JDBU Vol 29 No 4

On of ceplon. fr H kt_ 'IJI0J< J CONTENTS 1 ■ I 1 I Journal of the .... DUTCH IN CEYLON Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon* VOL. XXIX.] APRIL, 1940. ' ' "[No. 4. NORTH CEYLON IN DUTCH TIMES. RELICS OF WAR. VOL. I. By B. h. BROHIER, F.R.G.8, (First published in " The Ceylon Daily Neivs " ■ SOth and 31st January 1940) The Dutch territorial possession in Ceylon, which, for the purposes of civil government, was known as the Conimandement of Jaffna, lay beyond a boundary from Trincomaleeto Calpentyn or Kalpitiya1. This section of the Island stretching towards R- G. ANTHON1SZ. I. s. O- the sea, including the island of Mannar and the islets round about the peninsula of Jaffnapatam, records a story left by the Dutch which perhaps is more eloquent than that of any other portion of Ceylon which fell under the sway of the Nether lands. Very .few people, however, make pilgrimage to the .north bent on recalling the story begun in the seventeenth century that reposes in relics, both of war and of peace, which have withstood the assault by man as well as by time. This perhaps is all the more strange since these memorials stand amid Copie:. rnnv /»i tmJ at the D. /?. L\ Halt country scenes very different to those met with in Central or at AN. 5 cucVi. South Ceylon. , , Although much had been done before the establishment of the Dutch East India Company in Ceylon to hold the war like races of India in check, the Dutch, in the earlier part of their regime, had much to contend against both from thePortu- i. Report on Dutch Records, ^nthonisz, p. 7. DUTCH BURGHER UNION 124 128 THE JOURNAL OF THE considered this a mistake and they replaced the roof by an guese and the warring Chieftains of the Northern Wanni. In these circumstances, a chain of forts and redoubts was erected entire stone vault. to protect the District of Jaffna from attack both by land and Finally, profiting by the error of their predecessors, the sea. These relics, fretted by time and weather, a few of which Dutch took special pains to ensure a satisfactory water supply. the passing years have rubbed out of form, are worth a pilgrim On the northern side of the fortress they built a huge reservoir, age, and lot" a number of good reasons will appeal to a visitor paved with "Dutch Bricks" to collect and preserve the rain even if he is not imbued with antiquarian interests. water. This reservoir had, however, been built so high that The strange serenity of the little Dutch water-fort, Ham- it reached above the parapets and was, therefore, exposed to menhiel, invests this memorial with a sense of departed useful the fire and possibility of ruin by the enemy. The defect was ness which is most striking. It stands on a rock at the entrance pointed out time and again at subsequent inspections of the to Jaffna lagoon, and is surrounded on all sides by the sea. In fortress, but since it was a new work, it was allowed to remain those forgotten days of tumult, Hammenhiel served on the until such time as alterations could be effected. It neverthe north, like Mannar Fort in the south, to guard the passage by less stands as originally constructed and to this day conserves water to the Castle or Key Fort at Jaffna2. a supply of clear, fresh water. The fort is octagonal in shape and the base of the ramparts Map of North Ceylon is washed by the surf. It would appear that the walls were TBBPB^^BTfHMJfcF1HM"""*^i^"^^^^l^"^'^r'""'""""'"'"'^Ptf^ Flltf'iHWr^lfWllT^Mtmi^BE^BmMBHHPWBMtWrtfl^ originally raised and the place was fortified on the orders of the Portuguese Governor of Jaffna, Antonio do Amaralde Menezes, a few years before the arrival of the Dutch. The historian Baldaeus, who accompanied the Dutch army to the assault on Jaffna, gives a brief description of the blockade, and the attack on Hammenhiel by the fleet, before Jaffna capitulated two hundred and eighty-two years ago, The Portuguese only held out for a fortnight and were obliged to surrender for want of water3. When the Dutch occupied this water-fort they found that the sand bank on which it was built had been undermined by the storms of the north-east monsoon. They remedied this by- Showing Forts and Redoubts of Portuguese and Dutch times. 4 piling up a breakwater of stones . The Portuguese had built Block by kind courtesy of the Editor, Ceylon Daily News. the ramparts hollow, and had roofed them with beams which A low vaulted gateway, not more than seven feet in height, supported a floor of stone and chunam, with a view to the is the only entrance to this water-fort. The living quarters space being utilized for storing provisions and ammunition. consist of three or four rooms in the courtyard. The vaults Since the beams were liable to decay, and the floor had to sup under the ramparts were doubtless used as store rooms. The port the weight of the cannon without fear of its giving way Dutch invariably maintained a garrison of thirty men under when the guns were moved about and turned round, the Dutch the charge of a Lieutenant or Ensign on this spot, and the early Dutch Governors make very special mention in their 2. Memoir, of Commandeur Zwaardecroon, translation by Sophia Pieters, p. 86. memoirs that Hammenhiel must be carefully guarded, " none 5 3. On the 20th of June, 1658. but Dutch being stationed there". 4. Memoir of Commandeur Zwaardecroon, p. 70. 5. Memoir of Anthony Pavilioen, p. 106. 125 THE JOURNAL OF TEE DUTCH BUBGHER UNION 126 Not the least of, the many appealing features of Fort Ham- menhiel and its pleasant surroundings, is the popular theory gether with mortar, with two bastions at opposite angles. how it got its name. The Dutch, when they pictured the shape Under each bastion there was a vault, which from the nature of Ceylon, saw in it a resemblance to a smoked ham. Hammen- of the architecture would seem to have been proof against hiel means " the heel of the ham ", and with a little imagin bombs. ation the picturesque little water-fort might very well be placed Pass Pyl, about three miles from Fort Beschutter in a 6 at the point where the shank bone projects. How strangely north-easterly direction, was erected on the sand dunes off the are place-names derived ! modern village Vettilailtkeni. A raised terra plains is all that is left of it, and an obelisk built of the meterials of the old Fort In more recent years this seagirthed spot, about half a affords a useful and very necessary landmark to shipping.9 mile from Karativu and one mile from Kayts, was used as an infectious diseases hospital. Its isolation and breeziness could The third fort in this chain, Elephant Pass, now does duty hardly have been put to better purpose. Thus, on these ram as a resthouse. It appears to have been constructed on much parts, where in the past Dutch sentries scanned the horiaon for' the same plan as Fort Beschutter, and served to guard the ford hostile craft or private vessels which had to be searched before across the Jaffna Lagoon which linked the peninsula and the they were permitted to proceed down the fairway, convalescents mainland. from plague or small-pox, drawn from that stream of humanity whioh crossed over from India to open Central Ceylon in Tea, bemoaned a fate which had stalled their efforts to brave the perils of their long journey. The eastern extremity of the peninsula was guarded by three small forts. They were called Pass Pyl, Elephant Pass, and Beschutter. These posts chiefly served to protect the in habitants from, the invasions of the Wannia Chieftains, but were also used to prevent persons passing into the peninsula without a passport, the theft of slaves, and the incursions of elephants or other wild animals into the Provinces.7 Fort Beschutter, 8 on the old track from Jaffna to Mullaittivu, near the modern village Koyilvayal, is to-day a little better than a heap of stones. The decaying battlements were overgrown with trees even when the historian Cordiner I visited the spot over one hundred years ago, and dwelt on " the romantic appearance and solemn contemplations which they inspire." The walls of this fort would appear to have been The water-fort Hammenhiel, about 9 feet high, built of very strong material cemented to- Block by kind courtesy of the 'Editor, Ceylon Daily News. 6. Haafner. Fort Hammenhiel is called in Tamil Kodal Kotiai, " Sea Fort". - Commandeur Zwardecroon recounts in his memoir (1697) 7. Memoir by Commandeur Zwaardecroon p. 85, translation by S. that, although these three forts were in close communication Pieters. one with the other, and despite the continual patrol of the 8. Memoir of Governor Beckes p. 3 "Pas Beschutter" or "Pass Protector". The name is variously written *'Bescooter ", Beschutte but seems to have settled to the form here adopted. 9. Monthly Lit: Register vol. iii, p. 104. Also see p. 22, History of the P.W.D., Bingham Vol. ii, p. 22. 12? TH.E JOURNAL OF THfe DUTCH BURGHER UNION 128 10 militia, persons and goods often passed without a licence. To-day, no longer even a resthouse, the old and the new As a means of drawing these posts together several proposals architectural virtues rub shoulders in that companionable way appear to have been made.

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