Stories Behind Names of Places in Sri Lanka – HEMMATHAGAMA – By Dr. Nimal Sedera
Source : Qld Sri Lankan Newsletter – Dæhæna – January 2023
Hemmathagama is a small town in the Sabaragamuwa province, closer to the famous town Kegalle.
How the name Hemmathagama evolved is quite interesting and it is linked to a key chapter in the Mahawansa where the famous King Dutugemunu ruled the nation for several decades, after winning a major battle defeating the Indian invader Elara that ruled the nation from Anuradhapura.
After winning the war, King Dutugemunu began the development work of the nation reviewing agriculture. He also concentrated on the development of Buddhism in the country. It was the time that he was building the tallest pagoda ever built in the nation, the “Ruvanveliseya”. The King extended invitation to the people to come and help building the pagoda and the people readily responded.
It is said that King Dutugemunu never wanted to have forced labour in this religious mission. He saw to it that everyone that worked in building the pagoda was compensated, paying them reasonable wages. Our history states that during this time several natural resources like silver and gold were found in the country as a nature’s blessing to the King’s religious mission.
During this era, the Sinhala word used for “Gold blend earth” was “Hem”. The King was informed of the gold found in the place now identified as Hemmatagama. It is believed that King Dutugemunu made arrangements to take care of the gold pits found. As mentioned above, the Sinhala name for “Gold blend earth” was “hem”. Hem mathuuna gama evolved to be “Hemmathagama.
Dr. Nimal Sedera
Dr. Nimal Sedera is a journalist, poet, motivational
speaker and an author of over 70 books.
