Saradiel Village (Sinhala: සරදියෙල් ගම්මානය) is a rural hamlet situated in Mawanella in Kegalle District, Sri Lanka. Located at the foothills of the Uthuwankanda, it is presently promoted as a tourist village commemorating Sura Saradiel (1832-1864), a bandit who is popularly known among the local people as the Robin Hood of Sri Lanka.
Saradiel
Deekirikevage Saradiel, popularly known as Utuwankande Sura Saradiel is famous among the locals as a figure who supports the poor and the downtrodden by robbing the British administrators and their native supports (Abeyawardana, 2002). Uthuwankanda Mountain was his primary hideout and from which he and his gang identified potential travelers on the old Colombo-Kandy footpath for looting and descended on them in a strategic location along the hilly and winding footpath and took away their valuables (Silva, 2014). However, Saradiel was captured by Police and taken to the gallows on 7 May 1864.
The tourist village
The Saradiel village has been built on a land of about 6 acres according to the concept of Gamage, a medical officer. The construction of the site was started in 2008 and opened to the public in 2012. Saradiel's life from his childhood to his execution and the social and cultural setting at the time is depicted in the village with life-size cement figures and structures (Silva, 2014).
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Do you know?
#) Who is the first Policeman killed by an accomplice of Saradiel?
References
1) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2002. Heritage of Sabaragamuwa: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Sabaragamuwa Development Bank and The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. ISBN: 955-575-077-7. pp.53-54.
2) Silva, K.T., 2014. Heritage Tourism and the Need for Alternative Representations of the Past: The Case of Saradiel Village in Mawanella, Sri Lanka. SAARC Regional Seminar on Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Sustainable Development in South Asia. ISBN 978-955-0567-09-6. pp.28-30.
Location Map
This page was last updated on 3 July 2023