What is Jaffna known for?
Jaffna is known for its predominant Tamil population and recognized as the cultural capital for Tamilians in Sri Lanka. The hospitality of the locals will surely impress any tourist to this place. They are just not wonderful people but are friendly too.
What can I buy in Jaffna?
Being a coastal town, Jaffna is famous for fresh seafood. You can also buy trinkets like jewelry made from sea shells and pearls. Jaffna curry powder is another essential item to buy while shopping in here.
Who ruled Jaffna?
Cinkaiariyan Cekaracacekaran I
Jaffna Kingdom
| Kingdom of Jaffna யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு යාපනය රාජධානිය | |
|---|---|
| Aryacakravarti | |
| • 1215–1255 | Cinkaiariyan Cekaracacekaran I a.k.a. Kalinga Magha |
| • 1617–1619 | Cankili II |
| Historical era | Transitional period |
What language is spoken in Jaffna?
Jaffna Tamil
Tamil is the language of more than ninety-five percent of the people in the Jaffna District. Jaffna Tamil is identified as a dialect of Tamil, differing in many ways from the other dialects of Tamil, both in Sri Lanka and in South India.
What is the meaning of Jaffna?
The name Jaffna is a Portuguese adaptation of a Tamil word meaning “port of the lyre.” A fort and a church remain from the Dutch period, and near the fort is a famous Hindu temple, Kandaswamy Kovil. The British held Jaffna after 1795 until they relinquished control of the island in 1948.
What is Jaffna culture?
The culture is itself very unique and rigid. Jaffna culture includes a lot of customs and rituals which were handed down from generation to generation. The most prominent feature of the Jaffna is its religious festivals such as Thaipongal, Tamil Newyear, Depawali and Nallur Temple festival etc..
Who is the last king of Jaffna?
Cankili II
Cankili II (Tamil: சங்கிலி குமாரன், romanized: Caṅkili Kumāraṉ; died 1619) was the self-proclaimed last king of the Jaffna kingdom and was a usurper who came to throne with a palace massacre of the royal prince and the regent Arasa-kesari in 1617.
Who founded Jaffna?
Arya Cakravarti
Sri Lanka was invaded for the 3rd time by the Pandyan Dynasty under the leadership of Arya Cakravarti who established the Jaffna kingdom.
Where is Jaffna?
Remote and war-torn JAFFNA is far and away the largest town in northern Sri Lanka and the undisputed cultural capital of the Sri Lankan Tamils, who have controlled the area since the thirteenth century.
What are the best places to visit in Jaffna?
Jaffna’s most notable sight is the large Nallur Kandaswamy Temple, about 2km northeast of the town centre. Dedicated to Murugam (known to the Buddhist Sinhalese as Kataragama), this is the most impressive Hindu temple in Sri Lanka, and the only one on the island to rival the great shrines of India.
Why the Jaffna peninsula?
The Jaffna Peninsula has always been a focus for Tamil settlement in Sri Lanka, thanks to its proximity to the Tamil heartlands of India, not much more than 50km away across the Palk Strait.
Where to go in Sri Lanka?
Nearby, the little-visited town of Matara, with its quaint Dutch fort, offers a further taste of Sri Lanka’s colonial past, while ancient Tissamaharama makes a good base from which to visit two of the country’s finest national parks: the placid lagoons and birdlife-rich wetlands of Bundala, and Yala, famous for its elephants and leopards.