Kalinga Maacon – Review

கலிங்க மாகோன் – மீளாய்வு

Abstract

Among the Sri Lankan Tamils, many books on the history of the region have emerged. Texts such as Yalpana Vaipavamalai, Kailaya Malai, Konesar kalvettu, Mattakkalappu Manmiyam, Mattkalappu poorva sarithiram can be cited. Among these books on regional history, the Mattkalappu poorva sarithiram has many specialties.
By whom and when this book was written is not shown in the book. But there are references to Hollander and Kandy kings here and there in the text. With this information, the book may have been written by more than one person during the Dutch period. The Dutch who ruled the coastal areas of Sri Lanka wanted to follow national customs in activities such as tax revenue, administration of justice, administrative positions and general administration of the coast. Through this they hoped to establish smooth administrative relations with the Swadeshi. Because of that, the Yalpana Vaipavamalai was written at the request of the Dutch officials who ruled in northern Sri Lanka at that time. Similarly, the Mattkalappu poorva sarithiram was written at the request of the Eastern authorities. In order to know the culture, customs and traditions of the North East Tamils, it was during the Dutch period that the compilations of the National Customary Law and the Mukkuvar Law were compiled. The Mattakalappu porva sarithiram compiled in this way has many merits. The book is written as containing many legends related to the history of Sri Lankan Tamils. The aborigines presents many historical information such as the original inhabitants called Yaksha, Nagas, the kings of Anuradhapuram and Polanaruva during the early period, important historical events that took place during their time, and the rulers of Eastern Sri Lanka. King Maacon is shown as the epic hero of this book. In the 13th century, he came from Kalinga country with armies and conquered the kingdom of Polanuruva and ruled for more than 70 years. The king had close connections with Eastern Sri Lanka. No direct archaeological evidence is available to confirm the information presented in the book. Therefore, using that book as a source, the researchers have presented ideas about Maacon. However, the inscription found at Trincomalee - Gomarasankatavala has re-read and confirmed the information about Maacon. The research has focused on the views thus presented.