Dafther Jailany:

Focus on little known facts of Sri Lanka's history

Reviewed by A. Denis N. Fernando (Former President, Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka)

I came to know Mr. Aboosally as a member of the Royal Asiatic Society where he showed a keen interest in historical matters. He subsequently became the Deputy Minister in the Mahaweli Ministry following my discovery of the ancient Maduru Oya sluice in 1981.

I accompanied him on several official visits to ancient, historical and archaeological sites. At that time, was commissioned by Gamini Dissanayake, the Minister of Mahaweli Development, to prepare the lay out to display artifacts for the Mahaweli Centre and was also given the task of collecting and displaying artifacts of interest in relation to our ancient hydraulic civilisation. Mr. Aboosally showed a keen interest and also participated in some of the visits.

Mr. Aboosally came to know of my several visit (Sri Pada) Adams Peak along its different paths, in particular of my attempt at locating the land route that Ibn Batuta took from Attala to Adam's Peak and back, which included his passing through Balangoda, Mr. Aboosally's hometown and the Dafther Jailany rock cave mosque of which he was the trustee. These interactions brought about a close rapport between us.

Sri Pada, also known as Adam's Peak, was venerated from ancient times. Some believe that the footprint on the mountain top was the footprint of Adam, the progenitor of the human race while others believed that it was the footprint of the Enlightened One, while others yet attributed it to one of the other gods they believed in. Be that as it may, as a scientist it is clear that the footprint has been sculptured in the Iron Age by those who had access to iron tools.

The Iron Age dawned in Sri Lanka through early immigrants namely the Yakkas (who were Persian) and Nagas (who were Erythrean) who had access to this technology even before the advent of Vijaya. The antiquity of Adam's peak (Sri Pada) could be attributed to ancient seafarers and merchants who were enamoured by the mountain and drawn to it after seeing it from the ocean in their journeys to Sri Lanka.

Adams' Peak (Sri Pada) was believed to have been the highest mountain in the world as conjectured by the ancients who had then no technology to measure heights except by speculative observation. There is even speculation the Alexander the Great visited Sri Lanka although he did not and could not have placed the iron chains still found there which facilitate the climb to the top.

These chains were placed, if at all, by Alexander's forward troops, the Kataragama Ksatriyas, who came to Sri Lanka. Be that as it may, this could possibly be the reason to link it the Alexander tradition. However, one has only to visit this mountain and see the vision and splendour of the morning sunrise to be enthraled by it because it is a sight one would never forget in a lifetime.

It is possibly this that pilgrims of different religious beliefs were drawn to - not only be the description of this sight through word of mouth but also for the closeness of communication with the Gods in their heavens. The marvel that was Adam's Peak (Sri Pada) was spread the world over - even indicated by Ptolemy (circa 150 AD) in his Taprobane. The mountain drew pilgrims from all faiths from the BC period and is indicated in several Brahamic inscriptions enroute to the Peak at various stops, including at Dafther Jailany, indicating that the Peak was visited by Buddhists as well.

Ibn Batuta had well recorded the route to the mountain and back with enough topographical details to establish it. (This map was compiled by me and reproduced in Mr. Aboosally's book).

The details provided by Mr. Aboosally is of much interest not only to Muslims but also to all Sri Lankans. The book brings to light facts little known to us and is recommended especially to those who have little or no access to reading of our history.

The reader would be further drawn to the fascinating story of Sri Lanka's historical development. Mr Aboosally presents aspects of our history that every citizen should be aware of, as it is the very lifeblood of our people that has kept us together as a nation together. In this materialistic world where people are only interested in promoting their own interests, so that they can all divide and rule us - every Sri Lankan citizen should know of our diverse cultural and historical past. Foreigners tend to discount and ignore our long history which has spanned over 2,500 years and which we are heirs to - we should be proud of the tradition of tolerance that epitomises our traditional Buddhist civilisation that sustained us as a single and unique nation drawn from all the cultures of the world.

Mr. Aboosally, in addition to the descriptive passages of the book, gives life to his narration with several colour photographs of different scenes and inscription which includes the Maduru Oya dam and Sluice. (In this connection, I have to remind the reader that the dating of the sluice gate was done with only one sample and therefore more samples need to be examined before establishing its antiquity with scientific precision. However it could be accepted that it did exist in the time Pandukabaya when he had create rapport with the Yakkas in the BC period.

I recommend all Sri Lankans to read this very interesting book as it is of interest to all, whether Muslims or not. Moreover it contains over 25 illustrations and maps from which much information can be gathered.

Dafther Jailany
"A historical Account of the Dafther Jailany Rock Cave Mosque In Balangoda"
by M.L.M. Aboosally
116 pages 25 illustrations and maps
© 2002 Sharm Aboosally