Kumana Village | කුමන ගම

追加: 2026-05-12

[00:00:01][music] >> Inside Kumana National Park in Sri Lanka, there's a sign board that leads to a very unique location.

[00:00:09]The signpost [music] to the ancient Kumana Village is sometimes occupied by this leopard.

[00:00:15]This leopard, known as Rita, is a frequent visitor [music] here and is often seen in the village premises, too.

[00:00:23]>> [music] >> The village, abandoned since the 1990s, included this building and a few mud and thatched [music] houses, now long gone.

[00:00:34]Before the area was reclaimed by wild animals, it was habituated by some very resilient people. [music] This gravesite includes the final resting place of two of the oldest inhabitants of the Kumana Village.

[00:00:49]Seated in the front row of this [music] image is Piyadasa and his wife.

[00:00:54]The gravesite shown earlier is where Piyadasa and his wife was buried.

[00:00:57][music] The villagers of Kumana got their supply of fish from this river and [music] the nearby sea.

[00:01:05]Since the village was inside a national park, most of them were employed in the wildlife department. [music] The village was even noted in Robert Knox's map, where it was called Comain near Panova, possibly referring to the Panama Village today.

[00:01:21]>> [music] >> Nothing much remains of the village today, but in the past, this used to be a regular stop [music] for visitors who came to Kumana.

[00:01:31]This building once functioned as a school and the [music] old blackboard can still be seen inside.

[00:01:37]In 1914, [music] when Frederick Lewis visited Kumana, he took this picture, which may be the oldest picture of the people that once [music] lived here.

[00:01:47]According to Lewis, only 36 people lived here at the time.

[00:01:53]>> [music] >> Back in the day, there used to be one boutique shop where everyone brought provisions.

[00:01:59]The shop, owned by the [music] late Piyadasa, was situated in this location.

[00:02:04]Sadly, it vanished with time.

[00:02:07]>> [music] >> But visitors fondly recall how they used to stop by for tea and small talk.

[00:02:12]Since the villagers [music] lived inside a national park rife with wild animals, they were often attacked. [music] Pictured on the right is Garuwa, who lost his arm after a bear attack.

[00:02:24]Garuwa was one of the most famous [music] trackers at Kumana.

[00:02:29]Another interesting character was a man named Leonidas. [music] Pictured in this photograph holding his daughter, Charles Lambert Leonidas was an alumnus of [music] St. Thomas' College.

[00:02:40]After falling in love with a woman at Kumana, he decided [music] to spend his life there and argued passionately for the rights of the villagers.

[00:02:49]After his wife died from an elephant attack, [music] this mysterious man later died alone at around 80 years.

[00:02:56]>> [music] >> After Kumana was declared a national park in 1969, various efforts were made to relocate the villagers. [music] However, it wasn't until the escalation of the civil war that people were forced to leave.

[00:03:11]>> [music] >> Some people relocated to Polonnaruwa, while others went to Panama.

[00:03:18]Gradually, nature caught up with the village.

[00:03:21]And today, only a solitary leopard remains.

[00:03:25]>> [music]