SOME NOTIONS ABOUT THE ISLAND OF CEYLON
Reviewed by Marie Hèlène Estève and Philippe Fabry
Eudeline de Jonville’s ‘Some Notions about the Island of Ceylon’, a hitherto unpublished French manuscript, is transcribed into English with an introduction and copious notes written by Philippe Fabry. In addition a detailed biographical account and documentation research is accredited to Marie- Hèlène Estève the other co-author of the book published by the Hambantota Viator Publications (Pvt) Ltd in 2012, with the support of the Cultural Department of the French Embassy Colombo and printed in China by Fortune Printing Ltd.
There are several salient features incorporated in this Jonville’s compendium. Apart from the unpublished manuscript a presentation, a preface done by Marie- Hèlène Estève, together with the text on the ‘Religion and Manners of the People of Ceylon’ reproduced from the Asiatic Society Publications, an abridgement of the history of Chalias written by Adrian Ragia Pakse (by Mudliyar Adrian Rajapakse) Chief of that Cast, the text from SMW (whose identity is not discovered) and Journal of Royal Asiatic Society (Ceylon Branch) on the Narrative of a journey to Kandy with the Embassy of Major General Macdowell in 1800, Journal of Travel in the Districts of Galle and Maturè in 1800 translated by Marie- Hèlène Estève, Kandelay Lake translated by MarieHèlène Estève, A Geological Survey of the Island of Ceylon by MarieHèlène Estève together with a drawing on crystallisation, a letter on His Excellency the Governor of Ceylon about the religion of the Burmese with the 1st page of the Sinhalese alphabet annexed to the manuscript. An alphabetical index together with 24 documents as annexures are found in this useful work.
Rohan Pethiyagoda in his book ‘Pearls, Spices and Green Gold’ -an illustrated history of biodiversity exploration in Sri Lanka - describes Jonville among ‘the most elusive of the naturalists in the early natural history of Sri Lanka’.
The co-author Marie- Hèlène Estève of this new book should be congratulated for her painstaking detailed biographical research on this ‘the most elusive of the naturalist’. In other words Joseph Marie Eudelin Marve de Jonville has re-emerged from this splendid biographical account on Jonville.
The book is replete with seven water colour drawings and several other black and white drawings ( some should be in reduced form). Jonville’s formative days, as the First Surveyor General of the said Department, is indeed very scarce.
He executed a map on Ceylon titled “Lanka Duvipe or Ceylon”. Ian J. Barrow in his book entitled Surveying and Mapping in Colonial Sri Lanka (1800-1900) published by Vijitha Yapa Publications Sri Lanka in 2008 states ‘Jonville had a notion of drawing a general map of Ceylon but gives no indication where to find it’.
The other most glaring omission by Marie- Hèlène Estève and Philippe Fabry which is adverted to by R. Raven-Hart is that the endorsement of Jonville found in the manuscript endorsed “presented by the author, Telicherry November 3rd, 1801.” This is possibly effaced with the whirligig of time.
The index on the manuscript provided by R. Raven-Hart would have been food for thought for Marie- Hèlène Estève and Philippe Fabry in locating the pages of the original manuscript.
Marie- Hèlène Estève the translator has not stated that R. Raven-Hart in his above-cited book had provided Jonville’s translation on Journal of Travel in the District of Galle and Maturè in 1800 was published in pages 73 to 88 in his book and the notes of the same were published in pages 118 to 122 of the said book.
Marie- Hèlène Estève in her translation does not identify some local place names of this journal. This leads the reader of the book astray; for example Berelentopane at page 134, R. Raven- Hart at page 83 identifies same as Beralapanatara. The authors have not at least provided an
A Geological Survey of the Island of Ceylon by Marie- Hèlène Estève together with a drawing on crystallisation, a letter on His Excellency the Governor of Ceylon about the religion of the Burmese with the 1st page of the Sinhalese alphabet annexed to the manuscript
English translation of the 13 French documents which are annexures of the book for the benefit of the English readers.Marie- Hèlène Estève the present translator of Kandelay Lake has not identified the present place name as Kantalai Lake where R. Raven-Hart in his index at page 73 identifies same.
Jonville the remarkable naturalist identifies his account on the natural history of the country with the then scientific nomenclature to support his detailed graphic description on the natural history of the then Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Introducing the present scientific nomenclature to this account of Jonville at least in footnotes or in endnotes would have made his ‘notions’ more scientifically lively to the world of science.