Maradankulama or Maradankulam is village situated within the Northwestern Province of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. It is one of the oldest settlements within the geographic region that formed the medieval divisions of the country called Demala Pattuva

Demala Pattuva

Demala Hatpattu 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. Demela Hatpattu was named as such because at its time of creation, it was...

. Most villagers speak Sinhala language but unlike the majority of Sinhala language speakers who are Buddhists, they are Saivite Hindus like the minority Sri Lankan Tamils. The village hosts an important festival dedicated to Ayyanar

Ayyanar

Ayyanar is a Hindu village god, worshipped predominantly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Tamil villages in Sri Lanka. He is primarily worshipped as a guardian deity who protects the rural villages...

 who is a popular village guardian deity. The village along with another predominantly Hindu village Udappu

Udappu

Udappu or Udappuwa is a traditional Tamil fishing and shrimp farming village. situated north of Colombo the capital of Sri Lanka in the Western Province. It is situated few miles north of Chilaw city and Munneswaram temple.-Topography:...

 also sponsors a day in the annual chariot festival of the Munneswaram temple

Munneswaram temple

Munneswaram temple is an important regional Hindu temple complex in Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist country. It has been in existence at least since 1000 CE, although myths surrounding the temple associate it with the popular Indian epic Ramayana, and its legendary hero-king Rama...

situated nearby.