Chilaw

Chilaw

හලාවත

சிலாபம்
Town
Chilaw

හලාවත

சிலாபம்

Location in Sri Lanka

Coordinates: 7°35′N 79°48′E / 7.583°N 79.800°E / 7.583; 79.800
Country Sri Lanka
Province North Western Province
District Puttalam District
Elevation 3 m (10 ft)
Population
 • Total 24, 712 [1]
Time zone +5.30

Chilaw (හලාවත/Halāvata in Sinhala and சிலாபம் /Cilāpam in Tamil) is a large town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. It's governed by an urban council.

The visit of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahatma Gandhi, the 'Father of India,' visited Chilaw in November 1927 on his first and only journey to Sri Lanka when it was called Ceylon. This was a historic visit - Gandhi was invited to Chilaw by the freedom fighters Charles Edgar Corea and his brother Victor Corea[2] who lived in the town. The brothers founded the Chilaw Association and the Ceylon National Congress and campaigned hard for the independence of Ceylon. The Corea family have had a strong link with Chilaw. There is a saying in Sri Lanka that Chilaw is well known for the three 'C's' - Crabs, Coconuts and Coreas.

Chilaw Cathedral Our Lady of Mount Carmel


This is the cathedral of Chilaw Diocese. This cathedral has a history of more than two centuries. There is a legend about the cathedral's statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This incident happened more than 200 years ago. At that period most of the area of Chilaw Town was covered by the forest. A woman went in search of firewood and she heard a sound of a lady speaking, "Please take me". She stopped her work and went in search of the amazing sound. A statue of Mother Mary was on a tree. She took the statue and handed over it to the parish priest. He recognized the statue and it was a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a miraculous statue. It is believed that it is the same statue which is now in the cathedral. The feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated in July annually. During feast season of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel the town is fully decorated as a homage given to Mother Mary. Everyone in the town gets together to celebrate the feast in harmony.


Munneswaram Temple

Thousands of pilgrims, visitors and tourists flock to Chilaw to attend the annual Munneswaram Festival at the well known Munneswaram Temple in the town.

Tourists visit the well known Hindu temple located in Munneswaram, situated in the historic Demala Pattuva ("Tamil division") region in the Puttalam District. Every year people flock to Chilaw to observe the Munneswaram Festival. Traders sell various hand painted animals made out of clay such as the deer, money box tills and 'raban' (traditional hand drums) from stalls all over the town, during the Munneswaram Festival.

The main festivals celebrated at the temple include Navarathri and Sivarathri. The former is a nine-day-long festival in honour of the presiding Goddess, while the latter is an over-night observation in honour of Lord Shiva. In addition to these two Hindu festivals, the temple has a festival of its own, the Munneswaram festival, a four-week-long event attended by Hindus and Buddhists.

See also

References

Bibliography

Maps

Coordinates: 7°35′N 79°48′E / 7.583°N 79.800°E / 7.583; 79.800

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/9/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.