Iranaitivu Islands and the forgotten Survey Tower

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Iranaitivu (Iranativu) Islands consist of 2 islands connected through low tidal sand bars west of Poonakary in Northern Kilinochchi. The closest is the South Iranativu Island which lies about 9.5 kilometers in the sea off the mainland. The island is sparsely populated with the chief occupation being fishing.

History of Iranaitivu Islands

It is said in Mahavamsa that King Samghatissa I (247-251) used to go to Pacinadipa (The West Island) with the women in the royal household and ministers to enjoy the Jambu fruits there. The people of this island were vexed by his visits and poisoned the Jumbu fruits of the tree he would usually eat. When the king ate this fruit, he died then and there (Mahavamsa, verses 70-72).

The name (East Island) indicates that it was the most easterly of two or more islands and it may be present in Iranaitivu South Island (Nicholas, 1963).

The Portuguese called these islands “Cardiua” and reported about 600 inhabitants living in these islands (Queyroz et al., 1992). The Dutch called these 2 islands “De Twee Gebrooders” meaning “The Two Brothers” and independently called these islands “Enkhuizen” and “Hoorn” (Anthonisz, 1914). The British just called them “Two Brothers” until about the year 1840 after which they were called “Iranaitivu“. Sometimes it’s written as “Iranativu” (Bassett et al., 1997). The two islands are separately called Iranaitivu West and Iranaitivu South.

Iranaitivu West is an island with 4.13 square kilometres (1020 acres) in size and a perimeter of 9.2 km. Iranativu South is 7.06 square kilometres (475 acres) in size and has a perimeter of 7.0 km.

In Sinhalese, these islands are called Ranadoowa (or Randoowa). The name Ranadoowa could mean an island used for military purposes. If the name had been Irantive, distorted to Iranaitivu, another meaning is possible. Then, “Eran” means “golden” in Sinhala, and the islands appear so in the sunset.

The Dutch and the British used these Islands as horse plains, where horses which were awaiting export were sent from the Delft Island stables.

There is no written history of the people of Iranaitivu, but the old Portuguese chronicles mention the fact that certain low-caste peoples were sent to the islands to look after the horses and it was primarily as cattle and horse watchers that the people existed. With the coming of the British, interest in horses for draught and cavalry purposes increased and horses were sometimes shipped to Iranaitivu for shipment. Once the demand for horses diminished, fishing became the primary livelihood of the islanders (Crowe, 1956).

The Survey Tower of Iranaitivu Islands

The hidden survey pillar in the Islands of Iranaitivu

The main jetty and the primary village lie on the Iranaitivu North. The church on the island has been in existence since the time of the Portuguese. Closeby lies a forgotten Survey Pillar, a remnant of the colonial era.

The Survey Tower has been built using limestone blocks, the only building material on the island. It consists of 6 segments each smaller than the bottom portion. At the bottom lies an entrance opened from two opposite sides. The 2nd to 5th segments are of the same height but marginally shorter than the bottom segment. The top segment which is the 6th is considerably taller than all other segments of the Tower.

The structure of this Survey Tower is clearly showing signs of deterioration. Cracks have appeared on the pillar and some of the stone blocks are seen just about to fall off. Unless some conservation is done on this monument in the middle of the sea, this Tower is sure to collapse soon.

References

Queyroz, F. de and Perera, S.G. (1992) in The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon (Original Portuguese manuscript written in 17th century). Asian Educational Services Reprint. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, p. 56.
Anthonisz, S. (1914) Memoirs and Instructions of Dutch Governors, Commandeurs, &c : Diary of the Occurrences During the Tour of Gerrit De Heere, Governor of Ceylon From Colombo to Jaffna July 9 to September 3, 1697. Colombo, Ceylon: H. C. Cottle, p. 34.
Bassett, R.H., Laws, E.J. and Murdoch, K. (1997) Romantic Ceylon, Its History, Legend And Story (Originally published in 1929). New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.
Nicholas, C., 1963. Historical Topography of Ancient and Medieval Ceylon. Journal of the CEYLON BRANCH OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, New Series, VI,(Special Number).
Crowe, P.K. (1956) Diversions of a Diplomat in Ceylon. Princeton, New Jersey, New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc.
Mah|can|cama and Geiger, W., 1912. The Mahavamsa or the great chronicle of Ceylon. London: Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press.

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