Commemorating the legendary child hero, Madduma Bandara.
“O, Brother, do not fear or hide. Let me show you how to face death fearlessly.” His tender yet fearless voice echoed in the hearts of everyone. As the young child moved towards the dangediya he was beheaded in seconds. Then it was his brother’s turn followed by his siblings, mother and other relatives. It is said that hundreds of natives witnessed this brutal incident on the 17th of May 1814, at Kandy. Probably that was the darkest day that the villagers witnessed so far.
Many years have passed since then and we still are in awe of this extra ordinary bravery exhibited by an eight year old child who faced death fearlessly. The story of the legendary child hero, Weera Madduma Bandara, is passed on from generation to generation and subjected to a number of songs, poems, books, films, dramas and research.
Who was Madduma Bandara?
Madduma Bandara was born in 1806 in Kandy to Ehelepola Maha Disawe and Ehelepola Kumari hami. He was the second son of Ehelepola and His mother was the sister of Monarawila Keppettipola, therefore he was the nephew of Keppettipola. His full name was Ehelepola Wijesundara Wickremasinghe Chandrasekara Amarakoon Wasala Mudiyanse Madduma Bandara.
The other side of the story
The execution of the innocent children is not at all justifiable. It is a shame on humanity. This was a result of a long lasting political conspiracy against the Sinhala monarch by the British and the kandyan chiefs.
Madduma Bandara payed from his innocent life for what his father did. As his father rebelled against the king, his entire family was punished. Who was Ehelepola and why was he punished? Was he fighting for the Sinhalese people or was he with the British? Or was he dreaming of becoming king himself with the sheer greed for power? To understand the situation it is necessary to go back to the time where these people once lived. Let us go and meet the King who is the one to be blamed for this brutal murder.
A time of political turbulence
As the British were struggling to force their authority over the entire Sinhala kingdom, their main and hardest challenge was the king. It was Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe who was ruling Sri Lanka at that time. He was of Nayakkar origin. Though his race was not Sinhala, he was a Buddhist by practice. He was a great patron of Buddhism and was quite popular among his subjects.
This king ruled Sri Lanka during a time of political turbulences and instability. On one hand there were the British who wanted to rule the entire island, and on the other hand, there were the power- thirsty selfish Kandyan chiefs. These two groups conspired against the king separately, and at one point, the king became the common enemy of both. The British were guided by the shrewd, devious and well trained spy, John Dyole and sharp governors. And the treacherous Kandyan chiefs were led by men like Pilimatalawwe and Ehelepola.
Treachery passed by from generation to generation?
Pilimatalawwe was the Maha Adhikaram of King Rajadhi Rajasinghe and he struggled to seize the throne with the support of the Dutch. Meanwhile the king was planning to get war aid from the French in order to demolish the advancing British power in the island. But as Pilimatalawwe revealed the king’s plans to the Dutch, the king failed in doing so.
Rajadhi Rajasinghe was childless. Therefore Pilimatalawwe planned to crown young Kanna sami as the next king. Historians say that Pilimatalawwe expected Kanna sami to be a puppet king, while he himself could be the true king or he might have also planned to kill him. Kanna sami was just eighteen years old when he was crowned as Sri Vikrama Rajasinghe and he was ruling as a dutiful king and was loved by his subjects.
Pilimatalawwe’s intention was to be the king with the support of the British. Therefor he met the British governor Fredric North in February 1799, at Awissawella, followed by a number of secret meetings.
Another Kandyan nilame, Meegasthanne, conspired with the British to murder the king, however he too failed.
In 1803 Fredric North declared war against the king. On the 31st of January 1803, two troops were sent to Kandy and they easily defeated the Kandyan kingdom. But after few months the king was able to free the entire Kandyan kingdom and defeat the British in Kandy. At the same time Thomas Maitland was appointed as the new governor. As Meegasthanne fell ill and passed away, Pilimatalawwe’s nephew Ehelepola was appointed to the post of late Meegasthanne.
Once again Pilimatalawwe planned to murder the king at the palace, but he failed and his plan was revealed. Pilimatalawwe, his son and Rathwatte was imprisoned by the king. As Pilimatalawwe, Rathwatte and Dawulagala rate mahaththaya was proven guilty, the three were beheaded, and six more leaders were given capital punishment. Pilimatalawwe’s son was pardoned by the king. In 1812 Robert Brownridge was appointed as the new governor.
Ehelepola; a traitor or a hero?
Following the death of Pilimatalawwe, his nephew Ehelepola was appointed for his position. Molligoda and Ehelepola were rivals. Ehelepola was misleading the public against the king and was conspiring with the British against the king. Though Ehelepola was proven guilty, the king did not punish him, instead the king sent Ehelepola to Sabaragamuwa expecting that things will be calmed. Nonetheless, Ehelepola’s traitorous acts were not put to an end. Therefore the king summoned him to the palace, but Ehelepola refused to return. Therefore, the king dismissed him from his position and appointed Molligoda as the first Adhikaram and sent him to Sabaragamuwa with an army. Hearing the news, Ehelepola fled to Colombo in May 1814. The protestors were caught and punished. While staying in Colombo, Ehelepola was busy making plans to attack Kandy.
Ehelepola’s family and relatives were held in captivity as hostages by the king. However as Ehelepola did not show up, the king was furious and decided to punish his family. The furious king took revenge from everyone who was against him. Ehelepola’s wife, his three children, Puswelle kumarihami and her daughter were ordered to be executed.
This incident took place on the 17th May 1814.
What happened afterwards?
It is surprising to see how Ehelepola still did not return to Kandy. He remained in Colombo. Meanwhile the British governor declared war against the king in January 1815. As the king fled from Kandy, being once again betrayed by natives and Kandyan nilames, the king was trapped by the British in Mada Mahanuwara.
As we all know, the Sinhala kingdom surrendered to the British monarch after the king was defeated. In 1815 the British and the Kandyan nilames signed an agreement, popularly known as the Udarata Giwisuma, where the sovereignty of the Sinhala monarch was surrendered to the British.
What really happened on the 17th of May 1814?
There are few speculations among scholars considering the accuracy of this incident. Scholars who questions the accuracy of this story argues that these types of punishments are common in Europe but not in Sri Lanka and also there are no reliable historical documents to prove this incident. These types of public executions of royals or nobles are common in European history. Some argue that this entire incident was a political conspiracy by the British to tarnish the popularity of the king.
Considering these arguments, we spoke to Senior Professor Anura Manatunga, of the University of Kelaniya, who is the best scholar to be consulted in this regard. He has conducted a number of high quality research on this subject and published a number of books and research papers on this topic.
When asked about these speculations raised by some scholars, the senior professor said that the child hero Madduma Bandara truly existed. “I believe that this incident actually took part, our grandparents used to tell us about this grim incident. Their grandparents have told them. There were villagers who witnessed this brutal event. I think that the public will not lie and even the British are not able to create such a big lie. It may be that the British exaggerated the incidents while documentation”, he explained.
“Madduma Bandara is indeed a child-hero. His mother was the sister of Keppettipola. It should be noted that the King was not in his real senses. He was under the pressure of alcohol. The British were responsible for this as they sent liquor to the king. Due to the political pressure, and high consummation of alcohol the king has lost his mind,” says the professor.
When asked about the cruelty of the punishment the senior professor said that since he was the king and he had all the power. He also stated that, “There were political conspiracies at that time, but we cannot deny the fact that the Ehelepola family was executed by the king. There are decedents of the villages who witnessed this in 1814, and we remember hearing those stories from our grandparents and elders in the village. Even though you can prepare false documents you cannot deny the eye witnesses of many villagers”, the professor further explained.
“Once the king was held in captivation, a British officer asked him about the Ehelepola family execution, and the king had not denied it. Even the wangediya in which the toddler was killed, has been found in the village Kehelpannala”, the professor confirmed.
In conclusion, it should be noted that except for one Kandyan chief, that was Monarawila Keppettipola, other Kandyan chiefs placed their signature in Tamil in the Kandyan convention. Isn’t it a contradiction that these chiefs who were against the ‘Tamil king’ and were with the British to restore a Sinhala monarch, hasn’t even bothered to sign in their mother tongue?
Isn’t it the disunity and greed for power of the Kandyan chiefs that resulted in the end of the Sinhala monarch and an innocent child and his entire family had to pay the price for it? It is up to you to judge.
Statue of Madduma Bandara in Kandy
Ehelepola Maha Adhikaram
Ehelepola Kumarihami
King Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe
Mada Mahanuwara location where the king was trapped by the natives
Uncategorized, Ehelepola, history of kandy, HISTORY OF SINHALESE, kandy, Mada Mahanuwara, Madduma Bandara, SRI LANKAN HISTORY, Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe