Jaffna revisited

By Jayantha Jayewardene

I have gone to Jaffna three times. My first visit to Jaffna was in 1956 when my parents took my brother and myself to Jaffna. The second visit was when the late Gamini Dissanayake took a team of Mahaweli agronomists, for a week, to study the agricultural practices in the Jaffna peninsula. The third visit was at the beginning of June this year, when we went to carry out a schools awareness program.

On my first visit we drove to Jaffna from Kandy. I was then 12 years. I don't remember much of that visit but do remember the Casuarina Beach, vast stretches of cultivations of vegetables, the unique method of drawing water for agriculture from a well, and little else. However, one thing stands out in my mind. When we got to the Chavakachcheri Rest-house, where we were to stay the night, the Rest-house Keeper asked whether we would like chicken curry for dinner. On getting the yes from my father, the Rest-house Keeper proceeded to take a gun, went out to a thicket not far from the rest-house and shot a jungle fowl which was there. He cooked it as a curry for dinner.

Routes

There are two routes to Jaffna from Anuradhapura, that one can use. One is from Anuradhapura via Medawachchiya-Vavunia-Kilinochchi-Elephant Pass to Jaffna. The alternate route is through Mannar. There are three routes along which you could approach Mannar. One is from Medawachchiya- Neeriyankulam and then Mannar. The second is from Nochchiyagama-Tantrimale-onto the Mannar-Medawachchiya road and on to Mannar. The third is from Puttalam-Eluwankulam- through the Wilpattu National Park- Silavathurai-Murunkan and Mannar. The shortest route to Mannar, from Colombo, is through Wilpattu.

From Mannar you take the new road to Pooneryn and across the newly constructed causeway direct to Jaffna. This road has been reconstructed recently though there are about two or three kilometres yet to be completed.

The road to Pooneryn runs, for about two or three kilometres, through the Madhu Road sanctuary and has a preponderance of Palu (Manilkaras hexandra) or Ironwood trees. The road is lined with these Palu trees and when I passed recently the Palu was in fruit. A new feature seen on the Jaffna - Pooneryn road are sign boards that show that you are leaving a particular town or village. The board has the name of the place in all three languages but has a white line diagonally across the board.

Schools

We carried out a schools awareness program in eight schools in the peninsula. The schools were Jaffna Hindu College, St John's College, Jaffna Central College, Jaffna Hindu Ladies, Mahajana College and Union College (both in Tellippalai), Hartley College and Nelliady Central College (both in Nelliady). Our program was designed to create an awareness on Sri Lanka's biodiversity, the natural environment, pollution, wildlife, evolution etc. amongst the children.

I was impressed by the dedication shown by the Principals and teachers of these schools, to keep to their task of giving their students an all round education in a conducive environment. Their enthusiasm to learn and the discipline of the students was exemplary. Most of these schools, especially those started by the Christian missionaries, have had strong traditions which the schools are striving to maintain.

Nilavarai Deep Well

The Nilavarai well located at Nawathkiri, on the Kankasenturai road, is a very deep well where the actual depth has not been ascertained, despite many attempts to do so.

The local information is that the first 40 feet of the well is fresh water and further down turns saline. It is reputed that there is an underground tunnel which leads to the sea. Tourist brochures describe the well as 'a beautiful natural well with an astonishing aquamarine colour. What there now is a dirty water hole, which is polluted and of no use to even bathe. However, the mystery of its depth and source of water continues. Some think that this well is connected to the ponds at Keerimalai.

Jaffna Fort

The Jaffna Fort was built by the Portuguese in 1618, when they captured Jaffna. It was subsequently captured by the Dutch in 1658 after a three-month seige. The Dutch demolished the damaged and out of date square fort of the Portuguese and in its place built their ideal fortress. The Dutch added to the fort and made it bigger.

This is the only large military fort in the country. The Jaffna Fort, the second largest Dutch Fort in Sri Lanka, is located immediately south of Jaffna town, with the southern side bounded by the shallow waters of Jaffna lagoon, the inlet of the Indian Ocean that carves out the Jaffna Peninsula. There are five outlets to the sea from the Jaffna lagoon, the biggest being the one between Karainagar and Kayts.

The Dutch first built the inner pentagon, and the main gate here bears the date of 1680 and then in the following century enclosed it in a wider fortification of the same shape. This shape is not as obvious as three of the branches are not built because of the vicinity of the sea on these sides.

The fort's black coral-lined walls, ramparts and battlements stand high on the grass covered mound and are surrounded by a moat. The fort covers an area of 22 hectares, a beautiful setting and rightfully qualified as a Citadel (i.e. a large, independent, garrisoned, administrative and military centre without civil inhabitants).

The fort remained with the British till 1948 when independence was declared.

Fort Hammenheil

This small fort stands, off Karainagar, on a rocky island at the entrance to Jaffna lagoon. The fort was constructed by the Portuguese in 1618 and takes up all the limited land of the island. The Portuguese named it Fortaleza do caes. The walls are made of large chunks of coral and bound by a mixture that also seemed to include burnt coral. This fort was in the north and the Mannar fort in the south and the two served to guard the passage, by water, to the Castle Fort at Jaffna.

This fort is built in an unusual circular design and has two internal levels. The fort stands on a small sand bank between the small islands of Karaitivu and Velanai (Kayts) and the sole navigation channel from the sea to the lagoon on which Jaffna stands.

This island fort was captured by the Dutch in March 1658. They changed its name to Hammenhiel (heel of the ham). The shape of Sri Lanka reminded the Dutch of a leg of ham. When the Dutch occupied this water-fort, they found that the sand bank on which it was built had been undermined by the storms of the North-East monsoon.

They remedied this erosion by piling up a breakwater of stones.

A low vaulted gate-way not more than seven feet in height is the only entrance to this fort. The living quarters consist of three or four rooms in the courtyard. The vaults under the ramparts were doubtless used as a store rooms.

One of the cells where the foreign invaders kept their prisoners was also used by our security forces, during the 1971 JVP insurrection to keep leader Wijeweera locked up after his arrest.

The Sri Lanka Navy has now converted this fort to an up market hotel.

The living quarter of the Portuguese and Dutch soldiers, four rooms in all, have now been converted to hotel rooms. The food and other facilities are on the mainland. The fort surrendered without resistance to the British in 1795 and in 1948 became the property of the independent government of Sri Lanka.

Nallur Kandhaswami Kovil

Nallur Kandhaswami Kovil, is located 3km from the town centre. It is dedicated to the Hindu God Murugan and was rebuilt in 1807 during the British occupation.

The original shrine, a devala featuring the statues of Hindu Gods and Buddha, built by the Prince Sapumal of the Kotte Kingdom and the vice royal of Jaffna Peninsula, was destroyed by the Portuguese, on February 2, 1625. To date at the Nallur Kandhaswami Kovil, prayers are recited in the name of Prince Sapumal of Kotte.

The Nallur Kovil has been built four times. The first three being destroyed by invaders, with the third destroyed by the Portuguese. The fourth, the present temple, was constructed in 1749 A.D. during the Dutch era. The present temple is now in the premises of the original temple.

Today the Kovil has developed into an enormous complex encompassing numerous shrines accessed by richly decorated corridors. Within the complex are a beautiful courtyard and a large tank.

Dagobas

Kantharodai, described as Kadurugoda Temple in the Sinhalese chronicles, is a 3rd century BC Buddhist site located about 10km north of the city of Jaffna, and closer to Chunnakam.

Kantharodai consists of a cluster of twenty miniature dagobas, ranging in height from one to three metres. It is believed that each of the miniature dagobas has the remains of bhikkhus enshrined therein.

These dagabos are somewhat akin to the stupas at the Borabadhur temple in Indonesia.

Sir Paul Pieris who discovered the site in 1916 wrote that "Kantarodai appears to me to be a miniature Anuradhapura buried in the Tamil country". Some suggest that Kantharodai marks the spot where Buddha landed on his second visit to the island.

The finials of the stupas are made of limestone. A sacred footprint stone was also found on the site. This has been identified as the Kadurugoda Temple as mentioned in the Sinhala Chronicles, its history dating back to the third century BC. This site does not seem to be getting the attention, from the Department of Archaeology, it deserves.

Point Pedro

The light house at the coastal village of Point Pedro marks the northern most point of Sri Lanka and faces the Bay of Bengal.

The name of the place is derived from the Portuguese Punta das Pedras which means Stony or Rocky Point.

The distance across Sri Lanka from Dondra head in the south to Point Pedro is 435 kilometres.

The breadth of Sri Lanka is 224 kilometres, this distance being calculated from Colombo to Sangaman Kanda in Komari, which is north of Pottuvil.

West of Point Pedro is the infamous coastal village of Velvettiturai, which for decades, had been a stronghold of the petty local smugglers and the landing point of illegal immigrants or Kallathoni's from South India.

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