ABA the film and its ruthless critics

Professor Dr. A.D.T.E. Perera

Public colloquium was convened by two distinguished scholars to condemn the film Aba at the Royal Asiatic Society, Sri Lanka Branch Auditorium, Colombo on October 13.

The two scholars are Professor W.M.K. Wijetunga of the Peradeniya University and Professor Oliver Abenayaka of the Buddhist and Pali University. They were supported by a former career diplomat Bandu Silva.

The aim of the sponsors of the conference was to create public opinion against the film Aba.

According to their opinion the film Aba is a total distortion of Sri Lanka’s pre-christian past.

The film producers, they say were aiming at disparaging the noble Sinhala Nation by identifying the great Sinhala King Pandukabhaya who inaugurated the Anuradhapura civilisation as a scion of a mythical Yakka demon. Moreover they said that the film producers have distorted the character of King Pandukabhaya to make him appear like the Biblical Jesus Christ.

Against Aba

A scene from the movie Aba

The career diplomat has gone even to the extent of charging the film producer for creating a Praba (the ruthless Killer Prabakaran) through Aba, in his article published in the Island October 18.

The audience was spell bound to hear these charges against the producers of Aba. It seemed that those who gathered were in full support of the charges levelled at Aba. One even proposed to seek legal action to ban Aba.

I could not make any contribution to the discussion because I had not seen the film at that time. However I stressed a single point before the audience that is not to make harsh remarks at the Yakkha community who ruled Sri Lanka before the arrival of the Indian prince Vijaya with his 700 brigands to carve out a Kingdom for himself in Sri Lanka. I stressed the point that the Yakkhas along with the Naga community had their own kingdoms in Sri Lanka.

I also pointed out that Yaksa civilisation was deep rooted both in Sri Lanka and India at the time. Even Buddhas Sakya race, before they became Buddhists, were worshippers of the Yakkha religion.

I said there are historical records to prove this.

Therefore it is nothing harmful to connect Prince Pandukabhaya with the Yakkhas of Sri Lanka. On the following day I went to watch the film Aba to my amazement I saw a marvellous cenematrographic production. It is such a beautiful film very true to our Sinhala historical records.

I thought those two learned professors and the career diplomat were portraying a grossly distorted view of Aba. The film Aba stands unique among all the Sinhala films ever produced in Sri Lanka, according to my judgement.

It stands on same par with other internationally famous OSCAR winning films like Ben Hur, Ten Commandments, Alexander the Great, Battleship Potemkin, Muting on the Bounty, Outcasts of the Islands; All actors in the film Aba are equally talented. But Abara is primus-inter-pares.

Sinhala history

He reminds me of Yul Bryner in western classics. But our Abara is above Yul Bryner. I am not a crazy film goer. But I have seen most of these films during my tenure as a Professor in a U.S. University. I also pointed out at the conference that, if Jackson Anthony is accused of distorting Sinhala history and disgracing Sinhala culture, one should also point out one’s finger at Dr. Lester James Peries’ films for distorting and disgracing the Sinhala heroes of the not so distant past.

It is a pity that the sponsors of the Royal Asiatic Society meeting seem to lack knowledge of ancient history of Sri Lanka.

I have mentioned above that the famous Sakya race of our Gautama Buddha was not observing a Brahmanical Vedic religion. King Suddhodana and his Sakyan community had a great Yakkaha divinity who was the tutelary divine being of the Sakyas. His name was Yaksa Sakyavardana. These are recorded in historical annals.

Even the ten astrologers who came to cast the horoscope of baby Siddharta, I identify as followers of the Yakkha religion. The old sage Asita Kaladevala also I identify as follower of this age old religion.

Even today people of those tracts of lands covering Nepal, Bhutan, Ladak at the foothills of Himalayas former Sakyan territory are practising Yantra, Mantra and Socery and Buddhism and Hinduism is secondary to them. Sakyas, the Buddha’s Kinsmen were not quite ready to accept the Buddha’s Doctrine at the beginning. The Buddha had to show his might through miracles to convert the proud intractable Sakyas.

Coming back to Sri Lanka, the Buddha had to visit Sri Lanka three times to convert the adamant Yakkas and Nagas.

At Bintenna (Mahiyangana) the ancient Yakkhas stronghold the Buddha had to tame the ferocious, proud Yakkha communities through miracles.

However having listened to the sermons of the Buddha, Yakkahs and Nagas both became devout followers of the Buddha.

According to historical records Yakkhas of Sri Lanka were the first in the world to build stupas to honour the Buddha. I can prove my statements through early literary records.

To the Yakkha ruler of the central mountain region of Sri Lanka by the name of Sumana, The Buddha offered his foot print symbol on the top of his abode at Sumana Kuta. In his fane at his capital city at Rathnapura this Yakka children’s figure is paraded on the streets at the annual festival. He is depicted here both as a benign and a ferocious divinity.

When King Devanampiyatissa’s brother Prince Mahanaga had to flee the capital city Anuradhapura through fear of punishment over a poisoned mango fruit, he fled to Ruhuna (South Sri Lanka) with his pregnant queen and followers. In Ruhuna he sought asylum at a famous Yakkhas shrine known as Yatala Cetiya where the Queen gave birth to a baby son.

Yakkhas

This son was named Yatala Tissa, according to Mahavamsa.

Yatala is derived from Yakka + ala (fare of the Yakka). The great altar shrine of the Yakkha is still found there in tact. (My article on these Pre-Buddhist Yakkha shrines of Sri Lanka was published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, SL branch). Hundreds of instances could be quoted from Sri Lankan historical annals to prove the wide spread advanced culture of Yakkhas in ancient Sri Lanka.

At the time of the Buddha’s death (parinirvana), the ruler of Sri Lanka was known as Mahakalasena, his wife Gonda the commander of his army was Jutindara. His wife was cetiya. The ruthless massacre of this Yakkha monarch and his entire family with State officials by the Villain Vijaya with the help of Kuveni is recorded in the Mahavamsa.

After this there was an interregnum of the Yakkha ruling house in Sri Lanka.

For the ruthless crime committed by Vijaya, he was cursed and was struck by an incurable sickness called Dividosa and not long afterwards he died without a successor. A prince by the name of Panduvasu Deva of the Sakya clan, hence a relation of the Buddha was brought to Sri Lanka and crowned as the ruler of Lanka. Unfortunately he too was struck by the same illness ‘Dividosa’.

However the Yakka physicians cured him through a psychotherapeutic treatment called Kohomba Yakkama (or Kohomba Kankariya). He married a Sakyan princess named Baddakaccana. Their daughter Ummada Cittra, gave birth to Aba, who later became the supreme ruler of Sri Lanka with his capital at Anuradhapura.

He must have built his capital city at Anuradhapura because it was close to the palace of Yakkha chieftain Jutindara, whose wife princess cetiya gave much help to Aba in his military campaign to kill the sons of King Panduvasudeva.

The above is a very brief account of yakkha communities who ruled Sri Lanka before Pandukabhaya or Aba. Therefore no one can rule out the existence of a great Yakkha civilisation of Sri Lanka prior to the arrival of Thera Mahinda who established the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka and converted the whole population to Buddhism. With the conversion of the whole community to Sakya Simhas (Buddha’s) religion the name Sinhala was given to the Nation.

Research

The above quoted factors and many more I have produced as research papers are published in academic journals both within and without Sri Lanka. Most of these research studies are recorded by the late scholar Ian Gunatillaka in his five volume Magnum Opus “Catalogue of articles by Sri Lankan writers”, available at Peradeniya University Library and other reputed libraries in Sri Lanka.

Without making much ado on Aba any more, I would like to suggest those above mentioned Aba critics to arrange an open dialogue with me at a public forum in Colombo on a fixed date. Then I will prove you all with more evidence, how foolish it is to claim a Vijayan origin to the Great Sinhala Nation founded by the innumerable sacrifices of the autochthons Yakkha and Naga communities.