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Mawanella is a town which belongs to the
Kegalle
Kegalle ( si, කෑගල්ල; ta, கேகாலை) is a large town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo–Kandy road, approximately from Colombo and from Kandy. It is the main town in the Kegalle District ...
district in the
Sabaragamuwa Province of
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 ...
. It lies between Kegalle and Kadugannawa along the
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 ...
-
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. The area consists of four administrative areas, namely Mawanella, Aranayake, Rambukkana and Hemmathagama.
Demographics
Mawanella Division has a population of 111,727. Urban area's of the Town are mostly inhabited by
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka
* Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language
** Sinha ...
and
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
people respectly. With a small
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 ...
minority. Others include
Malay
Malay may refer to:
Languages
* Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore
** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century
** Indonesi ...
,
Burgher
Burgher may refer to:
* Burgher (social class), a medieval, early modern European title of a citizen of a town, and a social class from which city officials could be drawn
** Burgess (title), a resident of a burgh in northern Britain
** Grand Bu ...
,
Indian Tamils.
''Sourc
statistics.gov.lk'
Economy
Business is the way of living for majority of the people. There are plenty of Teachers in this town. Education sector also is another income source of the people in this area.
Products
The crops include
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima
''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
,
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
,
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
,
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
,
cardamom
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are rec ...
,
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed or ground spice of several species of the genus ''Myristica''. ''Myristica fragrans'' (fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg) is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fruit: nutmeg, from its seed, an ...
,
vegetables
Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...
and various types spices. Mawanella is also famous for its traditional handicrafts, especially the
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
, brass-ware and tobacco related industry. There are over 50 pottery shops in Annasigala area along the
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 ...
to
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.
Climate and Geology
Mawanella belongs to the Tropical Evergreen region of central Sri Lanka. The altitude of the area varies from 180m to 260 m above sea level. The average annual rainfall lies between 2500 and 4500 ml, and temperature of the region ranges between 22 degrees and 35 degrees Celsius. It receives most of the rain from
Southwest Monsoon
A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscill ...
. The average wind speed has been measured to be approximately 7.2 km/hour and humidity in the range lies between 57% and 90%. The whole region is mountainous, but the most famous mountain is the
Bathalegala or Bible Rock. Devanagala and Alagalla are another two mountains in the area. There is also a waterway called Maa Oya running very close to the town and there is a village called Bootawa, where two waterways called Maa Oya and Higulu Oya are joining near a Bridge called Bootawa Bridge situated in Mawanella to Rambukkana Road. The historic
Mawanella Bridge built to cross the
Maha Oya
The Maha Oya is a major stream in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It measures approximately in length. It runs across four provinces and five districts. Maha Oya has 14 Water supply networks to serve the need of water and more than 1 mi ...
by the British, during their colonial ruler. A modern concrete bridge was constructed in 2005, immediately north of the old bridge.
Government/Religious Education
There are 3 educational divisions -Aranayake, Mawanella and Rambukana under Mawanella Educational Zone. There are 22,019 students and 54 schools in Mawanella, 16,517 students and 43 schools in Rambukkana and 12,964 students and 48 schools in Aranayake division totaling 51,500 students and 145 schools. 19 of the 145 total schools are Muslim schools. The most prestigious schools in the area are Mayurapada Central College, Rivisanda Central College, Zahira College, and Baduriya Central College. Buddhist Sunday schools a.k.a. "Daham Pasal", Islam schools such as Ahadiya or
Madrasah
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...
and other religious schools provide a key element in religious education.
Private Education
Private educational institutes also play a major role in education. There are three international schools and large number of tuition institutes in the area. A large percentage of students seek these institutions, although the quality and standards of them remains questionable.
History
Mawanella is historically famous for
Uthuwan Kande Soora Saradiel - a native who fought against British colonialism. He is known as the Robin Hood of Ceylon/ Sri Lanka as he looted the wealth from British officers and their local counterparts only to distribute it among the poor villagers.
Deekirikewagela Saradiel was born in 1832 to his father Deekirikewage Adasi Appu - a bullocart driver and Molligoda Pichohami - a small coffee shop owner. The natives were under heavy economical and political pressure from unfair taxes under British rule and were rebelling against as best way they could. Saradiel was accompanied by fellow natives namely Mammale Marikkar, Baya, Hawadiya, Samat etc.
In order to evade his arrest, Saradiel, decided not to remain in one single place permanently, for the sake of his own safety. While he was thus taking refuge in the homes of his friends, on March 17, 1864, a police team under the command of Head Constable Amath surrounded the house where Saradiel had been hiding, with the help of some of the residents of that area who had given them the tip-off, which resulted in the death on the spot of George Van Haught, a member of the police search party, due to a gunshot wound.
Also, while Muttusamy and Christian Appu, two of his other accomplices received grievous injuries and two other were slightly injured, while they were thus engaged in the fracas, Saradiel and Mammale Marikkar succeeded in escaping.
Subsequently, the Police team including Police Sergeant Mahath and Police Constable Sabab, set out on March 21, 1864 to arrest Saradiel on the information given by the informant, one Sirimala. Based on this information, when the Police team surrounded the house belonging to Abdul Cader of Mawenelle searching for Saradiel, he attempted to shoot Sergeant Mahath.
But Sergeant Mahath outsmarted Saradiel by shooting him first, which resulted in Saradiel falling to the ground from the upstairs where he had been hiding. Due to a gunshot fired from the upstairs by Mammale Marikkar, a member of Saradiel’s gang, the Police Constable Saban was killed. This was the first time ever a police officer died on duty in
Sri Lankan Police
(The one who lives by the Dhamma is protected by the Dhamma itself)
, mission =
, formedyear =
, preceding1 = Ceylon Police Force (1866–1972)
, dissolved =
, superseding =
, employees = ...
history and since, March 21 is commemorated as the Police Day. Saradiel was later executed by the British after a short trial.
People from Mawanella
*
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Cyril Ranatunga
General S. Cyril Ranatunga, VSV (19 February 1930 – 16 June 2021) was a Sri Lanka Army officer. He served as Secretary of Defence, General Officer Commanding, Joint Operations Command and Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army during the 1980s ...
References
External links
view a map of Mawanella{{coord, 7.25345, 80.44656, region:LK_type:city, display=title
Populated places in Kegalle District
Populated places in Sabaragamuwa Province