Op-ed/Special Reports

Sri Lanka’s trade and cultural links across the Indian Ocean from antiquity

Sunday October 8, 2023 4:55 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s maritime trade links along the Indian Ocean dates back to pre-historic times and has helped nurture “the personality of Sri Lanka and shaped its landscape and cultural scape since pre-historic times,” according to a top archaologist and researcher of the island.

“By the early 4th Century BCE, this island was primarily a production-distribution portal within the Rim and reached even to the Mediterranean and the Far East,” writes Sudarshan Seneviratne Executive Director General of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Sri Lanka Secretariat.

“The discovery of large quantities of Mediterranean, East African, South Asian and West Asian imported luxury ceramic ware and beads including coins and foreign notices (from the Mediterranean to the Far East) confirms the status of Sri Lanka as a major trading hub through long-distance trade linked to multiple lands.”

Sudarshana Seneviratne is a former Professor of Archaeology, University of Peradeniya was Director General, Central Cultural Fund.

Legends, chronicles and material evidence place Sri Lanka as a recipient culture located in the center of the Indian Ocean, he says.

The antiquity of this convergence dates to the pre-historic period when people, floral and faunal evidence indicate migration to Sri Lanka from the Indian sub-continent, South East Asia and East Africa.

“The commercial vortex connecting the Indian Ocean Rim had developed a complex system by the Middle Historic period (post 3rd Cent AC),” Seneviratne writes.

“This period witnessed intense commercial activities reaching out to India, South East and Far East and West Asia. There are notices that Buddhist monks and nuns accompanied merchants to their travel destinations.

Monasteries housing Sri Lankan monks were established during 3rd Century AC in Nagarjunakonda (Andhra) and the Gupta period in north India.

The Mahavamsa also records the existence of residences housing foreign merchants.

“The discovery of a Nestorian cross at the citadel of Anuradhapura is a testimony to the presence of West Asian traders residents at Anuradhapura.”

The full article released by Sri Lanka’s foreign Ministry is reproduced below

Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean in Antiquity

The island of Sri Lanka is also known in history by different names, including Tambapanni, Lanka, Taprobane, Serendib, Ceilo, Ceylon and eventually Sri Lanka or the ‘Resplendent Island”. Legends and historical annals note peopling of Sri Lanka associated with the ocean or those who traversed the ocean arriving at the shores of this island.

It was the Indian Ocean that nurtured the personality of Sri Lanka and shaped its landscape and cultural scape since pre-historic times. It is also the Indian Ocean, which binds us to the larger oceanic scape and the communities of the Indian Ocean rim with a common thread.

The ocean is also the greatest repository that gifted the line of communication and resources. The cultural timeline of our connectivity with the Indian Ocean goes back to pre-4000 BCE. The earliest common term known for this ocean is Samudra, as recited in the Rig Vedic hymns (C.1500 BCE).

It is also known to have a western and eastern ocean. The earliest texts mention oceanic seafaring luxury trade (‘From every side, O Soma, for our profit, pour thou forth four seas filled with a thousand-fold riches.” RV 9.33.6). The ocean craft in Sanskrit Vedic literature is known as Nau (neva in Sinhala). Seafaring provided connectivity to multiple kingdoms, cultures and civilizations that thrived over time and space during the pre-modern period of the Indian Ocean Rim. Sri Lanka was a prime recipient of this Indian oceanic connectivity.

Our relationship with the ocean is an interdependent factor which is mainly due to the centrality of our location in the Indian Ocean and the commonality shared by its resident communities.

Pic 01. Austronesian proto-historic maritime trade network in the Indian Ocean Pre 2000 BCE

Antiquity of Connectivity

Legends, chronicles and material evidence place Sri Lanka as a recipient culture located in the center of the Indian Ocean. The antiquity of this convergence dates to the pre-historic period when people, floral and faunal evidence indicate migration to Sri Lanka from the Indian sub-continent, South East Asia and East Africa.

Pre-historic Austronesian engagement connected east Africa via South Asia and beyond. Legend has it that the pre-historic community, the Naga, were a sea-faring community associated with trade and gems.

In the world of antiquity, Sri Lanka possessed a nautical history involving ships, navigation and seafaring by its island community dating to C. 1000 BCE. By the 4th Century BCE, even before the discovery of the monsoon by Hippalus, Sri Lanka was connected with South East Asia, East India and the Bay of Bengal, trading mainly on precious metals, elephants, spices and pearls. The Bay of Bengal formed a sub-region in the Indian Ocean having its own dynamic in the history of trade and commerce.

By the early 4th Century BCE, this island was primarily a production-distribution portal within the Rim and reached even to the Mediterranean and the Far East. The discovery of large quantities of Mediterranean, East African, South Asian and West Asian imported luxury ceramic ware and beads including coins and foreign notices (from the Mediterranean to the Far East) confirms the status of Sri Lanka as a major trading hub through long-distance trade linked to multiple lands.

Pic 02.

Ptolemy’s Sri Lankan Map created by Claudius Ptolemy in 139 AD. The Greeks called Sri Lanka Taprobana or Taprobane.

Trading portals were located at convenient coastal sites suitable for safe anchorage (dating to the 10th Cent. BCE). In addition to events documented in the Mahavamsa and Jataka narratives, the most accurate and extensive travel catalogues perhaps are found in the cartographic evidence of Ptolemy’s Taprobane and the Periplus Maris Erythraei, a diary of a ship captain travelling between the Red Sea and India. Both mention Sri Lanka as an important travel destination for commerce, its emporiums and traded items including place names of the island.

It is not a coincidence that during the same period (according to notices of Pliny) and the Mahavamsa emissaries of king Bhatikabhaya (1st Cent. AC), the first diplomatic mission (headed by traders), arrived in Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius Caesar. A second delegation from Sri Lanka arrived in Rome during the time of Emperor Julian (Circa A.D. 375). The latter period coincides with the reign of Mahasena, the age of great agrarian production, the construction of mega reservoirs and monasteries (Jetavana) and the intense expansion of foreign trade with the establishment of cosmopolitan Port Cities.

Pic 03. Emissaries of king Bhatikabhaya (1st Cent. AC) to Rome

The commercial vortex connecting the Indian Ocean Rim had developed a complex system by the Middle Historic period (post 3rd Cent AC). This period witnessed intense commercial activities reaching out to India, South East and Far East and West Asia. There are notices that Buddhist monks and nuns accompanied merchants to their travel destinations. Monasteries housing Sri Lankan monks were established during 3rd Century AC in Nagarjunakonda (Andhra) and the Gupta period in north India.

While the Mahavamsa also records the existence of residences housing foreign merchants.

The discovery of a Nestorian cross at the citadel of Anuradhapura is a testimony to the presence of West Asian traders residents at Anuradhapura.

Pic 04: Site locations in east Africa and South Asia in the Indian Ocean connectivity chain, 1st Cent. BCE

Pic 05: Teppam (outrigger boat)

Connectivity and outreach were possible due to advanced nautical technology dating to the pre-Christian period. It was a qualitative development beyond the outrigger canoe or teppam. The advanced development of this vessel is depicted on coins and inscriptions as single-mast and double-mast vessels that traversed the Bay of Bengal and South Asia.

Interestingly enough, it was also the famous spice and gem trail that connected Sri Lanka with the Arab traders of West Asia. Merchants, from this period and region, made their way to Sri Lanka through three trade routes: the Indian to the North, the traders to the East, and the Arab to the West. It is from this vantage point that we need to understand the movement of communities to Sri Lanka, especially from West Asia in the Middle Historic period.

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Weather and Climate

Water levels rising in Sri Lanka Kalu, Nilwala river basins: Irrigation Department

Monday June 3, 2024 2:17 pm

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Irrigation Department has issued warnings that water levels in the Kalu River basin are rising and major flooding is possible due to the continuous rain. People living in close proximity are advised to take precautions.

“There is a high possibility of slowly increasing prevailing flood lowline areas of Kiriella, Millaniya, Ingiriya, Horana, Dodangoda, Bulathsinhala, Palinda Nuwara and Madurawala D/S divisions of Ratnapura and Kalutara Districts, up to next 48 hours,” it said issuing a warning.

“In addition, flood situation prevailing at upstream lowline areas of Ratnapura district will further be prevailing with a slight decrease.

“The residents and vehicle drivers running through those area are requested to pay high attention in this regard.

“Disaster Management Authorities are requested to take adequate precautions in this regard.”

The island is in the midst of south western monsoon.

DMC reported that 11,864 people belonging to 3,727 families have been affected due to the weather in Rathnapura, Kegalle, Kilinochchi, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kalutara, Gampaha, Colombo, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Badulla, Moneragala, and Trincomalee districts.

Meanwhile, the Meteorology Department stated that showers are expected on most parts of the island today.(Colombo/June3/2024)

Politics

UNP gen secy defends call for postponing Sri Lanka poll, claims opposition silent

The UNP party headquarters in Pitakotte/EconomyNext

Monday June 3, 2024 1:59 pm

ECONOMYNEXT — United National Party (UNP) General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara has defended his call for postponing Sri Lanka’s presidential election by two years, claiming that his proposal was not undemocratic nor unconstitutional.

Speaking to reporters at the UNP headquarters Monday June 03 morning, Bandara also claimed that neither opposition leader Sajith Premadasa nor National People’s Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake have spoken against his proposal.

“I have made no statement that’s undemocratic. My statement was in line with provisions of the constitution,” the former UNP parliamentarian said.

He quoted Section 86 of Chapter XIII of the constitution which says: “The President may, subject to the provisions of Article 85, submit to the People by Referendum any matter which in the opinion of the President is of national importance.”

Sections 87.1, 87.2 also elaborates on the matter and describes the parliament’s role, said Bandara.

“I spoke of a referendum and parliament’s duty. Neither of this is antidemocratic or unconstitutional. As per the constitution, priority should be given to ensuring people’s right to life,” he said.

“Some parties may be against what I proposed. They may criticse me. But what I ask them is to come to one position as political parties and make a statement on whether they’re ready to continue the ongoing economic programme,” he added.

Bandara claimed that, though thee has been much criticism of his proposal for a postponement of the presidential election, President Wickremesinghe’s rivals Premadasa and Dissanayake have yet to remark on the matter.

“I suggested that [Premadasa] make this proposal in parliament and for [Dissanayake] to second it. But I don’t see that either Premadasa nor Dissanayake is opposed to it. To date, I have not seen nor heard either of them utter a word against this. I believe they have no objection to my proposal which was made for the betterment of the country,” he said. (Colombo/Jun03/2024)

Politics

Support for AKD drops to SP’s level while RW makes gains, Sri Lanka poll shows

Monday June 3, 2024 12:47 pm

ECONOMYNEXT — Support for leftist candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake dropped six percentage points to 39 percent in April, levelling with opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, while support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe increased three points to 13 percent in a presidential election voting intent poll.

The Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTS) conducted by the Institute for Health Policy showed that, according to its Multilevel Regression and Poststratification (MRP) provisional estimates of presidential election voting intent, National People’s Power (NPP) leader Dissanayake and main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) lader Premadasa were now neck and neck while United National Party (UNP) leader Wickremesinghe had made some gains. A generic candidate for the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) had the support of 9 percent of the people surveyed, up 1 percentage point from March.

These estimates use the January 2024 revision of the IHP’s SLOTS MRP model. The latest update is for all adults and uses data from 17,134 interviews conducted from October 2021 to 19 May 2024, including 444 interviews during April 2024. According to the institute, 100 bootstraps were run to capture model uncertainty. Margins of error are assessed as 1–4% for April.

SLOTS polling director and IHP director Ravi Rannan-Eliya was quoted as saying: “The SLOTS polling in April suffered from a lower response rate owing to the New Year holidays, and we think this may have skewed the sample in favour of SJB supporters. The early May interviews partly compensated for this, and it’s possible that our June interviews may result in further revisions
to our model estimates.

Rannan-Eliya also noted that a number of other internet polls may be overestimating support for the NPP or its main constituent party the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) by about 10 percent.

“We’ve been asked about some other recent internet polls that showed much higher levels of support for the NPP/JVP. We think these over-estimate NPP/JVP support. SLOTS routinely collects data from all respondents on whether they have internet access, and whether they are willing to participate in an internet survey. These data show that NPP/JVP supporters are far more likely to have internet access and even more likely to be willing to respond to internet surveys, and this difference remains even after controlling for past voting behaviour. Our data indicates internet polls may overestimate NPP/JVP support by about 10 percent, and for this kind of reason we have previously decided that the time is not right to do internet polling,” he said.

According to the IHP, its SLOTS MRP methodology first estimates the relationship between a wide variety of characteristics about respondents and their opinions – in this case, ‘If there was a Presidential Election today, who would you vote for?’– in a multilevel statistical model that also smooths month to month changes. It then uses a large data file that is calibrated to the national population to predict voting intent in each month since October 2021, according to what the multilevel model says about their probability of voting for various parties (‘post-stratification’) at each point in time. The multilevel model was estimated 100 times to reflect underlying uncertainties in the model and to obtain margins of error, the institute said. (Colombo/Jun03/2024)