The Villager

D.S. Amarasekara

D.S. Amarasekara, a retired schoolteacher, talks about discovering the historical roots of his village of Baddegama.

Interview language: English

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That shows that Baddegama area would have been a key place

In historical times, there was no village called Baddegama. There is a Rajamahavihara in this village. That shows that the Baddegama area would have been a key place you see, otherwise, there is no reason, with the sponsorship of the kings, to put up a Rajamahavihara. At the same time, there was the great seat of learning, Thotagamuwa Vijayabapiriwena . And the story goes that rice produced in these areas we call Baddegama, then Sahalgamuwa, which means the “rice village”, was to supply the Thotagamuwa Vijayabapiriwena with rice. Then the Dutch came. The biggest plantation in this country would have been cinnamon and the biggest tax they levied was the cinnamon tax. “Badda” means tax and so this area got the name “Baddegama”, a tax-paying area. Then Sahalgamuwa…quietly…that was dropped. It became, the popular name, Baddegama. So that is how these places have got their names. They have associations with history. Now our history book is the Mahavamsa, no? I didn’t read the whole thing, but there is a reference to – well I thought this is interesting information because you can collect something about your village, it’s very useful and very…happy, no? The reference was Sahalgamuwa… Salgamuwa. And the prathimahavihara is also Salgamuwa. I was really happy. Because though poor and undeveloped, this village has a historical background.”

About this portrait

Photographer: Kannan Arunasalam, Menika van der Poorten

Interviewer : Kannan Arunasalam

Assistant : Menika van der Poorten

Editor: Kannan Arunasalam

Recorded: February 18, 2011

First published: August 3, 2023

Last edited: February 23, 2024

Comments

Kannan Arunasalam

November 8, 2010 at 02:47 pm

Mr Amarasekara didn't understand why we had come to visit him. He was just a simple villager he told us. When I said i wanted to talk to him about his village, his face lit up. Mr Amarasekara is a villager at heart. And he is especially proud of his village of Baddegama. When Mr Amarasekara told me that much of the things he talked about weren't from any history books, but from what elders had told him, I knew I had come to the right place. True to the tradition of oral history, he was passing on his knowledge to me. Mr Amarasekara is a retired teacher and also a writer. The humble villager, resilient to life's blows, has been a source of inspiration for Mr Amarasekara's short stories. Their simple approach to life comes from a deep rooted belief in the teachings of Buddhism, he explained. There was a sincerity in the way Mr Amarasekara talked about his life, family and hometown. His life has had many sad turns. But like the villager he so admires, he has learned to accept them, and instead live for life's little joys. Like the joy of discovering that your village has a history.
Sisira Saddhamangla Withanachchi

November 12, 2010 at 05:21 pm

I am glad to see this wonderful site. Definitely this achievement would have been admired by my late father, who was born and had lived in Baddegama. He collected much information about the ancient cities, even with photos. If someone can spread this to the global society, that would be great. If you need any support, do not hesitate contact me.
Arosha Bandara

November 13, 2010 at 01:42 am

"The culture of Sri Lanka lives in the village" ... "The learned men write about culture, but live an anti-cultural life" ... great pearls of wisdom. I look forward to hearing more from the elders of our beautiful country. Thank you for making these recordings available to future generations.