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| Sunday, 19 March 2006 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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What remains of the Dutch in Galle by Rikaza Hassan
The Dutch settlements in Galle got a new coat of arms made for them - a cockerel standing on a rock, which is seen ever so often even today. It has been suggested that the name of the city was derived from 'galo' - Portuguese for rooster. (The unintended pun perhaps lies in the Sinhala 'gala' for rock.) However, it is the quiet narrow streets and alleyways inside the Galle Fort that still hold the charm of old Galle, as they have changed little since colonial times. The interior of the Fort is still heavily reminiscent of the Dutch reign including these delightful street:.
Pedlar Street, called 'Moorse Kramerstraat' (Moorish Pedlar Street) after the profession of the influential small Muslim traders. Church Street, known as 'Kerkstraat' by the Dutch after a church was pulled down in the 17th century. Other streets that still bear their Dutch names include 'Leyn Baan' (Rope Street).
Will changing 29 Rampart Street to .......... veediya make us appreciate the historical importance of Galle? Or will it rather take us away from the historical ambience, the next time you take a stroll through the Fort? Will not the tourist industry -important to our economy - be affected in an adverse manner? And if the move does take place, and lanes and avenues are replaced with patumagas and mawathas, could it be but the first step to obliberate the historical colonial aspect of the Galle Fort completely? |
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| Produced by Lake House |
In 1640, the Dutch seized from the Portuguese, the port city of Galle; a
city with a history spanning hundreds of years. Even though the English
invaders captured the city from the resident Dutch rulers 150 years later,
it is nevertheless the Dutch influence that is heavily felt today. 
The Parrawa Street, named 'Parruasstraat' in the Dutch period and
so-called after the parawa fishermen and traders. 
Yet today, certain politically motivated elements have come upon the idea
of changing the ancient names of these streets and replacing them with
Sinhala names; an attempt that has been trumped up as being nationalistic
and patriotic. Just how beneficial this will be to ordinary patriotic Sri
Lankans is however debatable. 
