Meemure

Meemure

Meemure is a remote community in Sri Lanka's Central Province that is nestled 324 meters above sea level in the mountains. It can only be accessed from the "Hunnasgiriya" mountain, which is a part of the Knuckles range and is located around 50 kilometers from Kandy. The 33 km trek from Hunnasgiriya to Meemure is challenging with many challenging parts, but the scenery is wonderful. The settlement itself receives an abundance of water in the form of waterfalls that originate in the Knuckles' evergreen forests. The pyramid-shaped Lakegala mountain is located east of the settlement, and the magnificent Knuckles range dominates the west. Meemure's southern and northern boundaries are separated by the Heen River and a forest that extends to the "Pitawala Pathana" grassland.

Up until 2004, pack-bulls were the only means of transportation to Meemure. Cattle herds delivered supplies and equipment to the settlement in bags. Because of the village's abundance and wealth, pack-bulls were exclusively used to transport salt, textiles, tobacco, and calcium bicarbonate. However, the trails have been extended to accommodate three-wheelers, jeeps, and compact trucks due to the invasion of modern technology.

History and Folklore

The "Mee" trees (as the locals called them) that encircled the area gave Meemure its name.

Folklore claims that the village has a nearly 5000-year history. The mythical King Ravana from the Indian epic poem the Ramayana is thought to have owned Lakegala, which is located to the east. According to legend, Lakegala was used by Ravana as a power source, and during the time of the Ramayana, a tunnel ran through the lake. After the Ramayana war, the tunnel is claimed to have been sealed off and contained Ravana's body.

According to another legend, Sri Lanka's history begins in 700 B.C., during the reign of King Vijaya, who is regarded as the ancestor of the country's current people. When Vijaya and his followers arrived on the island from India, they spotted the attractive native woman Kuweni. He adopted Kuweni as his de facto wife after being overcome by lust. He had two children with Kuweni, but after he legally wed an Indian royal princess, Vijaya exiled her from his kingdom. As a result, Kuweni was compelled to move into the forest with her kids.

The indigenous people of Sri Lanka are thought to have descended from the two children of Kuweni, who lived in the forest where Meemure is today. The indigenous inhabitants of contemporary Sri Lanka are based in Mahiyanganaya, barely 60 kilometers from Meemure, and they appear to support this assertion.

Portugal attacked Sri Lanka in the sixteenth century AD. As the Dutch and English nations subdued the country in the next centuries, the invasions persisted. According to historical records, the Meemure people provided saltpetre (potassium nitrate) for the gunpowder that the Kandyan kingdom utilized in their resistance operations. The saltpetre (niter) mined from the cave is still in operation days.

In the same period, it is said that King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe exiled his daughter to the village of Meemure together with a group of men, one of whom he thought his daughter was having an affair with. This supports the idea that Meemure was real at the time.

The Village Way of Life

With about 125 families, the community has a population of about 400 people. One of Meemure's primary identities is its architecture. The people use clay and illuk (spear grass), a long-lasting material, to construct environmentally beneficial dwellings. But the most distinctive feature of their structures is their quartz boundary walls.

The people of Meemure relied on picking cardamom to make a living before the Forest Preservation Act outlawed the practice in 1982. Following this, they started cultivating chena, paddy, and peppers.

Some modern-day peasants make a living by caring for the jaggery palms that provide toddy and treacle. There is only one little store in the community where residents may buy essentials like salt and sugar. There is also no cable or cell network service. However, there are some CDMA telephone services available in the village.

The inhabitants must travel to Thapal Junction every day to exchange arriving and outgoing mail with the postman because there is no direct mail delivery to the village.