Kaduwela ( si, කඩුවෙල, ta, கடுவெலை) is a suburb of
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
in the
Colombo District
Colombo District ( si, කොළඹ දිස්ත්රික්කය ''kol̠am̆ba distrikkaya''; ta, கொழும்பு மாவட்டம் ''Koḻumpu Māvaṭṭam'') is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level ...
,
Western Province, Sri Lanka
The Western Province ( si, බස්නාහිර පළාත ''Basnāhira Paḷāta''; ta, மேல் மாகாணம் ''Mael Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the c ...
. It is located about from Colombo city centre on the Colombo -
Avissawella
Avissawella, ( si, අවිස්සාවේල්ල, ta, அவிசாவளை) is a township in Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council, situated on the A4 route from Colombo to Ratnapura, Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, ap ...
Old Road (Low Level Road) and about from
Kollupitiya
Kollupitiya, also known as Colpetty is a major neighbourhood of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The name Kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from Kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king of Kandy. During the period of British a ...
on the New
Kandy
Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...
Road from Ethulkotte to Kandy.
Etymology
Kaduwela was originally ''Kadudevola'', a compound of ''Kadu'' (
sword
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...
) and ''Devola'' (
shrine
A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy sacred space, space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor worship, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, Daemon (mythology), daem ...
). It was the location of a shrine of the goddess
Pattini
Pattini (, ,), is considered a guardian deity of Sri Lanka in Sri Lankan Buddhism and Sinhalese folklore. She is also worshipped by Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus by the name of ''Kannaki Amman''.
She is considered the patron goddess of fertility a ...
, linked to a golden sword used in the 'water cutting' ritual. The shrine is called the ''Purana Rankadu Pattini Maha Devale'' (ancient great shrine of the golden-sword Pattini).
In another possibility Kaduwela simply means the jungle
paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...
. Kadu means jungle (Sorata Thera's Sinhala–Sinhala dictionary) and wela means paddy field. There is also another Kaduwela in the Ukuwela division of Matale district
According to Robert Percival of the
19th Regiment of Foot
19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number.
Mathematics
19 is the eighth prime number, and forms a sexy prime with 13, a twin prime with 17, and a cousin prime with 23. It is the third full re ...
, during the Revolt of 1797 against the Dutch, the Sinhalese threw up earthworks and established a fort here.
After the British defeat in the
1st Kandyan War, Kaduwela was occupied by a small force of British
sepoy
''Sepoy'' () was the Persian-derived designation originally given to a professional Indian infantryman, traditionally armed with a musket, in the armies of the Mughal Empire.
In the 18th century, the French East India Company and its oth ...
s and
lascoreens. They were later reinforced by a mixed force of European troops and sepoys under Captain Charles Wilkinson Mercer of the
51st Regiment, prior to the Battle of Hanwella.
Kaduwela Municipal Council
Demographics
Kaduwela Municipality area is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious urban centre. According to the census of 2012 the demographics by ethnicity and religion is as follows:.
See also
*
List of towns in Western Province, Sri Lanka
Western Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Colombo District, Gampaha District, and Kalutara District. The following is a list of settlements in the province.
__NOTOC__
A
Aboyne, Adikarigoda, Adikarimulla, Adikkandiya, A ...
References
External links
Kaduwela Municipal Council
*
Populated places in Western Province, Sri Lanka
{{WesternLK-geo-stub