Maduwanwela Walawwa...(Maduwanwela Mansion)
A beautiful snow white deer lived in the nearby forests of
Maduwanwela. It was the only one of its kind and King Wimaladarmasooriya
II (1687-1706 AD) of the Kandyan Kingdom was bestowed a gift of true
rarity when the white deer was captured and presented to him by Maha
Disawa's ancestor Maduwanwela Maha Mohottala. The King was so delighted
with this gift that he entrusted a great acreage of land for Mohottala's
loyalty, or at least this was one of the stories of how the Walawwa
came to being. Another tale tells of a Dutch outlaw who roamed the
forests and was a burden to the villagers. The King had sworn that he
would handsomely reward the efforts of anyone who could bring him the
head of the outlaw. In which case, Maha Disawa's ancestors did the deed
and thus were commended with the Walawwa and its now, vast territory.
He
came on horse, they say, he left school at a tender age to return to
his ancestral abode, the Maduwanwela Walawwa, where nearly four
generations of his family had lived. He was raised by his grandmother
and had grown to be a determined and brave soul and a patriot of his
beliefs. Maha Disawa was his title, which followed his name;
Wickamasinghe Wijesundara Eaknayake Abayakoon Mudiyanse Ralahamillage
Sir Jemes Willeyam Maduwanwela, also known as the Black Prince by
Bristish colonists, as he was one of the only dark skinned landlords who
cradled his land as if it were his kingdom while passionately
preserving Buddhist religious and Sri Lankan cultural values within it.
Adjoining
the entrance, a large Bo tree standing tremendously wide at its trunk
and reaching a summit which I could only guess, was encircled by a short
stocky stone wall decorated with sculpted figures and ceramic plates as
were the other walls of the same kind enclosing the Walawwa premises.
Most of what the Walawwa used to be had collapsed with nearly 400 years
of age and was in the process of restoration by the Archeological
Department. The stone gate frame of the entrance to the Walawwa's
immediate locality had been carved and although the shapes were a bit
fuzzy, I could make out vague outlines of birds and flowers, both of
which were shaped so as to symbolise good governance and prosperity.
The wind never ceased, and even as I stepped inside the Walawwa, the
highly ventilated courtyards, now only seven of the then 21, were being
showered with leaves, dust and the occasional flower. I wasn't aware of
the direction, in actual sense I felt a bit lost, until I wound up in
the pirith or prayer room at one end of the entrance with its floor set
in vibrant mosaics of crushed ceramic. From here I followed my own
directional instincts and opening some closed doors found a few dark
rooms that were for storage purposes. 121 rooms were housed here once,
some of which were used for storing large volumes of various grains,
preserved meats and other foods that came from the Walawwa's hard
working farming communities from 18 villages and it is believed that
these stocks could, at any time of drought or food shortage, sustain the
entire Walawwa and its villages for one whole year. 42 of such rooms
including a few bedrooms, a bathroom and rooms set apart for special
occasions are the only remnants of what was.
The Maha Disawa, his wife and daughter had had separate rooms of
their own and the doorways in general were small in frame; both short in
height and narrow in width, which may have meant that they were petite
in body structure. However, other reasons portray the door frame to be
short in height to demand respect from those who entered, with the
bowing of head gesture.
One particular room in the house, the
meeting hall, was known for how unusually cool it was inside, although
the same couldn't be said for the weather outdoors; the reason being its
ingeniously aerated wooden ventilation system which kept the high
temperature out and the cool in.The Walawwa even had its own courthouse
where the Maha Disawa was sometimes seen administering his judicial
powers. The Maha Diswasa was believed to have had great respect for
Mahatma Gandhi and had the upper storey of his mansion built in his
honour. From where I stood, I could imagine that this may have been
quite apparent, observing from the plainness of design, much like
Gandhi's home in India, which was quite the opposite of the more
structured environment on the ground floor. The last modification to the
Walawwa, during the time of the Maha Disawa (1844-1930), was done in
1905 and the Walawwa is still known for its model portrayal of Kandyan
architecture.
At my last stop within the mansion something seemed
to almost make this room pride itself; and there it was - on the wall, a
life sized, ornate a portrait of the Maha Disawa himself. It is said
that this giant ornamental picture frame and its stand is made of the
rarest of hard woods; ebony, satin, rosewood. Only a man who may have
skillfully run a kingdom within a kingdom could have had such privilege. (copy w; btoptions.. )
Distance from Colombo to maduwanwala is 124 Kilometers
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