Jaffna is the cultural town of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka. Jaffna District, the northernmost region of the Island of Sri Lanka, is one of the oldest habitation sites in Lower South Asia, populated by Tamil speaking people. Jaffna is situated within ten degrees of latitude to the north of the equator. It is in close proximity to the sub-continent of India and separated from it by the Palk Strait and the Bay of Bengal.
Most Jaffna tamils belong to the Dravidian cultural group, and the Pongal, the Hindu New Year in April, Christmas, Deepavali, Navaratri and Shivaratri are some of the religious festivals celebrated. During the colonial period Jaffna people were attracted to western culture and these features can be identified even today in the Jaffna society.
The traditional dance of the Sri Lankan Tamils is called Kooththu. These are a variety of stage dramas. Karthavarayan Kooththu, Sangiliyan Kooththu and Poothaththambi Kooththu are some of the famous Kooththus in Jaffna. The Poothaththambi Kooththu has been staged from the Dutch era. These arts are mainly focused on the historical values of the community and to entertain the people. The villuppattu is one of the famous arts of the tamils. Oyilaattam is a notable variety of dance in the Jaffna peninsula. The South Indian dance and music is also indigenous to Jaffna. Noteworthy here would be Bharata Natyam and Carnatic Music in the classical high tradition of Hinduism.
PLACE TO VISIT
Kopaiy Maaveerar Thuyilum Illam
Nallur Temple
Selva Sannithi Temple
Nagapoosani Temple (Nainatheevu)
Jaffna Library
vaddu kannaki amman temple -vaddukoddai
FESTIVALS
Maavaarar Naal (National Heroes Day) - November 27th This is a must see. This is a rememberence day of the fallen heroes of LTTE, in the war against the Srilankan state.
Nallur Kovil Thaer Thiruvizha (Chariot Festival) This is one of the biggest festivals in Jaffna at the greatest temples in Sri-lanka. This is a feast for the senses while the faithful are praying and the chariot is being pulled through the temple grounds.
Thai-Pongal (harvest festival) Thai Pongal happens on January 14th and it is the celebration of good harvest. There will be fireworks and celebrations all thorugh the day and night. All temples hold special Pongal poojas where people make pongal in front of the temple.
Theepavali' The festival of light.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Jaffna is the northern capital and has an airport based in Palali. Due to the current circumstances there are no international flights to Palali. To get to Jaffna one must fly into Colombo the southern capital and get a domestic flight to Palali.
There is air service to and from Colombo, provided by the national airline Sri Lankan Airlines. Flights are available from origins throughout Europe, United States, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, the Middle East, India, and Pakistan. Other airlines, include Qatar Airlines and Emirates. Colombo's international airport is at Katunayake.
By bus - There are several private bus services operating from Colombo to Jaffna, cost varies from 9,000 Rupees onwards for a person. The drive takes half a day to complete (9 hours +) following the A9 motorway which runs through the middle of Sri-Lanka.
By train - Before the escalation of the war there was a train service running from Colombo to Jaffna but now it only runs half way to Vavuniya from where you will have to get a bus towards Jaffna.
