Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c7.24

c7.24

*Messengers and guards* Atapattu vasama. Tenants of the first rank, messengers and guards. They had to mount guard in Kandy in turns of one month in three, but some paid a commutation instead. They had to attend the Disāva on journeys, and convey his orders, carrying the great banner (dhaja pataka), swords of office, state umbrellas (mutu kuḍaya, vaḍana talatta, sēsat, etc.). In Kandy they kept guard in a guard-house called atapattu maḍuva, where they had charge of the great banner, the lēkam-miṭiya or record, the mura āvuda (arms) and any prisoners there might be. They were not liable to the payment of duties in kind. If tenants of a temple, or ninda village, they owed corresponding services to the temple or proprietor, such as keeping guard at the vallava (manor house), watching the threshing floors, or walking in processions and going messages. The holding of atapattu lands was a dignified position; the Atapattu and Ganvasam people formed as it were the lesser county families, while the Lord of the Manor represented the titled aristocracy.