Maduwanwela Maha Dissava

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Maduwanwela Maha Disawe, born Wickramasinghe Wijesundara Ekanayake Abeykoon Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Sir James Williams Maduwanwela (1844–1930), was a Ceylonese colonial-era headman. Appointed to the post of Dissāva by the British, he was educated at Royal College Colombo and began his public service as a clerk, rising to Korale Mahaththaya, then Rate Mahathmaya, and finally Dissāva. He claimed an 83,000-acre land grant in the Kolonne area from his father, said to have been given to the family by King Wimaladharmasooriya II, and built a fortune from timber, gem mining, and elephant paddocks, notably the Elephant Kraal in Panamure, which began in the late 1800s with J.T. Ellawela during his time as Rate Mahathmaya. With these profits, he expanded his family seat, Maduwanwela Walawwa. He married twice: first to Ekneligoda Kumarihami, who died in childbirth along with their daughter Dingiri Appey (who was crippled); then to Kalawana Kumarihami, a close relative, who survived him but they had no children. Before his death, he placed his wealth in trust for his daughter, naming his nephew Francis Molamure and Kalawana Kumarihami’s nephew Cyril Dangamuwa as trustees. He died on 6 September 1930 from heart disease.