![]() Quoting Dr P G Punchihewa, Kaviratne writes that the first milling process for coir and desiccated coconut was started by the British in 1830 in Dematagoda. King Parakramabahu II of Dambadeniya (1234-1269) encouraged coconut growing in Bentota and Kalutara proving that royal patronage was given to coconut cultivation in the country. The Great Chronicle Mahawamsa refers to King Aggabodhi I decreeing coconut cultivation between Dondra and Weligama on the Southern coast of Sri Lanka in 589 A.D. Gleaned from an article in a 2017 Daily News by J S Kaviratne, and other internet articles, is that a Greek ambassador in 300 BC mentions coconuts from Ceylon in a missive to an Indian rajah. And thus the fame of the coir rope walkers in coastal areas from tree to tree, who collect the sap from incised inflorescence. Treacle too which is second to kitul peni. And of course coconut toddy and arrack which I remember was favoured if it was ‘pol’. The plaited leaf was used in various ways, most remembered is the play houses made for us with walls and roof of the leaves, and the temporary dining room put up in the front midula for a village wedding. We also used it as a plaything – pulled along as we sat clinging to its stem. The spathe of the leaf was cut and made plates of in my grandparents’ house for the padu caste workers. The tender leaves and inflorescence were used as auspicious decoration, particularly for the pirit mandapaya and marriage poruwa. Never to be forgotten is the chore of writing essays as junior school kids on ‘The Coconut Palm’. The coconut palm was almost a sacred tree as every part of it was used, more so in the days of long ago. To ensure a steady supply for export and to sustain home consumption the annual amount should rise much closer to 4,000 million nuts. ![]() Statistics show that the annual production of nuts is between 2,500 million to 3,000 million nuts. In 2009, FAO noted that Sri Lanka was the fifth largest exporter of coconut products. Coconut is also a cash crop with its oil and desiccated kernel exported. Thus a large proportion of coconut yields is used for home consumption. What didn’t we use of that tree, all for free? Thus the Sinhala name of appreciation for it: thura suva meaning ‘heavenly tree’ with its implied connotation of ‘tree of the gods’.Ĭoconut is an ingredient of our staple diet and that of farm animals too including elephants – its leaves, its pith, and poonac made from the kernel. We used its leaves as a covering its fibre as strong coir and is dried ekels for sweeping. Oil was extracted and used for a number of purposes: to fry and temper, to keep hair tidy and unblown, to light pahanas in the midula, and in temples with the deeply meaningful messages of the impermanence of life and the light of the Dhamma dispelling the darkness of ignorance. These miseries came upon the coconut in the recent past, proving that we live so different from peaceful times when coconut was an integral part of the good life, with its kernel used to enrich our curries, its water drunk to slake thirst and for good health. ![]() All this done to that much respected nut! Who would have imagined the day would come when coconuts were heaped and VIP politicians stood in rows taking turns to dash them with curses upon tongue against enemies or opponents. Who would have thought the coconut would be ludicrously measured round its middle and its price decided thereupon.
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