![](3D"cchetties_files/image002.jpg")
THE
=
BY SHIRLEY PULLE TISSERA
They are a relatively sma=
ll
community domiciled in the ![](3D"cchetties_files/image004.jpg")
Western,
North Western and Southern Provinces, many of them have been assimilated in=
to
or identified with the Sinhal=
a and
Tamil Communities, the Nation=
al
census in 1814 shows the total population as 492,083 of which Malays were 7=
36
and Chetties 2459, again in 1824 the total population was 851,940 of which
Malays were 1806, Burghers 5803 and Chetties 8471, in the population census=
of
1871 total population was 2,401,066 of which the Moors were 6839, Burghers =
were
5771 and Chetties were down to 3114.
The National Censuses conducted since then had included the Colombo =
Chetties
into the Sinhala, Tamil & Burgher populations. Today the number stands =
at
around 175,000 with high concentrations in the Western and
In the National Census on population conducted in 2001 the Colombo Chetties were rightly shown as a separate and distinct ethnic group. Questions have been raised in recent newspapers articles by a few interested persons as to why this was done ? - The following facts will I am sure answer these questions.
![3Dchetty=](3D"cchetties_files/image006.jpg")
WHO ARE THE
The term chetty is interp= reted as Setti or setthi in pali, Hetti , Situ or Sitana in Sinhalese and as Etti in Tamil, this is how the community is refereed to in all historical documents= or records. The Colombo Chetties are of the Tana Vaisya stock, according to Re= v Fr Boschi the Vaisyas were the nobility of the land and were devided into vari= ous sub-divisions or castes, the highest of these sub-devisions was the Tana Va= isya or Chetties followed by the Pu Vaisya and Ko Vaisya etc: The Tana Vaisyas originally inhabited areas cl= ose to Coorg and Benares, were driven by the conquests of Mohammed of Ghazini to t= he South of India. Being merchan= ts they then commenced trade with Lanka and this eventually gave rise to migration. &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp;
WHEN DID THEY=
COME TO
SRI LANKA ?
Earliest historical recor= ds indicate that Sethies / Chetties first came to Lanka just after the arrival= of Prince Vijaya (Social history of early Ceylon by Prof H Ellawala) the accou= nt narrates that some maidens sent to Lanka by the King of Madura on the reque= st of Prince Vijaya were of Tana Vaisya stock or Sethis. = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp;
Prof Ellawala goes on to mention that Prince
Sumitta and his seven brothers all setthis were sons of Deva Setthi of Vedisa in A=
vanthi
and that their sister Videesa Devi was the wife of King Asoka and mother of
Prince Mahinda and Princess Sangamitta.&nb=
sp;
The eight brothers of V=
ideesa
Devi the uncles of Mahinda Thera and Sangamitta Theri, Princes
Bodhigupta,Chandragupta,Devagupta, Dharmagupta, Suriyagupta, Sumitta,
Gotama and Jutindra
These instances are the e=
arliest
historical records of setthis in The Nikaya Sangrahaya (ed
Kumaratunga) the Madavala rock inscription refers to a high official by the
name of Jothy Sitana who set his signature to a grant of land, also in the =
year
1205 AD there existed a minister of great influence among our forebears nam=
ed
“Kulande Hetti” His name is engraved on a rock in Polonnaruwa.<=
/p>
The Political History of =
the ![3D"Bo](3D"cchetties_files/image008.jpg")
Historians
believe that King Vasaba (BC 65-100) who inaugurated the Lamba karana dynas=
ty
from
The conquest of
In the book titled Cultur=
e in ![](3D"cchetties_files/image010.jpg")
in
Setthis, since the other = two were court officials of the highest rank, the three were evidently Sinhalese noblemen. (59.16, 69.13) Sethinayaka is the name of Lambakanna, it was prob= ably his title.
The Mahavansa Vol 3 p 238=
records
the arrival in
It is of course an accept=
ed fact
that Chetties migrated to
A nursery rhyme used at p=
lay by
children down the centuries has reference to Chetties and their connection =
to
royalty –
“Athuru, mithuru, dambadiva thuru, raja kapuru hettiya, alutha gena
manamalita haal pothalk garala….”
The Former Diyawadana Nil= ame and Former Cabinet Minister Hon Nissanka Wijeyeratne had this to say about the Colombo Chetty Community in the Sunday Observer of 19th November 1995.
Quote –
“
You call them as they do themselves as
And
they link with our culture antedate even Vijaya’s arrival in Sri Lank=
a,
was not Anathapindikassa the great benefactor of the sangha and the pre-emi=
nent
Dayaka of the Buddha who endured Jetavanarama, where the Buddha dwelt longe=
st
and now so lovingly preserved by the great Indian Government, a distinguish=
ed
Sitano or Chetty. Perhaps even the noble Upasika Visaka too belonged to this
Clan.
The
Chetties deserve, therefore, a new designation. Not “
end quote
THEIR CONTRIB=
UTION
TO SRI LANKAN SOCIETY
![](3D"cchetties_files/image012.jpg")
Although
a majority of Colombo Chetties are Christian, yet their contribution to
Buddhism is significant, starting with the role played in the ![](3D"cchetties_files/image014.jpg")
advent
of Buddhism to Sri Lanka to the contribution of Ven Soma Maha Thera (Victor Perera Pulle), he wrote 30 books on Budhism and w=
as
responsible as the first monk to carry the dhamma to Germany, he was the
founder of the German Dharmaduta Society, the Sasanadhara Kantha Samitiya, =
the
Banks Asoka Society and the YMBA in Shanghai.
Peter Philip Jurgen Quint Ondaatjie 1758 – 1818 was the f= irst Asian to figure prominently in modern European history. In 1811 Nepoleon 1 nominated him to the imperial Council of Prizes and in 1814 was named a high Court Judge in Netherlands, he died in 1818 while on his way to take up the highest civil service office in Batavia.
![](3D"cchetties_files/image016.jpg")
Simon Casie Chitty was the first
Ceylonese Civil Servant, was elected a member of the legislative council in
1845 at the age of 38, he is
credited with publishing the first Ceylon Gazetteer and was a writer of gre=
at
repute, a ![](3D"cchetties_files/image018.jpg")
linguist
with mastery of English, Sinhalese, Tamil, Sanskrit, Hebrew and Arabic and<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> a fair knowledge of Portuguese, Du=
tch,
Latin and Greek.
His Excellency J R Jayawardena first paternal ancestor was a Colombo Chetty as mentioned in the “Biography on President J.R.Jayawardena” by Prof K.M.de Silva & Howard Wriggins
Colombo Chetties have mad= e great contributions to the Sri Lankan society, in trade they were among the first importers and exporters of traditional and non-traditional goods, they introduced and pioneered teak plantations.
I will highlight the achi= evements of a few to show the diversity of their contributions to our society:
![](3D"cchetties_files/image020.jpg")
R I Fernandopulle Was considered a pioneer and expert in the
Coconut industry in Sri ![](3D"cchetties_files/image022.jpg")
Lanka,
he has served as Chairman of the Coconut Cultivation and Coconut Research
Boards.
Deshabandu Reggie Candappa Was considered the doyen of advertising in Sri Lanka, b= eing the founder Chairman of Grant McCann Erickson he has held positions as Chai= rman and Director in many establishments.
![](3D"cchetties_files/image024.jpg")
Talking
of Business and Finance mention must be made to Sir Christopher Ondaatjie, recently knighted by HM Queen
Elizabeth, in addition =
to his
achievements in the field of business and finance, he is probably the only =
born
Sri Lankan to win a Gold medal in an Olympics when as a member of the Canad=
ian ![](3D"cchetties_files/image026.jpg")
Bob-Sledge
team they won gold at the 1964 Olympics.
In the field of literatur= e are many Colombo Chetties, Michael Ondaatjie achieved wor= ld fame as an author when his novel “The English Patient” won the coveted Booker Prize, the film version was acclaimed as one of the most outstanding films ever made, it created history by winning a record number = of academy awards.
The chetties have contrib= uted substantially in the intellectual realm. De Melho translated both biblical testaments into Tamil. John J. Casie Chetty’s translation of Voet’s Roman Dutch Law into English is considered a distinct contribution to the legal literature of Ceylon. Many chetties have claimed several ‘firsts’ for Ceylon. Among them are Simon Casie Chitty<= /b> the First Civil Servant and Publisher of the first gazetteer,&nb= sp; Dr. Peter Philip Jurgen Quint Ondaatje was the first Asian to fi= gure in modern European history: Rev. P= hilip de Melho was the first Ceylonese to be admitted to the Christian ministry; Henry Francis Muttukrishna was the first Tamil Barrister in Asi= a. Dr. William Charles Ondaatje was = the first Ceylonese director of the Botanical Gardens he introduced the olive to Sri Lanka, Dr Simon de Melho Aserappa was the first Ceylonese who obtained= the degree of Doctor of Medicine from a British University; John J Casie Chetty was the first Bachelor of Civil Laws (Oxfor= d) in Asia, Arthur L R Aserappa was the fi= rst Ceylonese who won the Cambridge Junior Exhibition and Philip Pulle Tissera was a renowned scholar & educationist,= He also served as private tutor to Rev Daniel Poor the founder of the famous Jaffna Library.
COMMUNITY SER=
VICE
The Colombo Chetties have= also contributed by way of social service programs, Multi service health camps, Donation of Books and Stationery to Tsunami effected children are a few of = the major projects undertaken in recent times.= The Vimukthi Niwasa pro= ject which provides Education and economic assistance to Hundreds of Children of= Low income families in 20 villages in the Kurunegala and Puttalam Districts, Empowerment programs for women, Self employment and Vocational training, Pre Schools and Housing is a stand out program which is being conducted for the last 16 years, this project is unique because it does not benefit the Colombo Chetties but a= ll other communities who inhabit these areas.
![](3D"cchetties_files/image028.jpg")
Most of the above informa= tion is extracted from the lead article written by me in the publication titled “History of the Colombo Chetties” which was Launched by the Pri= me Minister, Hon Ratnasiri Wickremenayake in December 2000 at the BMICH, the f= irst copy was ceremoniously handed over to Prof G V P Somaratne in recognition of his assistance towards this publication, wide publicity was given in the lo= cal media.
COMMUNAL HARM=
ONY.
The Colombo Chetty Commun= ity prides itself in its ability to live in perfect harmony with all ethnic gro= ups in Sri Lanka, this has resulted in close affinity and mutual respect between the Chetties and the Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher communities. Over= the years there have been instances of inter-marriage, despite this there are still around 175000 members of the community residing in Colombo, Chilaw, Puttalam, Nego= mbo, Welihena, Kochchikade, Dankotuwa, Gampaha, Kelaniya, Galle & Matara. Th= ey are recognized as a distinct ethnic group ratified by the registrar General’s Department which notice was published in the Observer newsp= aper of 17th October 1984.
Considering the above cre= dentials the Colombo Chetty Community is ever willing to assist in whichever way possible to bring Peace and amity in our beloved Sri Lanka.
![](3D"cchetties_files/image030.jpg")
The writer is Shirley Pulle Tissera. JP -= General Secretary / Vice President Colombo Chetty Association of Sri Lanka (1984- 2004), Chairman-= Board of Trustees of Vimukthi Niwasa, District Governor of Lions District 306C (1991/92), President -South Asian Federation = of NGO - SAFNGO 1995 (membership of all SAARC countries), President -International Federatio= n of NGOs -IFNGO 2003-2005 (membership of 45 Countries and Regional Bodies), President of the Community Front f= or Prevention of AIDS - CFPA, Co-ordinator / Treasurer Congress of Religions, Vice Chairman of the Global Fund, Ministry of Health GFATM and Company Director.
![](3D"cchetties_files/image031.gif")
THE COLOMBO CHETTIES AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO SRI LANKA
– SHIRLEY.PULLE .TISSERA