Kayts ( ta, ஊர்காவற்துறை, translit=Ūrkāvaṟtuṟai'','' ), is one of the important villages in

Velanai Island Velanai Island ( ta, வேலணை), also known as ''Leiden'' in Dutch, is a small island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the North of Sri Lanka. There are number of villages within the island such as Allaipiddy, Mankumpan, Velanai, ...

which is a small island off the coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in northern

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. There are number of other villages within the Velanai Islands such as

Allaippiddi Allaippiddi or Allaipiddy ( ta, அல்லைப்பிட்டி, si, අලපිටිය Alapitiya) is a village within the Velanai Island in the Jaffna peninsula within Sri Lanka's Northern Province. Geography Allaipiddy is strategi ...

, Mankumpan,

Velanai Velanai ( ta, வேலணை; si, වේලනෛයි) is a small village in Velanai Island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the North of Sri Lanka. The majority of the people are Hindus along with a minority of Christians. There are n ...

, Saravanai, Puliyankoodal, Suruvil, Naranthanai,

Karampon Karampon (also known as ''Karampan'') ( ta, கரம்பொன்) is a village located in Kayts, Velanai Island, off the Jaffna Peninsula, Northern Sri Lanka. The majority of the people are Hindus along with a minority of Christians C ...

and Melinchimunai. Most of the people are

Tamils The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Drav ...

. There are number of

Hindu temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

s as well as churches and a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

. The island is also served by a dozen schools. Since 1983 Kayts Island has also been the scene of violence as part of the Sri Lankan Civil War, including the

Allaipiddy massacre The Allaipiddy massacre or Allaipiddy murders refers to the May 13, 2006 killing of 13 minority Tamil civilians in separate incidents in three villages in the islet of Kayts in northern Sri Lanka. Incident The massacre took place on the night o ...

. On 8 August 1992,

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Denzil Kobbekaduwa Lieutenant General Denzil Lakshman Kobbekaduwa, RWP, RSP, VSV, USP ( si, ඩෙන්සිල් ලක්ෂ්මණ් කොබ්බෑකඩුව; 27 July 1940 – 8 August 1992) was a senior Sri Lankan Army officer who served in t ...

and

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Mohan Jayamaha Rear admiral Conan Anthony Mohan Jayamaha, RWP, VSV, USP, psc, SLN (12 January 1949–8 August 1992) was a Sri Lankan Admiral. He was Commander, Northern Naval Area of the Sri Lanka Navy when he was killed from wounds sustained in a l ...

were killed along with several senior army and navy officers when their Land Rover hit a land mine off Araly Point in Kayts.

Etymology

The name Kayts is of colonial origin. The name is derived from the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

"Caes dos Elefantes" meaning "Elephant's

Quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

", often just shortened to ''Cais''. It was named such because elephants were shipped from here to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The present term evolved further as ''Kayts'' under Dutch rule. The native

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

name ''Ūrkavathurai'' means "Port which guards the Country". This name is again derived from the original

term ''Ūrathurai'', derived from the

words ''Uru'' meaning "ship" or "shooner", and ''thurai'' meaning "

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 Ham ...

". The earliest reference to this is found in two

inscriptions of the 12th century AD, one found in

Thiruvalangadu Thiruvalangadu is a village on the western suburbs of Chennai, India. The railway station is located on the Chennai-Arakkonam Route, the penultimate station before Arakkonam. Sri Vadaranyeswarar Temple is situated at a distance of 5 km fro ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

issued by

Rajadhiraja Chola II Rajadhiraja Chola II (1166–1178 CE) reigned as the Chola king succeeding Rajaraja Chola II. Rajaraja Chola II chose Rajadhiraja II, a maternal grandson of Vikrama Chola Because he had no sons. Rajadhiraja II's father was Sangama chola (Neriyud ...

and one found in

Nainativu Nainativu ( ta, நயினாதீவு ''Nainatheevu'', si, නාගදීපය ''Nagadeepa''), is a small but notable island off the coast of Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The name of the island alludes to the fo ...

issued by

Parakramabahu I Parākramabāhu I ( Sinhala: මහා පරාක්‍රමබාහු, 1123–1186), or Parakramabahu the Great, was the king of Polonnaruwa from 1153 to 1186. He oversaw the expansion and beautification of his capital, constructed extensiv ...

. Other scholars derive the name from the

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

name ''Ūrātota'' meaning "

Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus s ...

port", referring to a legend surrounding the Śakra buddhist deity, who swam from India to this place in the form of a pig. Earliest reference to this is found in the Pali chronicle ''Pujavaliya'' of the 13th century AD.

History

The earliest inscription mentioning Kayts or ''Ūrathurai'' is that of a

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

inscription of the 12th century AD discovered in Fort Hammenhiel, referring to the 9th century AD Chola general of the King

Parantaka Chola II Parantaka Chola II (Tamil: இரண்டாம் பராந்தக சோழன்) (r. 958 – 973 CE) was a Chola emperor. He is also known as Sundara Chola as he was considered an epitome of male beauty.''Early Chola temples:Parantak ...

, who died in a battle field in Kayts. The 13th century AD

chronicle ''Pujavaliya'', mentions that Mahinda IV vanquished a Tamil king who landed at ''Hurātota'' from the Cola country. A

12th century AD inscription issued by

found in

also mentions the Chola King taking elephants from Kayts and other places such as

Valikamam Valikamam ( ta, வலிகாமம் valikāmam, si, වැලිගම) is one of the three historic regions of Jaffna peninsula in northern Sri Lanka. The other two regions are Thenmarachchi and Vadamarachchi. Alternative spellings includ ...

and Mattivazh. Archeological remains found in Kayts indicates that Kayts was a harbour for foreign vessels. The

12th century AD inscription of

issued by

mentions Kayts as a port where foreigner must first land for trading. Kayts was part of the

Jaffna Kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...

. Under the chieftainship of

Migapulle Arachchi Migapulle Arachchi ( or ) also known as ''Chinna Migapillai'', was a feudal lord from the Jaffna Kingdom who became a rebel leader just after its Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom, annexation by the Portuguese Empire in 1619. His title ''Ara ...

, did a group of

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

s revolt against the Jaffna King

Cankili II Cankili II ( ta, சங்கிலி குமாரன், translit=Caṅkili Kumāraṉ; died 1619) was the last king of the Jaffna kingdom and was a usurper who came to throne with a palace massacre of the royal prince and the regent A ...

, who thereupon sought refugee in Kayts and asked the

for assistance.

References

External links

{{coord, 9, 40, N, 79, 52, E, display=title, region:LK_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Towns in Jaffna District Island North DS Division