Maduwanwela Walawwa is a
Walauwa
Walauwa or walawwa is the name given to a feudal/colonial manor house in Sri Lanka of a native headmen. It also refers to the feudal social systems that existed during the colonial era.
The term walauwa is derived from the Tamil word ''valavu ...
located in
Ratnapura District
Ratnapura ( Sinhala: රත්නපුර දිස්ත්රික්කය, Tamil: இரத்தினபுரம் மாவட்டம்) is a district of Sri Lanka in the Sabaragamuwa Province.
The gem-mining centre of Sri L ...
,
Sabaragamuwa Province,
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 ...
. The Walawwa is in the town of
Maduwanwela, which lies between
Embilipitiya
Embilipitiya is a town, governed by an urban council, in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka.
Overview
In the 1970s it was a small town with two or three small boutiques. Under the Udawalawe development project, Embilipitiya g ...
and
Suriyakanda, approximately from
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 ...
.
History
Maduwanwela Walawwa dates back to the reign of King
Wimaladharmasuriya II (1687-1707 AD).
It was built by Maduwanwela Maha Mohottala in the 1700s and was expanded numerous times by the Maduwanwela family until 1905 when the final expansion was undertaken by
Maduwanwela Maha Disawe Wickramasinghe Wijesundara Ekanayake Abeykoon Mudiyanse Ralahamilage Sir James Williams Maduwanwela (''known as Maduwanwela Maha Disawe '') (1844–1930) was a Ceylonese colonial-era headmen. He was appointed to the post of Dissawa by the British Go ...
.
The building
During 1877-1905 period, the Walawwa had 121 rooms, 21 inner courtyards (Meda Midula)
[ and 80 000 ]acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
s of land surrounding it, at present there are on 43 rooms left.courthouse
A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...
with seating space for 100 people, furniture and the equipment used for punishments are still present. Following the death of Maduwanwela Maha Disawe, the last of the Maduwanwela family, the house was transferred to Sir Francis Molamure. In 1974, it was transferred to the state and taken over by the Department of Archaeological and converted into a museum.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Maduwanwela Walawwa, Amazing Lanka
Archaeological protected monuments in Ratnapura District
Houses completed in 1725
Houses in Ratnapura District