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Historic Well in the Jawatta Cemetery (ජාවත්ත සුසාන භූමියේ පැරණි ලිඳ)

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Historic Well at the Jawatta Cemetery in 2001/02 period after excavations by the Archaeology Department

Jawatta Liveramentu Public Cemetery lies on an old church built by the Portuguese. This is believed to be the site of the shrine of Our Lady of Deliverance (Nossa Senhora do Livramento) mentioned by Portuguese historians. There was also a well at the shrine which the water was believed to have miraculous healing powers¹.

The Portuguese work antuario Mariano, compiled by the Augustinian Agostinho de Santa Maria and published in Lisbon in 1720, references this shrine in its discussion of Marian shrines in Asia and Africa. This reference highlights the veneration of the miraculous image of the Mother of God under the title Nossa Senhora do Livramento, and the widespread use of the waters from a health-giving well. The shrine was situated at Marupety (Portuguese for Narahenpita), about half a league from Colombo. It is obvious that the name Liveramentu got its name from this shrine¹.

Returning to the Nossa Senhora do Livramento shrine of the Portuguese after the Dutch conquered Colombo in 1656, the Government confiscated and proscribed Catholic churches and schools. The church crumbled into ruins. However, the well in the church continued to be used.

Returning to the Nossa Senhora do Livramento shrine of the Portuguese after the Dutch conquered Colombo, the Government confiscated and proscribed Catholic churches and schools. The church crumbled into ruins. However, the well in the church continued to be used for its healing power.

Cordiner (1807, pp. 55–56) mentions this well two centuries later, as a very curious well constructed during the Portuguese era covered in jungle. The water from the well and the soil around it had been carried away to ‘gratify the wild fancies of credulous superstition’.

About two miles within the boundaries of the cinnamon garden stands the schoolhouse of Milagre, so named by the Portuguese. It is situated on a most beautiful eminence, surrounded by extensive coppices of cinnamon, here and there studded with groups of cocoas, and the tree which produces the cashew nut. Close to the school, on the declivity of the same rising ground, there is a very curious well, said to have been dug whilst the Portuguese possessed the coasts of the island. The perpendicular descent into the well is of a square form, cut out of solid rock, to the depth of thirty feet; after which the well is contracted into a circular form, and is at the top of the water surrounded by sand. A subterraneous slanting passage, with steps hollowed out of the rock, leads down to this place, where a person can taste the water by taking it up with his hand. The top of the well is inaccessible, and not discoverable on account of thickets of shrubs which hang over it.

It is considered as having been constructed either as a place of refuge to shun pursuit or an ambush from which an enemy might be surprised. The water is of a superior quality; and is celebrated, together with the soil which surrounds it, for the possession of many virtues. Both are often carried to Columbo to gratify the wild fancies of credulous superstition.
Cordiner (1807, pp. 55–56)

Interest in the well and its water persisted for about a century after Cordiner’s visit. References to the well can be found in the “Missions de la Congrégation des Oblats de Marie Immaculée,” No. 118, June 1892, in an article written by Fr. Charles Collin, who later became the first Rector of St. Joseph’s College, Colombo. Fr. Collin stated: “…….There still remains very near to that place some vestiges of a church and a well held in great veneration by the Catholics of Colombo. The place is called Livermente, a corruption of the Portuguese word ‘Liveramento,’ which indicates that the ancient Church was dedicated to Our Lady of Deliverance”.¹

With the passage of time, and the population growing in the Jawatta area, this well became a garbage dump. However, the Department of Archaeology identifying the archaeological value of the site, cleared the area surrounding the well and started a dig in 2001.

The excavations revealed a subterranean slanting passage with 23 steps cut into the kabook soil, leading downwards to a square landing. This landing featured a well cut into solid rock, contracting into a circular form. Despite being muddy, the water appeared fresh.¹

The team also discovered 123 currency coins along the steps and on the landing of the well, dating from the Dutch and British periods, and possibly from the Portuguese period as well.¹

After the excavation, the Department of Archaeology put an iron railing around the well and declared the site a protected archaeological site on 8 July 2005. However, thereafter no maintenance seems to have been done on site and it is covered with foliage again.

Historic Well at the Jawatta Cemetery in 2022

References

Forbes, R. (2022, March 3). Holy Well Among Jawatta Graves. The Sunday Times. Retrieved June 19, 2024, from https://www.sundaytimes.lk/020303/plusm.html
Cordiner, J. (1807). A Description of Ceylon, Containing an Account of the Country, Inhabitants, and Natural Productions : With Narratives of a Tour Round the Island in 1800, the Campaign in Candy in 1803, and a Journey to Ramisseram in 1804 (Vol. 1). Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, Paternoster Row and A. Brown, Aberdeen.

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Map of Historic Well in the Jawatta Cemetery

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References

Also See

Map of Historic Well in the Jawatta Cemetery

Travel Directions to Historic Well in the Jawatta Cemetery

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