Pottuvil ( ta, பொத்துவில், translit=Pottuvil; si, පොතුවිල, translit=Potuvil) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in the

Ampara District Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the s ...

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 ...

, located in the Eastern Province on the eastern coast of the Island. It is situated north of the popular tourist destination

Arugam Bay Arugam Bay ( ta, அறுகம் குடா), known locally as "Arugam Kudah", is situated on the Indian Ocean in the dry zone of Sri Lanka's southeast coast, and a historic settlement of the ancient Batticaloa Territory (Mattakallappu Des ...

Name

The romanized form ''Pothuwila'' and also ''Pothuvila'' are also common in English-language writings of Sinhalese writers, and in many webpages. Most sinhala newspaper articles and facebook pages refer to "Pothuvila", පොතුවිල.

History

This town is mentioned in the Pali Chronicle known as the

Cūḷavaṃsa The ''Cūḷavaṃsa'' or ''Chulavamsa'' (Pāli: "Lesser Chronicle") is a historical record, written in the Pali language, of the monarchs of Sri Lanka. It covers the period from the 4th century to 1815. The ''Cūḷavaṃsa'' was compiled over ...

, and the Vanni Raajaavalaiya. "Bodhivāla" is mentioned in the

(Chapter lvii, 54) in the context of the Ruhuna (see:

Principality of Ruhuna The Principality of Ruhuna, also referred to as the Kingdom of Ruhuna, is a region of present-day Southern and Eastern Sri Lanka. It was the center of a flourishing civilisation and the cultural and economic centres of ancient Sri Lanka. Magama, Ti ...

campaigns of Vijayabahu I, 11th century CE). Archaeologists like Ellawala Medhananda Thero, and historians have discussed the place name while Linguists recognize the change of "b" to "p" and the clear evolution of the modern name "Pothuvila" from Bodhivāla. "Vāla" means "water" (or also periphery) in compound usage (Pali Text Society dict., p 610)PTS Dictionary, https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/pali/ , downloaded 16-11-20 as in "Aalavaala"(Sanskrit), i.e, basin of water found at the root of a tree. "vāla" is also a type of jasmine, ''Pavonia Odorata'' grown in temples. "Vaala" also means circumference or periphery (c.f., chakravaala), and "Bodhivaal" could simply mean the region enclosing a Bodhi (c.f. Devaala). Pottuvil was affected by the

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami An earthquake and a tsunami, known as the Boxing Day Tsunami and, by the scientific community, the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake, occurred at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+7) on 26 December 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of northern Suma ...

. The town's population in 2007 was 33,625.

Demographics

Pottuvil is a

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 ...

dominant town.

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 ...

are the second largest group in the town. Others small groups,

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 Indian Tamils.

Ethnicity in Pottuvil Town (2012)

''Sourc
statistics.gov.lk
'

Economy

Agriculture is generally seen as the basic economic route of the town. In addition, the town’s internal economy is strengthened through

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

, coastal and inland

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

, small and medium business, tourism, and trade. It is evident that there are plenty of natural resources here.

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 ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

es,

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

s and springs are parts of the town's landscape. Paddy is the main crop in the area. However, vegetables, coconuts and fruits are also grown and contribute to the internal livelihood. At the same time, animal husbandry and fisheries also contribute significantly to the economy, and the tourism sector is seen as one of the most important and well-developed sources. The area is said to be rich in soil as it is home to beaches, rivers and reservoirs. Coconut cultivation is being carried out on a small scale in the coastal villages of Komari, Manarasena, Victor Garden, Hitayapuram, Urani and Ullai. In addition,

chilli Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...

is the main crop in vegetable cultivation. The city is also known for its beaches and the world-famous

for waterboarding. The nearby beaches are also known as Ullai Beach.

Notes

References

{{coord, 6, 52, N, 81, 49, E, region:LK_type:city, display=title Towns in Ampara District Pottuvil DS Division