Dear colleagues,
I am working on an edition and annotated translation of some 80 letters which between 1727 and 1737 were sent from Colombo and Galle to Cape Town in South Africa. The letters are addressed to a certain Nicolaas Ondaatje (Tamil ukantācci/ontācci) (indeed, an ancestor of Sir Christopher and Michael Ondaatje), who had been banished by the Dutch. They include letters from Nicolaas' mother, his brothers, friends and colleagues, and his old schoolmaster (Domingo Dias, mentioned in the school report in Valentijn's description of Ceylon). Most of the letters are in Tamil, a few in Dutch and one in Singhalees. I need some help with the latter, Singhalees, letter, written by a certain Evert (Tamil evaṭuttu) Perera. Incidentally, this same Evert also wrote a letter in Dutch. I would like to ask if there is a colleague who would be willing to transcribe this letter for me (in the regular, official transcription, if there is one for Singhalese) and provide a translation. It is a very short letter, not longer than this email. Please contact me directly (h.j.h.tieken@hum.leidenuniv.nl)
with kind regards
Herman Tieken