Sri Lankan Kandyan Sinhalese
Family Genealogy
1 S.D. Mahawalatenne
…2 (daughter) …2 Mahawalatenne Kumarihamy + Barnes Ratwatte Dissawe (3060)
……3 Sirimavo Ratwatte b:17-Apr-1916, d:2000, (First woman Prime Minister in the World, Prime Minister, 1974, 1998) + Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in 1958, Assassinated by a Buddhist Monk in 1958 (1001) m:2-Oct-1940 On April 16, 1916, Barnes Ratwatte Dissawe & Rosalind Mahawelatenne
Kumarihamy, were blessed with the birth of a daughter. She was named Sirimavo. The family had been members of the
Ceylonese upper class for generations, and, as a result of this had a rich
Buddhist & Christian heritage. The family's ancestral seat was in Balangoda, where Sirimavo
spent most of her childhood. Barnes was a stickler for tradition: and insisted
that his home and his family were the same. Sirimavo
was the second eldest of five children, having one sister
Patsy, and three brothers, Mackie, Seevalie,
& Clifford. Barnes was a strict but fair disciplinarian, and
instilled a sense of responsibility in his children.
Sirimavo was a bright child, described as being full
of fun but with a serious contemplative side. Her education prepared her for
the limited opportunities that society then dictated as a norm - effectively
tending a home and raising a family. In the large conservative Ceylonese
Buddhist society in which she lived, this was how women were viewed. It was
their pre-ordained role and there were precious few examples otherwise, until
later in Sirimavo's own life. Through her
actions she would set a new example and shatter the glass ceiling that existed
for the women of her country and even the world at large.
Sirimavo took her first steps during her childhood
education at
"World
history was her passion", says her son Anura.
"She always had a fascination for history and current affairs. I am told
that as a child of even 8 or 9 she would read my grandfathers' newspapers and
in her early teens her book reading drove the family to distraction as my
grandfather would buy her a book and she would finish it one night". Her
fathers book buying may have looked like poor value for money at that time, but
her vociferous appetite for literature was, in the longer term, helping to
develop a keen mind. "She particularly enjoyed biographies", says Anura, retelling how she read and re-read
biographies of world leaders on a handful of occasions.
From
being nodding acquaintances, initially, a relationship suddenly sparked between
Sirimavo and SWRD Bandaranaike, in
1939. The intensity of this union shocked their respective families but they
still approved of what was obviously an excellent match. SWRD found his
intellectual equal in Sirimavo. She challenged
him, and to be honest there were not that many people of any gender, at that
time, who could do that. They spent a vast amount of
their time, together, socially since their initial meeting.
Sirimavo was not a political animal. SWRD's State Council work and his politics were of
little interest to her directly, although she found herself absorbed by the
political process by way of her beau's complete immersion in it. Her
involvement was mainly confined to the emancipation and advancement of women in
society, in general, and to encourage more active consideration for those women
and their families trapped in poverty.
In
1940 SWRD visited Barnes Ratwatte at Balangoda
to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. His proposal was immediately accepted.
Sirimavo was 24 while SWRD was 41. The age gap seemed
to make very little difference to either of them. The Minister of Local
Administration had met his match and that was all that mattered. Sir Solomon
ensured that the nuptials were attended by all pomp and pageantry that one
would expect for nobility and that the event befitted his sons
status as one of
The
marriage of Sirimavo to SWRD laid the
foundation for a political dynasty of remarkable proportions. Elsewhere in the
region the Nehru-Ghandi dynasty
dominated
The
first child born to the couple was Sunethra who
became extremely attached to her father during his lifetime. Sir Solomon,
SWRD's father, passed away 11 months after the
birth ofChandrika (CBK) Bandaranaike
Kumaratunga, Sirimavo's second child. The
last child, Anura, arrived on 15 Feb 1949. Of
the three children Chandrika was most like her
father, even from an early age. She was more rounded than her sister but with
the same handsome bone structure. Chandrika
learned to read quickly and became a dedicated bookworm like her mother and
father. She was more serious than her siblings brooding over whatever was on
her mind. Her hobbies centered around dancing and her
parents enrolled her in lessons in a variety of different styles of dance
forms. Her favorite was always the Kandyan style
which she perfected at the
CBK joined her older sister at
CBK was also very keen on
sports, dabbling in Badminton, Netball, Swimming, Table Tennis and Tennis,
which was her true passion. On one occasion she fought her way to the finals of
a school tennis tournament. Both her parents attended the final match and
although she lost she still recalls the simple happiness of participating in
such an occasion. Tennis was eventually superseded by a passion for gymnastics.
The
subsequent tragic loss of their father has had an important bearing on the
lives of all three children. One recollection, in particular by CBK,
reveals a glimpse of the emotional and physical void that was created by his
passing. "..... Our Mother liked cooking and she made delicious cakes and
puddings. But unlike present dayh mothers she did not
cuddle us on her lap and pet us. But my father was different. When we woke up
in the morning he used to cuddle us ..." . Just
as he stood like a political and intellectual giant over the island as a whole,
SWRD's physical and emotional influence was
the glue that bound his family together. Until the age of 14, CBK, along
with her siblings, Sunethra and Anura, would have precious little time to bask in
that influence. Sirimavo, then went on to
become Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, reaping the honor of being the Worlds first
woman PM. CBK later went on to the Sorbonne in Paris to complete her
higher education and was recalled by her mother to take over as a Minister in
the Sri Lanka Government during her mothers Premiership.
CBK and Giraj
Rajapakse, the nephew of Stanley de Zoysa, were sweethearts since their early teens and
planned to be married in early 1976. Having schooled at
CBK had met Vijaya Kumaratunga on several occasions at
numerous party political circles. Although he was
In
the year 1977 Vijaya Kumaratunga broke
the hearts of many of his legion of female fans when he announced his marriage
to CBK. They fed off each other intellectually. At home they were
forever discussing political issues and it was a bright and lively household.
They have two children, Yasodhara, born 1981
and Vimukthi born in 1983. Vijaya
was tragically gunned down, while seated in his vehicle by an assailant outside
his home, in 1988 in the midst of a successful political campaign in seeking a
peace with the LTTE in the North who were demanding a separate state for the
Tamils of Sri Lanka. He was cremated on Feb 21 1988.
CBK, later went on to become
Chief Minister of the Western Province in May 1993 and then was elected as the
Prime Minister on June 27, 1994 under her mothers Presidency and then went on
to be elected President of Sri Lanka, on Aug 17, 1994. She stepped down from
politics in 2005 after handing over the Presidency to Mahinda
Rajapakse, who served as Prime Minister under her
leadership.
Sunethra married Kumar Rupasinghe
and has since divorced and now runs the NGO SUNERA FOUNDATION that aspires to
alleviate the sufferings of the poor and destitute.
Anura took to politics and is currently (2006) the Minister of Tourism under the Presidency and Government of Mahinda Rajapakse. He was the Speaker of the House in 2000 under the UNP Government which survived a rough ride under the Presidency of his sister CBK. He has chosen to be a bachelor to date (2006).
…………4
Sunethra Bandaranaike + Kumar Rupasinghe (div)
…………4
Chandrika Bandaranaike (President
of Sri Lanka 1998) + Vijaya Kumaratunga
5 Yasodhara Kumaratunga, b:1981
5 Vimukthi
Kumaratunga, b:1983
…………4 Anura Bandaranaike b: 1949 (Member of Parliament 1998, Speaker of the House 2000) ……3 Patsy Ratwatte d:2001, + Col ……3 Barnes Ratwatte + Iranganie Dunuwille 4 Anil Ratwatte + Tamara Obituary: ......3 Dr Seevali Ratwatte