lanka
* Wickramasinghe Nira 2001 Civil Society in Sri Lanka: New circles of power
Sinhalese castes