Gurunagar ( ta, குருநகர், translit=Kurunakar) is a coastal village in

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mo ...

city in northern Sri Lanka. Gurunagar is also known as ''Karaiyur'' (). The suburb is divided into two

village officer division ''Grama Niladhari'' (''village officers'') ( si, ග්‍රාම නිලධාරී) is a Sri Lankan public official appointed by the central government to carry out administrative duties in a ''grama niladhari'' division, which is a sub-un ...

s (Gurunagar East and Gurunagar West) whose combined population was 3,520 at the 2012 census. The suburb is mainly populated by Catholic Sri Lankan Tamils, engaged in sea activities. The village is known in

due to its maritime history and also served as the western sector of the Jaffna Kingdom.

Etymology

Gurunagar, also spelled as ''Kurunagar'' derives its words from ''Kuru'' and ''Nagar'' (Urban centre in Tamil). The word ''Kuru'' is a clans name used by the

Karaiyar Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne t ...

s also known as ''Kurukulam,'' who make up majority of Gurunagar. Karaiyur, as it was earlier known as stems from the Tamil words ''Karai'' (coast) and Ur (village). Karaiyur was marked in the Dutch maps as ''Cereoer.''

History

The earliest settlers of

, were according to local legend, a musician and his kinsfolk. The surmised place they first settled is in the area surrounding Gurunagar and

Colombuthurai Colombuthurai ( ta, கொழும்புத்துறை, translit=Koḻumputtuṟai; si, කොලොම්තර ''Kolomtara'') is a suburb of the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. Colombuthurai means "the port at the bending point" i ...

. The Columbuthurai Commercial Harbor situated at

and the

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

known as ‘''Aluppanthy''’ situated previously at the Gurunagar area seem as its evidences. The navy of the

Aryacakravarti dynasty The Arya Chakravarti dynasty ( ta, ஆரியச் சக்கரவர்த்திகள் வம்சம், Sinhalese: ආර්ය චක්‍රවර්තී රාජවංශය) were kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in Sri Lank ...

was crewed and officered by the people of Gurunagar. The ''Pattinathurai'' of Gurunagar was a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

for foreign vessels. It is surmised that it was here the Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta, saw fleet of ships that belonged to the Aryacakravarti kings. The Maniagar and Adappans of Gurunagar served as one of the headmen of the Jaffna ports. The western section of the Jaffna Kingdom was allotted by the

s of Gurunagar. There existed a smaller fort in

and one at ''Pannaithurai'' near Gurunagar. In 1560, the Portuguese forces with 77 ships arrived in Gurunagar and defeated the Tamil army governing there before proceeding further to Nallur. The Cathedral of Jaffna in Gurunagar was constructed over an already existing smaller chapel. The chapel was constructed as the place where the Jaffna king Cankili I killed his own son for converting to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Starting from the early 1920s, was the Gurunagar land reclamation scheme started, starting from modern ''Beach Road'' to ''Reclamation Road.''

References

{{Northern Province, Sri Lanka topics Jaffna DS Division Suburbs of Jaffna

Etymology

History

See also

References