Vankalai or Vangalai or Vangkaalai ( vaṅkālai) is a predominantly fishing and farming village situated in
Mannar District
Mannar District ( ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Governm ...
of the
Northern Province of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. It lies along the Naanaattan Road with the sea on its west connecting to the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. The shores from Vankalai 20 km south to the ancient Tamil subsidiary port of
Kudiramalai
Kudiramalai (, ) is a cape and ancient port town on the west coast of Sri Lanka.
On the Gulf of Mannar near Silavaturai, the town shares a history with nearby Karaitivu Island, the ancient port town of Mannar and the Ketheeswaram temple. Kudir ...
formed the world's most famous
pearl
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living Exoskeleton, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pear ...
fishing banks in the classical and medieval periods. Its northern boundary is the historic
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
shrine of
Thiru Ketheeswaram.
Geography
Vankalai is a blend of sandy and agrarian lands. Apart from fisheries and farming, there is also an educational and professional tradition. There are a number of teachers, government officials, clergymen, nuns and professionals from the area.
Demography
Vankalai is a Christian village with
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
being more than 99% and Protestant groups comprising the remainder. Vankalai has now become one of the largest villages in Mannar. Currently, its population figure is a little over 8,000. Vankalai is inhabited mainly by members of the
Bharatha community.
The Portuguese invasion and destruction of the Tamil territories between 1505–1658 caused most of Mannar including villages such as Vankalai to become Catholic villages.
In the centre of this village, there is a huge ancient Catholic church called Our Lady of St. Anne's Church.
The Morning Leader: Woman's Page
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See also
* Vankalai massacre
Vankalai or Vangalai or Vangkaalai ( vaṅkālai) is a predominantly fishing and farming village situated in Mannar District of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It lies along the Naanaattan Road with the sea on it ...
References
External links
Vankalai community portal
{{Authority control
Villages in Mannar District
Nanaddan DS Division