Valvettithurai

Coordinates: 9°49′N 80°10′E / 9.817°N 80.167°E / 9.817; 80.167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Valvettithurai
வல்வெட்டித்துறை
වල්වෙට්ටිතුරෙයි
Post code
40540

Valvettithurai (Tamil: வல்வெட்டித்துறை, romanized: Valveṭṭittuṟai; Sinhala: වල්වෙට්ටිතුරෙයි, romanized: Valveṭṭitureyi), sometimes shortened as VVT or Valvai, is a coastal town of Jaffna District on the northeast coast of the Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Province, Sri Lanka governed by an Urban Council of the same name. Valvettithurai was historically known for its seafaring traditions and olden transnational shipping trade.

The town is popularly known for being the birthplace of

Nadarajah Thangathurai, the founding fathers of the Tamil Eelam armed struggle.[2]

Etymology

Valvettithurai in

better source needed
] The word Valvettithurai seems to have been derived from the combination of Tamil words Vallai meaning a big forest or a raised stretch of land, Vedi which means expanse or open space, and Thurai which refers to seaport.

History

According to folk etymology, was the foundation of the village laid by a

Jaffna Kingdom. The clans of the Maravars of southern Tamil Nadu and the Karaiyars of Valvetthithurai have long had coastal military alliances through trade and marriage.[4] Both clans have long engaged in seatrade, with Valvettithurai being a prominent seaport in the northern Jaffna region.[5][6]

The coastal clans of Valvettithurai were involved in warfare. The coastal chiefs of Valvettithurai fought under the leadership of Migapulle Arachchi and fought on the side of Jaffna king Cankili II in the Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom.[4][7]

The population of the coastal town are predominantly Shaivites. The Kadalodiekal own the major temples such as the famous Vaitheeswaran Sivan kovil. The Kadalodikal (Tamil name for mariners) of Valvettithurai, the wealthier clan of the Karaiyars were specifically involved in the seatrade between Jaffna region and the Coromandel Coast, including up to the coasts of Myanmar.[8] The Japanese occupation of Burma, hindered the seatrade of the Kadalodiekal. Their situation was deteriorated with the colonial independence of Sri Lanka, and many of the Kadalodiekal got engaged in large-scale smuggling between Sri Lanka and India.[9] The town also produced the renowned brigantine known locally as Annapoorani Ammal.[10] This native vessel known as a thoni, built with a blend of Jaffna and European tradition, sailed from Valvettithurai to Gloucester in Massachusetts of United States in 1937.[11] Built in 1930 by native traditional shipwrighters for the purpose of serving as a cargo ship in the Indian rice trade, the vessel was bought by an American known as William C. Robinson.[12] Robinson, changing the name of the ship to Florence C. Robinson (after his wife), sailed to the U.S. with a crew of six natives from Valvettithurai including their Thandayal (Tamil for sea captain) known as Kanagaratnam Thambapillai.[13]

As an effect of the

LTTE, such as Kittu, Radha, and Baby Subramaniam, were natives of Valvettithurai.[16][17]

Geography

Valvettithuri is a coastal town bounded by the

2004 Indian Ocean tsunami
which claimed several thousand lives.

It is also flourished by the Thondamannar lagoon which meets the sea through a long, narrow channel to the west of the town. The lagoon's water is brackish to saline. The lagoon has extensive mudflats, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps, particularly Avicennia. The lagoon attracts a wide variety of water birds including American Flamingoes, ducks, gulls, terns and other shorebirds.

There exists a

better source needed
]

Climate

The temperature varies from 26 to 34 °C. The town experiences a moderate climate in September–January. It receives much of its rainfall during the North East monsoon between October and December. Being a coastal town, the weather is also influenced by cyclones and tropical currents.

Climate data for Valvettithurai, Jaffna district
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) 25
(77)
26
(79)
28
(82)
29
(84)
29
(84)
28
(82)
28
(82)
28
(82)
28
(82)
27
(81)
25
(77)
24
(75)
27
(81)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 70
(2.8)
30
(1.2)
20
(0.8)
50
(2.0)
40
(1.6)
10
(0.4)
20
(0.8)
30
(1.2)
60
(2.4)
230
(9.1)
380
(15.0)
260
(10.2)
1,270
(50.0)
Source: Weatherbase[19]

Demographics

The population is mainly

forced disappearances and attacks against local civilians by the Sri Lankan military. It was the site of two brutal massacres of local Tamil civilians by occupying armies. In 1985 the Sri Lankan military rounded local people up into the library and blew up the building.[20] In 1989 the Indian army rounded up people into the village square and opened fire on them, as well as people in shops and their homes.[21]

The population of the town, as of 2007 stood at 18,000 and bears a high population density of 3711 persons per square km.

Education

Children of Valvettithurai

The Valvai Chithamabara College is the major higher educational institution in Valvettithurai. The town is the home to several primary schools:[22]

No Name of School
1. Thondamannaru Veerakaththippillai Maha Vidyalayam
2. Valvai Sivakuru Vidthyasalai
3. Valvir Mahalir Maha Vidyalayam
4. Valvai Roman Catholic Tamil Mixed School
5. Valvai American Mixed School
6. Polikandy Hindu Tamil Mixed School
7. Kamparmalai Vidyalayam
8. Valvetty Hindu Tamil Mixed School

The town also houses a good number of public libraries.[23]

Notable Personalities

See also

  • 1985 Valvettithurai massacre
  • 1989 Valvettithurai massacre
  • VVT (gang)

References

  1. Aljazeera.com
    . Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  2. ^ a b c "About Valvettithurai". Valvettithurai.org. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Valveddiththu'rai, Know the Etymology: 35 Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 18 July 2007". TamilNet. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  4. ^ .
  5. ^ Premdas, Ralph R. (1993). The Enigma of Ethnicity: An Analysis of Race in the Caribbean and the World. University of the West Indies, School of Continuing Studies. p. 296.
  6. .
  7. .
  8. .
  9. .
  10. .
  11. .
  12. .
  13. ^ Devendra, Somasiri (2019). "VVT, Tahiti, and the ghost of the Bounty: The ship from Valvettithurai which sailed the seven seas". The island.
  14. ^ Jayasekera, P. V. J. (1995). Security Dilemma of a Small State: Internal crisis and external intervention in Sri Lanka. South Asian Publishers. p. 134.
  15. ^ Security dilemma of a small state. South Asian Publishers. 1992. p. 134.
  16. .
  17. ^ Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). p. 85.
  18. ^ "Thondamannar sluice gate to be reconstructed". TamilNet. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  19. ^ "Jaffna, Sri Lanka Travel Weather Averages". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
  20. . p. 214
  21. ^ Hoole, Rajan. "Vadamaratchi: April/August 1989". University Teachers for Human Rights. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
  22. ^ "Schools in Valvettithurai". Valvettithurai.org. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  23. ^ "Libraries in Valvettithurai". Valvettithurai.org. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  24. ^ "Prabhakaran: The Life and Death of a Tiger". May 19, 2009.

External links

9°49′N 80°10′E / 9.817°N 80.167°E / 9.817; 80.167