Exploring Jaffna

I slept well but woke quite early. When Chris also woke up, around 7.00, we decided to get up and have breakfast, even though Champi wasn't picking usual until 9.30. As I dressed I could hear voices outside and when I looked I realised a wedding shoot was taking place. I grabbed my camera to take a few photos through the window. The guys who'd been chatting spotted me, gave a thumbs up and posed for me, so I went outside to get some better shots.

Soon after, when we went to breakfast, we discovered that the hotel grounds were dotted with wedding shoot groups! It was Sunday, so presumably a popular day for the activity. I loved seeing the gorgeous clothes of the women and girls in particular, although they had rather taken over the place!

The choices at breakfast were a bit more limited than we'd expected although if I'd felt like eating curry and sambals I'd have found more. As it was I enjoyed the banana bread and muffin I selected and found the coffee, while weaker than I like it, not too bad.

Champi picked us up at 9.30 and had brought with him a local guide who, while he didn't prove to have much better English, did know the city well. We spent the morning touring various sites, most not on our Selective Asia itinerary but interesting nevertheless. The first was a brief stop at a Hanuman temple, Maruthanamadam Anjaneyar Temple, with a huge statue of the god.

Kadurugoda Viharaya

We continued to an archaeological site, Kadurugoda Viharaya, with lots of small stupas. Our local guide mentioned that sixty monks living here around 1,000 years ago had died of food poisoning. According to Wikipedia, this is just one of several legends about this spot:

According to one legend, in the 16th century, Jaffna Peninsula was ruled by a king named Sangili. At that time there were 60 Arhat Bhikkus practicing meditation. Due to harassment from King Sangili, those 60 Bhikkus decided to leave Jaffna and go to India. On their way, they had stayed at the Kadurugoda area to accept alms-giving from local residents. A mushroom curry served to them was poisoned and all of the Bhikkus had died. It is believed that these stupas were constructed with enshrining the relics of those 60 Arhath Bhikkus. Another story says that the 60 Arhath Bhikkus had died due to a famine, which was there for a long time.

The site is tucked between local houses and we had it to ourselves. It’s not possible to walk around, only to view and take photos through a fence. To one side, outside the tent, is a small shrine with a seated Buddha.

Dambakola Patuna Sangamitta Temple

Next we went to a peaceful Buddhist stupa beside the sea, Dambakolapatuna Sri Sangamiththa Temple. This was the spot where the Bodhi tree that we'd seen yesterday near Anuradhapura was first brought ashore from India in the 3rd century BCE. Today the site is managed by the Sri Lankan Navy. The area had been allowed to fall into disrepair over the centuries since Theri Sanhamitta (sister of the monk Mihindu Maha Thero who brought Buddhism to Sri Lanka) landed here with the sapling. The navy built the modern stupa and planted the Bo tree that grows here today.

Murals on the walls of the small shrine tell the story, as does a golden sculpture of the boat’s arrival, and maps display the route taken by the tree.

We had the site to ourselves so the contrast with yesterday's crowds of pilgrims couldn't have been more marked – nor more welcome!

Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine

On the same road by the sea we visited a Christan place of worship, an open-air shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes with golden Stations of the Cross. It took me some time digging around online to find any information about the shrine. Eventually I found something on Facebook, on a page devoted to the history of Sri Lanka https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064720025208 but I’ve not been able to corroborate the information with any other source.

According to the Facebook post, the shrine was the idea of a local woman who had bought a statue of ‘Our Lady of Lourdes’ sometime in the early 1930s. She had an idea of building a chapel in Our Lady of Lourdes’ name in Mathagal and installing the statue there. and in fact started a fund with her own contribution. Unfortunately she died unexpectedly before achieving this, but the statue remained in the local RC church, St. Thomas.

The parishioners followed up on the idea of a chapel and adapted it to instead build a grotto similar to the Grotto at the Lourdes Shrine in France. The grotto was constructed using black limestones with an alter in front and completed in late 1938. A statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, a replica of the one at the Lourdes Shrine, was acquired from Italy and installed. An additional feature was a replica of the church in the Shrine at Lourdes built on top of the grotto in white limestone.

The article goes on to say that ‘Mathagal was affected badly during the civil strife and the Grotto had to be abandoned from 1992 till 1997. The entire population of the village had to flee elsewhere. Although many churches, temples and residential homes were badly affected due to bombings and shelling the Grotto had remained safe and sound.’

Kīrimalai Sacred Water Springs

A little further down the road and we were at a bathing pool sacred to Hindus, Kīrimalai Sacred Water Springs. The water here is said to have curative properties, since it flows through the fissures of carbonated rocks. A bathing tank has been built around the spring. Its use is restricted to men only but we were told a separate facility exists for women.

No one had a problem with me taking a photo of the tank. Afterwards we had a bit of a chat with the guy in the yellow shirt who was watching his sons bathe. He was curious to find out where we were from and whether we were enjoying our visit to Sri Lanka (we were!)

According to legend an Indian priest by the name of Nagula Swami took a bath in these spring waters after which his mongoose-like head turned into a human one. The name Kīrimalai is derived from this legend; in Tamil keeri = mongoose and malai = mound.

Keerimalai Naguleswaram Temple

Nearby was a Hindu temple, Kīrimalai Naguleswaram. This temple lies just inland from the sacred springs. When we visited it was very busy. Groups of young women were dancing in front of it. They formed circles, holding hands, while one of their number skipped around them and wound twine around the circle several times, before reversing direction to unwind the twine. I have no idea of the significance of the dance, and neither Champi nor our local guide could tell us.

The temple is dedicated to Shiva and was founded by Nagula Swami in gratitude for the cure of the sacred springs. It has suffered significant damage in the past (destruction by Jesuit missionaries, restored in 1894, bombed by the Sri Lankan Air Force in 1993). But it was restored again and reopened in 2012.

A man was climbing up the front of the gopura and Champi suggested that he was probably undertaking some repairs. I don’t think climbing to such a height without any safety precautions would be allowed here in the UK!

Point Pedro and Sakotai Cape

We then drove some distance further along the coast to Point Pedro, said to be the northernmost point in Sri Lanka. This is a fishing area and there were colourful boats drawn up on the nearby beach.

Just down the road we stopped again at a spot also claiming to be the northernmost. Confused? We were! I realised later that Sakotai Cape was indeed the northernmost point and lies within the community of Point Pedro. A short jetty here marks the exact spot with a sign bearing the national flag and what seemed to me to be its unofficial motto:

When we visited a small group of young boys tried to sell us seashells, with no success!

By now it was early afternoon and Champi proposed that we took a break back at the hotel and went out again at 4.00 when the temperature would have cooled down a bit. This seemed a good idea to us so we agreed, and spent a pleasant couple of hours enjoying a cold drink and relaxing in our room.

Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil

Champi picked us up again at four and we drove to a large Hindu temple, Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil. Our guides had timed our visit perfectly to coincide with a puja ceremony.

Not only did we have to remove our shoes here, the men, including Chris, had to remove their shirts. And while photography of the exterior was permitted, inside it was strictly prohibited. And I mean strictly. Although I was carrying my camera in a way that I felt made it clear I knew not to take photos, i.e. tucked over my shoulder and with the lens cap on, I was approached and told to put it in my bag. However that was too small so they said I should leave it outside with the shoes. That I wasn't prepared to do, naturally, so I suggested our guide might carry it but they were having none of it. I then said I would rather pass up the visit and wait outside, at which point they produced a suitable bag. And I was glad that they did, as it was intriguing to witness the puja.

The temple is dedicated to the god Murugam, and the ceremony involved symbolically washing his image, offering food and incense, and waving a lamp before him. Perfumes and ointments are applied to the image, and possibly more details too that I overlooked or failed to understand. There was also a lot of drumming, ringing of cymbals and chanting. The small crowd watching included some other tourists but a majority were, I think, devotees. I was fascinated … although I did still wish to be able to photograph it too!

Jaffna Fort

From the temple we drove to Jaffna Fort. This was originally built by the Portuguese but much enlarged under Dutch rule and later used as a British garrison. From 1985 to 1995 it was under the control of the LTTE, during which time they destroyed several of its main features. These included the Dutch Kruys Kerk (Cross Church), so that now only parts of its walls and columns remain.

After wandering around the ruins for a while we spent some time relaxing on the ramparts watching the sun set over the prawn fishing area. It wasn’t a dramatic sunset but rather a soft one, which I felt suited the scene.

There was more colour however on the water, as it reflected the setting sun.

We got back to the hotel around 6.30 so freshened up and immediately got ready to go for dinner. We again got a table on the terrace outside the restaurant and enjoyed a similar meal to last night's but also squeezing in a dessert of curds and treacle.