The domestication and use of elephants in various roles made the Sri Lankan elephant a notable and desired commodity.
The first domestication of the elephant is believed to have occurred in the Indus River valley, as many as four thousand years ago, and the domestication of the Sri Lankan elephant may have begun as early as the fifth or sixth century BCE. Although it is unclear what the initial purpose was in domestication, whether for work, status, or religious purposes, only kings were allowed ownership of domesticated elephants at that time. The elephants were used as mounts, both as a symbol of status and also as a beast of war.
A famous instance of elephants being used in war in Sri Lanka as mounts was the battle between the Thamil king Ellalan and the Sinhalese prince Dutugamunu in 200 BCE. The duel is so famous, even the elephants’ names are remembered, the mount of Ellalan being Maha Pambata, and the mount of Dutugamunu being Kandula. There is even a myth suggesting that Kandula was one of many items that had appeared spontaneously at Dutugamunu’s birth, and was found and brought to Dutugamunu by a fisherman after whom the elephant was named. The battle ended with the younger Dutugamunu slaying the elder Ellalan during the duel, and eventually incorporating his kingdom in the bid to unify the island.
The fame of Sri Lankan elephants was such that many were even exported for use by other nations in war. In the first century CE, Pliny the Elder of the Roman empire noted that Sri Lankan elephants were to be preferred in war due to their size and fierce temperaments, according to the soldiers of Alexander the Great. India, benefiting from is proximity, continuously imported Sri Lankan elephants for war over the centuries. Due to the demand, they were even transported as far afield as Egypt and Myanmar.
Sri Lankan elephants were naturally used for peaceful purposes as well. As with other beasts of burden, they were utilized in clearing land and moving large obstacles such as logs. Due to their strength, they were utilized in transporting materials for construction, helping to build some of the iconic ancient structures of Sri Lanka. They were even used for ploughing, and the British utilized them in preparing the mountainous land for their plantations. Due to their ability to move through rough and forested terrain, they are in use even to this day in some areas where machines cannot easily traverse. Tourism is another area where domesticated elephants are utilized, although modern reserves where wild elephants are protected and allowed freedom may prove a greater draw.
There are still privately-owned elephants in Sri Lanka, although the law requires that they be registered and licensed. While there are laws regarding care and treatment of the animals, enforcement is spotty at best, and as there is not much profit to be had by ownership, current ownership is mostly for purposes of status.
I am privileged to attest to some of the information documented about the uses of elephants. As late as 1973/74, I have commissioned to use of elephant on building project in Kegalle, Sri Lanka. Kegalle has a steep terrain and the project I was involved was part of a rubber estate and I had to level the land to build a telephone exchange for the Government. The rubber plantation was full of very mature trees and there was no way of using bulldozers to level the site. So, the trees were cut down and felled. Then the trees had to be brought down and terrain made bare before any mechanized equipment could be deployed for any work. Now the only choice, was to hire elephant to assist in bringing the tree stumps, and log down to the nearest road where they were loaded on to trucks to be hauled away, but even the loading of the trucks were done by the elephant which demonstrated its skills in lifting one end of the log, placing it on the bed of the truck, then go back left the other end, push the log on to the truck and align it, so that more can be loaded.
yes, the elephants can do more than simple tasks.
Not surprising, the Government then sponsored elephant races as tourist attraction in the District of Kegalle to treat the foreign tourists who were visiting Kandy by road. After the initial few races, the tourist started betting on the race. So elephants also triggered gambling in a way.
Let us pray elephants’ contribution to economy continue to be recognized, respected and promoted. They do have a significant place in human civilization, better and more valuable than the eco-balance of the forest reserves.
Studies have shown that elephants are quite intelligent and capable of cooperation and puzzle-solving. This may be the root of some of the controversy in the use of elephants in building human infrastructure, because elephants are largely not “farmed” or bred like other beasts of burden such as cattle or equines. Rather, traditional means of domestication seem to have involved methods that forced submission of originally wild elephants and a breaking of elephant social structure, and methods to keep them under control can sometimes be quite harmful due to a lack of governmental enforcement regarding animal cruelty laws.