Historical Facts through Oral Stories During the Colonial Period in the District of Batticaloa

Abstract

Oral history preserves for future generations a sound portrait of who we are in the present and what we remember about the past. Today, oral history has become an important field of study. There are lots of oral stories disappearing since having no written documents about the District of Batticaloa. Therefore, the objective of the research is to collect historical facts from oral stories. The problem of the research is, our originality of the traditions and customs, natural resources, and other many identities gradually vanish without proper documentation. At this juncture, collecting the oral stories from our ancestors, regarding the colonial period, and then later comparing the facts between the original records and oral stories, can fill up the research gap in this period. This research has revealed the historical facts from oral stories during the colonial period based on a historical approach gathering the selected five verbal stories of the Batticaloa District due to the limitation of the research, such as the tale of a Man-Eating Leopard, Trade of the Elephant and other Natural Commodities from Batticaloa to Kandy, Wasps attack on Portuguese Soldiers at Mandur Murugan Temple, Arumaikutty Pody and Kanthapody of Ambilanthurai and A Wall Built by Kunjilayapodi Vanniyanar. Finally, from the oral stories, interpreting and analyzing the voices and memories of people, communities, and participants about past events. However, some hidden historical facts were revealed by comparing the study of oral and archaeological evidence in the District of Batticaloa.