Kaduwela, Western Province

Kaduwela (Sinhala: කඩුවෙල, Tamil: கடுவெலை) is a suburb of Colombo in the Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is located about 16 km (9.9 mi) from Colombo city centre on the Colombo - Avissawella Old Road (Low Level Road) and about 18 km (11 mi) from Kollupitiya on the New Kandy Road.

Kaduwela

කඩුවෙල
கடுவெலை
Suburb
Kaduwela
Coordinates: 6°56′8″N 79°59′2″E
CountrySri Lanka
ProvinceWestern Province
DistrictColombo District
Area
 • Total87.7 km2 (33.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2009)
 • Total244,679
Time zoneUTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time)
Postal code
10640
Websitewww.kaduwela.mc.gov.lk

Etymology

Kaduwela was originally Kadudevola, a compound of Kadu (sword) and Devola (shrine). It was the location of a shrine of the goddess Pattini, linked to a golden sword used in the 'water cutting' ritual. The shrine is called the Purana Rankadu Pattini Maha Devale (ancient great shrine of the golden-sword Pattini).

In another possibility Kaduwela simply means the jungle paddy field. Kadu means jungle (Sorata Thera's Sinhala–Sinhala dictionary) and wela means paddy field. There is also another Kaduwela in the Ukuwela division of Matale district

According to Robert Percival of the 19th Regiment of Foot, during the Revolt of 1797 against the Dutch, the Sinhalese threw up earthworks and established a fort here.

After the British defeat in the 1st Kandyan War, Kaduwela was occupied by a small force of British sepoys and lascoreens. They were later reinforced by a mixed force of European troops and sepoys under Captain Charles Wilkinson Mercer of the 51st Regiment, prior to the Battle of Hanwella.

Kaduwela Municipal Council

Zone [1]

Demographics

Kaduwela Municipality area is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious urban centre. According to the census of 2012 the demographics by ethnicity and religion is as follows:.

Religious & Ethnic Identification in Kaduwela Municipality area [2] [3]
2012Percentage
Buddhist227,95490.44%
Roman Catholic12,5204.97%
Other Christian3,8791.54%
Islam3,7351.48%
Hindu3,5241.40%
Other4450.18%
Total252,057100.00%
Sinhalese241,10495.65%
Sri Lankan Tamil4,605 1.83%
Sri Lankan Moor2,0110.80%
Burgher1,1940.47%
Other1,1640.46%
Malay1,1060.44%
Indian Tamil7400.29%
Sri Lankan Chetty820.03%
Baratha510.02%
Total252,057 100.00%

See also

References
  1. "Ward Maps of Colombo District – Kaduwela Municipal Council" (PDF).
  2. "Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka - Population by ethnicity and district according to Divisional Secretary's Division, 2012".
  3. "Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka - Population by divisional secretariat division, religion and sex- 2012" (PDF).


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