The Vanni is the name given to the mainland

Mainland

Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...

 area of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka

Northern Province, Sri Lanka

The Northern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...

. It covers the entirety of Mannar

Mannar District

Mannar district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Mannar, Sri Lanka...

, Mullaitivu

Mullaitivu District

Mullaitivu district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Mullaitivu town...

 and Vavuniya District

Vavuniya District

Vavuniya district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Vavuniya town...

s, and most of Kilinochchi District

Kilinochchi District

Kilinochchi district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Kilinochchi town...

. It has an area of approximately 7,650 km². The population and infrastructure of the Vanni were severely devastated by the Sri Lankan Civil War

Sri Lankan civil war

The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...

.

History

The Vanni historically formed a large swathe of the former Tamil country of the northeast of the island, the Coylot Wanees Country. Vanniar chiefs

Vanniar (Chieftain)

Vanniar or Vannia is a title of a feudal chief in medieval Sri Lanka who ruled the Vannimai regions as tribute payers to the Jaffna kingdom. They were intermittently subdued by other powers before being recovered. Vanniar is recorded as that of a name of a caste amongst Sri Lankan Tamils in the...

--Tamil feudal chiefs from this area--cultivated the Vanni in the first millennia of the common era

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

, governing what were called 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...

 - 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 land divisions ruled south of the Jaffna peninsula

Jaffna Peninsula

The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...

 in the present-day Northern

Northern Province, Sri Lanka

The Northern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...

, North Central

North Central Province, Sri Lanka

North Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka. Its capital is Anuradhapura. The province is not densely populated with a weak economy, as the land tends to be dry tropical woodlands.-History:...

 and Eastern

Eastern Province, Sri Lanka

The Eastern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but they didn't have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...

 provinces 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...

.

Geography

Geographically the Vanni is distinct from the Jaffna peninsula

Jaffna Peninsula

The Jaffna Peninsula is an area in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is home to the capital city of the province, Jaffna and comprises much of the former land mass of the ancient Tamil kingdoms of the Nagas and the medieval Jaffna kingdom. The peninsula is mostly surrounded by water, connected to...

, the other area of the Northern Province. Jaffna peninsula is irrigated by underground aquifers fed by wells

Water well

A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...

 whereas the Vanni has irrigation tank

Irrigation tank

For etymology, see Storage tank#Etymology.In India, an irrigation tank or tank is an artificial reservoir of any size. . It can also have a natural or man-made spring included as part of a structure...

s fed by perennial rivers. Major rivers include: Akkarayan Aru

Akkarayan Aru

Akkarayan Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in north-west Mullaitivu District, before flowing north through Mullaitivu District and Kilinochchi District. The river empties into Jaffna Lagoon.-References:...

, Aruvi Aru, Kanakarayan Aru

Kanakarayan Aru

Kanakarayan Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in eastern Vavuniya District, near Omanthai, before flowing north through Vavuniya District, Mullaitivu District and Kilinochchi District. The river empties into the Chundikkulam Lagoon.-References:...

, Kodalikkallu Aru

Kodalikkallu Aru

Kodalikkallu Aru is a small river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in south-east Mullaitivu District, before flowing north-east/north through Mullaitivu District. The river empties into Nanthi Kadal lagoon.-References:...

, Mandekal Aru

Mandekal Aru

Mandekal Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in western Mullaitivu District, before flowing north through Mullaitivu District and Kilinochchi District. The river empties into Palk Bay.-References:...

, Nay Aru

Nay Aru

Nay Aru is the name of two rivers in Northern Province, Sri Lanka:* Nay Aru - a river in Mannar District and Vavuniya District.* Nay Aru - a river in Mullaitivu District....

, Netheli Aru

Netheli Aru

Netheli Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in central Mullaitivu District, before flowing north through Mullaitivu District and Kilinochchi District. The river empties into Chundikkulam Lagoon.-References:...

, Pali Aru

Pali Aru

Pali Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in northern Vavuniya District, near Puliyankulam, before flowing north/north-west through Vavuniya District, Mullaitivu District and Mannar District. The river empties into Palk Bay. The southern section of the river is sometimes...

, Pallavarayankaddu Aru

Pallavarayankaddu Aru

Pallavarayankaddu Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in western Mullaitivu District, before flowing north-west through Mullaitivu District and Kilinochchi District. The river empties into Palk Bay.-References:...

, Parangi Aru

Parangi Aru

Parangi Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in central Vavuniya District, before flowing north/north-west through Vavuniya District, Mannar District, Mullaitivu District and Mannar District. The river empties into Palk Bay....

, Per Aru

Per Aru

Per Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in northern Vavuniya District, before flowing north/north-east through Vavuniya District and Mullaitivu District. The river empties into Nanthi Kadal lagoon.-References:...

, Piramenthal Aru

Piramenthal Aru

Piramenthal is a small river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in northern Mullaitivu District, before flowing north through Mullaitivu District and Kilinochchi District. The river empties into Chundikkulam Lagoon.-References:...

, Theravil Aru

Theravil Aru

Theravil Aru is a river in Northern Province, Sri Lanka. The river rises in central Mullaitivu District, before flowing north through Mullaitivu District and Kilinochchi District. The river empties into Chundikkulam Lagoon....

. There are also a number of lagoons around the Vanni, the largest being Jaffna Lagoon

Jaffna Lagoon

Jaffna lagoon is a large lagoon off Jaffna District and Kilinochchi District, northern Sri Lanka.The lagoon is surrounded by the densely populated Jaffna peninsula containing palmyra palms, coconut plantations, and rice paddies. There are numerous fishing villages and some salt pans.The lagoon has...

, Nanthi Kadal

Nanthi Kadal

Nanthi Kadal is a lagoon in Mullaitivu District, north-east Sri Lanka. The English translation of Nanthi Kadal is "the sea of conches".The lagoon is fed by a number of small rivers, including Per Aru....

, Chundikkulam Lagoon

Chundikkulam Lagoon

Chundikkulam Lagoon is a lagoon in Jaffna District and Kilinochchi District, north-east Sri Lanka. The town of Chundikkulam is located on a narrow piece of land between the lagoon and the Indian Ocean. The lagoon is sometimes referred to as Elephant Pass Lagoon.The lagoon is fed by a number of...

, Kokkilai lagoon

Kokkilai lagoon

Kokkilai lagoon is an estuarine lagoon in Mullaitivu District and Trincomalee District, north-east Sri Lanka. The town of Kokkilai is located on a sand bar between the lagoon and the Indian Ocean....

, Nai Aru Lagoon

Nai Aru Lagoon

Nai Aru Lagoon is an estuarine lagoon in Mullaitivu District, north-east Sri Lanka.The lagoon is fed by a number of small rivers, including Nay Aru . It is linked to the sea by a narrow channel to the south that is very often blocked by a sand bar...

 and Chalai Lagoon

Chalai Lagoon

Chalai Lagoon is a lagoon in Mullaitivu District, north-east Sri Lanka. The town of Chalai is located on a sand bar between the lagoon and the Indian Ocean....

.

Much of the interior (approximately 4,200 km²) of the Vanni is covered in dense forests.

The Vanni had a population of nearly 700,000 in 2007, making it one of the most sparsely populated areas of Sri Lanka. However, the area's population figures have been extremely volatile due to massive displacement caused by the civil war.