The Edirimanne Corea Family Union (ECFU) is a group set up to 'foster interaction' among the members of the powerful Corea family in the island of

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The Corea family is one of the leading families of Sri Lanka. They trace their ancestry to

Dominicus Corea Dominicus Corea ( Sinhalese family name Edirille Bandara) also known as Domingos Corea and Edirille Rala, was the son of Don Jeronimo Corea and Anna Corea. Don Jeronimo Corea was also known as Mudaliyar Vikramasinha, Commander-in-Chief of King Ma ...

also known as Edirille Rala who was crowned King of

Kotte Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (), also known as Jayapura or Kotte, is Capital of Sri Lanka, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is located adjacent to the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judi ...

and

Sitawaka Avissawella (, ) is a township in Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council, situated on the A4 route from Colombo to Ratnapura, Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, approximately 40 km air distance and 48.1 km road distance from ...

in Sri Lanka - Dominicus Corea was born in Colombo in 1565. Gandhi 1944

Annesley Malewana at the Edirimanne Corea Family Union Sing-A-Long

Edirille Rala, King Dominicus Corea of Sri Lanka

Dominicus Corea, the warrior king, rebelled against the colonial Portuguese forces and waged war against them. He was eventually captured by the Portuguese and executed on July 14, 1596, at the age of 31 in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

. "Such was the sad end of Domingos Corea, Edirimana Suriya Bandara, the greatest Sinhalese of his day," said Sri Lankan historian John M. Seneviratna. 'Great Warriors like Mayadunne, Veediya Bandara, Seethawaka Rajasinghe, Vimaladharmasuriya I, Senarath, Rajasinghe II, Nikapitiye Bandara and Edirille Rala who fought the Portuguese to preserve our territorial integrity and kept the Portuguese at bay despite all odds,' wrote Janaka Perera in the Asian Tribune.

The Corea Family from Chilaw

Kumari Jayawardena, the Sri Lankan author, writing about the Coreas observed: 'Unconnected to the liquor trade but making their money on plantation ventures was the Corea Family of Chilaw, an influential

govigama Govigama (also known as Goyigama, Govikula, Govi Vansa or Goyi Vansa) is a Sinhalese caste found in Sri Lanka. They form approximately half of the Sinhalese population and are traditionally involved in agriculture. The term Govigama became popula ...

group with a history going back to Portuguese rule when they were warriors to Sinhala kings. During Dutch and British rule, members of the family were officials serving the state in various ways and rewarded with titles. Some members of the family took to the legal and medical professions, most notably the sons of Charles Edward Corea (a solicitor), who were active in local politics and in the Chilaw Association which campaigned against British land policies - especially the Waste Lands Ordinance, and for political reforms. The most active of Corea's sons was C.E. (Charles Edgar) who spoke up for peasant rights and was militant in his stand against the government. He was President of the Ceylon National Congress in 1924. C.E. Corea's brother, Alfred Ernest, was a doctor and the youngest Victor Corea was a lawyer who achieved fame for leading a campaign (and going to jail) in 1922 to protest the Poll Tax on all males; he was the first President of the Ceylon Labour Union led by A.E. Goonesinha and was active in the Ceylon Labour Party. While being professionals and political activists, the Coreas were also important landowners. ' The ECFU group according to the Daily News of Sri Lanka was set up in the 1970s. The Corea family that hails from Chilaw and has produced freedom fighters, members of the Legislative Council, State Council, House of Representatives, the diplomatic corps, broadcasting and print media and professionals in many fields, are knit together by an active family union. Various buildings in Chilaw have been named after Srikuradas Charles Shirley Corea and

Harindra Corea Harindra Jayantha Corea (4 March 1936 – 21 October 2005) was a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament, who represented Chilaw. He was member of the United National Party of Sri Lanka. His parents were Sir Claude Corea who was renowned ...

who represented the town as members of parliament.

Charles Edgar Corea Charles Edgar Corea (16 October 1866 – 7 February 1946) was a politician and a prominent freedom fighter of Sri Lanka. Early life C.E.Corea was born in the west coast town of Chilaw, in Sri Lanka. His parents were Charles Edward Bandarana ...

and

Victor Corea Charles Edward Victor Seneviratne Corea (born 29 January 1871 – 6 June 1962) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, legislator, politician, civil rights activist, and anti-colonial nationalist. As a lawyer, Corea was an Advocate of the Supreme Court of ...

tirelessly campaigned for the freedom of Sri Lanka - from British rule. They founded the Chilaw Association and were founder members of the Ceylon National Congress. They were also elected members of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

recognising the contribution made by the Coreas to the independence movement in Ceylon, visited Chilaw and stayed with the Corea Family in a house called 'Sigiriya' during his only visit to the island in 1927. A recent Annual General Meeting of the Edirimanne Corea Family Union and Members' Day-Out was held at the Leisure Lounge of the 'Ambalama' in Hanwella and the old and the young took their chance to meet, greet, unwind, relax and carry home memories of the warmth and intimacy of a family legacy. Singing, dancing and games replete with prizes and surprises filled the air. Nearly one-hundred members of the Corea family met to elect the following Office Bearers for 2010/2011 : Patron: Dr Vijaya Corea; President: Dr Eugene Corea; Vice Presidents: Nirmali Jayasekera and Surangani Ameresekere; Secretary: Neville S. Weerasekera; Asst Secretary: Patsy Abeyasekera; Treasurer: Suvendreni Y. Weerasekera; Assistant Treasurer: Ranmal Goonetillake; Committee: Gerry de Alwis, Christabelle Aturupane, Priya Samarasinghe, Dukshi Goonetillake, Lilani Corea Dharmaratne, Shiranee Gunawardene, Amal Jayasekera, Wimal Perera; Entertainment Sub-Committee: Gamini de Silva, Shanika Peiris and Nihal Corea.

Quotes about the Edirimane Corea Family Union

'The Corea Family Union was formed with the descendants of Dominicus Corea, alias Edirille Rala who had rendered an immortal service to protect the country from Portuguese invasion. It is notable to write that the Corea Union is open to all the descendants of Dominicus Corea.' - Dr. Mirando Obeysekere, Daily News, Sri Lanka.

References

Bibliography

*''Great Sinhalese Men and Women of History - Edirille Bandara (Domingos Corea)'' By John M. Senviratna, 1938 *''Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources'' By A.W. Wright, Asian Educational Services, India; New Ed edition (15 December 2007) *''Ceylon and the Portuguese, 1505-1658'' By P.E. Peiris (1920) *''The Fall of a Warrior - Edirille Bandara'' By Sarath Kumarawardane (2006)

External links