Navigation – Plan du site

AccueilNuméros21VariaThe Debris Within: Negotiations o...

Varia

The Debris Within: Negotiations of the Past within Colonial Mansions of Ceylon

Vestiges intérieurs : le passé recomposé dans les demeures coloniales de Ceylan
Pamudu Tennakoon

Résumés

Au cours des deux dernières décennies, la réhabilitation des bâtiments de l'époque coloniale s’est visiblement accrue dans la ville de Colombo, au Sri Lanka. Après la fin de la guerre civile en 2009, de nombreuses habitations privées ont été réaffectées à des activités commerciales ; l'une des plus courantes étant la reconversion en « hôtel de charme ». Cet article étudie la préservation scrupuleuse des espaces domestiques qui en découle dans deux demeures coloniales transformées en hôtels de charme : le Maniumpathy et le Tintagel Colombo. L'auteur s'appuie sur la notion de persistance et de vestige colonial en portant une attention particulière à ce qui subsiste en l’état au Maniumpathy comme au Tintagel. L’article resitue d’abord ces habitations coloniales dans l'histoire de la ville de Colombo, avant de restituer leur histoire spécifique et leur situation actuelle. Au fil de l’article, on voit la manière dont le processus de rénovation de ces habitations recompose leur passé colonial et comment ce passé est reconfiguré dans ces établissements, conçus à la fois pour occulter et magnifier leur histoire coloniale. L'analyse de ces deux hôtels révèle comment les pratiques associées à ces demeures coloniales d’exception transcendent les clivages entre périodes coloniale et de l’indépendance.

Haut de page

Texte intégral

Introduction

  • 1 Referred to as “Maniumpathy” in this article.
  • 2 Referred to as “Tintagel” in this article.

1Over the last two decades, prior to the drastic economic collapse of Sri Lanka, there has been a visible increase in the repurposing of Colombo’s colonial structures—from derelict publicly-owned spaces converted into high-end entertainment hubs to privately-owned residential dwellings that have taken commercial forms. Urban development—which in this context included the rehabilitation of colonial structures—was one target of the recent 2022 protests demanding large-scale political change in Sri Lanka. Yet walking through a neighborhood such as Cinnamon Gardens, also known as Colombo 7, one might assume that Colombo is overrun by colonial architecture, especially as colonial mansions dominate the landscape. One might also be struck by how many of these buildings now take forms other than domestic typologies. Some of the repurposed dwellings of similar style, form, neighborhood, history, and ownership have taken very distinct paths to reach a similar goal: the boutique hotel. The Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel1 and the Tintagel Colombo2 are exemplars of such journeys.

  • 3 This article draws on Michel de Certeau’s notions of the everyday, moving beyond form to encompass (...)

2The present iterations of these two dwellings, in their role as boutique hotels, are not completely removed from their pasts. Maniumpathy and Tintagel retain legacies of their colonial origins. As they were revived and refashioned in the twenty-first century, the previous uses, forms, and family narratives of these buildings were reconfigured. Analysis of these two boutique hotels reveals how the spatial practices of elite colonial dwellings transcend the colonial-independence divide. This analysis brings to light (dis)continuities of colonial mansions through continuous (re)use and engagement by a plethora of occupants.3

  • 4 Jayne M. Rogerson, “The Boutique Hotel Industry in South Africa: Definition, Scope, and Organizati (...)
  • 5 Ann Stoler, “Imperial Debris: Reflections on Ruins and Ruination,” Cultural Anthropology, vol. 23, (...)

3Despite a lack of consensus on what exactly defines a boutique hotel, both Manimupathy and Tintagel fit the most frequently cited criteria: a hotel which bridges the gap between tourist and location by providing an intimate and grounded space.4 These boutique hotels are more than mere ciphers of their pasts. Drawing on Ann Stoler’s assertion that we must look at what lives and persists rather than what is destroyed, this article unravels how the elements of the colonial dwelling are both solidified and erased when the space of the boutique hotel is (re)structured.5 The boutique hotel appropriates colonial spatial and cultural relationships as it furthers a desirable narrative of exclusivity and uniqueness, for tourists and local patrons alike. This exclusivity is rooted in the simultaneous deployment of power and worthiness that originated during colonial rule.

  • 6 For more on ruins and debris see Caitlin De Silvey and Tim Edensor, “Reckoning with ruins,” Progre (...)
  • 7 Anthony D. King, Spaces of Global Cultures: Architecture, Urbanism, Identity, London; New York, NY (...)
  • 8 Daniel E. Coslett, “The Production and Use of Neocolonialist Sites of Memory,” in Daniel E. Coslet (...)
  • 9 Known as Ceylon under the British, the nation officially became Sri Lanka only in 1972. This artic (...)

4This article draws on the notion of persistence and colonial debris by looking closely at the state of what remains at Maniumpathy and Tintagel. Remnants of architectural forms have occupied the human imagination, writings, and actions for many centuries.6 Anthony King and Ann Stoler both assert that colonial and imperial forces are critical to understanding postcolonial and postimperial spaces.7 In this article, colonial debris is not necessarily grounded in appearance—being in a state of disrepair—but instead is active and varied as people occupy these spaces while engaging with the physical and social remnants of the past. Debris, in this article, therefore weaves through architectural forms, uses, space, people, and histories. Spaces holding colonial debris are “inescapable sites [that] not only attest to historical colonial experiences, but also the powerful capacity of such sites to stir emotions and inspire meaning in today’s history-conscious context.”8 Thus, this article looks at the diversity of debris in Colombo—the remnants left behind in the evolution of the Ceylonese society from colonization through independence.9 These remnants continue to exist within Maniumpathy and Tintagel.

  • 10 Thomas Trautmann, “The Past in the Present,” Fragments: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study (...)

5The rehabilitation and repurposing of these colonial dwellings have increased their aesthetic, architectural, and economic values exponentially. Yet these evolutions are neither a complete break from the past nor a complete re-creation: the colonial past is made to persist in various forms at both hotels. Thus, these hotels provide a window into understanding the persistence of colonial remnants through disruption. In this article, persistence draws from the concept of aliveness explored by Thomas Trautmann in “The Past in the Present,” as he invokes William Faulkner: “The past is not dead, it is not even past.”10 Following Trautmann, a critical view of the past in the present and an exploration of the aliveness of the (pre)colonial under the postcolonial leads to persistence. Persistence expands on Trautmann’s idea of aliveness to incorporate both the agency of the owners—the choice of colonial dwellings for the site of boutique hotels alone showcases this fact—and the agency of the colonial forms themselves. This article first situates colonial dwellings historically in Colombo and then constructs the specific histories and contemporary conditions of Maniumpathy and Tintagel. Throughout, the piece elucidates how the renewal processes of these dwellings negotiate their colonial pasts and the configurations these pasts take when boutique hotels are curated to mask and reveal colonial histories.

Histories of colonial dwellings of Ceylon

  • 11 Sri Lanka was colonized by the Portuguese (1505), the Dutch (1658), and the British (1815-1948).
  • 12 Borrowing from a long tradition of theorizing the colonizer-colonized dichotomy, the terminology u (...)
  • 13 Kumari Jayawardena, Nobodies to Somebodies: The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka, New (...)
  • 14 For more on the Sri Lankan caste system, see Bryce Ryan, Caste in Modern Ceylon: The Sinhalese Sys (...)
  • 15 Nihal Perera, Society and Space: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Postcolonial Identity in Sri Lanka, (...)
  • 16 For more about race in Sri Lanka, see Syed Hussain Shaheed Soherwordi, “Construction of Tamil and (...)

6Over four hundred years of colonization,11 the residences of Ceylonese elites became spaces of negotiation between Western (colonial, British, Dutch, Portuguese) and indigenous (Eastern, Ceylonese) forms.12 For many, this began with the most overt cultural change that occurred with British occupation (1815-1948): the transformation of the caste systems. Traditionally based on trade or profession and inherited social status, the caste systems became a class system based on status acquired through wealth.13 Under the British, the rigid Ceylonese social hierarchy slackened. However, caste did not make a unilateral shift towards class. Instead, British rule brought mobility across Sinhalese and Tamil caste systems. Wealth accumulation led to elevated social standing. As a result, castes associated with colonial industries rose in status.14 Despite this newfound social mobility, however, scholars have shown that the elite sub-culture was not British, but was, in the words of Nihal Perera, “an elite construction that adapted British colonial culture to Ceylonese cultural conditions in a way that would represent their power to the ‘average Ceylonese,’ and their worthiness to the colonial community,”15 The nineteenth century gave rise to a new Ceylonese elites that spanned races and religions.16

  • 17 Kumari Jayawardena, Nobodies to Somebodies, op. cit. (note 12), p. 249.
  • 18 Nihal Perera, Society and Space, op. cit. (note 14), p. 101.
  • 19 Kumari Jayawardena, Nobodies to Somebodies, op. cit. (note 12), p. 163; caste remains significant (...)
  • 20 Ibid. (note 12), p. 155.

7In the public sphere, Ceylonese who rose in the social hierarchy through the accumulation of wealth adopted Westernized expressions of elements of physical, cultural, and social identity. They used new habits of language, religion, dress, food, drink, and home interior spaces that were more akin to British customs. These new expressions bridged the gap between low-caste pasts and high-class futures.17 For the Ceylonese elites, the immersive outward performance of Westernness only demonstrated their “worthiness to the colonial community.” whereas they relied on historic, pre-colonial determinants of status—such as caste—to demonstrate power to the average Ceylonese, especially those of lower classes.18 Thus, caste moved from the public sphere into the private—such as in marriage.19 Those who rose in status during the colonial era “having laboriously worked their way up in business, wanted the stamp of class, which the possession of material wealth by itself could not confer.”20 Marriage, on the other hand, could. The boundary of Westernness became the edge of the public sphere, while indigenous identity was (re)constructed within the private sphere.

  • 21 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 58.
  • 22 Ibid. For more on bungalows and mansions across the (previously colonized) world, see Madhavi Desa (...)

8The Western and the indigenous were most intimately negotiated within the dwellings of the Ceylonese elites. With wealth, Western education, and newly minted social connections, “the homes of the indigenous elites were expressions and validations of this alternative pathway to new forms of authority.”21 Towards the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries this took the form of colonial mansions—the same form taken today by numerous boutique hotels. Mansions emerged in the late nineteenth century, following colonial bungalows, to resemble country houses of Britain and stately homes of colonial officials. Grand proportions, lavish and detailed decoration, involvement of architects, and the presence of servants defined these dwellings.22

  • 23 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 57.
  • 24 William J. Glover, “A Feeling of Absence,” op. cit. (note 21), p. 79.

9Yet, “it was not the form or aesthetic character of the architecture that captured the aspirations of local elites. The bungalow and the mansion that replaced it were ultimately sites for borrowing and self-fashioning...”23 Therefore, instead of focusing on formal architectural expressions of status, this article follows William Glover to view colonial dwellings more as a “milieu for the cultivation of attitudes and behaviors necessary to evoke authority, than as a building type that evoked the same thing.”24 As it translates to the twenty-first century, the colonial debris left behind within colonial mansions is not merely an architectural typology easily recognizable through formal analysis. Scale, people, architects, decorations, familial histories, and spatial politics combined to cultivate the colonial mansions of Ceylon.

  • 25 Similar forms and processes developed across the Indian sub-continent. For Delhi, see Jyoti Hosagr (...)

10Within the comfort of home, the elites reworked portrayals of self-identity, often evoking the spatial designs of the mansions of the colonizers. These negotiations occurred in the inclusion of Ceylonese forms as colonial dwellings rendered an outward appearance of European-ness. The rear spaces of the dwellings took on an indigenous spatial organization.25 Domestic spaces were carefully curated. As this article illustrates, a similar curation resurfaces in boutique hotels in the twenty-first century.

The dwelling in space

  • 26 Nihal Perera, Society and Space, op. cit. (note 14), p. 115.
  • 27 Ibid. (note 14), p. 114.

11Colombo was established as a city under the Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial regimes. Since the transformation of colonial dwellings occurred within the context of the broader transformation of the city, these socio-spatial divisions were reflected in colonial dwellings. In the nineteenth century, the British expanded their residences past the Dutch-era boundaries, outside the Fort area, to areas such as Kollupitiya (Colombo 3) and Cinnamon Gardens (Colombo 7). Cinnamon Gardens became an area occupied by colonizers and desired by locals: Perera notes it became a “prime site for symbolic display.”26 This desire persisted even after political independence in 1948, when Ceylonese elites moved to Cinnamon Gardens in large numbers, through and following republic status in 1972.27 At the scale of the dwelling distinctions were often made between British and Ceylonese spatial practices, mapping onto the public and private spheres, respectively.

  • 28 Robin Jones, “Furnished in English Style: Anglicization of Local Elite Domestic Interiors in Ceylo (...)
  • 29 Ibid. (note 27), p. 54.
  • 30 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 122.

12Many furnishings of Ceylonese elite households in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries—from furniture to silverware—have been described as Westernized to the point that the interior seemed insulated from their tropical setting.28 Though the furniture and styles arrived in Ceylon a season or two after their popularity in Britain, Robin Jones argues that “furnishing in ‘English style’ allowed the local social elite to demonstrate their civility, taste (judged by British standards) as well as their modernity…it established common ground or mediating material between them and the colonial power.”29 The private-public division is exemplified by the Victorian parlor of late-twentieth-century Ceylonese colonial dwellings, known as the issaraha kamaraya (fig. 1)literally translated as “Front Room.” The issaraha kamaraya, focused on the performance of hosting, was a façade far removed from the Ceylonese practices of the house, which took place out of sight.30

Figure 1: “Mr. and Mrs. James Peiris and views of their residence, Rippleworth.”

Figure 1: “Mr. and Mrs. James Peiris and views of their residence, Rippleworth.”

Source: Arnold Wright, Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon, London: Lloyds Greater Publishing Company, 1907, p. 563.

  • 31 The prevalence of Western furniture was not limited to Ceylonese elite households, with similar an (...)
  • 32 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 62.
  • 33 Ibid. (note 11), p. 63. For further examples of spatial divisions including the kitchen, see Jyoti (...)
  • 34 Ibid. (note 11), p. 63.
  • 35 Michael Roberts, Caste Conflict and Elite Formation, op. cit. (note 13), p. 212.

13In opposition to the public spaces, private areas such as the kitchen exhibited more indigenous characteristics.31 The kitchen was located separately from the main residence and housed servants. Often, a nineteenth-century mansion was staffed by thirty to forty servants, including gardeners, cooks, nannies, and groundskeepers.32 The physical separation of the kitchen from the rest of the house served the dual purpose of physically separating the elite residents both from the servants and from the heat and soot of the stove.33 Over time, pantries were introduced into the dwelling. But the pantry was for the “lady of the house” to bake cakes and pastries and make Western dishes. The local cuisine continued to be prepared in the kitchen, out of sight.34 Despite some low-caste families rising through class ranks, many remained poor, working in a range of professions, including as domestic servants.35 Thus, spatial planning and practices of colonial mansions reinforced the aspirations of the elites and the distance between them and the average Ceylonese.

  • 36 For more on verandahs, see Madhavi Desai et al., The Bungalow, op. cit. (note 21); Anthony King, T (...)
  • 37 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 74.
  • 38 For more on the distance from home felt by the colonized elites, see Peter Scriver, “Stones and Te (...)
  • 39 The presence of these boundaries, which were colonial practices, were legible as Ceylon regained i (...)
  • 40 Nihal Perera, Society and Space, op. cit. (note 14), p. 142.
  • 41 In the 1970s, the socialist government of Sri Lanka imposed limitations on the amount of land indi (...)

14A salient feature of the colonial mansion, and one that created a physical boundary between the public and the private—the Westernized and the indigenous—was the verandah. The verandah acted as a spatial threshold between the front of the colonial dwelling and the kitchen, and as the boundary between the dwelling and outside. Because the verandah was the first space encountered by any visitor, it was usually decorated lavishly.36 The front verandah extended the façade of the dwelling while keeping guard over who was permitted to enter, as determined by class or lingering caste notions. The back verandah, adopted towards the end of the colonial era, separated the owners’ space from that of the servants, minimizing the interactions between the two parties: one Westernized, one excluded from elite spaces.37 Because Ceylonese elites, like the British and Dutch elites, used architectural façades to place servants at the rear of the house, they created a spatial hierarchy in which Ceylonese characteristics were ranked lower and hidden. This hierarchy articulated the Ceylonese elites’ authority over their servants and, by extension, over the average Ceylonese. The kitchen and the verandah further allowed elites to maintain vernacular habits from which they were not as yet estranged—to feel more at home.38 These boundaries were not drawn in concrete, however. Transgressions were expected and fundamental to the upkeep of a colonial mansion. From cleaning to serving, servants were a necessary fixture in the front of the house, as long as they remained out of sight, away from acknowledgement.39 After Ceylon regained independence in 1948, the boundaries between the Western, indigenous, and postcolonial negotiated continuities of their own as these spaces were refashioned and remodeled. From the mansions of Kollupitiya and Cinnamon Gardens to more modest bungalows, the spaces once predominantly occupied by the British became ideal sites for the Ceylonese elites to perform their newfound status in independence. Architecturally, existing buildings remained unchanged.40 The buildings were simply repurposed and even renamed according to indigenous naming practices. While some buildings were repurposed for offices and state institutions, several colonial dwellings owned by the Ceylonese elites and some owned by the British remained in private hands, and their legacies persisted. Some properties remained in the same family, while others were sold and continued to be private residences.41

  • 42 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 122.

15Colonial debris not only persisted but was created as Ceylonese society evolved through colonial rule and independence. The dichotomies explored above—between indigenous and Western, and between vernacular and modern—were not swept away with self-rule. Colonial mansions emerged as historicist forms of identity expression, where these dichotomies continued to be negotiated and colonial debris persisted, partially hidden, but visible to anyone who looked closely enough. Hence when colonial mansions are invoked for the power they grant and the nostalgia they hold in independent Sri Lanka, they bring persistent socio-spatial dichotomies with them, in addition to their architectural features.42 Maniumpathy and Tintagel make it clear that these spatial divisions, formal relationships, and societal changes extend through the twentieth century to the contemporary commercial realm.

Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel

16Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, situated behind a tall white wall, transports its patrons away from the everyday lives of Kynsey Road, Colombo 7. As one enters the property, one wonders to what degree the large wall is providing privacy for guests—or hiding Maniumpathy from the eyes of the public. Located amidst other colonial structures in the once exclusive neighborhood of Cinnamon Gardens, it was home to five generations of a family originally from Jaffna.43This mansion’s stark white façade highlights an entrance porch, guiding visitors into a small front verandah (fig. 2). Unlike the verandahs of similar mansions, the verandah as it currently stands is not spacious or designed for lingering. Instead, it acts as an entryway into multiple rooms. Each room is astutely decorated with furniture reminiscent of the early twentieth century: armchairs, divans, and a piano are centerpieces. Walking through the former dwelling brings patrons to an interior courtyard, accompanied by an interior verandah and swimming pool. Facing the dwelling, at the end of the water, sits an addition that clearly dates from the twenty-first century. The structure’s white walls match those of the colonial mansion, but the height, columns, and delicate nature of the original structure are distorted.

Figure 2: Front view of porch, garden, and rebuilt mansion, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Figure 2: Front view of porch, garden, and rebuilt mansion, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.

  • 44 Much of the historical information regarding Maniumpathy was contained within the family archives (...)
  • 45 Adrian Basnayake, Interview with owner (Maniumpathy), February 22, 2017, interview by Pamudu Tenna (...)
  • 46 Chrysanthie Basnayake, Interview with owner (Maniumpathy), October 26, 2016, interview by Pamudu T (...)
  • 47 Ibid. (note 45)

17Built in 1868, this colonial mansion was purchased towards the end of that century by a Ceylonese family, the Hallocks, from its original Dutch owners.44 The property was named Maniumpathy in the late twentieth century; Maniumpathy refers to Manipay, a town in northern Sri Lanka where the Hallock family originated. Despite continuously being a residential dwelling, Maniumpathy underwent several physical changes to accommodate the changing needs of the family and the times. Such changes included the accommodation of partial commercial uses (e.g., a medical practice) and complying with governmental regulations when the land was segmented and sold in the 1970s.45 Chrysanthie Basnayake, who inherited Maniumpathy, moved back into her childhood room with her husband, Adrian, following their marriage in 1990. They raised their children in the annex and took over the property following the death of her father.46 Over time, the property garnered interest from external buyers, mainly due to its prominent location. For the owners the sentimental value, including the strong female presence in the family and a multigenerational history of ownership, was intertwined with the specific form and style of the dwelling. This fuelled the Basnayakes’ desire to retain the form of Maniumpathy and allow the future generations to connect with the family history created within Maniumpathy’s walls.47

  • 48 “The History of Maniumpathy,” op. cit. (note 42).
  • 49 Glenn A. Baker, “Tea & Tourism: Sri Lanka’s Boutique Hotels,” Destinations Magazine, September 13, (...)

18The renovations to the dwelling since 2010 have introduced a complete change in usage to the space. The initial intention of the renovation undertaken between 2010 and 2016 was to combat annual flooding caused by the raised road, which led to annual evacuations. As the end of this renovation process approached, the Basnayakes began to think of converting the mansion into a boutique hotel. According to Adrian Basnayake, the renovation was guided by “the intention of immersing guests in an atmosphere that recalls the legacy of generations past, a passage through a bygone colonial era.”48 An alleged separation from the lifestyles of the past further underscored this decision. “[H]ad it remained as a family residence, it would have required five or six servants—a burden that Adrian [Basnayake] was not prepared to pass on to his family in an era removed from the days of privilege.”49 It must be noted that, although having a handful of servants might have been an extravagance of the past, the absence of domestic staff does not remove this dwelling or its owners from a position of privilege. Sri Lankan currency may not have much value globally, but a detached colonial house located in Colombo 7 continues to indicate a history of wealth and social connections, especially because land values in Colombo are often inflated. The multiple offers to purchase the land alone reinforce the Basnayakes’ economic standing.

  • 50 Chamika De Alwis, Interview with Architect (Maniumpathy), February 10, 2017, interview by Pamudu T (...)
  • 51 Adrian Basnayake, op. cit. (note 44).
  • 52 Ibid. (note 44).

19At the beginning of the renovation, Maniumpathy’s foundations were raised, and the house was rebuilt, transforming the original structure into a reconstruction.50 Influenced by the Basnayakes’ stories and photographs, the architect, Chamika de Alwis, envisioned Maniumpathy as a place that transports hotel guests into the past. The family rejected the first proposed design for the boutique hotel because the “look and feel of old Maniumpathy had been lost.”51 The amended design maintained the plan of the original property while the servants’ quarters located behind the dwelling were expanded to accommodate more rooms. In this design, “Maniumpathy looked and felt like Maniumpathy externally.”52 A perceived continuity with the past was thus prioritized—maintaining the dwelling’s history and the essence derived from that history. The renovation took the mansion back to the glory of the colonial era.

  • 53 Chamika De Alwis, op. cit. (note 49).
  • 54 Ibid. (note 49).

20A key feature of this newly-built replacement to the servants’ quarters is the shape of the columns. The new structure was built with square pillars, instead of the cylindrical Doric columns that are present in the mansion (fig. 3). This detail highlights the fact that it is a modern addition to an otherwise accurate reconstruction of Maniumpathy’s original form.53 The rest of the reconstruction, however, was deceptive, as architectural details were manipulated in the renovation. In order to replicate the original dwelling, plaster was applied with imperfect edges, the cement floors were replaced with marble, which was aesthetically similar to the original floors, and the new furniture comprised of a mixture of original pieces and unique finds, painted and adjusted to mimic wood from the early twentieth century.54 All these factors culminated in an aesthetic that was true to the original colonial dwelling while simultaneously matching the grandeur demanded of the boutique hotel. Achieving a balance between visual accuracy and grandeur is fundamental to the success of this venture: this combination caters to both the pedigree of elite Sri Lankans and the expectations of local and foreign patrons.

Figure 3: Interior view of courtyard, dining area, the rebuilt servants quarters showing the square and cylindrical columns, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Figure 3: Interior view of courtyard, dining area, the rebuilt servants quarters showing the square and cylindrical columns, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.

  • 55 Chrysanthie Basnayake, op. cit. (note 45).

21Maniumpathy emphasizes continuous threads between the authentic family home and the boutique hotel. The website lists the family lineage, the dwelling is decorated with family photographs, and the rooms are named after the women of the family to honor the matriarchal presence in the dwelling across generations.55 This blurs the line between private and public in projecting Maniumpathy’s sentimental histories.

Figure 4: Interior view of formal dining room containing the table bought by Adrian Basnayake, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Figure 4: Interior view of formal dining room containing the table bought by Adrian Basnayake, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.

  • 56 Chamika De Alwis, op. cit. (note 49).

22In 2017, following a year of management by the Basnayakes, hotel operations were contracted out to Manor House Concepts, a Sri Lankan property management company that usually handles historical estates with contemporary renovations. The change in management did affect daily operations. Yet the boutique hotel continues to be a space in which the owners operate with a degree of freedom. Though they no longer live on the premises, they entertain personal guests and host parties, regarding it as an extension of their home.56

23The Basnayakes avail themselves of the privilege to use their former home like a colonial mansion, but the staff is rendered invisible. As is the case with any hotel, the staff is fundamental to Maniumpathy’s success. Their discreet presence is detectable everywhere, from the impeccably pressed linens to the courtesy of high tea—another vestige of British culture that is now commonplace across establishments in Colombo. Yet it is difficult to spot staff members in the dwelling, except for at mealtimes (often served on the verandah, the casual dining space). They are also absent from view on Maniumpathy’s website, social media, and even third-party images. A minimal space (outside the kitchen) is reserved for the staff, who seemingly blend into the surroundings, a spatial practice that is expected of them.

24In reconstructing the dwelling, the original structure was transformed. Maniumpathy was thus rebuilt in an attempt to return the dwelling to the colonial era. The result has become a selective projection of the original dwelling that traverses the line between sentimental and economic values. The boutique hotel is curated to engage colonial elitism, exclusivity, and uniqueness by pulling on various strands of the dwelling’s history, from family histories to the details of the faux cement floors and the imperfect plaster. However, in this curated space, colonial debris persists.

25The shape taken by the visibly curated history of Maniumpathy is that of family lineage and ownership. The architectural type of the colonial mansion is a part of this history. It is the family home in combination with the history of the family that unites to create this boutique hotel. Displaying photographs across generations asserts the Hallocks’ claim to Maniumpathy—the space and ways of living. It projects a claim going beyond present tenure. In turn, the legacy of this home extends to future generations and along with it, the privileged standing of the family through history. The sense of family persisting far beyond the original ownership is heightened in Maniumpathy’s depiction of the past and placed on display for the patrons. However, the boutique hotel masks many of its past iterations. Gradual extensions were made to the dwelling prior to 2010: for example, the property once hosted doctors’ offices. These changes are seamlessly disguised as elements of the original dwelling. The new structure acts as the sole depiction of a newer addition. Therefore, since the refashioned form of the dwelling brings back the patrons to a historical space replicative of the colonial period, temporal distance is compressed. The journey from generation to generation is subsumed by a larger colonial narrative.

26The colonial debris become evident in the spatial relationships of the mansion. From the location in Colombo 7 to the precarious border of the verandah (separating the outbuilding and the mansion illustrated in figs. 3 and 5), and the public-private relationship (where the kitchen and the Sri Lankan members of staff continue to be hidden today), Maniumpathy demonstrates the continuity of the dichotomy between the Western(ised) and indigenous paradigms. The spatial dichotomy that once divided colonial and Ceylonese elites from the average Ceylonese was not lost with independence but reconfigured in the boutique hotel. Despite this reconfiguration, Maniumpathy reaffirms the spatial divisions across the colonial–postcolonial divide, even as many of these relationships are only selectively revealed; this approach connects Maniumpathy with other colonial mansions in contemporary Colombo.

Figure 5: Ground floor plan of Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, drawn by Chethani Gunawardena and Nirasha Fernando.

Figure 5: Ground floor plan of Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, drawn by Chethani Gunawardena and Nirasha Fernando.

Source: Redrawn based on the plan drawn by M.I.C.D. Associates in 2014, 2018.

Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo

  • 57 Homi Billimoria was a Ceylonese architect who went on to become the chief architect of the Public (...)
  • 58 This mansion’s namesake is Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, drawing a parallel with the legend of King (...)
  • 59 Lucian De Zilwa, Scenes of a Lifetime: The Autobiography of Dr. Lucian de Zilwa, Colombo: H.W. Cav (...)
  • 60 Staff Writer, “Tintagel – Made for a Future King,” The Sunday Times Plus, November 10, 2013. URL: (...)

27The neatly trimmed greenery lining the smoothly paved driveway ever so slightly obscures the view of Tintagel from the public. Standing on Rosmead Place, a short walk away from Maniumpathy, Tintagel is also located in Colombo 7. It was built in 1929 by Dr. Lucian de Zilwa, a distinguished Ceylonese physician, who designed Tintagel with the aid of the architect Homi Billimoria.57 In Dr. de Zilwa’s autobiography, the mansion’s extravagance was not truly attributed to one origin, but rather to an amalgamation of influences and materials from international sources. The title of “Tintagel”58 was given to the property to demonstrate Dr. de Zilwa’s cosmopolitan nature, citing the Hope de Paris, Seville as an influence and highlighting the use of North Indian marble, “like that used by the Moguls in Agra.”59 During the de Zilwas’ tenure, visitors described Tintagel as being “like a palace.”60

28As one approaches this two-story dwelling in the twenty-first century, it remains intimidating. The protruding porch and balcony and the octagonal towers, like wings on either side, are bold statements of symmetry. Strangely, the order is not further emphasized by the numerous columns present across the two stories. Tuscan columns flank the porch and the front verandah while the balcony are accented by decorative Ionic columns. Additionally, the political significance of the verandah does not elude anyone familiar with Sri Lankan history.

  • 61 Kumudini Hettiarachchi, “Paradise Comes to Tintagel,” The Sunday Times Plus, March 13, 2005. URL: (...)
  • 62 Jyoti Thottam, “Up in The Old Hotel,” Time, April 7, 2008. URL: http://content.time.com/time/speci (...)
  • 63 The mansion was leased out to the Burmese Ambassador and the Egyptian Ambassador in the 1960s. Asi (...)

29Following a brief British Military occupation during WWII,61 the de Zilwas sold Tintagel to Sir Solomon Dias Bandaranaike, for his son, Solomon West Ridgeway Dias (SWRD) and his wife, Sirimavo. Both SWRD Bandaranaike and his wife went on to become Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, in 1956 and 1960, respectively. SWRD Bandaranaike was assassinated in this verandah in 1959.62 The three children the Bandaranaikes raised at Tintagel also went on to have political careers. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunge was the first female President of Sri Lanka (1994-2005). The family’s only son, Anura Bandaranaike, became the Leader of the Opposition (1980-88) and the Speaker of the House. Throughout the years, Tintagel has undoubtedly been associated with significant political personages and activities.63

30In 2005, after Sirimavo Bandaranaike died, Tintagel was leased out by her daughter, Sunethra Bandaranaike. It became Paradise Road Tintagel Colombo. Sunethra Bandaranaike saw this deal as the best alternative for the preservation of the mansion: “This house has had drama more than any other in the country. A majority of people in Sri Lanka consider this to be a treasure that should be preserved for posterity.”64 The Paradise Road company, owned by Udayshanth Fernando, first opened in 1987, selling Sri Lankan contemporary design.65 At present, Paradise Road is an umbrella brand for multiple retail outlets, cafes, and two boutique hotels, including Tintagel Colombo. Fernando was motivated to lease this particular mansion by its history and also its form. Unlike many colonial mansions, Tintagel was neither dilapidated nor on a small plot of land, thanks to its political affiliations. Additionally, Fernando specified, “the history of the house also had the influence to make it important enough and interesting enough for me to invest my money in it and convert it to what it is.”66 Not everyone was pleased with this conversion, however. In 2007, then-Minister, future President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena, commented:

  • 67 Staff Writer, “Rosemead Walawwa Converted into ‘a Tavern,’” The Island, December 18, 2007.

As the General Secretary of the SLFP I am so ashamed. It would be better to commit suicide than witness such things […] The Walawwaa [mansion], a place which has a historical value to the SLFP is today a tavern. […] In other countries such places are conserved as museums.67

  • 68 Udayshanth Fernando, op. cit. (note 65).

31Despite vocal opposition, Fernando dictated his vision to the architect, Philip Weeraratne of PWA Architects, who then translated these ideas onto paper.68 The original façade of Tintagel (fig. 6) was maintained due to its references to the British renaissance, while the verandah, in particular, acts as a space of remembrance as the site where SWRD Bandaranaike breathed his last.

Figure 6: Front view of Tintagel Hotel and entrance, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Figure 6: Front view of Tintagel Hotel and entrance, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.

Figure 7: Interior view of formal dining room and restaurant, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Figure 7: Interior view of formal dining room and restaurant, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.

  • 69 Ibid. (note 65).
  • 70 Kumudini Hettiarachchi, “Paradise Comes to Tintagel,” op. cit. (note 60).

32An additional level was added to the mansion to accommodate more guestrooms. The interior was also reorganized, and space distributed among the old and the new structures. All new additions were made to blend seamlessly into the existing colonial mansion.69 The façade was emphasized, the internal courtyard utilized, and the high ceilings accentuated. The mansion was decorated to enhance its British colonial features, with furniture from a piano to four-poster beds, along with artworks from the early twentieth century.70 The elephant tusks that once graced the interiors of colonial mansions (fig. 1), were forgone for a sculpture of a horse (fig. 8). Though not a direct parallel, this act draws attention to a use of figurines, specifically animals associated with the elites. As a result, Tintagel evokes the mansion’s colonial past, with a modern finish.

33Tintagel employees are fully informed of the history of the mansion, the past residents, the past owners, the importance of the Bandaranaikes and their political legacy, and this carries over to its website. Labelled a “heritage residence,” the history depicted on the website dates back to the de Zilwa occupation. Visits by notable guests, such as the then-Prince of Wales, now the United Kingdom’s King Charles III, are also advertised. All these features combine to accentuate the elite exclusivity of this boutique hotel.

  • 71 Ibid. (note 60).

34The intent of Tintagel’s renovations was to showcase Sri Lanka’s ability to create an internationally recognized hotel.71 The historical features highlighted are those that brand Tintagel as an elite space and direct it towards this goal. Though many external and grand features of the colonial mansion were preserved, historical furnishings were eschewed for a more contemporary interior (fig. 8). These features, such as the leather restaurant furniture and the grand piano, are more representative of romanticized expectations of a colonial mansion than the past realities of Tintagel.

Figure 8: Interior view of living room containing contemporary furniture, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Figure 8: Interior view of living room containing contemporary furniture, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.

Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.

  • 72 Lucian De Zilwa, Scenes of a Lifetime, op. cit. (note 58), p. 169-170.

35In its public portrayal, Tintagel’s post-independence political affiliations overshadow the colonial features. However, they are not paralleled in the form and spatial experience of the dwelling. Physically, Tintagel evokes the broad, generic, societal expectations of a colonial mansion, of glamour, elitism, and luxury. It is a colonial shell with a worldly interior, clinging to the grandeur of the past. The façade of Tintagel acts almost as a mask, hiding the eclecticism that is within. The original structure by Homi Billimoria itself was described as eclectic, drawing upon elements of extravagance across the world.72 As such, despite the deliberate choice to decorate with contemporary elements, today’s interior resonates with that past eclecticism. Similarly, Tintagel demonstrates the legacy of Billimoria’s approach, creating a level of cosmopolitanism and exclusivity, which bodes well for both its colonial and contemporary uses. Tintagel maintains a distance from the average Lankan while holding power over the masses in the operations of the mansion and the hotel alike.

36Despite being of public significance, the history of Tintagel is not depicted in its form but rather in its publicity. However, the present space, an amalgamation of the colonial and the contemporary, parallels its original form, a concoction of styles imported from many countries. Furthermore, it does not claim to transport visitors to the past, but rather to provide a luxurious experience. Therefore, within the preserved exterior, Tintagel becomes a newly evolved form; a curated one that grows from the past but is not completely removed from it.

Conclusion

37As high-end boutique hotels, Maniumpathy and Tintagel are primarily targeted at international tourists who are often separated from the colonial continuities—the social, political, and economic conditions that shape the lives of everyday Lankans—that resulted in these colonial dwellings. The two mansions have been renovated, rebuilt, and refashioned, often signposting a removal from the authentic colonial dwellings of the past. Furthermore, at the scale of the mansion, colonial spatial arrangements continue. This continuity is both curated and residual. The contemporary owners consciously and cautiously mobilize elements of the past, to showcase uniqueness, history, or grandeur. Equally, the debris, the spatial formations, and the remnants of the colonial mansions persist.

38As the use of the mansion transitioned from residential to commercial uses, and from mansion to boutique hotel, three distinct methods of historical refashioning surfaced. The first is the history of those who occupied the dwellings, showcasing variations of their pasts. Maniumpathy focuses on the history of the family, highlighting personal narratives. From the stories and memories present on the websites to the photographs of the family in the hotel, this past is manufactured to satisfy the desire of the Basnayakes and patrons for a connection to the past. Tintagel, despite its political past, limits its portrayal of any interpersonal history to its website. This account does not relate to the structure directly, yet across the two boutique hotels, individual histories of the dwellings are revealed to the public as they exemplify the uniqueness of the establishments, allowing the patrons to relate to the space, and thus the city at large.

39The second is the form of the boutique hotel as it relates to the original dwelling. Both Maniumpathy and Tintagel rely heavily on their historically evocative façades for this relationship to the past. Even as Maniumpathy was rebuilt and Tintagel was renovated, the ability for the dwellings to evoke a level of colonial nostalgia was maintained. Instead of portraying social and cultural distinction to the colonial elites as these mansions once did, by maintaining an authentic façade of a colonial mansion, both Maniumpathy and Tintagel portray an outward notion of symbolic capital to the patrons the hotels attract, with rooms priced at about 300 USD per night, and other services. This is not to imply that foreign tourists alone patronize these boutique hotels. The dining and event spaces, in particular, attract many Lankans, as well. However, due to the high prices and exclusionary atmospheres, these boutique hotels—especially when the country is in the throes of economic crisis—generally target the social elites, who use the picturesque façades for weddings, events, and photoshoots, alike.

  • 73 For more on spatial strategies and tactics, see Michel De Certeau, “Spatial Practices,” op. cit, ( (...)
  • 74 Victor Turner, “Liminality and Communitas,” in The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-structure, I (...)

40The third method pertains to the spatial configurations of Maniumpathy and Tintagel. In the mansion of the past, the division of space between public and private was not clear cut, and this characteristic is reflected in the boutique hotels. Great emphasis is placed on hosting and maintaining a Western veneer. Thus, those who became Westernized by crossing social boundaries occupied the front of the mansions. Conversely, the servants occupied the kitchens. Similarly, within the boutique hotels, the front of the house, the bedrooms, and the living spaces are decorated with Western (either colonial or contemporary) ornament, and the guests who occupy these spaces are accompanied by staff dressed to showcase an aura of Westernization or colonial nostalgia. Behind the scenes, however, the day-to-day operations are undertaken by Sri Lankan members of staff. Though the staff members remain discreet, just as they did in colonial mansions of the early twentieth century, they are given access to, and often expected to engage with, the whole boutique hotel, to ensure its smooth running. Their presence—spatial engagement—is rehearsed and ghostly, present but unseen. The spatial divisions are enforced to the onlooker, while tactics are used by the staff to cloak the adverse effects of their portrayed non-existence, namely the inability of the hotel to run without them.73 The verandah, too, maintains its role as a liminal space, through time, acting as a barrier between the outside and the inside, Western and Lankan ways of life. Liminality is not merely spatial but also temporal, denoting a space between two ways of being.74 Within a mansion, a verandah acts both as a boundary and pathway by simultaneously demarcating and connecting elites and those who serve. Today’s verandah, thus, parallels the spatial practices of the twentieth century mansions by reinforcing class dichotomies. It further connects the mansion to the boutique hotel, as a malleable space where all uses are welcome. This is exemplified by the back verandah of Maniumpathy, the primary dining space for guests. It acts as a boundary between the mansion and the later addition to the property. The circular pillars of the verandah mirror the rectangular forms of the new structure yet demonstrate a clear distinction. Maniumpathy’s staff serve high tea and dinner on the verandah, whereas when they are within the dwelling’s walls, they are nearly invisible. The continuing debris of the spatial formation of the colonial mansion not only defined the domestic space of post-independence society, but even persists past the transformation of the dwelling into a hotel.

41In addition to mediating post-independence and neo-liberal realities, these colonial dwellings negotiate persistent precolonial legacies, along with outward appearances of colonialism. In the post-colonial era, these negotiations were not erased but rather compounded Colonial architectural forms are actively maintained for the façade while the elements that evoke the realities and hardships of the average Sri Lankan’s daily life are hidden in the kitchen. Thus, within the colonial mansions turned boutique hotels, the debris of the private-public negotiations from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries reappear, compounded with contemporary class politics.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr. Itohan Osayimwese, Dr. Sheila Bonde, Dr. Pedro Guedes, Dr. Geoff Ginn, and Dr. Deborah van der Plaat for their help and feedback.

  • 75 Pamudu Mayanthika Tennakoon, Dwelling on the colonial dichotomy: comparison of elite colonial dwel (...)

This research was partially supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship (2016-2017).75

Haut de page

Notes

1 Referred to as “Maniumpathy” in this article.

2 Referred to as “Tintagel” in this article.

3 This article draws on Michel de Certeau’s notions of the everyday, moving beyond form to encompass use and inhabitation; see Michel De Certeau, “Spatial Practices,” in Michel de Certeau, The Practice of Everyday Life [First published as L’invention du quotidien, Paris: Union générale d’éditions, 1980], Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1984, p. 91-130.

4 Jayne M. Rogerson, “The Boutique Hotel Industry in South Africa: Definition, Scope, and Organization,” Urban Forum, vol. 21, 2010, p. 428. URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-010-9104-7. Accessed 14 June 2023.

5 Ann Stoler, “Imperial Debris: Reflections on Ruins and Ruination,” Cultural Anthropology, vol. 23, no. 2, 2008, p. 191-219. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20484502. Accessed 12 June 2023.

6 For more on ruins and debris see Caitlin De Silvey and Tim Edensor, “Reckoning with ruins,” Progress in Human Geography, vol. 37, no. 4, 2013, p. 465-485. DOI: 10.1177/0309132512462271.

7 Anthony D. King, Spaces of Global Cultures: Architecture, Urbanism, Identity, London; New York, NY: Routledge, 2004 (Architext); Ann Stoler, “Imperial Debris: Reflections on Ruins and Ruination,” op. cit. (note 5), p. 191-219.

8 Daniel E. Coslett, “The Production and Use of Neocolonialist Sites of Memory,” in Daniel E. Coslett (ed.), Neocolonialism and Built Heritage: Echoes of Empire in Africa, Asia, and Europe, London; New York, NY: Routledge, 2020 (Architext), p. 3.

9 Known as Ceylon under the British, the nation officially became Sri Lanka only in 1972. This article alternates between the two names according to the period under discussion.

10 Thomas Trautmann, “The Past in the Present,” Fragments: Interdisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Ancient and Medieval Pasts, vol. 1, 2011, p. 2. URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.9772151.0001.005. Accessed 14 June 2023.

11 Sri Lanka was colonized by the Portuguese (1505), the Dutch (1658), and the British (1815-1948).

12 Borrowing from a long tradition of theorizing the colonizer-colonized dichotomy, the terminology used refers to Anoma Pieris’s use of the terms “Western” and “Indigenous” to distinguish between Colonial and Ceylonese, East and West. These two terms allow effective movement from colonial to contemporary spaces. See Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism in Sri Lanka: The Trouser Under the Cloth, Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2012 (Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series).

13 Kumari Jayawardena, Nobodies to Somebodies: The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka, New Delhi: Leftworld Books, 2002, p. xvii.

14 For more on the Sri Lankan caste system, see Bryce Ryan, Caste in Modern Ceylon: The Sinhalese System in Transition, New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953; Michael Roberts, Caste Conflict and Elite Formation: The Rise of a Karāva Elite in Sri Lanka, 1500-1931, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982 (Cambridge South Asian Studies, 24).

15 Nihal Perera, Society and Space: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Postcolonial Identity in Sri Lanka, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998, p. 101.

16 For more about race in Sri Lanka, see Syed Hussain Shaheed Soherwordi, “Construction of Tamil and Sinhalese Identities in Contemporary Sri Lanka,” Pakistan Horizon, vol. 63, no. 3, 2010, p. 29-49. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24711006. Accessed 14 June 2023.

17 Kumari Jayawardena, Nobodies to Somebodies, op. cit. (note 12), p. 249.

18 Nihal Perera, Society and Space, op. cit. (note 14), p. 101.

19 Kumari Jayawardena, Nobodies to Somebodies, op. cit. (note 12), p. 163; caste remains significant for many Sinhalese and Tamil families in the twenty-first century, though it is not readily apparent in Colombo’s workplaces.

20 Ibid. (note 12), p. 155.

21 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 58.

22 Ibid. For more on bungalows and mansions across the (previously colonized) world, see Madhavi Desai, Miki Desai and Jon Lang, The Bungalow in Twentieth-Century India: The Cultural Expression of Changing Ways of Life and Aspirations in the Domestic Architecture of Colonial and Post-Colonial Society, New York, NY: Routledge, 2012 (Ashgate Studies in Architecture); Anthony D. King, The Bungalow: The Production of a Global Culture, London: Boston: Routledge; Kegan Paul, 1984; William J. Glover, “‘A Feeling of Absence from Old England:’ The Colonial Bungalow,” Home Cultures: The Journal of Architecture, Design and Domestic Space, vol. 1, no. 1, 2004, p. 61-82. DOI: 10.2752/174063104778053617; Sylvia Shorto, British Houses In Late Mughal Delhi, Woodbridge, NY: Boydell & Brewer, 2017 (Worlds of the East India Company); Swati Chattopadhyay, “The Other Face of Primitive Accumulation: The Garden House in British Colonial Bengal,” in Peter Scriver and Vikramaditya Prakash (eds.), Colonial Modernities: Building, Dwelling and Architecture in British India and Ceylon, London: Routledge, 2007 (Architext), p. 169-197.

23 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 57.

24 William J. Glover, “A Feeling of Absence,” op. cit. (note 21), p. 79.

25 Similar forms and processes developed across the Indian sub-continent. For Delhi, see Jyoti Hosagrahar, Indigenous Modernities: Negotiating Architecture and Urbanism, London; New York, NY: Routledge, 2005 (Architext).

26 Nihal Perera, Society and Space, op. cit. (note 14), p. 115.

27 Ibid. (note 14), p. 114.

28 Robin Jones, “Furnished in English Style: Anglicization of Local Elite Domestic Interiors in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) c. 1850 to 1910,” South Asian Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, 2004, p. 50. DOI: 10.1080/02666030.2004.9628635.

29 Ibid. (note 27), p. 54.

30 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 122.

31 The prevalence of Western furniture was not limited to Ceylonese elite households, with similar analyses being conducted by Jones, among others, across the subcontinent. See Robin D. Jones, Interiors of Empire: Objects, Space and Identity within the Indian Sub-Continent, 1800-1947, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2007.

32 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 62.

33 Ibid. (note 11), p. 63. For further examples of spatial divisions including the kitchen, see Jyoti Hosagrahar, Indigenous Modernities, op. cit. (note 24); William J. Glover, Making Lahore Modern: Constructing and Imagining a Colonial City, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2008; Swati Chattopadhyay, Representing Calcutta: Modernity, Nationalism, and the Colonial Uncanny, London; New York, NY: Routledge, 2005 (Asias’s transformations); Anthony King, The Bungalow, op. cit. (note 21)

34 Ibid. (note 11), p. 63.

35 Michael Roberts, Caste Conflict and Elite Formation, op. cit. (note 13), p. 212.

36 For more on verandahs, see Madhavi Desai et al., The Bungalow, op. cit. (note 21); Anthony King, The Bungalow, op. cit. (note 21).

37 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 74.

38 For more on the distance from home felt by the colonized elites, see Peter Scriver, “Stones and Texts: The Architectural Historiography of Colonial India and its Colonial-Modern Contexts,” in Peter Scriver and Vikramaditya Prakash (eds.), Colonial Modernities, op. cit. (note 22), p. 27-50; William J. Glover, “A Feeling of Absence,” op. cit. (note 21).

39 The presence of these boundaries, which were colonial practices, were legible as Ceylon regained independence and even in recent times. This is evident in literary works, see Martin Wickramasinghe, Yuganthaya, Rajagiriya: Sarasa (Pvt) Ltd., 1949; Karen Roberts, The Lament of the Dhobi Woman, Colombo: Perera Hussein, 2010.

40 Nihal Perera, Society and Space, op. cit. (note 14), p. 142.

41 In the 1970s, the socialist government of Sri Lanka imposed limitations on the amount of land individuals could own. Large plots of land surrounding mansions were subdivided and sold.

42 Anoma Pieris, Architecture and Nationalism, op. cit. (note 11), p. 122.

43 “The History of Maniumpathy,” Maniumpathy, 2023. URL: https://maniumpathy.com/heritage/. Accessed 15 January 2023.

44 Much of the historical information regarding Maniumpathy was contained within the family archives of the Basnayakes. As the family has owned the property for many generations, information regarding previous tenants was not available.

45 Adrian Basnayake, Interview with owner (Maniumpathy), February 22, 2017, interview by Pamudu Tennakoon, Email.

46 Chrysanthie Basnayake, Interview with owner (Maniumpathy), October 26, 2016, interview by Pamudu Tennakoon, Digital Recording.

47 Ibid. (note 45)

48 “The History of Maniumpathy,” op. cit. (note 42).

49 Glenn A. Baker, “Tea & Tourism: Sri Lanka’s Boutique Hotels,” Destinations Magazine, September 13, 2016. URL: https://destinationsmagazine.com/stories/tea-tourism-sri-lankas-boutique-hotels/. Accessed 14 June 2023.

50 Chamika De Alwis, Interview with Architect (Maniumpathy), February 10, 2017, interview by Pamudu Tennakoon, Digital Recording.

51 Adrian Basnayake, op. cit. (note 44).

52 Ibid. (note 44).

53 Chamika De Alwis, op. cit. (note 49).

54 Ibid. (note 49).

55 Chrysanthie Basnayake, op. cit. (note 45).

56 Chamika De Alwis, op. cit. (note 49).

57 Homi Billimoria was a Ceylonese architect who went on to become the chief architect of the Public Works Department in Ceylon from 1953-1956. In addition to Tintagel, he is credited with designing the Independence Memorial (1948) located in Colombo, along with five of his contemporaries. It must also be noted that Tintagel is among other colonial mansions designed by Homi Billimoria. Jamsheed K. Choksy, “Iranians and Indians on the shores of Serendib (Sri Lanka),” in John Hinnells and Alan Williams (eds.), Parsis in India and the Diaspora, London; New York, NY: Routledge, 2007, p. 194-195.

58 This mansion’s namesake is Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, drawing a parallel with the legend of King Arthur. “Tintagel Castle,” English Heritage. URL: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/tintagel-castle/. Accessed 1 March 2020/

59 Lucian De Zilwa, Scenes of a Lifetime: The Autobiography of Dr. Lucian de Zilwa, Colombo: H.W. Cave, 1967, p. 169-170.

60 Staff Writer, “Tintagel – Made for a Future King,” The Sunday Times Plus, November 10, 2013. URL: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/131110/plus/tintagel-made-for-a-future-king-68542.html. Accessed 14 June 2023.

61 Kumudini Hettiarachchi, “Paradise Comes to Tintagel,” The Sunday Times Plus, March 13, 2005. URL: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/050313/plus/1.html. Accessed 14 June 2023.

62 Jyoti Thottam, “Up in The Old Hotel,” Time, April 7, 2008. URL: http://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1717144_1822005_1821627,00.html. Accessed 14 June 2023.

63 The mansion was leased out to the Burmese Ambassador and the Egyptian Ambassador in the 1960s. Aside from these two incidents and the military occupation during WWII, Tintagel was solely a private residenc, until 2005. Kumudini Hettiarachchi, “Paradise Comes to Tintagel,” op. cit. (note 60).

64 Ibid. (note 60).

65 “Paradise Road The Tintagel Colombo,” Paradise Road. URL: http://www.paradiseroadhotels.com/tintagel/. Accessed 1 March 2021.

66 Udayshanth Fernando, Interview with owner (Tintagel), November 15, 2016, interview by Pamudu Tennakoon, Email.

67 Staff Writer, “Rosemead Walawwa Converted into ‘a Tavern,’” The Island, December 18, 2007.

68 Udayshanth Fernando, op. cit. (note 65).

69 Ibid. (note 65).

70 Kumudini Hettiarachchi, “Paradise Comes to Tintagel,” op. cit. (note 60).

71 Ibid. (note 60).

72 Lucian De Zilwa, Scenes of a Lifetime, op. cit. (note 58), p. 169-170.

73 For more on spatial strategies and tactics, see Michel De Certeau, “Spatial Practices,” op. cit, (note 3).

74 Victor Turner, “Liminality and Communitas,” in The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-structure, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1969 (Symbol, Myth, and Ritual Series), p. 94-130.

75 Pamudu Mayanthika Tennakoon, Dwelling on the colonial dichotomy: comparison of elite colonial dwellings in Colombo, Sri Lanka and Brisbane, Australia. MPhil Thesis, School of Architecture, The University of Queensland, 2018. DOI: 10.14264/uql.2018.645.

Haut de page

Table des illustrations

Titre Figure 1: “Mr. and Mrs. James Peiris and views of their residence, Rippleworth.”
Crédits Source: Arnold Wright, Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon, London: Lloyds Greater Publishing Company, 1907, p. 563.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/14743/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,2M
Titre Figure 2: Front view of porch, garden, and rebuilt mansion, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.
Crédits Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/14743/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 923k
Titre Figure 3: Interior view of courtyard, dining area, the rebuilt servants quarters showing the square and cylindrical columns, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.
Crédits Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/14743/img-3.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,2M
Titre Figure 4: Interior view of formal dining room containing the table bought by Adrian Basnayake, Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, Colombo, 2023.
Crédits Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/14743/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 605k
Titre Figure 5: Ground floor plan of Maniumpathy Boutique Hotel, drawn by Chethani Gunawardena and Nirasha Fernando.
Crédits Source: Redrawn based on the plan drawn by M.I.C.D. Associates in 2014, 2018.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/14743/img-5.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 622k
Titre Figure 6: Front view of Tintagel Hotel and entrance, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.
Crédits Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/14743/img-6.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 542k
Titre Figure 7: Interior view of formal dining room and restaurant, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.
Crédits Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/14743/img-7.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 434k
Titre Figure 8: Interior view of living room containing contemporary furniture, Tintagel Hotel, Colombo, 2023.
Crédits Source: Photograph by Pamudu Tennakoon.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/14743/img-8.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 463k
Haut de page

Pour citer cet article

Référence électronique

Pamudu Tennakoon, « The Debris Within: Negotiations of the Past within Colonial Mansions of Ceylon »ABE Journal [En ligne], 21 | 2023, mis en ligne le 07 juillet 2023, consulté le 14 mars 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/abe/14743 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/abe.14743

Haut de page

Auteur

Pamudu Tennakoon

PhD Candidate, Brown University, Providence, United States, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7620-374x

Haut de page

Droits d’auteur

CC-BY-4.0

Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence CC BY 4.0. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.

Haut de page
Rechercher dans OpenEdition Search

Vous allez être redirigé vers OpenEdition Search