Dewatagaha Jumma Masjid in Cinnamon Gardens

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The Dewatagaha Jumma Masjid (Dawatagaha Jumma Masjid), located in the heart of Colombo’s Cinnamon Gardens, near Viharamaha Devi Park and the Town Hall, is today one of the city’s best-known Muslim landmarks. Beyond being a place of worship, the mosque holds layers of memory and myth, interwoven with both Muslim and Sinhalese traditions. Even today, in the busy crossroads of Colombo, visitors of all faiths stop by the shrine — some to drop a coin into the till, others to light an oil lamp.

Islamic Tradition

According to Islamic belief, the site is the resting place of Seyed Usman Siddiq Ibn Abdurahman, a saint said to have come to Sri Lanka on pilgrimage to Adam’s Peak, where he later passed away.

Local legend recalls that in the 1820s, when the area was still a cinnamon forest, an oil trader tripped over a root, breaking her pot and spilling her oil. Distraught at her loss, she wept until she fell asleep. In a dream-like vision, an old man in green appeared, pressing his foot to the ground so that oil bubbled up. He told her to fetch a new pot and spread word of the miracle (McKinley, 2024, p. 136).

Curious devotees later prayed to know the saint’s name, but no revelation came until Sheikh Ali Jabbarooth Moulana, who arrived from Maghreb in 1847, visited the site. After Friday prayers, he knelt in devotion and communed with the unseen presence. Emerging in radiance, he declared:

“Oh Almighty Allah, this is a most venerable saint. His name is Seyed Usman Siddiq Ibn Abdurahman, who came to this island on pilgrimage to Adam’s Peak and died here.”

From then on, the shrine became a place of reverence, attracting not only Muslims but also Hindu traders who supported its growth (McKinley, 2024, p. 136).

Sinhalese Tradition

Elders, however, recall another layer of history: that the site was once a Pattini Devalaya, dedicated to the goddess Pattini, before it was absorbed into Muslim traditions. Well into the late 20th century and early 2000s, there was a section in front of the mosque where oil lamps were lit by people of all faiths. Thursday evenings were especially lively, with vendors selling flowers, garlands, oil, and incense. Many Sri Lankans still tell stories of women seeking blessings for children who came here to offer lamps and prayers (Randeniya, 2021).

As early as 1917, J. P. Lewis observed that Sinhalese devotees in Colombo continued to make vows at the Dawatagaha Mosque in Cinnamon Gardens.

Well into the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, the site was also remembered as a place where mothers who struggled to conceive would come to pray to Goddess Pattini. Over time, however, this practice gradually faded. By the early 2000s, the section dedicated to Pattini worship had disappeared altogether, becoming fully absorbed into the mosque complex itself (Randeniya, 2021).

Dewatagaha Jumma Masjid in Cinnamon Gardens

References

Lewis, J. P. (1917b). Some Sinhalese Forklore. The Ceylon Antiquary and Literary Register, III : 1917(Part II), 110–115.
McKinley, A. (2024). Mountain at a Center of the World: Pilgrimage and Pluralism in Sri Lanka. Columbia University Press.
Randeniya, A. Y. (2021, March 4). ශ්‍රී ලංකා පුරාවිද්‍යාව : ~ දවටගහ පල්ලිය / පත්තිනි දේවාලය, පුදබිමක සුලමුල ~. Facebook. Retrieved August 19, 2025, from https://www.facebook.com/groups/archaeology.lk/posts/1213610609042146
Manchanayakelage, S. (2020, September 24). මේ කොලබ නගර සභාව කිට්ටුව දවටගහ පල්ලිය යි.මුස්ලිම් පල්ලියක් . . .හැබැයි වෙනස් .බ්‍රහස්පතින්දා හවසට රෑට මේ කිට්ටුවෙන් ගියොත් මෙතන මල් පහන් හදුන් කුරු වෙලදාම් කරන කට්ටිය ඉන්නවා .ඒ වගේම සුදු මල් මාලාත් දකින්න පුළුවන් . . . facebook.com. Retrieved August 19, 2025, from https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2658767421106449&id=100009196507500

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