Misconception regarding the village of Manipay
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Misconception regarding the village of Manipay
There is a popular belief amongst the residents of Colombo, that Manipay is the most prestigious village of Jaffna. This is a misconception as it is not mentioned in the Vaipava Malai either as one of the villages where the chieftains who accompanied the first Arya Chakravarthi Kings were settled, or as one of the villages inherited by the descendents of the last Arya Chakravarthi ruler.
The village of Manipay came into prominence as a result of the American Ceylon Mission setting up its operations there. The Mission opened the Manipay Memorial School, the “Green Memorial Hospital”, and the American Mission “Printing Press” which all contributed to uplift the literacy rate, health and economic standards of the village. The English education imparted at the school, enabled many of the inhabitants to find employment opportunities in Colombo.
Manipay also became famous as it was the ancestral village of the late Ponnambalam Mudaliyar the father of the Illustrious brothers the late Ramanthan, Arunachalam and Coomaraswami, who became national heroes. Many of their relatives migrated to Colombo and found lucrative employment as brokers, Shroffs and Businessmen with residences in the fashionable Cinnamon Gardens area of Colombo. The village became prosperous as a result of the funds that were remitted back and was colloquially referred to as the “Cinnamon Gardens” of Jaffna. Over the years the affluence gained by the inhabitants gave the village prestige.
In addition to the above, Manipay inhabitants became known to scholars of genealogy as a result of the publication of a book titled: “Maniyam Pathiyar Santhathi Murai” (the genealogy of the residents of Manipay) by S. Vinasithambi, in the early years of the 20th century. This was perhaps the only work of its kind, at the time to have been published, where the genealogies of many of the inhabitants of a village had been traced. The book is well researched, and goes back to Dutch times, the earliest period which has reliable independent records and documentation.
The information contained in the book are the names of the ascendant of each family who lived in Dutch times his spouse and their descendents right down to the time the book was written. The author does not mention the caste of the various families covered in the book, nor does he make any special claims about the village of Manipay. Contrary to popular belief this is not a directory of the aristocracy of Jaffna.
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