Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c9.35

c9.35

The *kammalar* are descendants of a race of Aryans who entered India across the Panjāb Origin of long before Vyāsa began the collection and arrangement of the Vēdas. They were known craftsmen in early times as Viśva Brahmans, Dēva Brahmans or Dēva Kammālar, in contradistinction to the modern Brahmans who are descendants of Vashishta. They spread gradually towards the south and appear to have gone thence to Ceylon, Burma, Siam and Java, the art of all which lands is closely related to that of South India. They reject the authority of the Brahmans, having priests of their own caste, and perform many rites after the manner of Brahmans. The Kammālar claim to have been at one time spiritual guides and priests to the whole people, of which a trace survives in the proverb, ‘The Kammālan is guru to the world,’ which is said to be current in Southern India. They still perform priestly rites in connection with the consecration of images. They both claim and possess various special privileges which they have always upheld with much vigour. Their priests are or were learned in the *Silpaśastra*. The majority are Saivites. They trace their ancestry to the five sons of Viśvakarma, of whom the first-born Manu, worked in iron; the second, Maya, in wood; the third, Tvastra, in brass, copper, and alloys; the fourth, Silpi, in stone; and the fifth, Viśvajna, was a gold and silversmith and jeweller. Even to-day the blacksmith is said to take precedence amongst the artificers—a point of difference from Ceylon. In former times the artisans had their own guilds, which protected the interests of their own trades; but as these institutions gradually declined, the Kammālar were driven to seek the aid of capitalists of other castes, and now they are, in a majority of instances, reduced to mere paid workmen, earning daily wages. The five occupations are not mutually exclusive; for example, the son of a goldsmith may, if he likes, follow any of the other crafts, or *vice-versa*. We have seen this is only partially the case in Ceylon, as there is a general division into two groups which do not intermarry. In India the five sects form one compact community; as indeed they do in Ceylon, though partly divided as remarked.