From Dowa, the next destination is a long way towards Tanamalvila where at Hambegamuwa is another historical site where the concept of the Dagaba, tank (wewa), rice field (kethyaya) are typically well represented. Hambegamuwa is a rustic village nestled deep in the jungle of the Eastern border of the Udawalawe National Park.
The access to Hambegamuwa lies along the Tanamalvila – Udawalawe road, where near the 3rd kilometre post at Bodagama, is the deviation leading to Hambegamuwa which leads to Balangoda, and is dotted with several key villages including Welioya, Medabedda and Uggalkaltota. The distance to Hambegamuwa on this road is about 30 kilometres.
It is now a carpeted road where there is a public transport service. Hambegamuwa in the years gone by was a veritable hunting ground of those gay sportsmen who came with their rifle and hound to shoot sambar and deer. The earliest account of Hambegamuwa when it was in great wilderness is given in Dr. R. L. Brohier’s Seeing Ceylon’. Way back in 1923, Brohier had trekked 40 kilometres to reach Hambegamuwa from Telulla via Haldamulla.
Here is the description of what he saw of Hambegamuwa in 1923: “It so happened that I did the jungle trek of 20 miles to Hambegamuwa, from Telulla. And climbed up to Haldamulla in 1923. There was then but one jungle village on the route – an isolated settlement completely cut off from the outer world by forest scrub and thicket. Here lived a handful of forested folk sheltered against unreasonable rains or prolonged drought, poverty or sickness, Balaharuwa came to lie the territory of wild things, it spotlighted history as the headquarters of the Gobadde Dissava, whose special duty was to keep the cattle pens belonging to the Sinhala kings stocked with best animals produced in the country.”
Prosperous village
Carved out of the jungle with the traditional chena cultivation, Hambegamuwa became a prosperous village, earning notoriety for its cannabis (ganja) cultivation, mainly because of its isolation from the outside world and its thick forest caver. Hambegamuwa of yesteryear had now changed for the better. Now, the whole area is teeming with new settlements and cultivations.
From Bodagama, the next village is Migaswewa from there come Nikawewa, Agunakolapelessa, Kahakuranpelessa, Arambegama (ancient name Aramekema) and from there to Hambegamuwa. Besides Hambegamuwa where the population is nearly 2,500 families, the next populated village is Nikawewa where there are about 1,500 families. The people do chena cultivation and paddy cultivation.
In the 1950’s, the notorious ‘Operation Ganga’ was launched in the heart of the Hambegamuwa jungle. The noteworthy importance in Hambegamuwa is its tank which was built across the upper reaches of the Mau Ara in ancient times, and the ancient temple called Hambegamuwa Raja Maha Vihara which has a museum of archaeological objects.
This part of the country in ancient periods was called Maha Ruhuna. On the other side of the temple, stand stone pillars, some upright, others buried in the earth. These relics belong to the Vihara. In its centre is a Buddha statue broken at its neck and surrounded by stone pillars.
Hambegamuwa during the 1971 insurgency was not a safe place and even now, there are robberies and highway thefts. Hence a new Police station has been set up in the Hambegamuwa town in Bodagama –Hambegamuwa – Kaltota road in the Tanamalvila Divisional Secretariat area.
Although I had visited the areas surrounding Hambegamuwa, I had never visited this serene village; surfeit with trees, tanks, rocky outcrops, archaeological sites, wildlife and, of course, the genial village folks. To the West is the Udawalawe National Park, untamed and visible with the sounds of the wild frequently permeating the quietude of the village.
Carved out of the jungle with the traditional chena cultivation, Hambegamuwa became a prosperous village. According to historical records, Hambegamuwa was, in colonial times, a hunting ground of the white men.
Rural settings
It is intriguing that the rural settings of Hambegamuwa still remain near true to the description in Brohier’s opus, though the adjoining villages of Migaswewa, Nikawewa, Agunakolapelessa, Kahakurullanpelassa and Arabegama have undergone sea change with boats of rural farmer communities, medical facilities and schools.
Set against the picturesque backdrop of the mountain ranges of Ulkanda, Yakgala and Binopokuna with Bambaragala standing a distant sentinel to the West, is the tranquil Hambegamuwa tank. The profusion of water lilies and water birds ups the beauty quotient of the tank, which is also a popular watering hole for wild elephants from the Udawalawe National Park. The park is within easy reach of Hambegamuwa and it lies outside the park limits, a constant menace to the villagers.
The restoration works of the Hambegamuwa tank had commenced in 1888, when Government Agent Fisher had examined its breach with the Rambukpotha Ratemahatmaya of the time, as told in Dr. Brohier’s ‘Seeing Ceylon’.
Hambegamuwa has its origin as rendezvous of the Rahatan Vahanselas (Sages). The site had been the abode of Arahats in those ancient days. It was a sunny day when we trekked through Hambegamuwa and explored the hidden archaeological site called Arambekema, (meaning: Arambe – forest, Kema – rock water pool), an ancient Buddhist monastery. A rocky outcrop spanning 15 acres, it is indeed an impressive site, the small shrine room at the top being the cynosure. But equally intriguing is the rock caves with drip-ledges, rock water pools with water lily blossoms and rock cut flights of steps to the summit of the rock.
The numerous ruins, including a Dagaba, stone slabs and pillars scattered around the rocky outcrop, indicate that the place was a flourishing Buddhist monastery in the past. Reaching the top is worth the exertion and the effort, as it gives you a perfect bird’s eye view of the entire forest canopy of Hambegamuwa.
Remnants of a monastery
Walking around the rock boulder, I came across many stone ruins scattered around, believed to be the remnants of a Buddhist monastery. It is interesting that there had been no archaeological exploration of the area.
Sadly though, what could have been an unblemished site had been marred by greed, with treasure hunters, blowing up parts of the rock in their search for treasure. Yet, Arambekema hints at secretes and forgotten lifestyles of those lived to a different beat centuries ago.
Overlooked in the grandeur schemes of archaeological findings, Arambekema is a neglected spot of history, overgrown with creepers and overtaken by the vicissitudes of time. But a lone bhikkhu has been trying to save the historical site from being buried in decay and neglect. Having built a small shrine room atop the rock, the bhikkhu has been striving to make the place a Buddhist shrine.
Somehow or other, his ambition is to bring back the glory of the historical site, and make it a place of significance once again. For, if one is to accept what history records, the huge boulder spread over a vast area in the serene and beautiful countryside, was the palace built by the regional King Dappula II. centuries ago.
