Nainativu

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Nainativu
நயினாதீவு
Island
Nagapooshani Amman Kovil
Nainativu
Coordinates: 9°36′0″N 79°46′0″E / 9.60000°N 79.76667°E / 9.60000; 79.76667Coordinates: 9°36′0″N 79°46′0″E / 9.60000°N 79.76667°E / 9.60000; 79.76667
Country Sri Lanka
Province Northern
District Jaffna
DS Division Islands South

Nainathivu or Nainatheevu (Tamil: நயினாதீவு), (also known as Manipallavam (Tamil: மணிபல்லவம்), or Nagadeepa (Sinhala: නාගදීපය)) is a small but notable island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the Sri Lankan Tamil dominated Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The name of the island alludes to the folklore inhabitants, the Naga people. It is home to the Hindu shrine of Shree Nagapooshani (Bhuvaneswari) Amman; one of the prominent 64 Shakti Peethas, and the Buddhist shrine Nagadeepa Vihare. Historians note the island is mentioned in the ancient Tamil Sangam literature of nearby Tamil Nadu (such as Manimekalai) and ancient Buddhist legends of Sri Lanka (such as Mahavamsa). Ptolemy, a Greek cartographer, describes the Tamil territory including islands around the Jaffna peninsula as Nagadibois in the first century CE.

History

Nāka Tivu / Nāka Nadu was the name of the whole Jaffna peninsula in some historical documents. There are number of Buddhist myths associated with the interactions of people of this historical place with Buddha.[1] The two Tamil Buddhist epics of Kundalakesi and Manimekalai describe the islet of Manipallavam of Nāka Tivu/Nadu which is identified with this islet of the Jaffna peninsula. Manimekalai describes the ancient island of Manipallavam from where merchants came to obtain gems and conch shells. The Tamil language inscription of the Nainativu temple by Parâkramabâhu I of the 12th century CE states that foreigners landing at new ports must meet at Kayts and they must be protected.The Hindu temple was destroyed by the Portuguese in 1620 CE. It was restored and re-established in 1788. Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman temple was attacked and burnt, and sustained severe damage, in June 1958, and in March 1986 by the Sri Lankan armed forces. The Naga Deepa Buddhist Vihara was established in the 1940s by a resident monk with the help of local Tamils.[2]

Naga People

Nāka people were snake-worshippers, a Dravidian custom, and spoke Tamil based on Ptolemy's description of the Nāka people.[3][4] They also likely spoke Prakrit, a language of the school of Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh with which the early Tamils of Jaffna had strong cultural relations during the classical period. The Nākas were a branch of the Dravidian community, and were at that time part of the Chera kingdom, and of ancient Tamilakam. A rchaeological excavations and studies provide evidence of palaeolithic inhabitation in the Tamil dominated Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka and in Tamil Naadu and Chera Naadu (Kerala region). The findings include Nāka idols and suggest that serpent worship was widely practised in the Dravidian regions of India and Sri Lanka during the megalithic period.[5][6][7][8][9]

The Nākas lived among the Yakkha, Raksha and Deva in Ceylon according to the Manimekalai and Mahavamsa. Cobra worship, Tamil speech and Keralan cuisine extant in Jaffna Tamil culture from the classical period attests to the Nāka's Tamil heritage.

Sangam literature details how the ancient Tamil people were divided into five clans (Kudi) based on their profession during the Sangam period, where the Nāka clan, who were in charge of border security guarding the city wall and distant fortresses, inhabited the Coromandel Coast - South Tamil Nadu, East Tamil Nadu and North Sri Lanka. The name Nāka was either a corrupted version of the word Nayinaar or may have been applied to this community due to their head covering being the shape of a hydra-headed cobra in reverence to their serpentine deities. British historian and author of "Ancient Ceylon" considers the Nāka to be an offshoot of the Nayars of Kerala[10] Ancient Tamil epic Manimekalai and the Sri Lankan history book Mahavamsa both mention a dispute between two Naga kings in northern Sri Lanka.[11] The Manimekalai and archaeological inscriptions refer to the Chola-Naka alliance and intermarriange being the progenitor of the Pallava Dynasty of Tamilakam.

Decline of Naga identity and assimilation

The Nagas are likely to have lost their identity over time, due to their loss of power and the formation of alliances with the new settlers of Sri Lanka. It is believed the original populations control over the island declined and they moved to their stronghold in the North of Sri Lanka. Nainativu being called Nayinaartheevu and Nagadeepa since ancient time attest to this. The Sri Lankan Tamil people of Nainativu, or at least the Valluva (Paraiyar) community people among them are descendants of the Naga people. They continue to worship their patron Nayinaar deity (a five headed cobra) even today within the sanctum sanctorum of the Nainativu Sri Nagapooshani Amman Temple. Historical records show that this temple was established by the Nagas from Chola, Pandiyan, and Chera Kingdoms who travelled on route to the early Jaffna Kingdom. The temple continues to be a major pilgrimage location for Sri Lankan Tamils, and Indian Tamils of Southern coastal regions of Tamil Nadu despite the decline of the Naga identity. These communities can trace their roots to the Nagas, who were Dravidians who spoke Tamil and other related languages. Archeological evidence of Naga settlements have been found in many parts of Tamil Nadu, Kerala (which was formerly Chera Nadu) and other South Indian sites such as Aathicha Nallur near Thirunelveli in Southern Tamil Nadu.

The Nagapooshani Amman Koil as a Shakti Peetha

Main articles: Daksha Yaga and Shakti Peethas

The mythology of Daksha Yaga is considered as the story of origin of Shakti Peethas when Shiva carried the corpse of Sati (goddess) and wandered around. The goddess Anklets is believed to have been fallen here.The Kalabhairava is Rakshaseshwar and the Shakti is Indrakshi.

Demography

The population of the island is approximately 2,500 Sri Lankan Tamils and about 150 Muslims Many Tamils of Nainativu origin, live in various cities and towns of India, Europe, Australia, and North America as part of the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora.[2]

Gallery

Nainativu Gallery
Nagapooshani Amman temple, Nainativu 
Nagapooshani Amman temple - view from the sea 
Nagapooshani Amman Kovil premises 
Nagadipa temple, Nainativu 
Nainativu Naha Vihara 
Nainativu Naha Vihara 
Nainativu boat service 

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nainativu.

Other places of Hindu and Buddhist jointveneration in Sri Lanka.

References

  1. ↑ Malalasekera, G.P. (2003). Dictionary of Pali Proper Names: Pali-English. Asian Educational Services. p. 42. ISBN 81-206-1823-8. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Meeadhu, Kalabooshanam (13 June 2008). "Nainativu Nagapooshani Chariot festival". Retrieved 18 January 2011. 
  3. ↑ Laura Smid (2003). South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Great Britain: Routledge. 429.
  4. ↑ Chelvadurai Manogaran (1987). Ethnic conflict and reconciliation in Sri Lanka . United States of America: University of Hawaii Press. 21.
  5. ↑ http://keraladotpark.com/pdf/Archacological%20wonders.pdf A research paper from archaeologist Dr. P. Rajendran showing evidence of paleolithic age human inhabitation in Kerala. This includes the pictures of serpent idols made of clay and metal which belong to the mesolithic age.
  6. ↑ Department of Archaeology, Kerala University confirms paleolithic age findings in Kerala
  7. ↑ General article for palaeolithic age findings in ancient Chera region
  8. ↑ A very detailed article including palaeolithic age in Kerala which was then part of Chera Naadu, one of the three Tamil kingdoms of that era
  9. ↑ "Anthropological museum to have new additions". The Hindu Newspaper (Kerala). 27 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-03. 
  10. ↑ H. Parker (1909). Ancient Ceylon. New Dehli: Asian Educational Services. 7.
  11. ↑ http://www.lankalibrary.com/heritage/naga.htm
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