We were the first nation to defeat the imperialists in many battles during the reigns of Mayadunne and Rajasingha ...
History cannot hide that heroism…
Sithawaka, which has not been studied so far, is a haven for researchers.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunwardena stated this when he vested the Sithawaka Museum with the public on 21st July, 2024.
This museum has been built in a building owned by the Railway Department in Avissawella town at the cost of 5 million rupees by the Central Cultural Fund and with the labour of the Navy.
The Prime Minister who further commented;
"This museum is a place where the information of natural history is handed down to future generations. The King Rajasinghe and Mayadunne of Sithawaka who defeated the western armies that had the strength to invade the world are the leaders who shook the world with their courage and heroics.
The Dutch came to our country first. Sri Lankans took some of their names but did not learn the language. After that, when the Portuguese came, the language spread a bit and a few villagers adopted their habits, but because they did not learn the language in depth, the language disappeared from Sri Lanka. We are proud to have tamed the first invading emperor of the world. First came the Portuguese. Even when white people came to this country, we were a developed nation in every way. We are a developed nation even if we were subjugated. Our ancient people had taken steps to trade the country’s natural resources with the people of the world through rivers and ferries. These two courageous rulers Mayadunne and Rajasinghe successfully fought for our freedom, thwarting the efforts to exploit our resources. Not only the heroism in battle, but also the strategies into various fields have not been studied yet. We did not want to do such a deep study at that time.
Sithawaka is one of the periods that we can be proud of in our country’s history. This museum is part of that pride. Sithawaka Municipal Council wears the jewels of pride, as they have this invaluable Museum. These professors who set up this, have brought you the jewel of pride.”
Minister Bandula Gunawardena
“Today is a day of historical significance for the town of Sithawaka. We offer our respect and thanks to all those who have contributed to the establishment of such a museum so that future generations of children and students can see the work done by Sithawaka Kingdom to advance the course of our country’s long ancient history. As the Minister for Transport, I am also happy to contribute to the issue by finding a suitable place to locate the museum. A cabinet paper was submitted for the transfer of this ancient building and land belonging to the Railway Department of the Government of Ceylon. It was from that that this land and building could be provided for this noble task.”
Minister Vidura Wickramanayake
“We should not praise our deeds ourselves. It is not a Sinhalese trait. We need to remember the places where we went wrong and try to do something to get rid of the mistakes. We should all stand together and move this country forward from here. Our heritage should not be left aside in the journey towards a digital age.”
Member of Parliament Mr. Yadamini Gunawardena
“Sithawaka is an area where the most advanced human beings lived in every era of world history. By creating this centre of artefact, we can make it clear to all of us that no matter what era we look at in the history of Kelani Valley, Sitawaka Hevagam Korala and the surrounding areas, the most advanced man of that era travelled from this area. Whether it is the prehistoric era, passing through the ages of kingdoms from the Balangoda Man to the present day, whether it is the great war against the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial empires, the historical facts prove that we are gathered together today in a land where the most advanced man in the history of the world has walked.
For that, a special commemorative honour should be placed to King Mayadunne and the Tikiri Kumaru Rajasinghe. Those two gathered everyone to a solid battalion for that national battle and gave leadership to a group of people who were ready for any sacrifice to safeguard the freedom of the nation.
If the Portugese were not restrained in Mulleriya then, the land battle in the fort would have been carried to the sea and the entire South Asian peninsula would have been subjugated to Western colonialism five hundred years ago. There is one museum in the Spanish Parliament - A glass box with eight sides of one and a half feet each. It contains the history of the entire South American continent. It took 30 years for Western invaders to colonize the South American continent.
When Kotte fell on that day, Sithawaka made the transformation that can be brought to this day by preserving the historical and cultural heritage that has continuously flowed in this country. It is still the same in our age. If we pass today through any political, cultural or economic collapse, we can unite the nation and create a more proud era. The message from the museum is that it should be given to the unborn daughter as well. By collecting the stories of that great history in this way for the school children, reminding them of the proud journey, and reminding them of the national tasks that have been carried out since the earliest human beings, the museum created today is able to remind them of the greatness of Sithawaka, which borders of Colombo, Gampaha, Kegalle, Ratnapura districts. There are more than 200 schools in those districts. In my young life, I went to those schools and made some reflections on the history of Sithawaka. It is my hope to see those children come to Sithawaka and see their proud history through this Sithawaka Museum and engage in research.”
The Maha Sangharatna, Christian, Islam and Hindu priests, Member of Parliament Sudath Manjula, Director General of the Central Cultural Fund Professor Gamini Ranasinghe, Ministry Secretaries, officials from the field of archaeology and the people of Sithawaka joined this event.
Prime Minister’s Media