The Mukkara Hatana ("''The'' ''Mukkuvar War"'') is a 17th-century

palm-leaf manuscript Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and spread to ot ...

from

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, ...

. Written in Sinhalese, the work celebrates the victory of the

Karaiyar Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborn ...

s, also known as

Karava Karava () is a Sinhalese speaking ethnic group of Sri Lanka, whose ancestors migrated throughout history from the Coromandel coast, claiming lineage to the Kaurava royalty of the old Kingdom of Kuru in Northern India. The Tamil equivalent is Kar ...

s, over the

Sri Lankan Mukkuvar Sri Lankan Mukkuvar () is a Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil speaking ethnic group found in the Western and Eastern coastal regions of Sri Lanka. They are primarily concentrated in the districts of Puttalam District, Puttalam, Batticaloa District, Batt ...

s, who battled for the dominance of the western coast of Sri Lanka. The manuscript is now preserved in the

Hugh Nevill Hugh L. Nevill (1847 – 1897) was a British civil servant, best known for his scholarship and studies of the culture of Sri Lanka. Biography Hugh Nevill was born on 19 June 1847, and came to Ceylon, as it was then called, at the age of seventeen ...

collection at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Plot

The victory of the

s over the

Mukkuvar Mukkuvar is a maritime ethnic group found in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Eastern and North Western coastal regions of Sri Lanka. They are mostly found on the Malabar Coast, and Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, who have tradit ...

s happened in the

Saka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of the Indian subcontinent as well a ...

1159, corresponding to the 15th century. About 7700 Karaiyar chieftains from

Kanchipuram Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

, Kaveripattinam and

Kilakarai Kilakarai (alternatively spelled Kilakkarai or Keelakarai) is a municipality in Ramanathapuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. As of 2011, the town had a population of 38,355. Kilakarai is one of the Taluka in Ramanathapuram Distri ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

arrived in Sri Lanka at the invitation of

Parakramabahu VI of Kotte Parâkramabâhu VI (, ) was the first king of Kotte, ruling from 1410 until his death in 1467. He is the last great king in Sri Lanka who managed to unite the island under one flag. His rule is famous for the renaissance in Sinhalese literature ...

. The army was led by the chieftains Kurukula Nattu Thevar, Adiarasa Adappan, Varunasuriya Adappan, Kurukulasuriya Mudaliya, Bharathakulasuriya Mudaliyar, Arasakulasuriya Mudaliyar and their main royal chief, Manikka Thalaivan. The chieftains first overthrew the fort of

Puttalam Puttalam (; ) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam District and governed by a municipal council. Climate Under the ...

after a three-month siege of the Mukkuvar led by Nala Mudaliyar. The Karaiyar chieftains thereafter proceeded to

Nagapattinam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam district. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

and overthrew the fort there after another four months siege with the loss of additional 1300 troops, where also their royal Karaiyar leader, ''Manikka Thalaivan'' got killed. Manikka Thalaivan's sons were eventually adopted by

Parakramabahu VI Parâkramabâhu VI (, ) was the first king of Kingdom of Kotte, Kotte, ruling from 1410 until his death in 1467. He is the last great king in Sri Lanka who managed to unite the island under one flag. His rule is famous for the renaissance in Sri ...

, one of whom is known as

Sapumal Kumaraya Bhuvanekabahu VI of Kotte (, ), also known as Sapumal Kumaraya or Yudistra Darma Dorai and Chempaka Perumal, was an adopted son of Parakramabahu VI. His principal achievement was the conquest of Jaffna Kingdom, a historical kingdom of what toda ...

. They lost 1,500 of their own troops. The chieftains settled after the victory in the area between

Chilaw Chilaw (, ) is a city in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is governed by an urban council, whereas the outskirts are governed by a pradeshiya sabha of the same name. The town is located 80 kilometers away from Colombo via ...

and

Negombo Negombo (, ), also known as Punchi Romaya (Little Rome), is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in the Western Province, Sri Lanka, Western Province, from Colombo via the E03 expressway ...

References

{{Reflist Kandyan period Society of Sri Lanka 17th-century manuscripts

Plot

See also

References