contact us
Personal Biography
Naganathar Mudaliyar of Nallur
|
Naganathar Villavarayar Mudaliyar + Sinnapillai Puniyamoorthi
|
Villavarayar Sinnathamby Pulavar (1716-1760)
|
Rajakulasuriya Mudaliyar
|
Daughter (name not known) + Thanabalasingha Mudaliyar
Thanabalasingha Mudaliyar was a descendant of Alakanmaivalla Mudali, the eldest son of Pararajasinghan Mudlai, who was given Nallur and Kallyankadu by his father, lived in the Royal Palace in Nallur (Cankili Thoppu).
Thanabalasinga Mudaliyar had four sons and two daughters.
Sangarapillai (Nallur)
Ambalavanar (Nayanmarcaddu)
Ponnampalam (Sandilipay)
Sithamparapillaiyar married his own cousin, (granddaughter of Ponna Udaiyar and daughter of Asaipillai) and they lived in Urumpirai.
Daughter (name not known) married Valliyanaa Mudaliyar from Nallur.
Daughter (name not known) married Setha Udaiyar from Irupalai.
Villavarayar Sinnathamby Pulavar
(1716-1760)
Mudaliyar Naganathar of Nallur, Jaffna, was a descendant of King Cinkai Pararacacekaran (1478-1519), and Poothathamby Mudaliyar. His son Mudaliyar Naganathar Villavarayar of Nallur was a highly educated person who was held in great respect by the people and the Government. Mudaliyar Naganathar Villavarayar married Sinnapillai Puniyamoorthi and their children were Murugesar and Sinnathamby Pulavar.
Mudaliyar Naganathar Villavarayar of Nallur was one of those appointed by the Dutch Governor to compile and codify the Laws and Customs of the Tamils of Jaffna. An Urumpirai Clan from Royal Times, asserts that it was in 1707 that the Dutch decided to codify and enforce the customary laws, the “Thesavalamai” of the Tamils in Jaffna. As early as 1661, a Dutch official had remarked on the obstinate attachment of the Tamils of Jaffnapatnam to their old customs and habits. H. Zwaerdecroon, Commandeur of the northern district had suggested the need for “a concise digest of those customs which serve for the instruction of the Court of Justice.” The position was made clear in a Memoir left for his successor by Commandeur A. Pavilioen of Jaffnapatnam in 1665. “The natives are governed according to the customs of the country, if these are clear and reasonable, otherwise according to our laws”. These customs of the Tamils were codified for the first time in the Code of the Thesavalamai. This was the work of Claaksz Isaaksz, the Disawe of Jaffna who was directed by the Dutch Governor Cornelis Jan Simons to make a collection of the customs of the land, a work which took him three years. The completed Code was referred to a body of twelve learned Tamil Mudaliyars and on they approval was adopted as authoritative law of Jaffna by an Order of 4th June 1707. Two of the Mudaliyars who set their signatures of approval were Mudaliyar Naganathar Villavarayar and Mudaliyar Manappula both of Nallur. Issues such as freedom and indisputable rights, adoption of children, land ownership, donations, mortgages, labour employment, buying and selling, imprisonment and money loaned on interest (pawn broking) were among other matters detailed in the Thesavalamai and came to be integrated into the judicial system of Jaffna.
This eventually became a proper Legal Act entitled the “Thesavalamai” in 1707. It embodies the traditions and values which were crystallized under the Kings of Jaffna. It is the Law of the Land even today and is applicable to the Tamil People of Jaffna only. It has been said that Kulankai Thambiran, the reputed tutor, spent much of his time with the Mudaliyar.
The young Villavarayar Sinnathamby Pulavar being the son of the Mudaliyar Naganathar Villavarayar therefore grew up under the guidance and tutelage of Kulankai who was a strict disciplinarian. Villavarayar Sinnathamby Pulavar was a poet of great distinction, who lived in Nallur, Jaffna. Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon asserts that Sinnathamby Pulavar, who started composing verses even when he was seven years old, unfortunately, he started playing truant and fell from grace. One day he took his father by surprise, by completing some verses, which his father had left incomplete. Thereafter he was reconciled with his father and turned a new life in his career. He commenced his life-task of composing celebrated poetical works on the traditional lore of the land.
Among his works are:
1. “Paralai Pallu” composed in the form of narration among harvesting folks.
2. “Kalvalai Anthathi” or the story of the Vinayagar Temple at Kalvalai in Sandilipay. It is popular with the devotees of the temple.
3. “Marasai Anthathi” composed at the age of fifty, during a pilgrimage to Chidambaram and Vetharniam.
4. “Karavai Velan Kovai” another temple history.