{"id":43681,"date":"2020-04-23T08:56:51","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T08:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=43681"},"modified":"2020-04-23T08:56:51","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T08:56:51","slug":"the-story-of-lovina-alphonso-a-dalit-heroine-of-her-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/the-story-of-lovina-alphonso-a-dalit-heroine-of-her-time\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story of Lovina Alphonso \u2014 A Dalit Heroine of her Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Story of Lovina Alphonso \u2014 A Dalit Heroine of her Time<\/span><\/h1>\n

\"N.Sarawanan\"<\/p>\n

Sourse:<\/span>medium<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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This account is translated from the research and writings of\u00a0<\/em>N.Sarawanan<\/em><\/strong>, A Sri Lankan Tamil Dalit activist and author of the piece. You can read his original piece here in\u00a0<\/em>Namathu Malayagam<\/em><\/a>. This contribution to Dalit History Month would not be possible without his work and his generosity. Translation from Tamil for this piece was done by\u00a0<\/em>Saivi<\/em><\/strong>, a Tamil Dalit writer, economist and mother. This piece was edited by\u00a0<\/em>Maari Z.Maitreyi<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Today in Dalit History, we look at how a Dalit woman, Lovina, negotiated with colonialisms in Sri Lanka and ultimately instituted benefits to her community.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The \u201cRodi<\/em>\u201d caste people are the most oppressed in the Sinhala community. Historically, this community was involved in folk religion, magic,\u00a0mantras<\/em>, and ritualised caste begging. Rodis were treated as untouchables and violently discriminated.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Rodiya<\/em>\u00a0men and women were denied permission to wear any upper-body covering. It was also forbidden for them to cover themselves below the knee. In one era, both men and women were only allowed to cover their genital area and nothing else. Even if they felt ill or cold and clothed themselves to feel warm, and an \u201cupper\u201d caste person caught them in the act, they would have to say, \u201cPlease forgive me, Lord, I was feeling too cold!\u201d It was up to the \u201cupper\u201d caste person, then, to decide whether to allow the act of covering or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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You can find many texts that use derogatory language to describe\u00a0Rodiyas<\/em>. In Sinhala, Dalit people are called \u201cSandalas<\/em>\u201d in various texts. In the book \u201cThe Taprobanian\u201d (1886) by Hugh Nevill, the author calls the area where\u00a0Rodi<\/em>people lived as \u201cthe\u00a0Sandalas<\/em>\u00a0ghetto\u201d John Doyle, another colonizer, in the19th century, describes\u00a0Rodi<\/em>\u00a0people as living in a\u00a0Rodi<\/em>\u00a0ghetto where they didn\u2019t have a right to own or build independent homes. According to Doyle, they had to live in makeshift shacks and were not allowed to have windows or doors to their homes. They were not allowed to travel into the main villages or freely interact with people who were not\u00a0Rodiya<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This was Lovina\u2019s community, and this was her background.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lovina\u2019s story is known to us because it\u2019s told through the narrative of one Sir Thomas Maitland, a 47-year-old English Governor. When he was posted to Sri Lanka in 1806, he was put up in a typical colonial bungalow. To make him feel \u201cwelcome\u201d, occasionally,\u00a0mestizo<\/em>\u00a0dancers come to the mansion. Among them was 16-year-old Lovina Alphonso. Lovina and many other\u00a0Rodiyas<\/em>\u00a0in that area were of mixed heritage often part Portuguese, the previous colonisers of that region.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s said that this 47-year-old English colonial felt immediately and deeply \u201cin love\u201d with 16-year-old Lovina. He proposed a relationship to her and Lovina \u201caccepted\u201d. Quickly, he changed Lovina\u2019s name to Lavinia, because he \u201cpreferred\u201d that version.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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News of this Governor\u2019s love with an untouchable girl quickly spread among the British colonial elite and the message reached as far as King George\u2019s ears. The result was that King George sent him a very stern message that threatened consequences should their relationship continue.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Maitland told Lovina not to come to visit him until he would say it was ok to do so. In the meantime, Maitland began the construction of an underground tunnel that went straight from the bungalow to a well, situated right inside of Lovina\u2019s home in the ghetto.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n