Native Department (Ceylon)

Native headmen system was an integral part of the administration of the island of Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka) under the successive European colonial powers, namely the Portuguese Empire, the Dutch East India Company and the British Empire. Native headmen or leaders where appointed by the European colonial administrators to function as intermediates between the Europeans and the native populous. During different periods through this system these headmen functioned in military, policing, administrative and ceremonial capacities. They served as translators, revenue collectors and wielded quasi-judicial powers. Much of the system evolved and changed over time until some of the last vestiges of it were removed in the post-independent Ceylon. The members of this group formed a unique social group called the Sri Lankan Mudaliyars and associated with older Radala caste.

Mudaliyar is a South Indian and Tamil name for ‘first’ and a person endowed with wealth. It was created in the 17th century by the Portuguese function as a link between the colonial administration and the local populous, as they had done in South India. They received payment in form of land grants and use of tenured service (Rajakariya) of the local population which they extracted for their own estates.

With the on set of British rule, Governor North restructured the native headmen system. The system was transformed into a salaried system with land grants and tenured service abolished. They became the second tier of the civil administration of the island with appointments made by the Governor. Over the next century the headmen grew to be a powerful and affluent class consolidating economic power through land ownership and marriage. Gradually functions of headmen were transferred to various departments that were established by the British administration.

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