Mawanella
Encyclopedia
Mawanella is a small 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, Aranayake, Rambukkana and Hemmathagama.
or Muslims population in the town. Most of the surrounding areas are mostly inhabited by Sinhala
. Farming is the way of living for majority of the people. The main source of food is from rice fields.
, Tea
, Rubber
, Pepper
, Cardamom
, Nutmeg
, Vegetables and various types spices. Mawanella is also famous for its traditional handicrafts, especially the pottery
,brass-ware and tobacco related industry. There are over 50 pottery shops in Annasigala area along the Colombo
- Kandy
road.
or Bible Rock. Devanagala and Alagalla are another two mountains in the area. There is also a waterway called Maa Oya running very close to the town. The famous Mawanella Brick Bridge is built to cross the Maa Oya by colonial British rulers. A modern concrete bridge is in operation since 2005, parallel to the old Brick bridge.
and other religious schools provide a key element in religious education.
A complete set of schools in this district could be found in the following link
www.schoolnet.lk/webdir/education_web_sites_by_province.php?p_id=9
Deekirikewagela Saradiel was born in 1832 to his father Deekirikewage Adasi Appu - a bullocart driver and Molligoda Pichohami - a small coffee shop owner. The natives were under heavy economical and political pressure from unfair taxes under British rule and were rebelling against as best way they could. Saradiel was accompanied by fellow natives namely Mammale Marikkar, his sister, Abdul Cader, Nazarudeen, Samad etc.
In order to evade his arrest, Saradiel, decided not to remain in one single place permanently, for the sake of his own safety. While he was thus taking refuge in the homes of his friends, on March 17, 1864, a police team under the command of Head Constable Amath surrounded the house where Saradiel had been hiding, with the help of some of the residents of that area who had given them the tip-off, which resulted in the death on the spot of George Van Haught, a member of the police search party, due to a gunshot wound.
Also, while Muttusamy and Christian Appu, two of his other accomplices received grievous injuries and two other were slightly injured, while they were thus engaged in the fracas, Saradiel and Mammale Marikkar succeeded in escaping.
Subsequently, the Police team including Police Sergeant Mahath and Police Constable Sabab, set out on March 21, 1864 to arrest Saradiel on the information given by the informant, one Sirimala. Based on this information, when the Police team surrounded the house belonging to Abdul Cader of Mawenelle searching for Saradiel, he attempted to shoot Sergeant Mahath.
But Sergeant Mahath outsmarted Saradiel by shooting him first, which resulted in Saradiel falling to the ground from the upstairs where he had been hiding. Due to a gunshot fired from the upstairs by Mammale Marikkar, a member of Saradiel’s gang, the Police Constable Saban was killed. This was the first time ever a police officer died on duty in Sri Lankan Police history and since, March 21 is commemorated as the Police Day. Saradiel was later executed by the British after a short trial but his glory lives to date.
Kegalle
Kegalle is a town in Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka. It is located on the Colombo - Kandy road. Its 48 miles/78 km away from Colombo and 24 Miles/40 km away from Kandy. It is the Capital City of the Kegalle District which is one of the two districts belonging to Sabaragamuwa province...
district in the Sabaragamuwa Province
Sabaragamuwa Province
Sabaragamuwa, is a province of Sri Lanka, and contains two main cities: Ratnapura and Kegalle. Sabaragamuwa University is in Belihuloya. It is named after its former indigenous inhabitants, namely the Sabara, an indic term for hunter gatherer tribes, a term seldom used in ancient Sri...
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 lies between Kegalle and Kadugannawa along the Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
-Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
road. The area consists of four administrative areas, namely Mawanella, Aranayake, Rambukkana and Hemmathagama.
People
There is a significant MoorsSri Lankan Moors
The Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka comprising 8% of the country's total population . They are predominantly followers of Islam. The Moors trace their ancestry to Arab traders who settled in Sri Lanka some time between the 8th and 15th centuries...
or Muslims population in the town. Most of the surrounding areas are mostly inhabited by Sinhala
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
. Farming is the way of living for majority of the people. The main source of food is from rice fields.
Products
The crops include RiceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, Tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
, Rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
, Pepper
Capsicum
Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
, Cardamom
Cardamom
Cardamom refers to several plants of the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to India and Bhutan; they are recognised by their small seed pod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds...
, Nutmeg
Nutmeg
The nutmeg tree is any of several species of trees in genus Myristica. The most important commercial species is Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree indigenous to the Banda Islands in the Moluccas of Indonesia...
, Vegetables and various types spices. Mawanella is also famous for its traditional handicrafts, especially the pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
,brass-ware and tobacco related industry. There are over 50 pottery shops in Annasigala area along the Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
- Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
road.
Incidents
In 2002, the minor fraction of Muslim and Sinhala communities collided with each other due to a minor misunderstanding. Mawanella police, Buddhist Temples and Muslim mosques are taking extreme care to avoid such an incident in future.Climate and Geology
Mawanella belongs to the Tropical Evergreen region of central Sri Lanka. The altitude of the area varies from 180m to 260 m above sea level. The average annual rainfall lies between 2500 and 4500 ml, and temperature of the region ranges between 22 degrees and 35 degrees Celsius. It receives most of the rain from Southwest Monsoon. The average wind speed has been measured to be approximately 7.2 km/hour and humidity in the range lies between 57% and 90%. The whole region is mountainous, but the most famous mountain is the BathalegalaBatalegala
Batalegala is a mountain near Aranayake in Kegalle District in central Sri Lanka. It is known as the "Bible rock". Due to its prominent flat top surface , it resembles the more famous Sigiriya citadel located more north of ot....
or Bible Rock. Devanagala and Alagalla are another two mountains in the area. There is also a waterway called Maa Oya running very close to the town. The famous Mawanella Brick Bridge is built to cross the Maa Oya by colonial British rulers. A modern concrete bridge is in operation since 2005, parallel to the old Brick bridge.
Government/Religious Education
There are 3 educational divisions -Aranayake, Mawanella and Rambukana under Mawanella Educational Zone. There are 22 019 students and 54 schools in Mawanella, 16 517 students and 43 schools in Rambukkana and 12 964 students and 48 schools in Aranayake division totaling 51 500 students and 145 schools. 19 of the 145 total schools are Muslim schools. Most prestigious schools in the area are Mayurapada Central College, Rivisanda Central College, Zahira College, and Baduriya Central College. Buddhist Sunday schools a.k.a. "Daham Pasal", Islam schools such as Ahadiya or MadrasahMadrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
and other religious schools provide a key element in religious education.
A complete set of schools in this district could be found in the following link
www.schoolnet.lk/webdir/education_web_sites_by_province.php?p_id=9
Private Education
Private educational institutes also play a major role in education. There are 3 international schools and large number of tuition institutes in the area. Large percentage of students seek these institutions, although the quality and standards of them remains questionable.History
Mawanella is historically famous for Uthuwan Kande Soora Saradiel - a native who fiercely fought against the ruthless British colonialism. He is known as the Robin Hood of Ceylon/ Sri Lanka as he looted the wealth from British officers and their local counterparts only to distribute it among the poor villagers.Deekirikewagela Saradiel was born in 1832 to his father Deekirikewage Adasi Appu - a bullocart driver and Molligoda Pichohami - a small coffee shop owner. The natives were under heavy economical and political pressure from unfair taxes under British rule and were rebelling against as best way they could. Saradiel was accompanied by fellow natives namely Mammale Marikkar, his sister, Abdul Cader, Nazarudeen, Samad etc.
In order to evade his arrest, Saradiel, decided not to remain in one single place permanently, for the sake of his own safety. While he was thus taking refuge in the homes of his friends, on March 17, 1864, a police team under the command of Head Constable Amath surrounded the house where Saradiel had been hiding, with the help of some of the residents of that area who had given them the tip-off, which resulted in the death on the spot of George Van Haught, a member of the police search party, due to a gunshot wound.
Also, while Muttusamy and Christian Appu, two of his other accomplices received grievous injuries and two other were slightly injured, while they were thus engaged in the fracas, Saradiel and Mammale Marikkar succeeded in escaping.
Subsequently, the Police team including Police Sergeant Mahath and Police Constable Sabab, set out on March 21, 1864 to arrest Saradiel on the information given by the informant, one Sirimala. Based on this information, when the Police team surrounded the house belonging to Abdul Cader of Mawenelle searching for Saradiel, he attempted to shoot Sergeant Mahath.
But Sergeant Mahath outsmarted Saradiel by shooting him first, which resulted in Saradiel falling to the ground from the upstairs where he had been hiding. Due to a gunshot fired from the upstairs by Mammale Marikkar, a member of Saradiel’s gang, the Police Constable Saban was killed. This was the first time ever a police officer died on duty in Sri Lankan Police history and since, March 21 is commemorated as the Police Day. Saradiel was later executed by the British after a short trial but his glory lives to date.