Temple of the Sacred Tooth in Kandy
Anuradhapura: Monday, February 3d, we left Kandy to visit Anuradhapura.
Before proceeding, it seems desirable to introduce an historical digression. The history of Ceylon is shrouded in mystery, but, from chronicles compiled by the early monks, a real foundation or beginning has been determined upon, proving that the Cingalese under Wigeyo invaded Ceylon in 543 b.c. and conquered the aborigines of the soil. It is deemed probable that they came from neighboring continents, and that their descendants possessed character and determination; that they were builders is shown by the erection of splendid edifices at an early date, and after the arrival of the royal Buddhist missionary, Mahindo (son of an Indian king), 306 b.c., fine dagobas and monasteries were added, each successive ruler seeming ambitious to excel his predecessor.
Anuradhapura was the first capital, but owing to many vicissitudes and several invasions of the Malabars of Southern India, the capital was moved many times, Kandy being the sixth; it preceded Cotta, near Colombo, the latter being the present capital. In 1532, on the landing of the Portuguese at Colombo, the last blow was struck, and soon the great cities of the Empire were deserted and left in the hands of foreigners. The best dagobas were crumbling, immense tanks broken, and general devastation succeeded where splendor had long reigned. The annals of these centuries, the recital of the achievements and the failures of the various rulers, read like a romance, and it seems sad that a people thus endowed could not have retained their character and independence, although under English rule the island seems prosperous.
The first mention of Kandy is at the beginning of the fourteenth century, when a temple was built to receive the sacred tooth and other ruins, the possession of which made it an important centre of the Buddhist religion and eventually a royal residence; it became the capital of the island in 1592. From that time until the final establishment of the English rule in 1803, it was repeatedly captured and burned by the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the English; it consequently presents no architectural monuments nor any pretension to antiquity.
But it has a better claim to the remembrance of posterity in the fact that for three hundred years it was the centre of the national movement to resist the aggressions of the foreigner. After the British occupation the King was allowed some authority, but owing to certain indignities offered to English subjects, war was declared in 1815, the King taken prisoner and transported to India, where he died in 1832. Ceylon has since been an English colony. The Kandyans are brave and fearless in appearance; they never wear the Cingalese comb, as this is a badge of the low country. The women dress differently from those in India.
The city presents a wide field of interest for the archæologist, and incidentally for the tourist. We were to have a new experience here, as we were to be housed in a "rest house," the term applied to a Government semi-hotel, usually of a simple description, but serving as a great convenience to Government officials in the many places throughout the English islands where there are no hotels. We found the one at Anuradhapura prettily located in a setting of green, with a garden in front. The present little town has a population of about three thousand, and is the capital of the north central province of Ceylon.
