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Photo focus: Horiwila -a new world heritage site for Lanka
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Story and pix by Kanchana Kumara Ariyadasa - Dambulla Correspondent
The ancient village of Horiwila, situated in Palugaswewa, Anuradhapura, is to be declared as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.
The village is due to be listed a World Heritage Site because of its rich agricultural traditions and inhabitants who continue to use traditional farming methods. The area is home to a unique ecosystem. Twelve different interconnected tanks provide water for agricultural activity while both traditional farming methods and ayurvedic medicine are part of the village community. It is also a place where the traditional way of life of the Sinhalese, along with their diet, martial arts and other unique aspects of life, are still very much intact and practised.
A team led by the Secretary of the Technical Committee from the UN’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems in Rome is currently in the region conducting research on the Horiwila area and traditional medicinal practices. The area is expected to be declared a World Heritage in February.
The Horiwila village in the backdrop of forests and hills which surround it
IIluk grass covered roofs and brick and mud walls keep the the buildings cool
One of the twelve tanks which serve the village
A traditional pestle and mortar
Secretary of the Technical Committee of the UN’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems pays his respets to the Horiwila Vedamahataya