Directly west of Jaffna is a string of islands straggling out into the waters of the Palk Strait towards south-east India. I’m going to try to hop across the archipelago to the remotest island of Delft, named after the famous Dutch city in the 1700s when the Dutch ruled. It’s now better known by its Tamil name, Neduntivu, and for its wild ponies which are descendants of those first introduced by the Portuguese in the 1600s.
But to get to Delft it looks like I first need to get to Kayts island. This is via a causeway. I’ll walk across Kayts and then cross another causeway to the island of Punkudutiva.
It’s from Punkudutiva that I’ll catch a fishing boat to Nainativu to see the ornate Naga Pooshani Ambal Kovil. This dates from 1788 and it’s the temple where Hindu worshipers bring their newborn babies to receive the goddess Ambal’s blessings.
What’s surprising, given the extent of the recent conflict in the Tamil north, is that just 10 minutes walk from the kovil is the Nagadipa Vihara. This is an important place of Buddhist worship and the place where the Buddha, five years enlightened by this time, taught two warring kings about unity, harmony and compassion. Not only did this result in the kings becoming reconciled, but they went on to pay homage to the Buddha and became pious devotees.
To get to Delft from Nainativu it looks like I’ll have to catch a fishing boat back to Punkudutivu and then take a bigger boat for the hour’s trip to Delft. The highlight, I feel sure, is going to be seeing the 100 wild ponies roaming freely around the southern centre of the island.
As the last ferry of the day is 2.30pm back to Punkudutiva, it looks like I should stay on Delft for the night at its only guest house. I can then enjoy the remoteness of this island that Pliny, the Roman naturalist and author, called ‘the island of the sun’. It will then be back to the Sri Lankan mainland, via Jaffna. I’ll be bound for home, due south, right down the middle of the teardrop-shaped island that is Sri Lanka.
Next up: Leg 9 – Homeward bound via Mihintale – where religion and state became entwined
Previous Blog – Spotlight on the Jaffna Peninsula and the city itself
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