News
Seasonal Thinnoru mining underway
View(s):Thinnoru mining for the annual Kataragama Esala festival has started at Hunuketawala, also called Thinnorumale and Vibuthi Kanda.
Thinnoru is a substance applied on the foreheads of devotees at Kataragama Maha Devalaya to obtain the blessings of God Kataragama. Thinnoru is found underground in Hunuketawala, and is mined during May-June. Miners extract the white substance and sieve it into a fine powder.
About three months after the festival, the substance disappears from the ground. Thinnoru is sold at festival time and many devotees take it to their houses or devalas around the island. Indian devotees take Thinnoru home to India where it is believed to be a panacea. These pictures show Thinnoru being mined and sifted into fine powder.
A miner at work in a Thinnoru mine
Pic by M N Piyaratne Kataragama