Ella Halpe Pattini Devalaya

This is located in the Ella District Secretariat Division of the Badulla District of the Uva Province on a hillock at a short distance of the main road to Halpe.

According to the belief coming down the generations, this Devale had been shifted from its original location in Hettipola, which is not far from the present site.

The Devale roof is supported on eligantly carved timber columns with lotus bracket-capitals. Its inner chamber has clay walls. The section of the building known as Maligava is a two storied timber structure and the upper floor could be accessed by a wooden ladder.

Its walls are of timber panels supported on stone columns and beams. Between the timber columns is a latticed fence. In the ground floor a sandalwood statue of Pattini Goddess and deposited besides it are processional lances, lamps and water containers.

The carvings in this Devale depict the typical Kandyan tradition. The door frame of the entrance to one of the corridors is adorned with a Makara Torana and the images of doorkeepers. The Devale premises have an ancient Bhodhigara and the structure of an ancient temple. The evidence that a parapet enclosing all these items had been in existence is visible. This site not only displays the archaeological significance of the area but also as a place subject to veneration. The Archaeological Department has declared the Devale as a protected monument.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 September 2012 15:43