When you look at the 1795, Dutch Ceylon dropped on Uk give, as well as managed to make it a crown nest when you look at the 1802. From the 1815, that they had along with overcome the former separate Empire regarding Kandy. The british specified you to from the previous Dutch nations current guidelines is upheld, while inside Kandy customary laws would be to getting implemented, that happen to be subsequently codified. We have seen from the introductory area that multiple experts presumed the Portuguese and the Dutch got effectively stamped aside polyandry for the the new coastal provinces. Multiple positives point out that, in practice, typical law got kept precedence, except if what the law states try ‘quiet or inapplicable’. Footnote 68 In reality, we come across inside area step three just how a Western european attorney actually invoked these conventional regulations so you’re able to ask this new validity out of polyandry. Footnote 69 not, the british assumed right away that the coastal provinces got become influenced considering Roman-Dutch laws. Currently in 1822, they ordered the newest re also-regarding the college thombos, not just to possess Christians but also for the whole inhabitants of maritime provinces. The fresh pre-eminence out of Roman Dutch Legislation is actually codified within the a rental regarding 1831, and you can a regulation out-of 1847 specified its prohibited degrees of wedding, minimal age parties, and you can cause of divorce or separation. In the long run, in the 1861 Roman-Dutch law was stated while the joining for the whole area. Footnote 70 This paradoxical judge problem has been summarised too by Jayawardene: ‘[The newest Dutch] produced the newest Roman-Dutch Legislation so you can Ceylon; but it’s the English… who founded they within Singhalese, which caused it to be LatamDate arvostelut regulations of one’s land’. Footnote 71
The fresh new woman becomes dinner off for each husband, and most of the convey more
I surmise that significantly more stringent applying of Roman-Dutch regulations while the extension out-of ilies regarding coastal elements considering an excellent polyandrous connection. Therefore a wedding was not legal, people could not inherit off their next father. How about the inside? The brand new codified Kandyan legislation contained a myriad of conditions and terms about how inheritances of joint husbands would be to getting separated. But in this new 1850s a reent occurred. During the 1855, Governor Ward received a good petition in the Chiefs off Kandy, ‘hoping for the abolition because of the guidelines out of polygamy and you can polyandry’. The latest plea is repeated twice in 1858, finally is obtained because of the instead perplexed Uk, just who went on inside the 1859 so you’re able to outlaw polygamy and you will divorce proceedings of the shared consent also to create registered monogamous marriage the actual only real courtroom form. Why did the new elites change facing their unique lifestyle and just why did they supply the british which chance to ‘civilise’ the newest Sinhalese? Certain scholars exhort us to comprehend involving the lines of the petitions. They state that the professional out-of landowners wanted an effective ‘reform’ out of relationships while they aligned to attenuate separated and widowed ladies’ conventional says into countries of their moms and dads, that happen to be generally exploited from the its brothers. House transactions and you will setting up high ranches expected simplistic matrimony and heredity laws and regulations, however, it was cloaked in the an attack into the polygamy, a bait that the Uk grabbed. Footnote 72 Thus, the british implemented a beneficial Western european notion of relationships into Kandyan inhabitants, hence quickly caused a beneficial flurry regarding legal actions just like the every unregistered ous – was in fact today deemed unlawful. Berwick, this new crucial legal out-of Colombo, appropriately called the 1859 Regulation a great ‘bitter current of bastardy’. Footnote 73
That it conjecture maybe comes from the newest confusion concerning your family between Dutch authoritative rules in addition to regular, uncodified, statutes of your Sinhalese
Even in the event polyandry was penalized from the as much as three years out-of tough work, the latest habit continued up to better into the twentieth century, albeit within the dwindling quantity. Hence, it absolutely was nonetheless easy for the latest ethnographers exactly who observed village lives regarding mountainous indoor on the 1950s to examine established polyandrous interactions otherwise gather reminiscences off earlier including affairs. For example, the folks from Udumulla when you look at the east Sri Lanka examined polyandry undoubtedly: ‘It is rather best for every. .. They need not cover up the arrangement, nothing is as ashamed of’. Footnote 74 The latest ethnographic meanings usually emphasise the fresh important and you may somewhat harmonious nature of polyandrous arrangement, that one area happened to be called ‘staying in you to definitely peace’. Footnote 75 Why following did it drop-off?