The struggle in the Sitawaka Kingdom
1
Princess Mahabiso Bandara got the kingship for her grandson, Nikapitiya Bandara. He was a close relative of King Rajasinghe too and so had a claim to the throne. Manamperuma, who had a hidden agenda, liked this appointment. Nikapitiya Bandara was still young and as such the affairs of state were conducted by the grandmother, Biso-bandara and the Commander-inChief Manamperuma. Some hated the idea of promoting Manamperuma to this high position. 2
The most opposed were the commanders, Panikki and Kuruppu. They took the army and went to Kotte. As there arose unrest in the kingdom of Sitawaka, the captain in Colombo thought of interfering and trying his luck. The captain at this time was Pedro Haumet Pereira. He sent a Sinhala army to Aluthkuru Korale. The soldiers of Manamperuma defeated them. This brought popularity for Manamperuma. He thought of dethroning the young prince in Sitawaka. 3
Manamperuma thought of building up a claim to the throne. That was to get married to Mahabiso Bandara. When he proposed this to Mahabiso Bandara, she became furious. She insulted him and chased him away. Thereafter, Manamperuma went to Menikkadawara and strengthened his army. He showed false claims to the Sitawaka throne and sent messengers to the King of Kotte, seeking his help. 4
To obtain this assistance, he promised to give back the territories Sitawaka had captured from Kotte. The Portuguese too liked this idea but Manamperuma’s hidden ambition was quite different. He wanted to be King of Sitawaka. To achieve this end, he changed his name to Jayaweera Bandara. Once his soldiers realized his cunning plans, they began to suspect him. They left him in the lurch and fled. So Manamperuma had to flee to Colombo. 5
Manamperuma was simply devastated. He served in the Kotte army to spend his time. Meanwhile the commander Panikki left Kotte and became the Commander-in-chief of Sitawaka. Only six months passed. The army of Kotte invaded Sitawaka. They annexed Rakgahawatta, Kaduwela and Malwana, back to the Kotte Kingdom. These districts belonged to the Kotte Kingdom earlier. Then the Commander-in-chief Panikki took his army and marched to ‘Gurubawula’, to face the army of Kotte. 6
When he reached Gurubawula, commander Panikki changed his mind. For the second time, he turned to the Portuguese camp and allowed the Portuguese to capture Gurubawula. By this time, Manamperuma, who became Jayaweera Bandara, had gained strength once more. Because of Panikki’s betrayal, a lot of soldiers of the Sitawaka army died in vain. The rest surrendered. The victorious army did a quick march to Sitawaka. 7 They captured the city and plundered it. Sitawaka was weakened. Most of the wealth that was plundered was taken by Jayaweera Bandara. He gave chase to the King Nikapitiya Bandara and his grandmother Biso-bandara and captured them. Jayaweera now got the chance to kill everyone who opposed him. He was able to weaken the Dissawe of Matara. Once again, Sitawaka came under the power of Kotte. 8
King Nikapitiya Bandara, who went to the Portuguese for safety, came under the care of Franciscan monks. He studied at St. Anthony’s College in Colombo. Later on, he took the name Don Phillip, embraced Christianity and proceeded to Goa for his higher education. After studying for some time there, he went to the University in Coimbatore. In 1611 AD, he passed away. This prince is the first in the island, who had studied in a foreign university.
By Halaliye Karunathilake Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila