View source for Appuhamy

{{Short description|Sinhali Surname}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Sinhalese State Council}}
'''Appuhamy''', also referred as '''Appuhami''',({{langx|si|අප්පුහාමි}}) from Appu ''(Gentleman)'' and Hami ''(Lord)''<ref>{{cite book |last=Clough |first=B |date=1887 |title=Sinhala English Dictionary|url=https://archive.org/details/sinhala_english_dictionary001/page/34/mode/2up?q=Appuhdmi |location=Ceylon |publisher=Wesleyan Mission Press |page=34|isbn=9788120601055 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Walford |first=Edward |date=1910 |title=The Antiquary, Volume 46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YPHCGMdd9BsC&q=appuhami+merchant|location=London |publisher=Elliot Stock |page=372}}</ref>''<ref>{{cite book |last=Cumming |first= Constance Frederica Gordon |date=1901 |title=Two Happy Years in Ceylon Vol 1|url=https://archive.org/details/twohappyyearsinc00gord/page/178/mode/2up?q=Appuhami |location=London |publisher=Chatto & Windus |page=179}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Gilbert |first= William H |date=1945 |title=Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences The Sinhalese Caste system of Central and Southern Ceylon|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofwashin351945wash/page/116/mode/2up |location=United States of America |publisher=Washington Academy of Sciences |page=117}}</ref>(Hamie is a derivation of Sanskrit word [[Swami]])'' is a [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] [[surname]] or an [[Honorific|honorific term]] for men used traditionally between ''14th and 20th'' centuries in [[Sri Lanka]] (Ceylon).<ref>{{cite book |last=Seneviratne |first=H. L |date=1999 |title=The Work of Kings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j0IyA_CtW64C&pg=PA92 |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago |page=92 |isbn=0-226-74865-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jiggins |first=Janice |date=1979 |title=Caste and Family Politics Sinhalese |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q8ip5NofD98C |location=Cambridge |publisher=University of Cambridge |page=xi |isbn=978-0-521-13378-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hussein |first=Asiff  |author-link=Asiff Hussein |date=2013 |title=Caste in Sri Lanka From Ancient Times to the Present Day |url=https://www.scribd.com/embeds/322829617/content?start_page=48 |location=Sri Lanka |publisher=Neptune Publications |page=48 |isbn=978-955-0028-35-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Wijesekara |first=Dr. N. D |date=1949 |title=The People of Ceylon|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.6230/page/173/mode/2up?q=Appuhamy
|location=Sri Lanka |publisher= M.D.Gunasena and Co, Ltd Colombo|page=173 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Perera |first=B. J. |date=2009 |title=The "Ge" names of the Sinhalese Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, Vol. 55|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23731092|location=Sri Lanka |publisher=RASSL |page=12|jstor=23731092 }}</ref> It is also a term used for '''Dugganna Nilame '''of [[Kingdom of Kandy|Kandyan era]] kings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Panabokke|date=1880 |title=Níti-nighaṇḍuva; Or: The Vocabulary of Law, as it Existed in the Last Days of The Kandyan Kingdom |url=https://archive.org/details/ntinighauvaorvo00panagoog/page/n20/mode/2up |location=Ceylon |publisher=William Henry Herbert, Government Printer, Ceylon |page=xiii }}</ref>
[[File:Appuhamy අප්පුහාමි - ca. 1830 (Painted) Victoria and Albert Museum London.jpg|left|upright|thumb|200px|An Appuhamy - ca. 1830 (Painted) [[Victoria and Albert Museum|Victoria and Albert Museum London]].]]
[[File:King Vimaladharmasuriya I - Colourized Version 2.jpg|thumb|right|In later periods, Prince Don John, who later became Don John Appuhamy prior to his winning the Kandyan throne under the name of [[Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy|King Wimaladharmasuriya]], was renowned as above, according to Baldius.<ref>Udarata Maha Karalla by Prof Tennakoon Wimalananda</ref>]]
== Kandyan era ==
[[File:Ehelepola Maha Nilame (Maha Adikaram).jpg|left|upright|thumb|200px|[[Ehelepola Nilame|Ehelepola Maha Nilame]] was an Appuhamy for HM at the beginning of his career.]]
In the beginning, Appuhamy's belongs from the members of the three families referred to as [[chamberlain (office)|chamberlains]]. They rendered their services to the royalty as watchmen or guardsmen of the Barrier of Royal Bed Chamber (''Hathapenage''),<ref>{{cite book |last=Edited by the Honorary Secretary |date=1897 |title=Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society / Volume XIV. — 1895-1896|url=https://archive.org/details/journalofceylonb14roya/page/110/mode/2up?q=Appuhamy |location=Sri Lanka |publisher= Colombo : George J. A. Skeen, Government Printer, Ceylon|page=110 }}</ref> the Royal Time Keepers Point (''Atapattu Murapola)'' and the Royal Gold Weaponry or Armory (''Ran Avuda Mandapa).'' The title of Appuhamy was given as a mark of respect and appreciation. Alternative titles were Dugganna Rala or Dugganna Nilame.
Hathapenage
The Hathapanage Appuhamy's served under officers named <u>Muhandiram Nilame</u> of the Maha Hathapenage, the secretary, and <u>Kankanama</u>. Of them, 12 guards used to hold a stabbing equipment, named ''Illukkole''. It was their custom to wear a mouth guard (mask) when in Majesty's service. This was a white cloth ribbon about one inch in breadth. Earlier, this mouth guard was two inches in breadth. In this garment, the piece exactly covering the mouth was a red piece of cloth called ''Paccawadam'', while the rest of the cloth was white.
Atapattu Murapola
The Royal Time Keepers Point was also known as The Water Clock Gate. Earlier they were 50 to 60 in number but the last Sinhala King brought it down to 48. Putting the water clock plates in position and accompany the King while touring was one of their duties. The Atapattu Maduwa was a building place close to the Royal Palace. Those serving here placed four water clock plates in the pond and to inform the time, they rang a bell. They had divided the daytime into parts and the night into four ''Jamas'' or Phases in such a manner.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! width="400" | Time periods
! width="70" | Phases
|-
| From dawn to the end of eighth Sinhala hour
| 1st Phase
|-
| From ninth Sinhala hour to end of fifteenth hour (mid day)
| 2nd Phase
|-
| From mid day to end of 7th hour
| 3rd Phase
|-
| From 8th hour to end of 15th hour
| 4th Phase
|}
The night also was thus divided into 8-7-7-8 hourly four phases. According to this, the bell was rung once, twice, thrice, 4–8, 6, 5–1, times. Auspicious times for each function was declared via this medium. During daytime, more than three Appuhamy's did serve rarely. Half of those who came for the night shift slept while the rest did guarding duty.
Ran Avudu Mandapa
While the king toured, it was their duty to carry various weapons to serve the king. The Lacquer-craftsmen Archers living in Matale Hapuvida Village supplied lacquer-worked decorated handles for carrying the items.
== Appuhamy principles ==
The Appuhamy officers belonged to families with proven loyalty and sacrificial devotion to the King. They commanded high respect and honour from the countrymen.<ref>{{cite book |last=Panabokke |first=T. B |date=1880 |title=Níti-nighaṇḍuva; Or: The Vocabulary of Law, as it Existed in the Last Days of The Kandyan Kingdom |url=https://archive.org/details/ntinighauvaorvo00panagoog/page/n20/mode/2up |location=Ceylon |publisher=William Henry Herbert, Government Printer, Ceylon |page=xiii }}</ref> The post of becoming an Appuhamy was competitive and highly contested as they were the starting points of other vital position within the King's kingdom.
When King [[Vira Narendra Sinha of Kandy|Veera Parakrama Narendra Singha]] presented the opinion that it would suffice if Appuhamy's served the King every alternate month, in shifts, like other officers within the kingdom, the Appuhamy's collectively declined the proposition with the reason that they would fall into the same despicable level of lethargy and inefficiency as other officers. The Appuhamy's appealed to the King to grant them permission to render continued services and when they would want a release from services for personal reasons, they would send the request for prior approval from the Throne.
During the time of King [[Rajadhi Rajasinha of Kandy|Rajadhi Raja Singha]] in his Hathapenage Murapola, there were 112 Appuhamy's in service. The number reduced to 48 by the time the last King of Sinhala took throne.
== Privileges conferred on the Appuhamys ==
They could go past the queens.{{clarify|date=August 2023}} They were not under the charge of the high officers like [[adigar|adikaram]] and [[dissava|dissawe]]. Appuhamys enjoyed various rights, privileges, and incomes generated from their lands and services to the king.{{vague|date=August 2023}} They were bound to bring the pingo of rice ''(kath hal)'' as a rajakariya, the duty to the royals. At given times, they were exempted from this duty. Yet, in case it was not stated down in the ''lekampotha'' (the secretarial book), the exemption was only temporary.
For each of the duggannarala, a village and a man was allocated. The villagers did the cultivation work for free in his fields. They looked after his lands and repaired his [[walauwa]], the stately mansion. The villagers supplied the monthly requirement of rice. A month's requirement was termed as ''barak'' (a weight), namely 60 ''hundus'' (hundu=4/1 measure). A hundu contained 8, at times 9 or 10 palm fulls.
A designated man called agubalana nilame, the royal tester, tested the prepared royal victuals supplied to the king for consumption. This tasting was effected as a pre-testing as to whether the victuals were contaminated with any poison. Agubalana Nilamen was also considered as a duggannarala.
== Other applications of Appuhamy ==
The term, Appuhamy, were used in various other contexts:
*An honorary titled received by royal appointment.<ref name="Impressions1">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUF_rS8FEoIC&pg=PA625|title=Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon|author=Wright, Arnold|year=1999|pages=625|publisher=Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company|isbn=978-8120613355}}</ref>
*Members of [[Govigama|Govi]] caste families, such as Yapa Appuhamilage, Epa Appuhamilage and Wijayasundra Appuhamilage used ''Appuhamilage or Appuhamillage'' as the "Ge" name.<ref>{{cite news|last=TRANCHELL|first=C. L|title=WIJESUNDARA APPUHAMILAGE|url=http://220.247.247.85:8081/bitstream/handle/123456789/6664/1901-OCT-DEC_E_1895_298.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|access-date=21 July 2020|newspaper=The Hue and Cry No. 1,895-FRIDAY|date=1 November 1901}}</ref>
*In the words of Baldius (LCS, p.&nbsp;99), the [[Govigama|Govi Vamsa]] had two divisions, known as Appuhamy and Saparamadu Appuhamy.
*Prince Don John, who later became Don John Appuhamy prior to winning the Kandyan throne under the name of [[Vimaladharmasuriya I of Kandy|King Wimaladharmasuriya]] was renowned as Appuhamy, according to Baldius.
*As a part of a '''personal name''',Don Carolis Appuhamy,Hinni Appuhamy,etc. can be quoted.
== See also ==
*[[Govigama]]
*[[Radala]]
*[[Sinhalese people]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book
|last=Vimalananda
|first=Tennakoon
|title=උඩරට මහ කැරැල්ල
|trans-title=The great rebellion of 1818; the story of the first war of independence and betrayal of the nation
|edition = 3rd
|year = 2008
|publisher = M.D. Gunasena
|location = Colombo
|oclc = 298665
|pages=120, 226–228
|volume=3
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Clough
|first=Rev. Benjamin
|title=Clough's Sinhala English Dictionary
|edition=6th
|year= 2006
|publisher=Asian Educational Services
|location=India
|isbn=978-81-206-0105-5
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Jayawardena
|first=Elmo
|author-link=Elmo Jayawardena
|title=The Last Kingdom of Sinhalay
|edition = 1st
|publisher = M.D. Gunasena
|location = Colombo
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Vijayatunga
|first=Dr. Harischandra
|title=මහා සිංහල ශබ්දකෝෂය
|year=2011
|publisher=M.D .Gunasena
|location=Colombo
|isbn=978-955-21-1423-6
}}
{{Refend}}
== External links ==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite news|last=Jayatissa|first=Gunapala|title=දුක්‌ගන්නාරාළ නොහොත් අප්පුහාමිවරු|url=http://www.divaina.com/2011/06/06/mano01.html|access-date=2 February 2013|newspaper=Divaina|date=6 June 2011|language=si}}
*{{cite news|last=Jayatissa|first=Gunapala|title=රාජ්‍ය පාලනය හා බැඳුණු කුල ක්‍රමය|url=http://www.divaina.com/2011/10/10/mano05.html|access-date=2 February 2013|newspaper=Divaina|date=10 October 2011|language=si}}
*{{cite news|last=Weerawardana|first=Vijayapala|title=උඩ පහත දෙරටට නුහුරු සියනෑ පෙදෙසි බස් වහර|url=http://www.silumina.lk/punkalasa/20100704/_art.asp?fn=ar1007046|access-date=2 February 2013|newspaper=Silumina|date=4 July 2010|language=si|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921060752/http://www.silumina.lk/punkalasa/20100704/_art.asp?fn=ar1007046|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite news|last=Author Board|first=Lankadeepa|title=උඩරට මහා කැරුල්ල|url=http://www.lankadeepa.lk/index.php/articles/14756|access-date=2 February 2013|newspaper=Lankadeepa|date=27 November 2011|language=si}}
*{{cite news|last=Munasiha|first=Siri|title=An Introduction to Sinhalese names from 14 -21 cent|url=http://sirimunasiha.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/an-introduction-to-sinhalese-names-from-14-21-cent/|access-date=2 February 2013|publisher=Siri Munasiha's Blog|date=14 June 2011}}
{{Refend}}
[[Category:Society of Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Officers of the Kingdom of Kandy]]
[[Category:Surnames]]
[[Category:Surnames of Sinhalese origin]]