Chilaw ( si, හලාවත, translit=Halāvata, ta, சிலாபம், translit=Cilāpam) is a large town in

Puttalam District Puttalam is a district situated near to the west coast of Sri Lanka. It has an area of . Along with the Kurunegala District, it formulates the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. The district capital is Puttalam, which borders the Kala Oya and ...

North Western Province, Sri Lanka North Western Province ( si, වයඹ පළාත ''Wayamba Paḷāta'', ta, வட மேல் மாகாணம் ''Vada Mael Mākāṇam'') is a province of Sri Lanka. The province consists of the districts of Kurunegala and Puttalam. It ...

. It is governed by an urban council. The town is located 80 kilometres away 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 ...

via

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...

Etymology

The name Chilaw derives its name from its

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 ''Cilāpam'', meaning pearl fishery.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral

The seat of the Chilaw Diocese, this cathedral has a history of more than two centuries. According to legend, 200 years ago, most of what is now Chilaw Town was covered by a forest. A woman was searching for firewood and heard the sound of a lady speaking, "Please take me". She stopped her work and searched for the source of the sound. A statue of Mother Mary was on a tree. The woman took the statue and handed over it to the parish priest who recognized it as Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Many believe that this same statue now stands in the cathedral. Many in Chilaw celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated every July. During the feast season of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel, the town is fully decorated in homage to Mother Mary.

The visit of Mahatma Gandhi

Mahathma Gandhi, the 'Father of India,' visited Chilaw in November 1927 on his first and only journey to Sri Lanka when it was called Ceylon. This was a historic visit - Gandhi was invited to Chilaw by the freedom fighters

Charles Edgar Corea Charles Edgar Corea was a politician and a prominent freedom fighter of Sri Lanka. Early life C.E.Corea was born in the west coast town of Chilaw, in Sri Lanka. His parents were Charles Edward Bandaranaike Corea, a leading lawyer from Chila ...

and his brother

Victor Corea Charles Edward Victor Seneviratne Corea was born in Chilaw, Sri Lanka, on 29 January 1871 to Charles Edward Bandaranaike Corea, a famous lawyer, and Henrietta Seneviratne. He was the youngest out of five children, three boys and two girls, Ch ...

who lived in the town. The brothers founded the Chilaw Association and the Ceylon National Congress and campaigned hard for the independence of Ceylon. The Corea family have had a strong link with Chilaw. There is a saying in Sri Lanka that Chilaw is well known for the three 'C's' - crabs, coconuts and Coreas.

Munneswaram Temple

Tourists visit the well known Hindu temple located in Munneswaram, situated in the historic

Demala Pattuva Demala Hatpattu (Tamil Seven Regions) or Demala Pattu or Demala Pattuva was a medieval and pre colonial division of Sri Lanka. It was a regional political division formed by royal land grants. There were number of such Pattus across the country. ...

("Tamil division") region of

. The main festivals celebrated at the temple include

Navarathri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is ob ...

and

Sivarathri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar Hindu ca ...

. The former is a nine-day-long festival in honour of the presiding Goddess, while the latter is an over-night observation in honour of Lord Shiva. In addition to these two Hindu festivals, the temple observes the four-week-long Munneswaram festival which is attended by both Hindus and Buddhists. During the festival, traders sell hand-painted clay models of animals such as deer, money box tills and 'raban' (traditional hand drums) from stalls all over the town.

References

Bibliography

*''The Mahavamsa - History of Sri Lanka'', The Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka *''Ceylon and the Portuguese, 1505-1658'' By P.E. Peiris (1920) *''Great Sinhalese Men and Women of History - Edirille Bandara (Domingos Corea)'' By John M. Senaveratna, (1937) *''A History of Sri Lanka'' By Professor K.M.De Silva (1981) *''Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources'' By A.W. Wright, Asian Educational Services,India; New Ed edition (15 December 2007)

Maps

Detailed map of Chilaw and Sri Lanka
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