NO. 50. — 1899.] ALAGIYAVANNA MOHOTTALA. 



117 



sent to that periodical by Mr. F. H. de Vos, of Galle, one of 

 which (p. 196) commences as follows (I translate) : — 



In the year after the salutary birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, one 

 thousand six hundred, on the 26th day of the month of March, in this 

 city and fortress St. Lawrence of Colombo, on the Island of Ceylon, 

 in the dwelling of Anthonio Vaz Freire, nobleman of the King's house 

 and administrator of the royal revenues of the said Island and of the 

 territories thereto appertaining, he himself being personally present, 

 and in like manner present I, Balthasar Marinho, secretary of the 

 royal administration, there appeared before us Dom Jeronimo Bana- 

 qua Ralle, chief moetjaer, Don Jeronimo Aliqua, late \oud~\ moetjaer, 

 Dom Jeronimo Samara de Yagua [sic for " Samaradevaquara" ?] , 

 moetjaer, and Annaas Ralla, moetjaer, and Dom Francisco Velquao, inter- 

 preter of this tombo, all of whom were summoned, at the request of 

 the said royal administrator, for the fulfilment of this tombo ; and the 

 oath having been given to all to swear on the Holy Gospels, and an 

 oath having been taken from Annaas Raale after the custom of the 

 heathen, to sincerely and openly declare the truth of all that shall 

 be asked of them, on condition, and warning given to the same, that 

 in case at any time hereafter it should come to appear that they had said 

 and answered other than the real truth, they should without any doubt 

 be punished according to the form and justice of his Majesty. 



It will be noticed that the above document professes to 

 have been written in the year 1600. This is an error (of 

 the Dutch translator's perhaps) for 1616. Antao Vaz Freire 

 did not arrive in Ceylon as vedor da fazenda before the end 

 of 1609 or beginning of 1610,* and left the Island at the end 

 of 1616 ;f while Balthazar Marinho did not come to Ceylon 

 as secretary of the fazenda before 16154 w © may take it 

 as certain, therefore, that 1616 was the year in which the 

 document was written; and the date March 26 is significant, 

 for on March 1, 1616, Dom Nuno Alvares Pereira arrived at 

 Colombo from India and took over the generalship of 

 Ceylon from Manuel Mascarenhas Homem.§ 



Of the four Mohottiyars mentioned, three, it will be 

 noticed, were " Christians," and all three, curiously enough, 



* See Monthly Lit. Reg., vol. IV., p. 211, note. — D. W. F. 

 t See Bog. Rem. da India, tome IV., p. 229. — D. W. F. 

 % Cf. Doc. Rem., tome IV., p. 32, with references to this man in tomes I., 

 II, III.— D. W. F. 



§ Bocarro, pp. 481, 495.— D. W. F. 



