Saradiel Village (Mawanella)

Saradiel Village (Mawanella)
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 o…