Mannar unravelled

Arippu, in Mannar is a village with historical landmarks. Robert Knox, the 17^th century British prisoner of the King of Kandy, had escaped by reaching the Dutch Fort at Arippu in October 1679, via Anuradhapura and along Malwathu Oya. The British had used Arippu as the main seaport for the importation of labourers from India to work in Sri Lanka’s tea plantations. The fort in Arippu had been built by the Portuguese in close proximity to the pearl banks. The Dutch who took over the fort in the 17^th century rebuilt it and occupied it until they surrendered to the British in 1795. Built according to European architecture, the fort in Arippu had been used as a bastion, residential complex and administrative office. While the four upholders are in good condition, the interior of the fort is destroyed.

An example of the brilliance and ingenuity of our forefathers is the Giant Tank or Yoda Wewa, situated about 25km southeast of Mannar. The origin of this tank is not known, although some historians believe that it was built by King Dhathusena (459-477) by damming the Malwathu Oya. Some others believe that the people of the Naga tribe who were living in the country had built the tank, supported by the existence of extensive ruins at Mantai and the Giant Tank and villages with Naga names surrounding the port such as Nagarkulam and Nagathazhvu. Considered one of the earliest and best ever constructed in the world, the tank stretches across an area of 3,800 hectares. The water from this tank is fed to 162 smaller tanks downstream and irrigates about 11,000 hectares of paddy land. Dutch and British engineers had failed to understand the design of the Giant Tank, especially the sophisticated designs on which the reservoirs and channel systems were constructed. 

Mannar is a home to the Baobab Tree. Native to Africa, the tree was first bought to the country supposedly by Arab sailors who had frequented the great port of Mantai. Hollow in the centre, the tree is known for thickness rather than height. The exact number of Baobab trees in Sri Lanka is yet to be quantified, although at least 40 to 60 trees survive in the north-western and northern areas, the largest number of trees being scattered in Mannar.