Kayts Fort

The Kayts Island Fort (Kayits Dupath Balakotuwa) was built by the Portuguese in 1629 and was abandoned in 1651. In the late 1600s, Dutch controlled the fort when they took over the Kayts island. During the Dutch rule, it was not normal to undergo restoration like the former forts of Portugal

The horseshoe shaped fort with four circular bastions was built to protect Jaffna Peninsula like other Portuguese forts in the peninsula. There was one of the primary commercial ports called “Urundai” beside the fort. Therefore, the fort was known as “Urundai Fort”. The Tamil word “Urundai” literally means sphere or round-shape

Known as Urathota (Uruthota) in the ancient times, Kayts was a major port in ancient Sri Lanka. According to the Nagadeepa Tamil inscription, during the reign of King Parakramabahu I (1153-1186), Urathota was a special port for Indian merchant ships and the king had paid special attention to ships carrying horses and elephants at this port.

Urathota got its name Kayts from the Portuguese. It’s a name derived from “Caes dos Elefantes“. The term means “elephant’s mouth”. The Portuguese came to call this port “Caes dos Elefantes” because Sri Lankan elephants were exported to India through this port. The name “Caes dos Elefantes” was simplified to “Cais“. After the expulsion of the Portuguese and the arrival of the Dutch in Jaffna, the name was further evolved in to “Kays” and later to “Kayts“.

The fort at Kayts was built by the Portuguese. Antonio Bocarro, who served as chronicler-general of the Portuguese State of India has made a note of the fort in 1635. He has called this fort “Fort at the Elephants Quay“. It is said that this fort is as big as the Mannar Fort but better shaped. It has two bastions on the land side and a breastwork on the seaside which is 35 meters long and 5.5 meters wide. It is not filled up, but raised on beams and the open gallery below cannot be protected in any manner because rain water pours in through the openings in the ground for the movement of the artillery. There are twelve open embrasures above at the height, from the ground level, of 2.5 meters and from the parapet of the embrasures upwards is 1.8 meters. The fort was equipped with 8 artillery pieces, three 8 pounders, three 6 pounders and two 5 pounders. There has been enough space for ample ammunition, the captain and 40 soldiers inside this fort.

Baldaeus, a Dutch pastor, writes in his 1672 memoir, states that the Dutch sent a message of surrender to the Portuguese commander in charge of Fort Kayts during the Dutch invasion of Jaffna in 1658. However he does not mention any details of this fort. After taking control of Jaffna, the Dutch did not attempt to rebuild Kayts Fort. This may have been due to the existence of nearby Hammenhiel Fort.

The next information on this fort come from a author using a pen name “PENN”. Penn writing to the Colombo Journal in 1832 reports that the fort was already in ruins when he visited it. At the time, it was known as “Erie Fort“. A study of the ruins revealed that it was a fort 130 feet long with four cylindrical walls and thick walls. It is mentioned that there were two gates on the east and west and part of the outer slope of the fort facing the sea on the north.

According to an article published in 1926 by a British author named J Pearson, the fort, mentioned by PENN at the time, had been largely destroyed. But Pearson has methodically studied these ruins and states that this fort was not square but horseshoe-shaped. Two bastians faced the sea with the convexity facing landwards to the south

The length of the fort is 274 feet to the northern wall joining the bastions. The extreme width is 206 feet. The outer wall

Sobre o distrito de Jaffna

Jaffna é a capital da Província do Norte do Sri Lanka. 85% da população dos distritos de Jaffna e Kilinochchi é hindu, seguindo a tradição saivita. O restante é composto principalmente por católicos romanos ou protestantes, alguns dos quais descendentes de colonizadores, conhecidos como burghers. Os tâmeis estão divididos por castas, sendo os vellalar, casta de agricultores, a maioria. Produtos do mar, cebola roxa e tabaco são os principais produtos de Jaffna.

Jaffna abriga belos templos hindus. Um antigo forte holandês ainda se encontra bem preservado, abrigando uma antiga igreja. Outro exemplo da arquitetura holandesa é a Casa do Rei. Nenhuma visita a Jaffna está completa sem provar a requintada manga de Jaffna, famosa por sua doçura. A cerca de 3 km de distância está o majestoso Templo Nallur Kandaswamy, palco do maior festival religioso de Jaffna. O Porto de Kayts é um antigo ancoradouro de navios na região de Jaffna.

Sobre a Província do Norte

A Província do Norte é uma das nove províncias do Sri Lanka. As províncias existem desde o século XIX, mas não possuíam personalidade jurídica até 1987, quando a 13ª Emenda à Constituição de 1978 do Sri Lanka estabeleceu os conselhos provinciais. Entre 1988 e 2006, a província foi temporariamente unida à Província Oriental, formando a Província do Nordeste. A capital da província é Jaffna.

A Província do Norte está localizada no norte do Sri Lanka, a apenas 35 km da Índia. A província é banhada pelo Golfo de Mannar e pela Baía de Palk a oeste, pelo Estreito de Palk ao norte, pela Baía de Bengala a leste e pelas províncias Oriental, Centro-Norte e Noroeste ao sul. A província possui diversas lagoas, sendo as maiores a Lagoa de Jaffna, a Lagoa de Nanthi Kadal, a Lagoa de Chundikkulam, a Lagoa de Vadamarachchi, a Lagoa de Uppu Aru, a Lagoa de Kokkilai, a Lagoa de Nai Aru e a Lagoa de Chalai. A maioria das ilhas ao redor do Sri Lanka encontra-se a oeste da Província do Norte. As maiores ilhas são: Kayts, Neduntivu, Karaitivu, Pungudutivu e Mandativu.

A população da Província do Norte era de 1.311.776 habitantes em 2007. A maioria da população é composta por tâmeis do Sri Lanka, com minorias de mouros e cingaleses do Sri Lanka. O tâmil do Sri Lanka é o principal idioma falado na província pela grande maioria da população. O outro idioma falado é o cingalês, por 1% da população. O inglês é amplamente falado e compreendido nas cidades.

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