Kankuveli is an ancient Tamil village near Trincomalee

Trincomalee

Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...

 city. It is located close to Thoppur

Thoppur

Thoppur is a village between Salem and Dharmapuri . It is also junction for Mettur Road. Thoppur is a small village surrounded by Ghat section and is located on the border of Salem and Dharmapuri districts, Thoppur which is in between Salem and Dharmapuri...

. It was part of the Jaffna kingdom

Jaffna Kingdom

The Jaffna kingdom , also known as Kingdom of Aryacakravarti, of modern northern Sri Lanka was a historic monarchy that came into existence around the town of Jaffna on the Jaffna peninsula after the invasion of Magha, who is said to have been from Kalinga, in India...

's Vannimai

Vannimai

The Vannimais, or Vanni chieftaincies, were feudal land divisions ruled by petty chiefs south of the Jaffna peninsula in the present-day Northern, North Central and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. These chieftaincies arose in the 12th century, with the rise of the medieval Tamil kingdom's golden...

 districts throughout the medieval period, and was part of the Malabar Coylot Wanees Country by the 18th century. Kankuveli is home to a large water reservoir, the Kankuveli Kulam. The 13th century CE Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 stone inscription in Kankuveli village records the assignment by Vanniar chiefs Malaiyil Vanniyanar and Eluril Atappar of income and other contributions from the rice fields and meadows of the Vannimai

Vannimai

The Vannimais, or Vanni chieftaincies, were feudal land divisions ruled by petty chiefs south of the Jaffna peninsula in the present-day Northern, North Central and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. These chieftaincies arose in the 12th century, with the rise of the medieval Tamil kingdom's golden...

 districts of the ascending Jaffna kingdom to the Koneswaram

Koneswaram temple

Koneswaram temple of Trincomalee is an Hindu temple in Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka venerated by Saivites throughout the continent...

shrine.