Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c9.5

Language: English

c9.5.1

In each district of the Kandyan kingdom certain craftsmen were organized as a department known as Koṭṭal-badda, supervised by two officers called Koṭṭal-badde Nilame, appointed by the King for districts other than the Disāvaniya. In the Disāvaniya, the office of Koṭṭal-badde Nilame was usually united with that of Disāva, who appointed a Koṭṭalbadde Vidane, usually of the craftsman caste, as his lieutenant. The body of craftsmen thus organized in the Four Kōrales (one of the Disāvani) consisted of the following classes: 1. Seven Vaḍuvō who performed all carpentry work for the King or Disāva; they were usually employed at the Danḍu Maḍuva (timber yard) in Kandy. 2. Five Liyana Vaḍuvō, or turners. 3. Five Sittaru, or painters. 4. Fourteen Ī-vaḍuvō, or arrow makers, who made bows, arrows, spears, staves, etc., and gauded them with lac; of these men, two worked in the Royal armoury. 5. Fourteen Atapattu Karayō who furnished or executed fine work, and were principally employed in ornamenting and inlaying locks, guns, knives, etc., with gold, silver or brass; two of them worked in the Royal armoury. 6. Four Baḍallu, or silversmiths, workers in gold, silver, brass, or copper; two of them worked in the Royal armoury. 7. One Gal-vaḍuva, or mason.

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8. Twenty Mul-acari, or blacksmiths, a certain number of whom, varying according to the exigency of the service, attended constantly in Kandy, and erecting workshops near the Disāva’s house, executed all kinds of common ironwork, for which the metal was furnished them. 9. Eight blacksmiths without regular service lands such as the foregoing held. These had to appear before the Disāva at New Year with a knife and scissors each, and were liable to be called on for work at any time of emergency. 10. Ten Disāva acari under a Haṅgiḍiya, who worked for the Disāva only. The last three classes of blacksmiths were sometimes placed under the same Haṅgiḍiya and Aṭu-haṅgiḍiya. All the above craftsmen, except the blacksmiths in class 9, perform either particular work directed by the King, or work on public buildings allotted to the Disāvaniya. It may be remarked that certain of the Muhandiram-vasama people (3, above) guarded the danḍu maḍuva (Royal timber-yard) and others had to fell and fetch timber, cut wall timber and plane it, and thatch public buildings or the Disāva’s house. Of the Henda-badda people (9, above), six families in the Four Kōrales had to provide couches, stools, and baskets of various sorts woven in rattan. The Baḍahela-badda in the Four Kōrales is described in a later chapter. The foregoing constituted the general body of public craftsmen in one only of the ten disāvani;

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when to these are added those of the other districts and also the special workers belonging to the Four Workshops now to be described, it will be seen that the Royal and public requirements were well provided for. The best of the higher craftsmen (gold and silversmiths, painters and ivory carvers, etc.) working immediately for the King formed a close, largely hereditary, corporation of craftsmen called the Paṭṭal-hatara (Four Workshops); these men worked only for the King, unless by his express permission (though, of course, their sons or pupils might do otherwise); they were liable to be continually engaged in Kandy, while the Koṭṭal-badda men were divided into relays, serving by turns in Kandy for periods of two months. The Koṭṭal-badda men in each district were under a foreman (mul-acāriya) belonging to the Paṭṭal-hatara. Four other foremen, one from each paṭṭala, were in constant attendance at the palace.* Originally there seems to have been only one paṭṭala called the Ābharaṇa (regalia) paṭṭala, but this was afterwards divided into an Ābharaṇa paṭṭala, or jewellery workshop, an Oṭunna paṭṭala, or crown workshop, a Rankaḍu paṭṭala, or golden sword workshop (armoury), and a Simhasana lion throne) paṭṭala, the last including particularly painters and ivory carvers. But the craftsmen seem to have passed from one paṭṭala to another, according to the work entrusted to them.

c9.5.4

A place in the paṭṭala-hatara was usually hereditary in the chief craftsmen families, and was a position much coveted. The chief families had considerable standing, often owning land granted by the King on the occasion of their first settlement, or as a reward for subsequent services.