Kattankudy Heritage Museum (කාත්තාන්කුඩි උරුම කෞතුකාගාරය)

54 years ago1 month ago04 mins

RATE THIS LOCATION : 1 Star

(1 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

Heritage Museum at Kattankudy among the fully grown date trees in the middle of the town

Kattankudy Heritage Museum is a centre which exhibits the rich cultural heritage of the Muslim community in the area as well as the Muslims in Sri Lanka in general.

The history of the Muslims on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka goes back to the period of King Senarath (1604 – 1635) of the Kandyan kingdom. Prosecuted by the Portuguese who invaded Sri Lanka in 1505, the Muslims of the country sought refuge with King Senarath and he granted land on the eastern coast where they would be safe from the Portuguese. This community which was mostly farmers, fishermen, and traders has today grown to a large community with its own identity.

Kattankudy is one of the many Muslim-dominated towns in the Batticaloa district. It is said that Kattankudy is the most densely populated city in Sri Lanka with nearly 50,000 residents, calculated at 6,726 inhabitants per square kilometre in 2012. On August 3, 1990, the Muslims of the Kattankudy faced one of the most gruesome massacres in Sri Lanka’s recent history by the Tamil Tiger terrorist group, LTTE where 147 men and boys were gunned down inside a mosque.

The new forms of Islamic teachings spread by the Arabic nations are no more apparent in any other area than in Kattankudy. Today this town looks like more like an Arabian village than a Sri Lankan. The streets are lined with fruit-bearing Date trees which makes Kattankudy the only known place in Sri Lanka where you can see these trees. The Arabic text on some billboards are more prominent than the national languages.

Along this unique road lies the Kattankudy Heritage Museum where the cultural heritage of the Muslim community is being attempted to be preserved. The museum was opened on 15th April 2015 and lies in a 3 storied building. The museum carries a good collection of old, weapons, household items ceramics etc and life-size clay models display the cultural events of the community.

The museum is operated by the Department of Archaeology and is open from 10.30 am – 6.00 pm from Saturday to Thursday. (The Museum is closed on Fridays). The entrance fees are Rs 50 for local adults, Rs 20 for local children and Rs 500 per foreigner.

Also See

Map of Kattankudy Heritage Museum

Please click on the button below to load the Dynamic Google Map (ගූගල් සිතියම් පහලින්)

Show Location (ගූගල් සිතියම)

The map above also shows other places of interest within a approximately 20 km radius of the current site. Click on any of the markers and the info box to take you to information of these sites

Zoom out the map to see more surrounding locations using the mouse scroll wheel or map controls.

Travel Directions to Kattankudy Heritage Museum

Distance from Galle Face Roundabout to the Kattankudy Heritage Museum

Distance : 7.0 m
Travel time : 20 min
Driving directions : see on google map

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Mihintale Slab Inscriptions and the Relic House (4වන මිහිඳු රජුගේ මිහින්තලේ පුවරු ලිපි)
The inscription of King Mahinda IV belonging to the tenth century is installed on the two sides of the entrance to this Vihara. The relic house is a square building. […]
Dambegoda Pillar Inscription in Maligawila (දඹේගොඩ ටැම් ලිපිය)
Established by King Mahinda IV (956-972) Dambegoda Pillar Inscription in Maligawila narrates the religious acts of the king and lays down rules for the administration of certain religious establishments. […]
Kotttapitiya Slab Inscription (කෝට්ටපිටිය පුවරු ලිපිය)
The Kotttapitiya Slab Inscription is considered one of the 14 valuable inscriptions of the Anuradhapura Era. The pillar inscription is believed to have been placed by King Mahinda IV (956-972) and is 6 feet in height and 1.5 feet wide. 45 lines of text have been inscribed on this pillar. […]
Ranawa Andiyagala Pillar Inscription (රණව ආඬියාගල ටැම් ලිපිය)
Placed by King Dappula IV in the early part of the 10th century, this Ranawa Andiyagala Pillar Inscription declares a sanctuary for Animal, Plants as well as Humans in the Namal Uyana area. Even royal guards were prohibited from entering this area to apprehend criminals. […]
Dutugemunu Pillar at Ruwanweli Seya (දුටුගැමුණු ශිලා ස්ථම්භය)
Many do not pay special attention to this pillar which is generally called "Dutugenumu Pillar" but the story behind this pillar is interesting as the construction of the Ruwanweli Seya itself. This pillar was installed by King Devanampiyatissa (250-210 BCE) on the advice of Mihindu Maha Thero. […]
Wadamunai (Wadamune) Megalithic Burial Site in Maduru Oya Valley
In this Wadamunai (Wadamune) Megalithic Cemetery, scattered across the landscape, lie between 15 to 20 graves. Unfortunately, the peaceful serenity of these resting places has been disrupted by thorn bushes, which have taken root amidst many of the tombs. Adding to the desecration, some graves have fallen victim to the destructive hands of treasure hunters, who have ransacked them in search of valuables. […]
Gurugalhinna Megalithic Burial Grounds
Gurugalhinna Megalithic Cemetery was initially uncovered and examined in 1896 by R. W. Levers. Subsequently, in the 1970s, Raja De Silva from the Department of Archaeology led excavations at Gurugalhinna. However, the burials at the site have not been scientifically dated. […]
Dalada Maligawa of Kurunegala Kingdom (කුරුණෑගල රාජධානියේ දළදා මාලිගාව)
The old city of Kurunegala Kingdom was spread between Kuruminigala and Ibbagala, bounded by Athugala. Even today ruins of the palace complex, the Temple of Tooth (Dalada Maligawa) and other buildings inside a semi-circular are found on this strip of land between Athugala and Kuruminigala. […]
Vessagiriya Aramic Complex at Anuradhapura (වෙස්සගිරිය)
Vessagiriya is located few hundred meters left to the current Isurumuniya on the old Anuradhapura-Kurunegala road. This temple complex is located in and around 3 beautiful bolder formations spread across a large area in front of the Tissa Weva. On one these is a remains of a dagaba. […]
Inguruwaththa Purana Tampita Viharaya (ඉඟුරුවත්ත පුරාණ ටැම්පිට විහාරය)
The Tampita Viharaya at the Inguruwaththa Purana Viharaya is built on 2 feet 4 inches high 8 granite stumps during the era of king Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (1747 – 1781). . A circumambulating path is built around the image house protected by a half height wall. […]
Hiripathwella Mayurawathi Sri Bodhirajarama Purana Tampita Viharaya (හිරිපත්වැල්ල මයුරාවතී ශ්‍රී බෝධිරාජාරාම පුරාණ ටැම්පිට විහාරය)
Hiripathwella Mayurawathi Sri Bodhirajarama Purana Viharaya is an ancient Buddhist temple with a Tampita Viharaya belonging to the Kandyan era. […]
Hindhawa Sri Wijesundararamaya Purana Tampita Viharaya (හිඳව ශ්‍රී විජේසුන්දරාරාමය පුරාණ ටැම්පිට විහාරය)
Hindhawa Sri Wijesundararamaya Purana Viharaya is an ancient viharaya with a Tampita Viharaya belonging to the Kandyan era. The temple lies 7 km off Wariyapola in the Bamunakotuwa area. […]
Eethanawatta Meddegoda Purana Tampita Viharaya – ඊතණවත්ත මැද්දේගොඩ පුරාණ ටැම්පිට විහාරය
The Tampita Viharaya at the Eethanawatta Purana Viharaya is built upon 12 granite pillars. A narrow circumambulating path around the main chamber can be seen. The outer wall of the inner chamber is covered in paintings. Entrance to the chamber is through a finely decorated Makara Throrana (Dragon Arch). […]
Buttala Gonaganara Walagamba Purana Viharaya – බුත්තල ගෝනගංආර වලගම්බා පුරාණ විහාරය
Walagamba Purana Viharaya in Gonaganara in Buttala is an ancient temple scatted with ruins of the ancient civilization in Rohana area. The temple is hidden deep inside Buttala on the Sella Kataragama road. […]
Buttala Yatiyallathota Kutumbala Rajamaha Viharaya – බුත්තල යටියල්ලාතොට කුටුම්බාල රජමහා විහාරය
Buttala Yatiyallathota Kutumbala Rajamaha Viharaya is believed to be during the reign of Mahanaga, brother of king Devanampiatissa (250-210 BC). One of the two large stupa still remains as mound of earth while a new stupa has been built on top of the other. […]
Mullegama Mulgirigala Rajamaha Viharaya – මුල්ලේගම මුල්ගිරිගල රජමහා විහාරය
Mullegama Mulgirigala Rajamaha Viharaya is an ancient cave temple with inscriptions recording donations to maha sanga which has been dated to 1st - 3rd centuries BC. […]
Buttala Katugahagalge Rajamaha Viharaya (බුත්තල කටුගහගල්ගේ රජමහා විහාරය)
Katugahagalge Rajamaha Viharaya is an ancient cave temple with its origin going back to pre christian era with some unique features including a Nissanka Gau Inscription pillar, […]
Dimbulagala Namal Pokuna Monastic Complex at (දිඹුලාගල නාමල් පොකුණ ආරන්‍යය)
Dimbulagala Namal Pokuna is an ancient armaic complex lying on a peaceful undisturbed rocky outcrop close to the Popular Dimbulagala Temple. Probably part of the same complex in the ancient times […]
Unambuwa Purana Tampita Viharaya (උණම්බුව පුරාණ ටැම්පිට විහාරය)
At the ancient temple at Unambuwa, you will find a Tampita Viharaya built during the Kandyan era. A Tampita Viharaya is a structure built on a wooden platform which rests on number of stone stumps usually 3-4 feet tall. […]
Ranwala Purana Tampita Viharaya – රංවල පුරාණ ටැම්පිට විහාරය
Ranwala Purana Rajamaha Viharaya is an ancient temple with a Tampita Viharaya hidden just few hundred meters away from the Colombo Kandy road just before the Kegalle town. […]

Also See

Map of Kattankudy Heritage Museum

Travel Directions to Kattankudy Heritage Museum

Share this:

Like this:

Leave a ReplyCancel reply