Paradise Lost: the bombing of the Temple of the Tooth -- a UNESCO World Heritage site in Sri Lanka.

CONINGHAM, ROBIN ; LEWER, NICK

Introduction

That archaeology has played a significant role in the creation of nation-states around the globe is well attested (Diaz-Andreu & Champion 1996; Kohl & Fawcett 1995; Gathercole & Lowenthal 1994). From Smith's manipulation at Great Zimbabwe (Garlake 1973) to Mussolini's second Roman empire (Guidi 1996) and the Nazi quest for homelands (Arnold 1992), archaeology has been used to legitimize expansion. Physical remains have equally been used to support the dismemberment of larger units as illustrated within the former USSR (Kohl & Tsetskhladze 1995; Puodziunas & Girininkas 1996). Whilst the past has also been used internally within nation-states to promote one social grouping to the exclusion of others (Jones & Pay 1994; Silberman 1989), a worrying recent phenomenon is the destruction of monuments which are perceived to represent the past of others. Such attacks have been met with widespread condemnation as illustrated by the response to the demolition of monuments in former Yugoslavia (Chippindale 1992; 1994; Chapman 1994), the obliteration of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya (Mandal 1993) and the Taliban threat to the Bamiyan Buddhas (SPACH 1997). In stark contrast, the bombing of one of Sri Lanka's holiest Buddhist shrines, the Temple of the Buddha's Tooth in Kandy, on 25 January 1998, has attracted little comment despite its UNESCO World Heritage status (FIGURE 1). The purpose of this paper is to place the targeted site in its historical context and to discuss the island's military and political background in order to understand its selection for destruction.

[Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The political and military context

Over the last 25 years the Government of Sri Lanka has faced challenges from two sources: firstly in 1971, and again in 1988/89, the Sinhalese Jathika Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) a revolutionary Marxist organization which also mixed elements of Sinhala chauvinism. The JVP were effectively destroyed in a bloody fight with the security forces in 1989 (Gunaratna 1995; Chandraprema 1991). Secondly, from the early 1970s, and with an increasing degree of ferocity, militant Tamil groups have been fighting for an independent country, Tamil Eelam or `Tamil homeland', to be established in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Tamils represent 18% of the island's population and Sinhalese 74%, the balance being made up of Muslims and Burghers (Tambiah 1986: 4). Whilst most Sinhalese are Buddhist and most Tamils Hindu, there are minorities of Christians within both (Tambiah 1986: 4). It should be stressed, however, that this conflict is not necessarily a religious war but certainly one of secession from a state which is perceived to be dominated by the Sinhalese and Buddhism (Tambiah 1986: 126).

One Tamil group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), now dominates this battle (Gunaratna 1994; Swamy 1994). A turning point in the conflict occurred in 1983 when anti-Tamil rioting, prompted by the killing of an army patrol by Tamil militants, caused many deaths and the displacement of thousands of Tamils, both internally and to the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Whilst most of the fighting, frequently characterized by acts of cruelty on both sides, has been concentrated in the Northern and Eastern provinces, the LTTE have carried out assassinations and the bombing of civilian and economic targets in the capital Colombo which have resulted in large numbers of civilian casualties and damage running into millions of dollars (FIGURE 2). Recently these have include the killing of President Premadasa (1993) and the bombing of the oil storage depots (1995), the Central Bank (1996), a commuter train (1996) and the World Trade Centre (1997). The LTTE was also blamed for an attack on the sacred Bodhi Tree at the ancient city of Anuradhapura, and the murder of 30 Buddhist monks in the Trincomalee district (Wickremeratne 1995: 275).

[Figure 2 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Since the mid 1970s there have been numerous political and military attempts at ending the conflict, both from inside and outside the country. In 1987, under the auspices of the Indo-Lanka Accord, an Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) was dispatched to Sri Lanka. This ended in disaster in March 1990, when almost 100,000 troops of the IPKF were `de-inducted' from Sri Lanka after heavy losses. In August 1994, after a long period of government by the United National Party, the coalition Peoples' Alliance was elected into office on a peace platform, with a pledge for constitutional and labour reform. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumuratunga became President and negotiations with the LTTE started in October. However, as had happened frequently in the past, the peace process broke down and in April 1995 the LTTE withdrew from the talks and attacked the naval base at Trincomalee. After this, the war escalated with the Government pursuing the twin-pronged strategy of `peace through war'. It published a devolution package, in which it was planned that Sri Lanka would become a `Union of Regions', with plans for the Northern and Eastern provinces to become one administrative unit with considerable autonomous independence for Tamil populations (ICES 1997). But the plan drew opposition from many places, Sinhalese and Buddhist nationalists claiming that it was conceding too much and Tamil parties insisting that it did not go far enough. On the war front Government forces recaptured the Jaffna Peninsula, which the LTTE had been controlling as a de facto state, and with the Operation Jaya Sikurui offensive attempted to open the main A9 road between Colombo and Jaffna. At the time of writing they still had not succeeded in the latter.

The Temple of the Tooth

The Temple of the Tooth, or Dalada Maligawa, stands at the centre of the 17th- and 18th-century AD complex of Kandy, Sri Lanka's last pre-colonial capital (Duncan 1990; Seneviratna 1983; De Silva 1994). Kandy comprises three zones, the outer city, the inner city and the complex containing the royal palace and Temple of the Tooth. Although modern development has altered the outer zone, the inner zones are well preserved (FIGURE 3). The outer city was divided into blocks by cardinal roads and housed nobles and commoners whilst the inner city still consists of shrines dedicated to Vishnu, Natha and Pattini. The innermost complex, separated by two walls and a moat, comprises the king's palace (FIGURE 4) and the Temple (FIGURE 5). Access to the Temple is across this moat by means of a bridge which leads to a monumental entrance porch. The rectangular two-storied outer buildings are then reached by turning left through a vaulted corridor beside the octagonal tower known as the Pattirippuwa (FIGURE 6). These outer buildings consist of subsidiary shrines, offices and a drumming hall laid out around a courtyard in which stands the two-storied pavilion containing the Tooth Relic (FIGURE 7). The Relic is stored on the upper floor of this 18th-century AD building. The complex is dominated by a three-storied extension to the east of the shrine built in AD 1956 and a modern golden roof suspended over the central pavilion.

[Figures 3-7 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

There is a symbolic element to the layout of the city through which the king could `place his capital, and by extension himself, at the centre of the universe' (Duncan 1990: 98). He did this by creating a model of the cosmological topography of the city of the gods within his own capital and thus created a microcosm within which he identified himself as Sakkra -- the king of the gods (Duncan 1990: 98) (FIGURE 8). Under this design the Kandy lake was renamed the Kiri Muhuhuda (FIGURE 8A) after the ocean of milk which surrounds Mount Meru -- the axis mundi on whose summit Sakkra lives -- and whose waters were churned to produce life-giving elixir. The wall on the western side of the moat is known as the Biyareli Bemma (FIGURE 8B), or `wave swell wall, and represents the cosmic oceans breaking on the flank of Mount Meru (Duncan 1990: 107). The moat is thought to represent the celestial Ganges (FIGURE 8C) which flows down the side of Mount Meru and the moat's inner wall is called the Walakulu Bemma (FIGURE 8D), or `cloud drift wall', and represents the clouds on the sides of Meru (Duncan 1990: 111). The shrine complex represents the celestial city on the summit of Meru and suggests that the Buddha, as represented by the Tooth Relic, is ruler of the city, kingdom and universe. This simple microcosm was enhanced by Sri Vikrama Rajasimha (r. AD 1798-1815), the last king, who added the tower (FIGURE 8E). This structure, from where the king could address crowds in the square below, is octagonal in plan. Duncan suggests that it symbolizes the eight cardinal points and Mount Meru itself, a liminal point from which `a cakravarti (world ruler) could dominate the world' (Duncan 1990: 111).

[Figure 8 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Events prior to the attack on the Temple of the Tooth

The celebrations for Sri Lanka's 50th anniversary of independence were planned to be held on 4 February 1998 in Kandy on account of its historical and religious significance. In the weeks leading up to this event there was a huge build-up of security in the city, with thousands of troops and soldiers drafted in. The Prince of Wales had agreed to attend as guest of honour. Elsewhere in the country fighting was still going on along the A9 road, and there were increasing incidents in the East. In Jaffna the LTTE were attacking Government forces and disrupting local elections and had attacked pro-government Tamil groups who were fielding candidates. There was a general air of expectancy that something big was likely to happen. On 25 January about 6 a.m. a truck drove towards the Temple at high speed. Breaking through a barrier it came to a halt outside the main gateway and seconds later blew up in a massive explosion. Initial figures put the number of dead at 17 with more than 20 injured.

The damage

The epicentre of the bomb was directly in front of the main porch of the Temple and was marked by a crater some 4 m in diameter and 2.5 m deep. Whilst the bomb destroyed a substantial length of the Diyareli Bemma and the entrance's elephant guardian figures, moonstone and basreliefs, the thick walls of the porch and the Walakulu Bemma shielded the relic shrine from the direct blast. The foundations of the outer wall of the complex have been displaced, causing the appearance of large cracks in the ceilings and the collapse of its timber roof. The foundations of the Pattirippuwa have also been affected causing a number of the structural members to snap. Throughout the complex devotional murals have been severely damaged. Whilst the blast was directed at the Temple of the Tooth, it also affected a number of the neighbouring monuments including museums, the royal audience hall (FIGURE 8F), royal palaces and the Vishnu, Natha and Pattini shrines (FIGURE 8G) as well as destroying the island's oldest stained glass in St Paul's Church (FIGURE 8H). Emergency work began immediately to assess the damage and, with the assistance of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation), ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites), ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) and ICOM (International Council of Museums), the Sri Lankan authorities have launched a multi-million-dollar restoration. This programme will monitor the stability of the building, restore the murals, consolidate the buildings as well as installing metal detectors, fire-extinguishing systems and generally improving stewardship.

The historical context

Kandy represents more than the location of the Tooth Relic; to many it is also the last capital of the Sinhalese Buddhist state which had ruled the island for two millennia. According to the Mahavamsa and Culavamsa, Buddhist chronicles of the island, Sri Lanka was first colonized by an expedition of north Indians on the day that the Buddha passed away (Geiger 1929a; Geiger 1929b). The chronicles record that these pioneers built cities and that later, during the reign of king Devanampiya Tissa (r. 250-210 AD), established links with the Mauryan empire. The Mauryan Emperor, Asoka, responded by sending gifts and his son, Mahinda, to convert the island to Buddhism. As a result, Devanampiya Tissa and his court were converted and Buddhism became the state religion. Buddhism flourished in the island kingdom and its capital, Anuradhapura, became a pilgrimage centre with the establishment of Buddhist monasteries and the collection and enshrining of the Buddha's alms bowl relic, his collar bone, a cutting from the Bodhi tree under which he had obtained enlightenment and one of the eight shares of the Buddha's remains from the stupa of Ramagrama.

The Tooth Relic is a late-comer, having been brought from Kalinga, present-day Orissa, in the 4th century AD (Hocart 1931: 1-4). The importance of this relic was soon confirmed with its installation within the first of a succession of Daladages, or `Tooth Relic Temples' during the reign of king Dhatusena (r. AD 455-473). In AD 1017 Anuradhapura was abandoned in the face of military expeditions from southern India for a site further south. This site, Polonnaruva, also fell to the southward expansion of these Hindu kingdoms and the capital shifted in succession from Polonnaruva to Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa, Kurunagala, Kotte and finally to Kandy. During this unsettled time the Relic, housed in Temples in successive capitals, became the symbol of sovereignty and, when it and Kandy were finally captured by the British in AD 1815, it was said that `the English are indeed masters of the country; for they who possess the Relic have a right to govern four kingdoms: this for 2000 years, is the first time the relic was ever taken from us' (Davy 1821: 275). Such was its importance in legitimizing British rule that the Governor took the role of the king in ceremonies until AD 1846 when this was stopped as it was thought to demonstrate the `countenancing of a heathen religion by a Christian Government' (Hocart 1931: 4).

Aftermath

The LTTE had successfully attacked one of the holiest places for Buddhists in Sri Lanka on the eve of the island's half-century celebration of independence: `What was hit was the heart of Sinhala Buddhist identity and pride' (The Independent 2 February 1998). Kandy was supposed to be on the highest security alert in the build-up to the independence celebrations. The attack, which many had feared for years, showed up serious weaknesses in security, not only for the Temple itself, but also for the planned celebrations at which Sri Lankan and international dignitaries were to be present. Immediately after the explosion, the President appointed a three-man Commission of Enquiry which, despite initial objections from some Sinhalese that two of the Commissioners were Christian (The Observer (Sri Lanka) 12 February 1998), found the police negligent and neglectful of duty (The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) 31 May 1998). The Government also responded by proscribing the LTTE and, after an initial assertion that Independence Day celebrations would still be held in Kandy, the President announced on 28 January that the event would be moved to Colombo where more effective security measures could be provided. So the LTTE had managed to disrupt independence celebrations, stopping the visit of the Prince of Wales and other dignitaries to Kandy. The Government also reorganized the activities, closing schools and cancelling the participation of school-children and a procession of floats, on more than 50 lorries. Bomb attacks continued within the island and on 6 February, only a few hours after the Prince of Wales had left, an LTTE suicide-bomber killed herself and eight others and seriously injured many civilians. On 5 March another huge explosion killed at least 30 people and injured 200 more near a train station in Colombo.

Unlike previous LTTE attacks, the bombing did not provoke a backlash of violence by Sinhalese against Tamils, although isolated incidents were reported in Kandy. If this had been a motive of the LTTE, they had failed. However, there was considerable political backlash. Commentators in Sri Lanka, especially those from opposition parties, stated that it demonstrated again that the Government was unable to protect even the most sensitive of places, and that the event should be seen in the context of its inability to bring Operation Jaya Sikurui to a successful conclusion by Independence Day, an objective promised by Assistant Minister of Defence Ratwatte. Tamil reaction to the bombing was mixed, and whilst the majority condemned the action and the suffering it caused, some commentators argued that the event had legitimacy. The Tamil Monitor reported that it blamed the `pivotal role played by the Buddhist religious establishment in promoting "Sinhala chauvinism" which underpins the conflict and the enthusiastic historical support given to this by many of the country's Sinhalese leaders' (Tamil Monitor 30 March 1998). Indeed, in the minds of some Tamil groups attacks on religious targets were justified because of the close links between the Sri Lankan state, which is seen as `Sinhalese', and the Sangha or `Buddhist order', of which sections vigorously oppose devolution and any dialogue with the LTTE. Furthermore, some scholars have identified the development of a new grouping of Buddhists, both Sangha and laity, associated with a nationalist, neo-traditionalist and aggressive interpretation of Buddhism (Bond 1992). As a result some commentators stated (Tamil Monitor 30/3/1998) that:

While the bombing of the Temple of the Tooth ought to be condemned because it has caused civilian deaths, the targeting of the temple, a symbol of Buddhist chauvinism is the unfortunate consequence of militant Buddhism.

Conclusion

This statement begins to identify the LTTE's criteria for the selection of the Temple as a target and is linked with the growing polarization of elements within the island's pluralistic society into Buddhist Sinhalese or Hindu Tamil communities (Tambiah 1986: 4-5). These polemic characterizations can be taken further with the recognition that Sinhalese belongs to the Indo-European language family and Tamil the Dravidian family (Tambiah 1986: 4-5). Whilst many identify the roots of the present conflict in the ancient past, as described in the Mahavamsa and Culavamsa, Tambiah believes that `These regimentations owe more to the ideas and polemics of contemporary "nationalist" ideologues and the politics of nation making and election winning than to earlier concerns and processes' (Tambiah 1986: 7). Indeed, it has been suggested that the early history of the island, as seen through the chronicles, can be portrayed in a different fashion (Coningham 1995; Coningham et al. 1996). In the late 19th century AD the island began to witness the beginnings of a Buddhist revival which had been dormant since the failure of the anti-British uprising of AD 1817-18 (de Silva 1981: 343). The Sinhalese dominance in population, combined with a feeling of under-representation within education and the professions, led after independence to the landslide victory of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike on a Sinhala nationalistic platform, as de Silva (1981: 512) has stated:

The emphasis on the sense of uniqueness of the Sinhalese past, and the focus on Sri Lanka as the land of the Sinhalese and the country in which Buddhism stood forth in its purest form, carried an emotional appeal compared with which a multi-racial policy was a meaningless abstraction.

His policies led to the exposure of factors such as the fact that the use of English in administrative and legal affairs had excluded as many as 90% of the population, but they also led to a feeling of marginalization within Tamil communities, isolation which was to metamorphose into militant sectarianism.

The role of the past, and its physical remains in this process is also apparent. Whilst links between Buddhism and the state were officially cut in the 1840s, some survived. Indeed, in the 1870s, partly in response to the Buddhist revival and partly to the interests of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Governor, Sir William Gregory, aided the restoration of the Buddhist Ruvanvelisaya stupa at the ancient capital of Anuradhapura, donated two lamps to the Temple of the Tooth (de Silva 1981: 344) and established an archaeological survey of the island (Bell & Bell 1993). Thus the process of the curation of the island's most visible monuments, which are mainly ancient Sinhalese capitals or Buddhist monasteries and stupas, was begun in the 19th century AD and expanded with the creation of an Archaeological Survey in AD 1890. This process was strengthened in the late 1950s when S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the current President's father, ordered the destruction of the modern administrative capital of Anuradhapura which had been built amongst the ruins of the ancient capital.

Whilst archaeological investigations continued under the auspices of the Archaeological Survey, the scale and speed of research altered radically with the creation of the UNESCO Sri Lanka Project of the Cultural Triangle by President J.R. Jayewardene in 1980. This project undertook to excavate, conserve and present the ancient cities and Buddhist monasteries of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruva, Sigiriya, Dambulla and Kandy to pilgrims and tourists. The first three sites were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1982, followed by Kandy in 1988 and Dambulla in 1991. This list, managed by UNESCO's World Heritage Centre in Paris, aims to `encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity' as defined by the statutes of the UNESCO 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (Pressouyre 1996). The project was continued under Jayewardene's successor, President Premadasa, who inaugurated the restored Mirisavatiya Buddhist stupa in Anuradhapura in 1993 AD. Tambiah (1986: 126) has noted that these sites celebrate only the past of the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and that whilst the Government must feel

free to sponsor the restoration of Buddhist monuments ... It would also behove a Sri Lankan government to recognise at the same time that there are monuments, archaeological remains, and literary and cultural treasures that are neither Sinhalese nor Buddhist as these labels are understood today.

Regardless of the representative nature, or otherwise, of conserved sites within Sri Lanka, the deliberate targeting of a UNESCO World Heritage Site requires complete condemnation as do attacks on similar sites around the world. Furthermore, it is a serious challenge to the UNESCO 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, the UNESCO 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, the UN 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, the ICRC 1949 Geneva Convention and the ICRC 1977 Additional Protocols I & II which protected it. Condemnation of the attack on the Temple was swift, with clear statements from a number of international authorities (ICRC 1998: Press Release no. 98/04):

The ICRC strongly condemns this deliberate attack on civilians and a place of worship. This constitutes a serious violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, which forbid indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population. Humanitarian law also specifically prohibits the targeting of cultural monuments and places of worship.

(UNESCO 1998, Press Release no. 98-14):

I am deeply shocked by this act of blind violence perpetrated against a place of meditation, joy and peace. All religions are based on love and respect for life. Attacking a holy place means striking at the very best in humanity, undermining its innocence and purity. Those who attack people through their faith can only be condemned. Religious differences can absolutely not be justification for conflict, and places of worship should in no case be used as targets.

The visiting dignitaries to the island's Independence Celebrations also voiced their feeling -- the Prince of Wales calling the attack `a brutal and malign act, and one which we all join in condemning. The Temple of the Tooth is part of the world's heritage; it is not just Sri Lankan nor just Buddhist' (Ministry of Foreign Affairs et al. 1998: 10). Let us hope that the bombing of this UNESCO World Heritage Site will not form a precedent for others.

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Received 15 October 1998, revised 20 January 1999, accepted 18 February 1999, revised 9 June 1999.