govigama

The caste name is occupational derived. Govigama is derived from the Sinhala word Goyigama meaning farm-land, in reference to their traditional occupation as farmers and land owners.{{Cite book|title=Spolia Zeylanica|date=1955|publisher=National Museums of Sri Lanka.|pages=209|language=en}}{{Cite book|title=The Sri Lanka Reader: History, Culture, Politics|last=Holt|first=John|date=2011-04-13|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=9780822349822|pages=296|language=en}} Early Sinhalese texts such as the 13th century Pujavaliya mention a caste system of the Sinhalese society; the Raja (rulers), Bamunu (Brahmins), Velanda (traders) and the Govi (Farmers).{{Cite book|title=The Feast of the Sorcerer: Practices of Consciousness and Power|url=https://archive.org/details/feastsorcererpra00kapf|url-access=limited|last=Kapferer|first=Bruce|date=1997-10-15|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226424132|pages=[https://archive.org/details/feastsorcererpra00kapf/page/n93 68]|language=en}}{{Cite book|title=The cult of the goddess Pattini|last=Obeyesekere|first=Gananath|date=1984|isbn=9780226616025|location=University of Chicago Press|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cultofgoddesspat0000obey/page/116 116–117]|language=en|url=https://archive.org/details/cultofgoddesspat0000obey/page/116}} being the forward castes.{{Cite book|title=A history of Sri Lanka|last=De Silva|first=Kingsley M.|date=2005|publisher=Vijitha Yapa Publications|isbn=955-8095-92-3|edition=Revised|location=Colombo|oclc=470682746}}

The appellation Govi is probably derived from the Prakritic Gahapati which literally means 'householder'.{{Cite book|title=Society in mediaeval Ceylon : (The state of society in Ceylon as depicted in the Saddharmaratnāvaliya and other literature of the thirteenth century) : (2. print.)|last=Ariyapala, M. B.|date=1968|oclc=468778864}} We find in the 13th century Saddharma-Ratnāvaliya of Dharmasena Thero, the Pali term {{transliteration|pi|gahapati}} being rendered as {{transliteration|pi|Govi gahapatika or Govi kulehi upan tänättō}}.{{Cite book|title=Jewels of the doctrine : stories of the Saddharma ratnāvaliya|last=Dharmasēna|first=Thera|date=1991|publisher=State University of New York Press|author2=Buddhaghosa|isbn=0-7914-0489-7|location=Albany|oclc=21147752}} Gahapati occurs in ancient Pali literature as the third ranking caste after the Khattiya and Brāhmaṇa and appears to have been synonymous with the Vessakula i.e. Vaiśya.{{Cite book|title=Caste in Sri Lanka : from ancient times to the present day|last=Hussein, Asiff|year=2013|isbn=978-955-0028-35-1|edition=1st|location=Battaramulla|publisher=Neptune Publications|oclc=863786412}}{{Cite book|title=Zeylanica : a study of the peoples and languages of Sri Lanka|last=Hussein, Asiff.|date=2009|publisher=Neptune Publications|isbn=978-955-0028-04-7|edition=1st|location=Colombo|oclc=463682982}}

When it comes to the present day, it appears that the Govigama caste has transformed into a compound caste made out of all castes mentioned in Saddharma-Ratnāvaliya (raja, bamunu, velanda and govi) consisting of four sub-castes, Radalavaru (Governing elite), Mudaliperuwa (Knighted elite), Rate aththo (officers of state), and Goviyo (farmers). The caste hierarchy with Govigama at the forefront has been justified through historical sources from the perspective of Ancestry. The Karava, Durava and Salagama people, who were of Dravidian origin, arrived to the coastal regions of the Island after the 13th Century. The original Sinhalese who lived in the Island before the 13th Century are represented by Up-Country castes consisting of the Govigama and also other Central region castes. Within the Sinhalese caste system the older pre-13th Century castes are ranked at a higher level while the post-13th Century later arrivals of South Indian Dravidian origin such as the Karava, Durava and Salagama are ranked lower.{{Cite web|url=http://pathfinderfoundation.org/pf-projects/on-going/economic-alert/44-land|title=Land|last=Tilakartna|first=Gayan|website=Pathfinder Foundation|language=pl|access-date=2020-02-06}}{{Cite book|title=The adaptable peasant : agrarian society in western Sri Lanka under Dutch rule, 1740–1800|last=Dewasiri|first=Nirmal Ranjith|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-474-3282-1|location=Leiden|oclc=654684668}}{{Cite book|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/14346|title=An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies: Together with an Account of the Detaining in Captivity the Author and Divers other Englishmen Now Living There, and of the Author's Miraculous Escape|last=Knox|first=Robert|date=2004-12-13|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=81-206-1846-7|oclc=57236571}}

File:A peasant and a Govigama - tax collecting state offiiicial of sri lanka.jpg by Robert Knox (1641–1720){{Cite thesis|title=An historical relation of the Island Ceylon|publisher=The University of Hong Kong Libraries|first=Sarojini|last=Jayawickrama| year=1998 |doi=10.5353/th_b3123864}}]]

Ancient texts such as the Pujavaliya, Sadharmaratnavaliya and Yogaratnakaraya list the four major classes as Raja, Bamunu, Velanda, and Govi.

For the past 1,700 years the only undisputed symbol of Sri Lankan royalty and leadership has been the sacred Tooth Relic of Gautama Buddha. Whosoever possessed this was acknowledged as the rightful ruler of Lanka, and thus the Tooth Relic was a possession exclusive to the ruling dynasty of Sri Lanka. Upon each change of capital, a new palace was built to enshrine the Relic. Finally, in 1595 it was brought to Kandy where it is at present, in the Temple of the Tooth. However, even in the land-locked Kandyan kingdom 'Unambuwe' a son of a concubine of some considerable background was deemed not of 'royalty', hence a Telugu of royalty was imported from Madurai. This last Kandyan royal dynasty (four kings) of Nayake origin was from the Balija caste{{cite book|editor1-last=A.Ramaswami |author2= |title=Madras District Gazetteers: Salem

|volume=1 |publisher=Director of Stationery and Print |year=1967|page=129|quote=They are popularly classed as kota balijas, who are military in origin and claim kinship with the Emperors and Viceroys of Vijayanagar and the Kandyan Dynasty.| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q1u1AAAAIAAJ}}Pre-Nayake kings of Kandy (children of Kusuma Devi) and their marriages to south-Indian Nayakes Even King Senarat Adahasin's regent, Antonio Baretto Kuruvita Rala, Prince of Ouva, was not from the Govi cast.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sjJPZ-TUQzQC&q=antonio+baretto/|title=A Description of the Great and Most Famous Isle of Ceylon|first=Philip|last=Baldaeus|date=9 November 1996|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1172-6 |accessdate=9 November 2023|via=Google Books}}

The oldest Buddhist sect in Sri Lanka, the Siam Nikaya (established on 19 July 1753) are the custodians of the Tooth Relic, since its establishment during the Kandyan Kingdom. The Siam Nikaya uses caste-based divisions, and as of 1764 grants higher ordination only to the Govigama caste, excluding other castes from its numbers,{{Cite web|url=https://sikhspectrum.com/?s=Search+Sikh+Spectrum|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215122944/http://sikhspectrum.com/?s=Search+Sikh+Spectrum|url-status=usurped|archive-date=15 December 2018|title=Suchergebnisse für "Search Sikh Spectrum" – Sikhspectrum|date=11 August 2023|accessdate=9 November 2023}} Sitinamaluwe Dhammajoti (Durawa) was the last non-Govigama monk to receive upasampada. This conspiracy festered within the Siam Nikaya itself and Moratota Dhammakkandha, Mahanayaka of Kandy, with the help of the last two Kandyan Telugu Kings victimised the low-country Mahanayaka Karatota Dhammaranma by confiscating the Sri Pada shrine and the retinue villages from the low country fraternity and appointing a rival MahanayakaBuddhism in Sinhalese Society, 1750–1900: A Study of Religious Revival and.... By Kitsiri Malalgoda, p. 84-87 & 91

Non–Govigama representation in Parliament has steadily declined since independence and representation of non-Govigama castes are well below their population percentages. Caste representation in the Cabinet has always been limited to a few very visible, but unconcerned and disconnected members from other castes.{{Cite web|url=http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2009/12/fonseka-political-arrivistea-historical.html|title=Fonseka, the political arriviste–a historical irony|accessdate=9 November 2023}}

The Govigama are a landowning caste.{{Cite web|url=https://asian-recipe.com/|title=Asian Recipe|date=9 August 2022|website=asian-recipe.com|accessdate=9 November 2023}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ywY_dN6ad8gC&dq=Sanghamitta&pg=PA73|title=Populations of the SAARC Countries: Bio-cultural Perspectives|first1=Jayanta|last1=Sarkar|first2=G. C.|last2=Ghosh|date=9 November 2003|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-81-207-2562-1 |accessdate=9 November 2023|via=Google Books}} The Sinhalese caste system was based on the service to the king or 'raja kariya', and land ownership. The Govigama people had the right to cultivate and use the lands of the Sinhalese Kingdom at the behest of Sinhalese King. Their contribution to rice production, leadership in Buddhism and service in royal service gave Govigama people the foremost role in the ancient agrarian society in Sri Lanka. Kings are said to have participated in harvesting festivals held end of each Yala (dry) and Maha (wet) season.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LjbN5ePfQuYC&pg=PA246|title=The Adaptable Peasant|last=Dewasiri|first=Nirmal Ranjith|year=2008|page=246|publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9004165083}}

In the present era, it has been a norm that the head of the country should be a Govigama caste member, though President Premadasa was not. Colonial occupiers, including the Portuguese, Dutch and British, tried to change Govigama dominance by giving prominence to other castes by granting government posts and education under them. However they were unable to change the caste hierarchy in traditional Sinhalese society. The Dutch and the British introduced the ideas of Republicanism.

An important characteristic in the Sinhalese caste system is that the family name or the surname details the ancestry. The original name was given based on where one lived. Later, honorary terms, granted by the king based on a person's service to the kingdom, were added to the original name. This continued for generations and resulted in very long names.

In General, Disawe, Mudiyanse, Adikari, Mahalekam, Appuhamy, Imiya raala, Nawaratne, Jayathilaka, Gunathilaka, Jayawardana, Wijayawardhana, Wijeyasundara, Udugampola, Gunawardhana, Siriwardhana, Abeywardhana, Abeysiriwardhana, Abeygunawardhana, Dharmawardhana, Bandaranayake, Dissanayake, Ekanayake, Gajanayaka, Kulatunga, Liyanage, Madawala, Rathnasinghe, Ranasinghe, Wijesinghe, Dunuwille, Dunusinghe, Wickramasinghe, Rajapaksha, Molamure, Meedeniya, Kiriella, Herath, Yapa, Unambuwe, Rekawa, Widanapathirana, Balasooriya, Iddamalgoda, Ganegoda, Halangoda, Kodagoda, Kobbakaduwa, Arachchi, Vidhane are considered to be names taken up by Govigama people, and these names were extended according to the ranking in the service of the kingdom. Further variations exist due to changes during the colonial period. Historic literature and inscriptional evidence from the feudal period show that this hierarchy prevailed throughout the feudal period until the collapse of Sri Lankan kingdoms and social structure under the onslaught of European colonialism. However, even in the present day, Sinhalese people look at surnames and ancestry when it comes to marriages.{{Cite web|title=Portuguese-Sri Lankan Surnames And Their Meanings|first=Roel|last=Raymond|date=27 February 2018|url=https://roar.media/english/life/history/portuguese-sri-lankan-surnames-and-their-meanings/|website=roar.media|access-date=2020-02-06}}{{Cite book|title=The hybrid island : culture crossings and the invention of identity in Sri Lanka|date=2002|publisher=Zed Books|others=Silva, Neluka.|isbn=1-84277-202-3|location=London|oclc=48977638}}{{Cite book|title=Identity, consciousness and the past : forging of caste and community in India and Sri Lanka|date=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Seneviratne, H. L., 1934-|isbn=0-19-564001-2|location=Delhi|oclc=37130224}}{{Cite book|title=Under the bo tree; studies in caste, kinship, and marriage in the interior of Ceylon.|last=Yalman, Nur.|date=1967|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-02054-5|location=Berkeley|oclc=282805|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/underbotreestudi0000yalm}}

As for name and religious conversions, Govigama families too became Christian and had Portuguese/Christian names (some strangely adopted during British/Dutch times) such as Don Davith (Rajapaksas),{{cite web|url=http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/03/11/sri-lanka-revoke-british-governor%E2%80%99s-infamous-gazette-notification|title=The Rajapaksas and Ruhuna|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102192549/http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/03/11/sri-lanka-revoke-british-governor%E2%80%99s-infamous-gazette-notification|archivedate=2 January 2016|accessdate=2016-12-09|df=dmy-all}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.asiantribune.com/node/7175|title=None|accessdate=9 November 2023}} Barthlamew (Senanayakes), Ridgeway Dias (Nilaperumal/Bandaranaykes), Pererala, Arnolis Dep (Wijewardane), Corea, Ilangakoon, de Saa Bandaranaike, Obeyesekere, de Saram, Don Johannes(Padmawansha/Kumarage), de Alwis, etc. It is also why all elite Sri Lankans of the British period be it farmer or other wise had English first names. The English first names were common among many not necessarily associated to Govigama. Some of the Goyigama such as the Bandaranayake also were pioneer arrack renters of the colonial era among many other castes.[https://books.google.com/books?id=o4K3AAAAIAAJ&q=goyigama+arrack+ Nobodies to somebodies: the rise of the colonial bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka] by Kumari Jayawardena (Zed Books) p.190-191 {{ISBN|1-84277-229-5}}

In traditional Sinhalese society Buddhist monks are placed at the top. Irrespective of the birth caste of a monk, even the king had to worship him. However, this led to some Buddhist sects in Sri Lanka allowing only Govigama people to join, contrary to Buddha's instructions.

Other castes such as Karava, Durava, Salagama and Wahumpura have their own Buddhist sects. The Govigama sect also known as the Mahavihara Wanshika Siyam Order hold the custody of Sri Dalada Maligawa (The temple of the tooth) and the sacred tooth relic of Buddha.{{Cite web|url=https://lakdiva.org.lk/codrington/chap01.html|title=Chapter I|website=lakdiva.org.lk|accessdate=9 November 2023}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9PiwJF7V4EQC&pg=PA19|title=Sea: Our Saviour|first=K.|last=Sridharan|date=9 November 2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-81-224-1245-1 |accessdate=9 November 2023|via=Google Books}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.island.lk/2008/07/20/features14.html|title=Pre-Vijayan Agriculture in Sri Lanka, by Prof. T. W. Wikramanayake|accessdate=9 November 2023}}

• Nicholas Dias Abeyesinghe Amarasekere – Maha Mudaliar of Dutch Ceylon[https://defonseka.com/front-page/reference/social-change-in-nineteenth-century-ceylon/ Social Change in Nineteenth Century Ceylon], pg 45, Patrick Peebles
• Solomon Dias Bandaranaike – Maha Mudaliar of British Ceylon
• E. R. Gooneratne – Acting Maha Mudaliar and literary figure[https://books.google.com/books?id=xgjH0GjmTeIC Exploring Confrontation; Sri Lanka:Politics, Culture & History], Pg166, Michael Roberts
• John Kotelawala – Prime Minister of Ceylon{{Cite web|url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=45079|title=Premadasa Exceptionalism and challenges it currently faces...|accessdate=9 November 2023}}
• Solomon Bandaranaike – Prime Minister of Ceylon
• Wijeyananda Dahanayake – Prime Minister of Ceylon{{Cite web|url=http://infolanka.asia/sri-lanka/people/how-mrs-bandaranaike-became-prime-minister-in-1960/elections|title=infolanka.asia|website=infolanka.asia|accessdate=9 November 2023}}
• Nissanka Wijeyeratne – Diyawadana Nilame and Cabinet Minister[http://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2006/12/10/imp06.asp Saga of Nilame and Kumarihamy by Lakmal Welabada]. Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka), Retrieved on 10 December 2006.
• Gamini Dissanayake – Cabinet Minister, MP & Presidential candidate

{{cite web

|title=Black July: A Note on Buddhism, Caste & The New Sinhalese Nationalism

|date=7 August 2013

|access-date=12 June 2015

|url=https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/black-july-a-note-on-buddhism-caste-the-new-sinhalese-nationalism/}}

• Anura Kumara Dissanayake - 9th Executive President of Sri Lanka & Leader of National People's Power[https://len-official.blogspot.com/2024/06/blog-post_13.html මීලඟ ජනාධිපති උඩරටින්]. Lanka E News, Retrieved 13th June 2024{{Cite news |title=Left-leaning leader wins Sri Lanka election in political paradigm shift |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyznjz3d78o}}
• Ruwan Wijewardene – State Minister, MP{{Cite web|url=http://www.asiffhussein.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Caste-in-Sri-Lanka1.pdf|title=Caste in Sri Lanka – From Ancient Times to the Present Day|accessdate=9 November 2023}}
• Sri Lankabhimanya Dingiri Banda Wijetunga - 4th Executive President of Sri Lanka{{Cite news |title=How D.B. Wijetunga became Executive President of Sri Lanka |url=https://island.lk/how-d-b-wijetunga-became-executive-president-of-sri-lanka/}}{{Cite news |title=මීලඟ ජනාධිපති උඩරටින්...? |url=https://len-official.blogspot.com/2024/06/blog-post_13.html}}

• Radala
• Koviyar
• Sri Lankan Mudaliyars
• Patti caste
• Sinhalisation
• Caste system in Sri Lanka

{{reflist}}

• Abhayawardena H. A. P. Kadaim Poth Vimarshanaya, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka
• H. W. Codrington, Ancient land tenure and revenue in Ceylon
• Darmapradeepikava Sri Dharmarama edition, 1951
• Epigraphia Zeylanica (EZ) Colombo Museum, Sri Lanka
• Gammaduwa, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka
• Jayathilake D. B. Dambadeni Asna saha Kandavuru Siritha
• Jayawardena Kumari 2000 Nobodies to Somebodies – The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka [http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1826/18260760.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930181747/http://www.hindu.com/fline/fl1826/18260760.htm |date=30 September 2007 }}
• Journal of Asian Studies 1990 Articles by Patrick Peebles, Amita Shastri, Bryan Pfaffenberger
• Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka (JRASCB)
• Kumaratunga Munidasa 1958 Parevi Sandeshaya
• Niti Nighanduva The vocabulary of law 1880 LeMasurier C. J. R. and Panabokke T. B.
• Peebles Patrick 1995 Social Change in Nineteenth Century Ceylon Navrang {{ISBN|81-7013-141-3}}.
• Pfaffenberger Bryan 1982 Sudra Domination in Sri Lanka Syracuse University
• Pujavaliya
• Roberts Michael Caste conflict and elite formation
• Sahithyaya 1972 Department of Cultural Affairs, Sri Lanka
• Sarpavedakama Colombo Museum publication, 1956
• Sri Lankáve Ithihásaya Educational Publications Department Sri Lanka
• Ummagga Játhakaya 1978 edition Educational Publications Department, Sri Lanka
• Wickramasinghe Nira 2001 Civil Society in Sri Lanka: New circles of power

Category:Sinhalese castes