Hambantota

Hambantota (හම්බන්තොට, அம்பாந்தோட்டை) is the main town in Hambantota District, Southern Province, Sri Lanka. The prominent Malays (මැලේ) most part of the population is to be partly descended from seafarers from the Malay Archipelago (java) who travelled through the Magampura port, and over time settled down. This underdeveloped area was hit hard by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and is undergoing a number of major development projects including the construction of a new sea port and international airport finished in 2013. These projects and others such as Hambantota Cricket Stadium are said to form part of the government's plan to transform Hambantota into the second major urban hub of Sri Lanka, away from Colombo. When the Kingdom of Ruhuna was established it received many travellers and traders from Siam, China and Indonesia who sought anchorage in the natural harbor at Godawaya, Ambalantota. The ships or large boats these traders travelled in were called "Sampans" and thota means port or anchorage so the port where sampans anchor came to be known as Sampantota , After some time the area came to be called Hambantota. Hambantota is derived from ‘Sampan Thota’ – the harbour used by Malay sea going Sampans which traversed the southern seas in the 1400s well before the European colonisers arrived. The prominent Malay community part of the population is said to be partly descended from seafarers from the Malay Archipelago who travelled through the Magampura port, and over time settled down. The presence of a pre-existing Malay community prompted the British colonial Government to disband and settle soldiers of a Malay Regiment which had fought with the British in the Kandyan wars at Kirinda near Hambantota. After the arrival of the European colonialists, and the focus of the Galle harbour, Hambantota went into quiet decline. Hambantota District is part of the traditional south known as Ruhuna. In ancient times this region, especially Hambantota and the neighboring areas was the centre of a flourishing civilization.