{"id":112519,"date":"2021-03-10T17:07:25","date_gmt":"2021-03-11T00:07:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=112519"},"modified":"2021-03-10T17:07:25","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T00:07:25","slug":"mahawamsa-george-turnour-and-royal-college-colombo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/03\/10\/mahawamsa-george-turnour-and-royal-college-colombo\/","title":{"rendered":"Mahawamsa, George Turnour and Royal College Colombo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rohan Abeygunawardena<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

On 25th<\/sup> of February 2021 \u2018\u2019Ceylon Daily\nNews\u2019\u2019  published  following news item;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018\u2019An ancient Ola leaf original copy of the Mahavamsa\u201d\n(Great Chronicle) currently kept at the library of the University of Peradeniya\nis to be declared as a UNESCO World Heritage. The decision has been reached by\nUNESCO experts upon verifying that all sections of the Mahavamsa\u201d (the written\nhistory of ancient Sri Lanka) were correctly conserved at the University\nLibrary, Prof. Upul Dissanayake, Vice Chancellor of the Peradeniya University\ntold the media yesterday.\u2019\u2019 (https:\/\/dailynews.lk\/2021\/02\/25\/local\/242520\/ola-leaf-mahavamsa-be-declared-world-heritage<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to same news item representatives of UNESCO have\ninspected other Mahavamsa\u201d palm-leaf books located at various places in the\ncountry, but due to their shortcomings, they were deemed not eligible for World\nHeritage status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahavamsa\u201d or “The Great Chronicle” is the\ndocumented history of the great dynasty of Sri Lanka in general and Sinhalese\nBuddhist in particular. This important work of Lankan origin  is believed to have been written by Bhikku Mahanama  in Pali language describes the life and times\nof the people who forged Sri Lankan nation, from the coming of Vijaya in 543\nBCE to the reign of King Mahasena (334 \u2013 361) (6th Century BC to 4th Century\nAD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If not for the discovery of this great chronical by an\nEnglishman born in Ceylon the history of Sri Lanka would have taken a different\nturn.  He is the Hon. George Turnour. His\nfather George Turnour (Snr) landed in Ceylon in 1783 with 73rd<\/sup>\nRegiment and in 1795, he was appointed Fort Adjutant of the Jaffna\nFort and later made Commandant of the Mannar Fort in\n1797. He married Emilie de Beaussett, niece of Cardinal Duc de Beaussett. Born\nin Ceylon on 11 March 1799, George Turnour Jnr was the eldest of six\nsiblings, he had one younger brother Edward Archer and four Sisters Anne Emily,\nFrances, Elizabeth and Jane.  Having\nshown knack for academic enrichment, he was sent to England for education under\nthe patronage of Sir Thomas Maitland<\/a> in 1811.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He returned in 1820. During this era most educated, talented\nyoung men were drawn into the Colonial Service. Their principal objective was\nthe betterment of mankind in general, and not personal prosperity. Young George\nTurnour was one of them and he joined the Ceylon Civil Service (CCS) as an\nAssistant to the Commissioner of Revenue. Subsequently he was made\nAssistant to the Chief Secretary. In 1822 he was appointed the Collector\nof Kalutara thereafter he was appointed Government Agent\n(GA) of Sabaragamuwa Province in 1825.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noticed a strange document lay on his table not connected\nwith his routine duties as GA of the Province. This was an ola leaf manuscript\n(palm-leaf manuscripts) brought by his friend Galle, a Buddhist monk. (Most\nprobably he was called Galle because he was a monk from \u2018Mulikirigalla\u2019). Galle\nrealised that the GA who was fairly knowledgeable in Sinhala language and a\ntalented man interested in history.  They\nhad many discussions about the country\u2019s history. As a result Turnour \u2019s\ninterest was aroused. Galle searched for ancient manuscript of history at many\nBuddhist temples and finally found Tik\u0101 or commentary on the Mah\u0101va\u1e41sa <\/em>at\nMulikirigalla Rajamaha Vihara, near Tangalle. This was a temple founded one\nhundred and fifty years before the birth of Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately the manuscript was written in \u2018\u2019Pali.\u2019\u2019\nAlthough fluent in the Sinhalese vernacular, with a considerable knowledge of\nSinhalese script, Turnour knew nothing of Pali; an extinct language at that\ntime. But his friend Galle was there to help him. Galle contacted many Buddhist\nmonks who had scant knowledge of Pali language and helped his friend with\nresearch. It took nearly 10 years to research and translate the chronical of\nSri Lanka \u2018\u2019Mahawansa\u2019\u2019 to English language while carrying out his official\nduties. That was in the year 1837. However based on his study of the Mahawamsa\nand other materials, Turnour published an article titled \u2018Epitome of the\nHistory of Ceylon\u2019 in the Ceylon Almanac in 1833. In this\narticle he listed down the succession and genealogy of 165 Kings from the\narrival of Vijaya to the British. James Emerson Tennent who became the Colonial\nsecretary of Ceylon referring to the article said in this work, after infinite\nlabour, he (Turnour) succeeded in condensing the events of each reign,\ncommemorating the founders of the chief cities, and noting the erection of the\ngreat temples and Buddhist monuments, and the construction of some of the reservoirs\u2026he\nthus effectually demonstrated the misconceptions of those who previously\nbelieved the literature of Ceylon to be destitute of historic materials\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The existence of an historical record called the Mahavansa,\nor Great Dynasty, was known to a handful of Buddhist priests before translated\ninto English language. Since then many local and foreign scholars became\ninterested in the history of Ceylon. As a result many other ancient written\nhistorical documents were discovered such as Deepawansa, Chulawansa, Atthakata\netc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is interesting to note some of the views expressed by\nEuropean scholars, prior to the 1830s, Robert Percival in his book in 1803\nstated the wild stories current among the natives throw no light\nwhatever on the ancient history of the island. The earliest period which we can\nlook for any authentic information is the arrival of the Portuguese under\nAlmeida in 1505\u201d<\/em> and John Davy in his book in 1821 mentions the\nSinghalese possess no accurate record of events; are ignorant of genuine\nhistory, and are not sufficiently advanced to relish it\u201d. (Quoted from \u2018\u2019Archaeological\nMilestones in Sri Lanka: Part 01\u2019\u2019 by Chryshane Mendis)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If not for the efforts of George Turnour  one of the oldest continuously recorded\nchronicles in the world covering a period of over twenty three centuries like\nMahawamsa would have lost and the history of \u2018\u2019Sinhalese Buddhists\u2019\u2019 all but\nforgotten.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Turnour was appointed as Assistant Colonial Secretary\nand was appointed Treasurer in 1841. Due to ill health he retired early and\nreturned to England and set out to Italy where he died in Naples on the 10\nApril 1843 aged 44 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This great scholar and historian was elected an honorary\nmember of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britten and Ireland. Following his\ndeath, a fund was raised which erected a tablet at St. Pauls Church, Kandy. The\nremaining funds were used to start the Turnour Prize at the Royal College,\nColombo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Established in 1846, Turnour Prize<\/strong> was the\noldest of the panel prizes of the oldest public school of Sri Lanka, Royal College Colombo<\/strong>. It is one of the\nmost prestigious prizes and honour awarded to a student of the school. First\nawarded to Charles Ambrose Lorensz<\/a> (1846)\nthere are over 150 students who received this award on merit. All most all of\nthem became eminent personalities who made enormous contribution to the\nprogress of Sri Lanka and mankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turnour Prize<\/strong> was dedicated to the historian George Tunour<\/strong> who surfaced the history\nof Sri Lanka which was called \u2018Tambapanni\u2019, \u2018Ratnadeepa\u2019, \u2018Dharmadeepa\u2019,\n\u2018Sinhale\u2019, \u2018Taprobane\u2019, \u2018Serandib\u2019, \u2018Zelan\u2019, \u2018\u00c7eylon\u2019 and many other names by\nthe inhabitants, visitors, travellers and conquerors. Finally his discovery has\nbeen recognised as a \u2018\u2019World Heritage\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Tunour\u2019s 222nd<\/sup>\nbirth anniversary falls on 11th<\/sup> March 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rohan Abeygunawardena<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rohan Abeygunawardena On 25th of February 2021 \u2018\u2019Ceylon Daily News\u2019\u2019  published  following news item; \u2018\u2019An ancient Ola leaf original copy of the Mahavamsa\u201d (Great Chronicle) currently kept at the library of the University of Peradeniya is to be declared as a UNESCO World Heritage. The decision has been reached by UNESCO experts upon verifying that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112519\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}