The Tomb of Andare (Sinhala: අන්දරේගේ සොහොන) is situated in Koholankala in Hambantota District, Sri Lanka.
Andare is a legendary jester in the royal court of King Rajadhi Rajasinha (1781-1798 A.D.) of Kandy (Abeyawardana, 2004). Born in Southern Sri Lanka, he is said to have joined the royal court at the invitation of the king. Folklore reveals many stories about Andare and the pranks he played on the king, his ministers and even the queen. It is said that he received the title "Sadda Vidda Palaga Pathira Rajapaksa Wickramasinghe Muthukumarana Adhikaram" from the king for his works.
One day he suddenly fell ill and he wanted to go to his home after getting permission from the king. However, on his way to his home town, he passed away under a Palu tree at Udamalala. He was buried on the banks of the Udamalala Wewa where his tomb still can be found. The present monument depicting the life events and the death of Andare was erected at the site on 12 February 2001.
Attribution
#) LankaPradeepa.com would like to thank Lalith Kekulthotuwage for providing the necessary photographs required for this article. All the photos are published here with the permission of the author.
References
1) Abeyawardana, H.A.P., 2004. Heritage of Ruhuna: Major natural, cultural and historic sites. Colombo: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka. ISBN: 955-575-073-4. p.105.
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This page was last updated on 21 October 2023