Valvettithurai
Valvettithurai
வல்வெட்டித்துறை වල්වෙට්ටිතුරෙයි | |
---|---|
UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone) | |
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
Etymology
Valvettithurai in
History
According to folk etymology, was the foundation of the village laid by a
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
Geography
Valvettithuri is a coastal town bounded by the
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
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
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
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
- Velupillai Prabhakaran, founder and head of the separatist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)[24]
- Kuttimani, a member of the parliament, founder and leader of Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization(TELO)
- Nadarajah Thangathurai, co-founder and leader of the TELO.
- Gnanamoorthy, co-founder of the Tamil United Liberation Front, a Tamil political party in the island.
- Navaratnaswamy, the first person ever to swim across the Palk Strait, to Point Calimere in the Tamil Nadu coast from Valvettithurai.[2]
- V. S. Kumar Anandan, the first person ever to swim from Valvettithurai - Sri Lanka to India and back. A Guinness World Records holder who held the maximum number of Individual Guinness Records at a point.
- M. K. Shivajilingam, former member of parliament in Sri Lanka
See also
- 1985 Valvettithurai massacre
- 1989 Valvettithurai massacre
- VVT (gang)
References
- Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
- ^ a b c "About Valvettithurai". Valvettithurai.org. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ "Valveddiththu'rai, Know the Etymology: 35 Place Name of the Day: Wednesday, 18 July 2007". TamilNet. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7453-1438-9.
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 978-955-659-146-0.
- ISBN 978-81-206-1670-7.
- ISBN 978-0-7453-2525-5.
- ISBN 978-0-7748-0759-3.
- ISBN 978-0-9668904-0-2.
- ISBN 978-1-317-79343-4.
- ISBN 978-1-4968-1700-6.
- ^ Devendra, Somasiri (2019). "VVT, Tahiti, and the ghost of the Bounty: The ship from Valvettithurai which sailed the seven seas". The island.
- ^ Jayasekera, P. V. J. (1995). Security Dilemma of a Small State: Internal crisis and external intervention in Sri Lanka. South Asian Publishers. p. 134.
- ^ Security dilemma of a small state. South Asian Publishers. 1992. p. 134.
- ISBN 978-1-4828-1471-2.
- ^ Arumugam, S. (1997). Dictionary of Biography of the Tamils of Ceylon (PDF). p. 85.
- ^ "Thondamannar sluice gate to be reconstructed". TamilNet. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ "Jaffna, Sri Lanka Travel Weather Averages". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2013-02-03.
- ISBN 955-9447-04-1. p. 214
- ^ Hoole, Rajan. "Vadamaratchi: April/August 1989". University Teachers for Human Rights. Retrieved 2008-12-24.
- ^ "Schools in Valvettithurai". Valvettithurai.org. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ "Libraries in Valvettithurai". Valvettithurai.org. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ "Prabhakaran: The Life and Death of a Tiger". May 19, 2009.