The Portuguese called it Ilha das Vacas, the Dutch called it Delft. Locally it is known as Neduntivu. Situated in the Palk Straits, north-west of Jaffna, this island, famed for its wild ponies is the largest in the Palk Strait, estimated to be 4717 hectares, 8 km long and 6 km across.
“Matara is reportedly the most cultured place in Ceylon, as Kalutara is the healthiest: ‘born in Kalutara, educated in Matara – what better?’ says a proverb,” reports Roland Raven-Hart in Ceylon: History in Stone (1964). As I wrote of Kalutara recently (Colonial Kalutara, the Sunday Times, August 22, 2010), it would now seem appropriate to turn my attention to Matara.
