The Moonlight Lodge: How a bit of Irish legacy lives on
A legacy from the British colonial era, when the hill country was a misty wilderness with plantations set in elephant and leopard-infested jungle, the Dimbula Lodge 298 – a Freemason Lodge under the Grand Lodge of Ireland – was formed in that hill station in 1874.
Pioneering upcountry planters were the Brethren of this Lodge (‘Lodge’ being Masonic parlance for a branch) and even today, as they celebrate their 150th year, the fraternity is almost entirely made up of planters.
The full regalia: The Brethren of the Dimbula Lodge
Dimbula, in fact, was the only Masonic Lodge in the country outside Colombo when it was founded, and had John Tilly for Worshipful Master with a handful of Brethren (members).
They met each month on the first Saturday before or after full moon and so it was soon christened the ‘Moonlight Lodge’- periya-durai brethren riding in from their bungalows at night. There was no fixed meeting place at first. They met in Nuwara Eliya, and later shifted to the Adam’s Peak Hotel in Hatton when this was established in 1895.
Celebrating their sesquicentennial, the Dimbula Lodge held a grand banquet at the Cinnamon Grand last week, when the members (38 strong) and their families gathered for camaraderie and good food which have always been “synonymous with the Lodge”, according to its current head, Worshipful Master Saman Kumara P.B.N.
In today’s world, Freemasonry may be associated with the Da Vinci Code and conspiracies connected to the Catholic Church, but the fraternity is not all about secret rituals. It does have arcane rituals never revealed to outsiders, but at its core Freemasonry is about upholding good moral and ethical values, supporting their brethren and engaging in charitable deeds. The Dimbula Lodge has contributed, among others, to homes for elders, the government hospital at Lindula, and infrastructure of the Faculty of Architecture, Moratuwa University.
The Dimbula Lodge like all Freemason Lodges gets a new Master each year though the same person can get elected many times (the current Master is in his fourth year in office).
Freemasonry has its roots going back to the Middle Ages, and while the Grand Lodge of Ireland was founded in this island in the early 1860s, a Lodge of the Grand Lodge of the Netherlands had been in Colombo as far back as 1768.
Said the Worshipful Master Saman Kumara on the occasion, “I remain profoundly thankful to every Brother who has contributed to… strengthening our mission to uplift those in need. I also extend my deepest appreciation to my predecessors and senior Brethren, whose wisdom and guidance have been instrumental in the continued success and dignity of Dimbula Lodge.”
Celebrating a milestone: A toast to the Dimbula Lodge at the sesquicentennial dinner
| A peek into the past | |
| The sesquicentennial souvenir of the Dimbula Lodge offers a fascinating peek into the past. Extracts from a potted history of the Lodge by Jacques Huyghebaert below: At a meeting of Freemasons held at the Middleton Store on January 26th, 1874 it was decided that a Lodge should be started at Dimbula. At that time Freemasonry in Ceylon was at a low ebb with Colombo being the only place where Masonic Lodges were working, viz: Sphinx, Serendib and Leinster Lodge, all under the Irish constitution. The St. Andrew’s Lodge No 446 SC in Kandy was defunct and St. John’s Lodge No 454 EC was in abeyance…. One of the reasons for the Warrant to be obtained from the Grand Lodge of Ireland for the creation of the Lodge was to enable a Provincial Grand Lodge to be established in Ceylon. According to available records, the Provincial Grand Lodge was established in 1878 with Right Worshipful Brother Captain Gorman as Provincial Grand Master and Right Worshipful Brother J. Mailland as Deputy Provincial Grand Master. The Provincial had in 1879 paid a visit to Dimbula Lodge with the visiting members being Right Worshipful Brother J. Maitland and Worshipful Brothers Tilly and Hawkins. The Provincial Grand Lodge, however, had ceased to function in 1890. When coffee was destroyed by a leaf disease in the early eighteen eighties, many of the brethren left Ceylon to try their fortunes in other countries, which resulted in there being a very few lodge meetings from 1885 to 1895. Proposals were made to hold meetings in Nuwara Eliya and Hatton and permission was obtained from the Grand Lodge to do so. No meetings were however held at Nuwara Eliya but when Adam’s Peak Hotel was built a lodge room was provided. On April 6 1895, a meeting was held at Adam’s Peak Hotel with Worshipful Brother Tilly as Senior Past Master in the Chair. As the brethren at Dickoya offered very strong support, it was decided to meet in the future at the masonic hall, Adam’s Peak Hotel and the Lodge, in a very short time, became very strong in members. In 1908 the Lodge returned to Dimbula and had its meetings at the Masonic Hall Talawakelle which is at the Talawakelle Club, and meetings continued to be held there until January 1986. Due to civil disturbances that broke out in the district, the Talawakelle Club was taken over by the police to house their personnel in February 1986. This caused a setback resulting in the postponement of the March 1986 meeting. A meeting was held at the Victoria Masonic Temple, Colombo on August 30th 1986, followed by the next meeting on September 26th, at a new venue, the Maskeliya Club, Maskeliya. The 125th anniversary of the Lodge was commemorated at the meeting held on 22 May, 1999 which was followed by a banquet where the wives of the Brethren too were present. |
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