Stories Behind Names of Places in Sri Lanka THAMMENNAWA – By Dr. Nimal Sedera
Image Source : researchgate
Source : Dæhæna – Monthly e-Newsletter November 2022 – Queensland Sri Lankans
Today I take you to a place that is of prime importance to the history of the nation. It is to the place where the Indian Prince Vijaya and his rebellious friends arrived in Sri Lanka from India. This is supposed to be the beginning of the Sinhala clan of our nation.
Vijaya was a rebellious son of a provincial King in India who was a problem to the King and he wished to get rid of the son and his notorious friends by extradition. He made his son and his friends leave the country in a ship. He wished to see his son reach a safe place somewhere on the planet but away from his kingdom. He made sure the ship was well stocked with all necessary food stuff and other material needed for their existence.
It was a time when the ships sailed using the sails with the help of the wind. It is said that the ship that carried Vijaya and the friends faced many hardships in the sea and the ship was badly damaged and that they had to throw most of the goods they had with them into the sea to make the vessel light to prevent it from sinking.
However , without knowing where they were floating they allowed the nature to decide their destiny. That is how the shipwreck floated to the west coast of Sri Lanka. Vijaya and his friends were happy that they saved their lives. Observing that there was no human habitation around and not knowing where they landed, they relaxed on the beach to go get over the tiredness and fell into a deep sleep.
When they awoke they were looking at each other in surprise as the sand was of bronze colour. When they looked around they knew that the beach was bronze in colour. Then, from the language they spoke, they identified the bronze sand as “THANBRAPANNI”.
Vijaya, the prince extradited from India became the fist Sinhalese King in Sri Lanka. The place where he landed is a key landmark in our history. Over time, “THAMBRAPANNI” has become THAMMENNAWA.
Dr. Nimal Sedera
Dr. Nimal Sedera is a journalist,
poet, motivational speaker and an author of over 70 books
