N

N 
Go to the top of the List 

Naanaaddan, naanaattan(Mannarama [Mannar]) NAANADDDANA, NAANADESSA, Navanthanna This is probably a settlement of merchants belonging to a trade guild that operated in the south-asian region, esp after the 8th Century. There were such settlements near Manthota, an important port The word `navandanna' may have arisen from the use of craftsmen by this guild. Map	නානදද්න
Nachikuda, Nachchikuda, Nachchikkuda, Natchikkuda நாச்சிக் குடா (Giranikke[Killinochchi]) NAGATHUDAVA, NAKATHUDA Disc.- This location, north of Mannarama (Mannar) is a very old pre-christian site, and linked with pre-Vijayan 'Naga' settlements. Even today Nachchikuda is a fishing port and has currently no religious significance. The use of the Tamil meaning 'nachchi'→'Lady'→Parvati→Kaamaakshi etc. is found in, for example the 'Naachchimaar Kovil', Jaffna, and signify the apotheosis of Naga animistic cults into Hinduism. Possible sea-Tiger base here in 2008. Military activity in July 2008     Regional map	නාගතුඩාව
Nachuvantivu (Madakalapuwa [Batticaloa]) NAPITADOOVA, Naapitadoova Disc.- The name nachuvan may be நாசுவன், and this agrees with the Sinhala name 'Naapita' which is a reference to a Tamil barber caste.	නාපිට දූව
NaddanKandal(Vannimava[Vavniya]) NAEDAKADOLA Disc.- 'Naddankandal' is most probably Tamil for for giant mangrove, e.g., Rhizophora mucronata, 'mahakadol or naedakadol. See p. 0688 of the Madras University tamil Lexicon. Map	නැඩකඩොල
Naduturitti (Japanaya [Jaffna]) Madduriththa Disc.- c.f., The name 'Maddu-riththa', or 'Madya-riktha', means 'middling' reef, or middling leftover-ledge, adjacent, in this case to Pungudoova (Pungathhetha of the Pali chronicles) or Tamil form: Pungativu.	මද්දුරිත්ත
NagarKovil, Nakarkovil, Naakarkoayil (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) NAGAKOVILA Military/LTTE confrontations. Nakar, Nagar can also mean Town. But we believe that here "Nakar" even in tamil is related to Naaga, see also Madras Tamil Lexicon, p 2198	නාගකෝවිල
Nagasivanthurai (Yaapanaya [Jaffna]) NAAGASIHATHOTA, NAGAESIVTHOTA The names "Naagasiha", Naagasikha", and "Naagasiva" are found in early budhhist writings, and in the name " Nakhasikhā Sutta" of the Buddhist cannon. There are many allusions to Nagas in Buddhist and Jain texts. In Tamil, Naaga and Siva are not usually linked together in place names. But the two parts exist in Indian proper names (e.g., Naga Siva Kumar), and may have also been the origin of the place name. Shiva is worshipped as a snake god in India (e.g., Nageshwar). The Puranic account of the encounter of Krishna with the Naga king Kaliya, and his victory over the Nagas signify the suppression of the Naga cult by the Krishna-Vishnu main-stream Hinduism. In the Ramayana, "Surasa" is said to be the "mother" of the Nagas, and no divinity is attached to the Naagas. On the other hand, the MahaBhrata mentions "Kadru", wife of the sage "Kasyapa" as the mother of the snake people, i.e., the Nagas. This costal location is near Punranna (Poornaryn), and has a boat yard jetty and communication center. The LTTE and the SL-navy have clashed often. News report Aug. 2008	නාගසීහතොට
Naidalnagar(Mooduthara[Muttur]) NAAGALNUVARA Map and news item	නාගල්නුවර
Nainamadai (Puttalama) NAGAMADUWA	නාගමඩුව
Nainamadu (Vavnimava [Vavniya]) NAGAMADUWA	නාගමඩුව
Nainativu, Nainathivu, Nayinativu (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) NAGADEEPA, Naagadoova Ferry link to main Island In ancinet times, he name "Nagadeepa"applied to the whole Jaffna peninsula. However, see Map of Buddhist sites in jaffna Regarding the Nainative edict by Parakramabahu VIII, Kathigesu Inthirapalan says "the fact that this edict was issued not by any subordinate official, but by the king himself shows that the monarch was in supreme control of the northern most region of the island?" (UCR.Vo.XXI, p.66). Legend attributes a visit here by the Buddha, to settle dispute between the nagas who lived on the mainland, and the "sea nagas" whos lived on the islands. A naga king (perhaps 3-4th century BCE), named Valavana (Valai Vanan in Tamil) is mentioned in the Manimekali. The island would have been much larger and connected to the mainland during the last ice age some 5 centuries before the Buddhist era. Afet the conversion of lanka to Buddhism, it became a well known ancient (BC) Buddhist center. The "Nagapooshani Amman" temple has afive-head cobra figure,and shows how naga worship (God natha) has survived in low-brow Hinduism. The Naga Deva was adopted into Buddhism as the "Natha Deviyo", who is recognized as a Bodhisatva (a potential Buddha). There are many shrines to God Natha in Sri lanka, and the Naa tree (Ironwood tree) is closely associated with the shrine (see also, write up under: Nalluruva,   Lankaweb article  Nagapoosahni temple There has been a Military base on this island due to the LTTE war. The communist party activist and bookpublisher Poopalasingham was from this area. Map	නාගදීප
Nakanagar(Mooladoova[Mullaitive]) NAKANAGARA Labeled #62 in Vanni Buddhist sites map Ancient Buddhist site	නාගනගර
Nalladarankattu (Puttalama) NAALADAARAKADUWA Naaladaara katuva is said to be a forest where a monk named Naala lived as a recluse.	නාලදාරකඩුව
Nallimuruppu (Mooladoova [Mullaitivu]) MAEDAMURAKIYA 'Maeda-murakiya' means, a centally located watch-point. This meaning can also be accomodated within Tamil, as in "நள் +. Middle place, central", p 2182 of MTL	මැදමුරැකිය
Nallur (Giranikke, [kilinochchi]) NAGAPURA, NALLURUVA. naagapura	නල්ලූරුව
Nallur (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) NAGAPURA, NALLURUVA. nalluruwa, naagapura, ⚓name: nalluruva The English spelling Nellore was used in the 19th century, e.g., in CMS (Church Missionary Society) documents. Today it is a Murugan- shrine-centered suburb of Jaapanaya (Jaffna) 3 km south. The Kandasamy Nallur temple was built in 1807; the original shrine, destroyed by the Portuguese in 1625 honoured Hindu Gods, the Buddha, Prince Sapumal Abu-mahalu ~ Mahalu-abhaya as well as as an Islamic Sufi saint. According to the Portuguese historian de Queroz, Nallur was populated by Sinhalese, Muslims, Vadukas, and Tamils. There were several tanks (reservoirs) in the area. Although many theories exist for the origin of the place name (see below), we favour the following: The earliest name for the whole of the Jaffna peninsula was Nagadeepa, or Naakadeepa. The capital of Nakadeepa was Nagapura → Nakpura → nakpur → nakkur → nallur. The Nagas lived in many parts of Sri Lanka including the Maaya Rata, with the capital near the mouth of the Kelani river. Naga Deviyo → Natha Deviyo is a deity revered in the Kelaniya Raja-maha viharaya (Buddhist temple) and many other Buddhist shrines. The place name "Nallur", i.e., Nagapura, is found even in the western province today. Similarly, the proto-forms of Nallur, viz., Nak-ur, Nagpur etc., exist even today in India, and in some place-name stems in Sri Lanka. A village near Panadura south of Colombo, and a coastal village near Mooduthora (Muttur) are known for their "Nalluruva" placename. The Nagadeepa island (Nainaative, or Nagadoova) even today has a shrine to a five-headed Cobra. Today it is the sanctum of the Nagapooshani Amman Kovil, which is located near the nagadeep Vihara.  Nagapoosahni templein Nainativu Pandit AM Gunesekera (1890s) had suggested that Nalluruva was originally 'Yahapura'. Similarly, suggestions that "Nallur" mean Nalla-(p)ur, or "good-city", given by Pandith W. F. Goonawardena, and also favoured by Gnanaprakasar are not consistent with the history of this region which was originally occupied by the Naga people (who presumably revered the Cobra as a sacred protective deity manifesting as the God Natha). The largest Buddhist shrine to God Natha was in Chavakakachcheri (Javakachcheri). This was destroyed by the Portuguese. All this is also consistent with the historical and legendary traditions recounted in the Pali chronicles. Nallur was the principality of various local rulers of Nagadeepa until the advent of Chardrabhanu (13th century) who settled Javanese people near here, creating Jaapané (Jaffna), as discussed by Paranavithana. It has also been claimed to be the same as Chunguinayanar (Singai City). However, see Rasanayagam, History of Jaffna. The work Kailayamaalai refers to Nallur as Nallaimoodhoor, where 'Moodhoor' may be Mooduthora→Modara, i.e., sinhala (portal to the sea), or 'Mootur', i.e, 'old city' in Tamil as well since (p)oor=pura was absorbed in to Tamil. Nallur (nagapura) is located at the eastern Edge of Jaffna, on the road to Irupalai (Hirupala). It has the old "Kandaswami Kovil", re-built by Parakrmabahu's generals in the 15th century as a goodwill gesture, then destroyed by the Portuguese, and rebuilt in the 18th century. Bhuvanekabahu's(1470-78) viceroy Sapumal Kumara ruled from Nagapura (Nallur).   Lankaweb article See Giritharan for a recent discussion which is more of a a nationalistic treatment going beyond empirical historiography. LTTE 'fast-unto death' human-sacrifice of Tileepan was staged here. President Rajapaksa visits Nallur Temple, Jan 10-2010	නාගපුර නල්ලූරුව
Nambankulam, nampankulam (mooladoova[Mullaitivu]) SAMBUDUVAEVA Labeled #86 in Vanni Buddhist sites map Ancient Buddhist site, listed by Archaeo. Dep. Somasiri, 1982 'Namban' could mean 'Sacred, divine', or of 'Siva' in T. map	සම්බුදුවැව
Namaloyai (Ampare) NAMALOYA	නාමල්ඔය
Nanattan (Mannarama [Mannar]) NAVANTHANA See Naanaaddan	නවන්තැන
Narakkali (Puttalama) MORAKAELÉ This is on the coastal strip of the Kalpitiya Lagoon	ෙමාරකැලේ
Narikulam (Vannimava [Vavniya]) NARIVAEVA 'Nari' in Sinhala, Malayalam, Tamil (Nariyadu) etc, means Jackal. IT could also more likely to be "Naari".	නාරිවැව
Nanjundankarai (Puttalama[Puttlam]) DEVIANDARA MeaningTamil "nanjundan",or the one who "took poison" is a reference to Shiva and the legend of his retaining the poison in his throat, and "karai" is "side" or place". Thus the Sinhala "Deviandara" agrees with the tamil, God being "shiva". Note also, 'Devundara' in the south.	දෙවියන්දර
Nanthi Kadal, Nanti Kadal, Nandikadal(Mooladoova [Mullaitivu]) NANDA KALAPUVA, Nandakadola Kadala, Karal and kalal refere to to shallow sea near land. That is, a "kalapuva". The word "nandu" may be the stem fo "nadthi", and it could come the sanskrit "sanku" for conch shells. However, this should have given rise to the form "Nathuk-kadal". In fact, we have other place names involving "sanku", "Chanku" etc., e.g., Sangupitty, Sanguveli, but the form "nanthi" is not found. A more likely explanation of the etymology is that "Nanda, Nandhimitra" etc., are old Sinhala proper names which can be traced to the source languages (Sanskrit, Pali), and are probably connected with Nandi, the Bull-faced attendant of Siva. Alternatively, it is common to find Mangroves in this sort of locality. In place names, trees are often the source of such names. Thus there is a very strong possibility that the root name is NandakadolaIn Tamil as well, the word Kandal could have been the source of "Kadal", or it could be an adaptaton of "Kadola". This is a lagoon where Mooladoova (Mullaitivu) is located, and served as an ancient sea port.This area has been the theater of dramatic escape of people from the No Fire Zone in 2009, or "safe-zone", during the last confrontarions of the LTTE in April-May 2009. See Report in the Island Newspaper  Map, A-34 to Welioya area After the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, Gen. Fonseka turned against President Rajapaksa and claimed that the Rajapaksa government ordered the killing of the white-flag bearing LTTE leaders seeking surrender. This claim was presumably made for electioneering purposes, at an interview with the Sunday Leader.i in Dec. 2009, without considering its wide implications. The ex-general contested the Predidential elections, as the candiate of the joint UNP, JVP and TNA, and garnered 38% Votes, mainly in the TNA-favouring areas, compared to Rajapaksa's 58%. Rajapaksa also captured a very respectable vote in the Tamil areas. (The 158,000 votes in 2010, from the Jaffna district, of which nearly 50,000 went tp Rajapaksa, compare well with the 130,000 or so that the TNA polled in the post 2000 elections.)   Predidential election 2010, The unsubstantiated white-flag claims led to a court martal of Gen. Fonseka in Sept. 2010. Frederica Jansz's version, Jan 2010 : Fonseka on the demise of the LTTE leaders	නන්ද කලපුව නන්ද කඩොල
Naranthanai, Narantanai (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) NAARANTHAENNA, Naarandeniya In sinhala 'naaran' is a tangerine-like citrus variety (bot. Citrus crenatifolia). 'Thaenna'← Sthana' (Skrt.) is a common sinhala ending for 'place', 'location' In pure tamil '(s)thaanam' is used, and the form 'thanai' found only in Sri Lankan T. is probably a sign of adaptation from Sinhala. 'Naarai' can mean 'cranes and water birds' in Tamil. Map	නාරන්තැන්න
Naruvilikkulam(Mannarama[Mannar]) NARABILIVAEVA, BAHUVARAVAEVA "Narabiliveava" is alleged to have earned its name from people drowning in it. The 'b" in Sinhala becomes 'v' in Tamil. An alternative name has also been suggested, viz., 'Bahuvara' or 'Koola" is a tree with cherry-like fruits Cordia obliqua, and known as 'naruvili, ali, namviri' in Tamil.	නරඹිලිවැව   බහුවරවැව
Natchikkuda,Nachikuda (Giranikke, [kilinochchi]) NAGATHUDAWA	නාගතුඩාව
Natpitiyamunai (Ampare) HATHPITIAMUNA, HATHPITIMUNNA Regional map	හත්පිටිඅමුන
Nattandi (Puttalama) HATHHANDIYA (NATHTHANDIYA)	හත්හන්දිය,   නාත්තන්ඩිය
Navagirinagar (Madakalapuwa [Batticaloa]) NAVAGIRINAGARA	නවගිරිනගර
Navaly (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) NAVAELLA, Naavaella	නාවැල්ල
Navakkiri, Navarkiri (Yapanaya[Jaffna]) NAVAGGIRI Disc.- A limestone Buddha had been discovered at Nilavari close by.	නවගිරි
Navanturai(Yapanaya[Jaffna]) NAVANDARA see Jaffna map1	නවන්දර
Navathampirumkerni (Japanaya [Jaffna]) NAVAGAMPURAKAENNA Postal code: BCS30018 The names means the digout (or quarry) for the 'new village', in Sinhala. This is in the "Punagudoova (Punkuduthivu) island east of the Jaffna penninsula.	නවත්කඩුව
Navatkaddu (Madakalapuwa [Batticaloa]) NAVATHKADUWA Postal code: BCS30018 'Nawat-tuduva, Nawat-alwatta and Navat-hispane' are known. Postal code BCS30018 same name exists in yapanaya and Mannarama as well. "navath" probably is the local name of a type of creeping verbena.	නවත්කඩුව
Navatkuli (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) NAVATh-ThUDUWA, NAVATHKULIYA The word `Kuli' was used in old sinhala for hamlet or village. 288 the verse (9th century), Sigiri Mirror-wall – "I am Gunakara (of) Ambagam-kuli (of the) Northern Province (Jaapanaya) See also entry under Navatkaddu (Madakalapuwa) The state of the Navathkuliya bridge, destroyed by the LTTE, at the end of the war, 2009  The state of the Navathkuliya station, destroyed by the LTTE, at the end of the war, 2009  See Map	නවත්තුඩුව   නවත්කුලිය
Navithanveli (Ampare) NAAVITAVAELLA Possibly from the Skrt. 'Naapita', i.e, babar (caste or profession) See Map Postal code: APRS32308	නාවිටවැල්ල
Nawaladi, Navaladi (Giranikke, [kilinochchi]) NAWALAEDDA, NAVALA   Regional map	නවලැද්ද   නාවල
Nayanmarkaddu (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) MAAGALMANKADA The name originates from the existence of a passage way near a "mahagal", or bastion-like stone work in a fort or temple. Note that the Nallur temple is near by. The Sinhala "mahagal → Maagal → naayal in Malayalam is distorted to Nayan in tamilized adaptation. The LTTE leader Pottu Amman is from this area.	මාගල් මන්කඩ
Nayaru (Mooladoova [Mullaitivu]) NAAYAARA The name refers to an "ara" or "oya" which has originated from the ground sinking and erosion. This has been cited as a se-tiger base during the civil war. see Map	නායාර
Nedunkandal, nedung kandal (mannarama[Mannar]) NADUNKADOLA This name may probably be attributed to a type of mangrove, botanical name Kandelia rheedii. or Rhizophora mucronata and Rhizophora candel. The word 'kandal' may also be a tamilization of 'gandara', that is, the watery edge or swamp, where gan =river and 'dara' is related to 'addara'. map	නැදුන්කඩොල
Nedunkerney, Nedunkaerni, Nedunkeni(Vavnimava [Vavniya]) NADUNKURANA, Nadunkaenna Labeled #51, #56 in Vanni Buddhist sites map Ancient Buddhist site, listed by Archaeo. Dep. Somasiri, 1982 There are two modern 'Naedunkerni's as well. These are along the Vavniya-Mullativu road. An important set of ruins is associated with a stupa, remnants of a temple, and a small tank Around it there are many stone slabs, inscriptions etc. Nedun tree is the Sinhala name for 'Pericopsis mooniana', (Latin) while "Kaenna" is a fast tense of "Kaeneena", to dig. Map	නැදුන්කුරන නැදුනකැන්න
Nedunkulam (Vavnimava [Vavniya]) NADUNVAEVA	නැදුන්වැව
Nedunteevu, Delft (Jaffna [Japanaya]) Meadundoova, Naedundoova, Nedunduva see Delft	මැදුන්දූව නැදුන්දූව
Neduvarampu(Mannaram[Mannar]) NAEDIVARAMA Disc.- Land given to a king's relation.	නැදිවරම
Neelavanai, Periya Neelaavanai, நீலாவணை (Madakalapuwa [Batticaloa]) NEELAVANAYA MAHA-NEELAVANAYA This is in the GS area of Galmunna (Kalmunai) and the name "neelavanaya" arises from the blusih appearance of the landscape ("vanaya") as reflected in the lagoon. See also Thuai-neelavanai (Neelavanthota).	නීලවනය
Neerkozimpu, Negambo (Halavatha [Chilaw]) MEEGAMUVA, MEEGAMUWA "Mee→Nee", "Gammuva→Gambo", gives the European "Negambo". The name Meegamuva may refer to a village which was reputed for its honey. Thus the Mahavamsa-based tradition has it that honey was procured from this region for Queen Vihara Maha Devi, (2 century BCE). It could also refer to a forest of Mee trees (Madhuca Longifolia (Koenig). Another legend is that the name is related to "Nihumbala", the Nephew of the Yakka king "Raavana". The Tamil form நீர், nīr, may mean water, and 'colompu' is sometimes claimed to mean 'village', but such a meaning is not recognized in standard Tamil Lexicons. Also, the Tamil name originally applied to the lagoon-like area, and, given the ancient history of the village, it may have come from the sinhala "kalapuva" attached to tamil "nir". Thus "Neerkozimpu" is probably based on the older name "meegamuva→ neer-kalampu→Neerkozimpu". Maya Oya flows north of Negambo and falls into the ocean near Kochchike. This was an early center of the cinnamon trade, set up by the Moors in medieval times. The Portuguese ousted them in the 16th century and built a fort, and established a strong Catholic religious centre here. The Dutch ousted the Portuguese in the 1644 CE. The ruins of the fort, with its fine archway marked '1672' can still be seen. In 1796 the British took over Negombo, by which time the cinnamon trade had declined. The town has remained strongly Roman catholic to this day. Frivolous folk-lore etymology attributes the name 'Negambo' to "nikam biruva'. A a dog 'just barked' is said to be the response given by a non-comprehending bystander to a colonial who asked 'what is the name of this town?.	මීගමුව
Neervely, Neelaveri (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) NEELAVAELLA, NILAVERIYA Hist. Limestone Buddha found here, now in Jaffna museum Ancient well, Bo tree and unexcavated site. Stone pillars etc. Pre-christian to 6th century (?) Buddhist site Archaeo. Dept. file EC/B/N/56 folio 73 Blue Indigo is "Nil Averi", and this may also be the origin of the name.	නීලවැල්ල, නිල්ඇවරිය
Neeraviyadi, Neeraaviyadi (Anuradhapura) NIRAVADIYA 'Neeravi' could mean an open space/park with a well, as in a game sanctuary. This location, only 6km north of Anuradhapura, may have been an old park or sanctuary. 'nirvyaadhi' Sanskrit, means 'no-hurting' presumably, of animals. 'Niravi', Malayalam, signifies a well.	නෙල්ලියද්ද
Nelliyaddi, Nelliyadi (Yapanaya [Jaffna]) NELLIYADDA 'Nelli', (phyllanthus emblica, 'Dhatri' in Skrt., is a medicinal fruit. LTTE' first suicide bomb, by "Captain Miller", 5 July 1985 occurred here. "Miller" is Vallipuram Vasanthan, from Peduru Thuduva(Point Pedro). See also, entry under "Umrumpirai"	නෙල්ලියද්ද
Nelukal (Madakalapuwa [Batticaloa]) NELUGALA Hist. Very ancient (3d century BC), extremely important Buddhist ruins Stupas, Pilima ge, meditation caves, fountains etc. 2 century Stone inscription Destruction. Forced occupation, New Hindu Kovil built.	නෙලුගල
Nelukulam, Nelukkulam (Vavnimava [Vavniya]) NELUNVAEVA Labeled #102 in Vanni Buddhist sites map Disc.- Note that 'Nelun' is not in the Tamil Lexicon. Latin Nelumbo nucifera , Tamil 'Ambala'. Ancient Buddhist ruins, Listed in 1982 by Archaeo. Dep. Somasiri Hist. 30 ft. stupa, set on a square stage, stone support rod constructed to hold a stone circular structue at the center Excavations show stages of construction, from 3-6 century B.C. Other old ruins of temples etc, stone pillars etc. Recent attempts to build a Hindu kovil here Destruction This site has been completely destroyed. The stupa has been flattened and a trident (trishula) has been embedded on a concrete slab This was raised in parliament(Hansaard report), Oct. 7, 1983 See Archaeo. Dept. file EC/B/N/57 folio 124,22,185 Map	නෙලුන්වැව
Neriyakulam (Vavnimava [Vavniya]) NERIYAVAEVA 'Ne-eriya' is probably a kind of tall grass; c.f., Minneeriya is the well known Tank built by Mahasena, 3Cen. AD	නෙලුන්වැව
Nilavarai,(Yapanaya[Jaffna]) NEELAVEHERA, NILAAVARA This is in the Vaeligama (Valikamam) DRO div., near Navagiri(Navakkiri). Ancient Buddhist site; A Buddha statue in the "Abhaya-Mudra" has been recovered and displayed in the Jaffna museum. There are ruins of a ~10CE dagaba, shrine room etc. Indraratne (Thesis, 1965) writes: "A lime-stone Buddha image and the remains of an ancient dagaba were unearthed at Nilavarai, in Navakiri. Among the debris were two sculptured fragments of shaped coral stones with a stone railing design. According to D.T. Devendra, who conducted the excavation at this site, the dagaba can be dated at least to the tenth century A.D. Near these ruins are the foundations of an ancient building and in the middle of these is a modern Siva temple. It has been conjectured, and rightly so, that the old foundations are those of the vihara attached to the ancient dagaba. The plant known in 'Sinhala as Seneha' (laxative) or nilaevari, 'Cassia senna', is known as 'avaram, nilavirai, nilavakai, and Nilavarai' in Tamil.	නීලවෙහෙර
Nilaveli (Sirigonakanda [Trincomalee]) NILVAELLA Ancient Buddhist ruins, Old dutch ruins. This is a very popular beach area. The `pigeon island', (Parei gala, Purankallai, ?, புறா=pigeon; two rocky islands inhabited by Rock pigeons) is a nature reserve under the nay since 2003. It is one km into the sea, and is unusal for its coral-covered shores. Pigeon islands	නිල්වැල්ල
Nintavur (Ampare) NINDAPURA Nidndagama, or Nidndapura are alotments given by the king to temples of feudal chiefs. Today it is mostly a moslem region, with great sociological interest from the point of the "kula-vrige" (Kudivali) system. See the account of the caste system under batticaloa. See also The land of Matri-clans by A Hussein. War: Massacre of Muslims, June 1990 Postal code APRP32340	නින්දපුර
Nirveli(Yapanaya[Jaffna]) MIRIVILA see Jaffna map1	ම්රිවිල
Niraviya(Vannimava[Vavniya]) NOT a tamilized place named Ancient Buddhists site. Labeled #80 in Vanni Buddhist sites map	නිරලිය
Nasiventivu(Madakalapuva[Batticaloa]) Nadee-paen-doova Dis.- 'Nadee' in Sanskrit → river. 'Paen' → water Vedda villages were located here	නදීපැන්දූව
Niyankallikulam, Niankallakulam (Madakalapuwa [Batticaloa]) NIYAGALAVAEVA Ancient Buddhist site; in the list by Archaeo. Dept., Somasiri, 1982 Euphobia Tirukalli, is known in Tamil as 'Kalli', The sinhala name has prompted the 'Niyan' prefix. Although 'Niyagala', Gloriosa Superba is 'kantal' or '..kilangu', the form 'Niyankallikulam' is a transliteration of the Sinhala "Niyangala---". This cyanide containing plant is poisonous. The LTTE has adopted the flower as their 'official flower'.	නියංගලාවැව
Nochchikulam (Vavnimava [Vavniya]) NIKAVAEVA This is close to Vvniya town.	නිකවැව
Nochchimoddai, Nochcimotte (Vavnimava [Vavniya]) NIKAMOTTE 'Motte ← Modde ← Made' signifies a muddy, swampy place. The latin word for 'marsh' is 'madeo', while Skrt. 'manda' means slime. Nika is 'nika' tree 'Vitex negundo', see 'Killinochchi'. Ancient Buddhist ruins, Listed in 1982 by Archaeo. Dep. Somasiri. About 8km north of Vannimava, and near the stream "Parangi-ara", there many ancient buildings with stone pillars and remnants of a Buddhist monastery. Bulldozers used here for framing etc., are destroying these ruins. The railway bridge (located between Tandikulam and Omanthai (Omanda)) was destroyed by the LTTE but was rebuilt in 2010. Labeled #77 in Vanni Buddhist sites map	නිකමොටේ
Norochcholai , Norachcholai, Nuraicholai (Puttalama) MORAGOLLA, The name probably arose from "Mora", Nephelium longanum. It is a large tree with small lychee-like fruits. In Eastern-province Tamil it is also known as Murali or Nurai. The name "Murali" forNephelium longanum itself seems to be a modification of the Sinhala "Mora", as it is not known in other Dravidian languages. The word stems "Nora", "Noro" or related forms do not occur in Tamil. In effect, the changes "Mora → Nora → Nora" seem to accommodate "cholai", the tamilized version of Golla=grove. In sinhala, and also in some Hindi forms, "golla" is also used for people (logga), as in the Sinhala "Devigolla"=gods, "Degolla"=two-groups of people etc. "Golla → kollai → choalai → cholai" சோலை cōlai. The form "nurai" also means ``paddy stub'' in Tamil and Malayalam, a word-stem found in the place name "Nuraicholai". This is a neighbouring area. The place name "Nuraicholai" is also found in the Ampare district. Initilaly highly contested installation of 900MW coal-powerd electricity Generation station, funded with a Chinese grant. First stage completed in 2010. Second and 3rd stages to be completed by 2012.Development spin-off in the area.	මොරගොල්ල
Nunavil(yapanaya[Jaffna]) AHUVILA Disc.- 'Ahu' has the botanical name Morinda citrifolia This is a type of Mulberry, and is known as 'noni' or 'nuna' in Tamil. see Jaffna map1	අහුවිල
Nunakal(Yapanaya[Jaffna]) THIUNGALA This is in the Punguduthive (punkuduthivu) Island Here 'Thiun' means 'thiunu' or sharp, and refers to the sharpness of the corals The Tamil name 'nuna' can probably give a similar sense. See Map	තියුන්ගල
Nuraichchoalai (Ampara, also Puttalama) MORAGOLLA, Horagolla The name probably arose from "Mora", Nephelium longanum It is a large tree with small lychee-like fruits. In Tamil it is also known as Murali or Nurai. Nuraicholai, Puttalam is on the coastal strip of the Kalpitiya Lagoon. See also Norochcholai.	මොරගොල්ල