The Sabaragamuwa Province ( si, සබරගමුව පළාත ''Sabaragamuwa Paḷāta'', ta, சபரகமுவ மாகாணம் ''Sabaragamuwa Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine
provinces of Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, provinces ( si, පළාත, translit=Paḷāta; ta, மாகாணம், translit=Mākāṇam) are the first level administrative division. They were first established by the British rulers of Ceylon in 1833. Over the next ce ...
, the first level
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the
13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established
provincial councils
A province is a geographic region within Gaelic games, consisting of several County (Gaelic games), counties of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the historic four provinces of Ireland as they were set in 1610.
Provin ...
. The Sabaragamuwa Province contains two districts:
Ratnapura
Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located ...
and
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 ...
. It is named after its former indigenous inhabitants, namely the Sabara, an indic term for
hunter-gatherer
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
tribes, a term seldom used in ancient Sri Lanka.
Sabaragamuwa University is in
Belihuloya
Belihuloya is a village in the Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is approximately south-east of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of above sea level. This hillside location is a climatically transitional area, li ...
.
Districts
Sabaragamuwa is divided into 2 districts:
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Kegalle District
Kegalle is a district in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. It is one of 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary ( ...
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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 ...
Municipal Council
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Ratnapura
Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located ...
Urban Council
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Balangoda
Balangoda is a large town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an urban council located away from Colombo and from Ratnapura on Colombo - Batticaloa Highway(A4). It is one of the largest towns of the Sabaragamuw ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
Other Towns
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Bulathkohupitiya
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Belihuloya
Belihuloya is a village in the Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is approximately south-east of Colombo and is situated at an elevation of above sea level. This hillside location is a climatically transitional area, li ...
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Eheliyagoda
Eheliyagoda is a town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. It
is located approximately east of Colombo.
The town is the centre of traditional gemstone mining and rubber plantations. Ekanite, a rare radioactive gemstone ...
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Kalawana
Kalawana ( si, කලවාන, ta, கலாவானா) is a town in the Ratnapura District of Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka.
Kalawana is located approximately away from Ratnapura and {{convert, 100, km, abbr=on to the south-east of ...
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Kuruwita
Kuruwita is a town in the Ratnapura District of Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is 87 km from Colombo. It used to be served by the narrow gauge Sabaragamuwa Railway, a branch of the national railway system. And known for the nearb ...
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Mawanella
Mawanella is a town which belongs to the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It lies between Kegalle and Kadugannawa along the Colombo-Kandy road. The area consists of four administrative areas, namely Mawanella, Aranayak ...
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Aranayaka
Aranayaka ( si, අරණායක) is a town in the Kegalle District of Sabaragamuwa Province in Sri Lanka. Its agricultural economy revolves around local rubber, tea, banana and mahogany plantations.
The Mawanella-Aranayaka-Horawella Road (Hi ...
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Rakwana
Rakwana is a small town in the Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka, a notable centre of Ceylon tea plantations and industry. Additionally, Rakwana is said to have gem resources. Rakwana is local ...
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Imbulpe
Imbulpe Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Ratnapura District, of Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ila ...
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Deraniyagala
Deraniyagala is a town in the Kegalle district in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. Deraniyaga city area consists major government administrative offices, textile industries and transportation hub and the district hospital which has seve ...
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Ambepussa
Ambepussa is a town in the Kegalle District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. History
The Ambepussa railway station, was the terminus station for the first rail passenger service, a ten-carriage train which departed Colombo Fort railway st ...
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Rambukkana
Rambukkana, Pradeshiya Sabha, lies within the Kegalle district in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. The Council was incorporated on 7 July 1991 as Rambukkana ward and a few small towns. The constituency today has an area of 128.8 square km, wit ...
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Kitulgala
Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. The Academy Award-winning ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' was filmed on the Kelani River near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge. Kitulgala i ...
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Panamure Panamure is a village located in the Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. It is approximately from Colombo and from Ratnapura.
The village is significant because it is the site of the last elephant kraal in Sri Lanka, Panamure ...
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Godakawela
Demographics
Ethnic 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 ...
are the majority of Sabaragamuwa province which makes 86.4% of the province.
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 ...
who makes the majority of the Sabaragamuwa province as well as the majority of the country speak
Sinhala language
Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 milli ...
which is an
Indo-Aryan language
The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...
.
Indian Tamils is 5.49% of the province.
Indian Tamils were brought to Sri Lanka by Britishers as workers in tea plantations and rubber plantations.
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
make 4.27% of the province. The origins of the
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
refer to Arab traders who landed on the island in the 8th-9th centuries.Also many Moors can speak
Sinhala language
Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 milli ...
as their mother tongue. Moors speak
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
as their second language.
Sri Lankan Tamils
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pro ...
are 3.75% of the Sabaragamuwa province. Sri Lankan Tamils speak
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
which is their mother tongue.
Religion
Buddhism is 85.7% in Sabaragamuwa province. Buddhism is followed by majority
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 ...
. Also a small Tamil population follow Buddhism.
Hinduism is 8.1% in Sabaragamuwa province.
Indian Tamils and
Sri Lankan Tamils
Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pro ...
follow Hinduism.
Islam is 4.43% which is followed by
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
. And Christianity make 1.72% of the province.
See also
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Provinces of Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, provinces ( si, පළාත, translit=Paḷāta; ta, மாகாணம், translit=Mākāṇam) are the first level administrative division. They were first established by the British rulers of Ceylon in 1833. Over the next ce ...
*
Districts of Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, districts ( si, දිස්ත්රික්ක, ''Distrikka'', ta, மாவட்டம், ''Māvaṭṭam'') are the second-level administrative divisions, and are included in a province. There are 25 districts o ...
References
External links
Cities in Sabaragamuwa province Postal codes of Sabaragamuwa province
Provinces of Sri Lanka
Kingdom of Kandy
{{SabaragamuwaLK-geo-stub