NOVEMBER 2004 : SRI LANKA : Memories of a volunteer : a weekend in Jaffna

One of the students at the college, Boby, invited me to visit family friends in Jaffna. 

“We caught a bus and had to go through two checkpoints. There was evidence of previous civil war comflicts, with land mine warnings and burnt out tanks and buildings along the journey. Sections of Jaffna were closed off as two students had been shot on a sports field at Port Pedro. More signs there is growing tension between the Tamil and Singla communities.”

We are staying with a family who were displaced from their original home in 1995.

The family now live in a rundown shell of a house in suburban Jaffna. They have electricity, a well for water, a squat toilet in the yard.

Despite this, the family welcome other displaced youth to share their home.

The backyard and family goat 

We were given a wonderful meal of chicken curry for all staying in the house. I went to thank the lady of the house and realised it had all been cooked on a single burner in a very rudimentary kitchen.

My hosts had organised a three- wheeler for the day.

First stop - The Great Jaffna Temple, constructed in 1734.

One of the main tourist attractions around Jaffna is the Naga Pooshani Amman Kovil temple on the island of Nainativu, which you travel to by ferry.

Arriving at the port of Nainativu

Naga Pooshani Amman Kovil Temple is visited by both Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims.There are many legends associated with this temple. Families come who are wanting to conceive children as it is dedicated to Shiva’s wife, Meenakshi.

“The highlight was when we were invited with all the worshippers to lunch in an outbuilding next door. We sat on the floor and were all given a banana leaf. On a large metal plate. We were then served a large portion of rice,dhal, eggplant and green chilli curry. When you had finished you folded the banana leaf and carried it out the back to be fed to stray dogs and crows. Finally you washed your hands in a special silver container near the tank. The process all part of a ritual tradition.”

Then we made our way to the bus station to catch a late bus back to Kilinochchi.

M