Puttalam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Puttalam is a district situated near to the west coast of Sri Lanka. Along with the Kurunegala district, it formulates the Wayamba (North Western) Province of Sri Lanka. The capitial town of the district is known as Puttalam and borders the Kala Oya and Modara Gam Aru in the north, Anuradhapura and Kurunegala districts in the east, Ma Oya in the south and the Indian Ocean in the west. Puttalam is well known for its picturesque lagoon, a paradise for shallow sea fishing activities. More recently Prawn farming activities have also flourished in the area.

History of this dry zone district goes back to the arrival of North Indian Prince Vijaya, 2500 years ago in Tammanna in the coastal belt above Puttalam. This happened when his vessel was washed ashore. Thonigala the homeland of Kuweni is deep in the district. The name "Puttalam" may be a modification of "Buth-aram", i.e, a complex of villages donated by the king to Buddhist temples.

Situated at the apex of the Coconut triangle, Puttalam is the second largest Coconut producer of the country. And Tabbowa, a fertile land for agriculture records highest paddy production per acre. Holland fort at Kalpitiya, St. Anne's Church in Thalawila and Munneshwaram Kovil in Chillaw underline the historical importance of this region.

The Kaffrinha had a community in this coastal district. They were brought to the island of Ceylon by the Portuguese from African villages. The Kaffir slaves settled here and their descendants speak Portuguese Creole.

Puttalam has been a predominantly Muslim town from known days.

[edit] References

M. D. Amarasinghe, S. Balasubramaniam, Structural properties of two types of mangrove stands on the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka, Hydrobiologia, Volume 247, Issue 1 - 3, Nov 1992, Pages 17-27.
L. P. Jayatissa, F. Dahdouh-Guebas and N. Koedam, A review of the floral composition and distribution of mangroves in Sri Lanka. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 138: Pages 29-43, 2002.

Mr ashik hikram ole