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Re-discovering their discovery
As the controversial 500th anniversary of the Portuguese arrival of 1505 draws near, a group of scholars are on a mission to re-write history from the perspective of the colonized. Kumudini Hettiarachchi reports

A detective story going down the corridors of time, with clues and evidence spanning centuries, 500 years, to be exact. A band of around 30 people bound by a single thread but going in different directions, poring over ancient pus-kola poth, scouring the museums of Western Europe, studying the detail of paintings, checking out ancient tombstones and also digging out any clue or trail from homes and temples.

It is a Voyage of Re-discovery, unlike the Voyages of Discovery of yore launched by Portugal and Spain in the late 15th century. With the 500th anniversary of the coming of the Portuguese to Sri Lanka looming on the horizon, a motley group of historians, academics, social scientists and archaeologists have embarked on this "reverse" voyage under the chairmanship of Dr. Susantha Goonatilake. Under the auspices of the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), the 'Portuguese Encounter' Project has been undertaken on the s

uggestion of Goonatilake. The study took shape with this network being formed in January 2004 with strong links in other countries and areas affected by Portuguese occupation such as Goa, across the Palk Straits in India. On July 4, an exhaustive workshop was held by these researchers at the RAS, as a first step.

"What is history?" asks Goonatilake. "History is written with a perspective and in the case of the Portuguese, like all other colonizers, the perspective is theirs. What of our, the colonized people's, perspective? Therefore, the documentation of the colonizers needs to be treated with circumspection."

In the late 15th century, two hitherto relatively insignificant countries, Portugal and Spain set about on what they called Voyages of Discovery which transformed the world and brought misery to millions of Asians, Africans and Latin Americans, says Goonatilake explaining that this was sanctioned by the then Pope's Treaty of Tordesillas that divided the world into two, the west for Spain and the east for Portugal. It was a licence to plunder, rape, commit genocide and mass-scale cultural erosion. "When the Portuguese came to Sri Lanka though it was the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe, it was a period of brutality in Portugal and obviously they did the same things in Sri Lanka."

At the same time, Asia's wealth was an attraction to the colonizers and there is evidence that royal houses in Europe were getting, sometimes in the form of gifts, and also of loot, the riches of the east. "Around 1530 onwards Lanka became the major supplier of jewellery to Europe,” says Goonatilake.

How did it all begin, this voyage of re-discovery? It has been of theoretical interest to Goonatilake who has paid many a visit to the western museums including the Lisbon Museum in Portugal. "It is not only a way of freeing my mind but also freeing Sri Lanka culturally to emerge as a self-confident nation," stresses Goonatilake.

When in 1992, America was celebrating the coming of Columbus there were many protests by the people who had been affected by the arrival of the Spaniards.

“The same thing happened in Goa in 1998, when a tamasha was being planned about the arrival of Vasco da Gama. Attempts were made to take a replica of Vasco da Gama's ship there but after the protestors warned that they would burn it those plans were scuttled, says Goonatilake. "The protests in Goa were led by Claude Alvares who is part of our network."

The modus operandi of the network is to tap all sources to get a clearer picture of the Portuguese period in Sri Lanka and ascertain the impact of the reverse transfer on Portugal. And the sources would be numerous - both Sinhala and Tamil inscriptions, hatan kavi (how people fought), ancient chronicles like the Rajavaliya, unpublished pus-kola poth (palm-leaf manuscripts), museums, archives, the Hugh Neville Collection and documents at the Wellcome Institute in England, the Copenhagen Collection and other collections in our very own temples and pirivenas and also archaeological remains.

"My task as the chair is to elicit information from people who know more about various aspects and help throw a searchlight on that unequal encounter between the people of Sri Lanka and Portugal. Oral traditions are also a vital source," says Goonatilake, citing the example of the wealth of information one can get from people like G.D.S. de Silva who is from the illustrious Totagamuwa Rahula clan. Culture, religion, music, will all be looked at to find out the Portuguese influence.

Why delve into history, when no one can change its course? "It's a cleansing and healing process," assures Goonatilake. "Remember after the Spaniards went west, the Americas went under but though the Portuguese and other colonial powers came here, Sri Lanka didn't go down."

The world is tilting back towards Asia after centuries, he explains. In 20 years, Asia will have the richest nations. In four years, China will overtake Germany. There is a global network of Asian scholars preparing for the coming of the Asian century.

"So we want Sri Lanka to be part of ascendant Asia. That's why it is essential to understand and get rid of the humiliation that we underwent for 500 years. We have been the odd-man out compared to China and Malaysia. The 'Portuguese Encounter' will be a clinical investigation with a perspective," he says.

Thereafter, what? The Dutch and British periods will then be put under Sri Lanka's microscope. The need is to cleanse our psyches because the truth shall set us free, adds Goonatilake.

Hopefully, Sri Lanka which has been torn apart by bloody strife over issues of race and religion, will then at least put history behind it once and for all and look towards the future --- different races and religions but one people.

A healing process
The full weight of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage has been placed behind the activities of the 'Portuguese Encounter' Project. While the RAS plans a series of events, starting with a preliminary international conference at the end of this year to sort through what is known and not known about the Portuguese era, the ministry is looking towards the culmination of the project with three objectives.

"We will ask Portugal to admit to the atrocities committed in Sri Lanka and make a public apology, we will also seek reparation for loss of life and property during that time and get them to return the treasures spirited away from this land," says Culture Minister Vijitha Herath.

They came 500 years ago and requested a small area of land. They fortified their power systematically by manipulating our kings. Firstly, the Portuguese took out spices, then pearls and gems. Then went the treasures from our ancient viharayas. There is, of course, no written evidence or proof, says the Minister.

"There is evidence that the Portuguese destroyed 256 places of religious worship,both temples and kovils along the coastal belt," he says. When asked whether such an inquiry would stir up religious strife in a country that is already a simmering cauldron of trouble, Minister Herath says, "It will help us to accept what has happened and move ahead to the future. Put history in its right perspective."

Conceding that extremists may use this to their advantage, he says it is a complex issue and has to be handled sensitively. "We need to be careful. We will also deal with religious extremism. Then only can we establish our true Sri Lankan identity. We have lost that because we have been servile for such a long time. Only after accepting this identity, can we move ahead with national development, with jathika chinthanaya."

Says Goonatilake of the RAS, "Trouble is created by conflict and conflict can be overcome by facing historical reality. The Pope has made numerous apologies on behalf of the church in recent times. Just last month it was for the sacking of Constantinople. It will be a healing process."

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