name	Negombo
native name	මීගමුව/Migamuwa (Sinhala)நீர்கொழும்பு/Nir Koɭumbu (Tamil)Guumbu (Sri Lanka Malay)
settlement type	City
pushpin map	Sri Lanka
coordinates region	LK
subdivision type	Country
subdivision name
subdivision type1	Province
subdivision name1	Western Province
government type	Present government is United People's Freedom Alliance(2010, 2011)
leader title	Mayor
unit pref	Metric
population total	65,000
population blank1 title	Demonym
utc offset	-5
timezone	Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone
utc offset	+4:30
footnotes	}}

Negombo (Sinhala: මීගමුව ; Tamil: நீர்கொழும்பு ) is a town of about 121,933, approximately 37 km north of Colombo, in Sri Lanka. It is located at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, about 7 km from the Bandaranaike International Airport. Negombo has a small port, and its economy is mainly based on tourism and its centuries-old fishing industry, though it also produces cinnamon, ceramics, and brass ware.

Etymology

The name "Negombo" was first used by the Portuguese, a corruption of the Sinhala name ''Mīgamuva(මීගමුව)."

The town is situated by the shores of a lagoon of the same name, and was a trading port during the periods of Portuguese and Dutch colonization.

History

Negombo first flourished as a center for cinnamon production in Sri Lanka. The cinnamon industry in Negombo was initiated by the Portuguese, and subsequently attended to by the Moors(Muslims). After the Portuguese were defeated by the Dutch in 1640, the Cinnamon business was kept as an key aspect of the regions economy. However, by the time the British took over in 1796, the industry was in decline. Another point of interest in Negombo is the Old Dutch Fort, which was built in 1672. It is situated near the shore and offers a glimpse into the colonization history of Negombo. However, the Fort is now in a state of disrepair.

Negombo lagoon

The fishermen who are based at the Negombo lagoon live in abject poverty in shanty thatch palm villages along the water's edge. They relay mainly on their traditional knowledge of the seasons for their livelihood, using outrigger canoes carved out of tree trunks and nylon nets to bring in modest catches from September through till April.

Their boats are made in two distinct forms, oruvas (a type of sailing canoe) and paruvas (a large, man-powered catamaran fitted with kurlon dividers), and are said to have originated in the islands off the Mozambican coast; they were brought to Sri Lanka by Portuguese traders in the 17th century.

For generations the lagoon has provided the fishermen with a plentiful supply of crabs, shrimp and many of the native species of fish, but with the onset of global warming these sources of food have dwindled. The men are regularly forced to head out to the ocean to fish, often losing money in the chartering process. In recent years, the villagers have supplemented the income earned from fishing by collecting ''toddy'', or palm sap, which is used to brew arrack.

Tourism

Negombo is an ideal place for those who want quick access to and from the country's international airport. The 100 km long canal network running through the town is still used, and outrigger canoes and modern water-craft ply this route daily, for trade and tourist purposes. Remains of colonization include the Dutch fort built in 1672, as well as centuries-old Portuguese and Dutch houses, administrative buildings, and churches. Negombo is also home to the country's second-largest fish market, the Llelama, at the north end of the town's lagoon. There are daily fish auctions, which give tourists a chance to meet the area's colourful fishermen and even organise fishing trips into the lagoon and the ocean beyond. Other nearby attractions open to visitors include Muthurajawela, which is part of a 6,000-hectare (14,826-acre) protected marshland, home to over 190 species of wildlife.

Negombo offers some of the better beaches on the west coast of Sri Lanka, and draws tourists who stop over for a day on their way to or from the airport. Some quiet stretches of the beach are maintained by the tourist hotels, while others are always busy with fishermen and their equipment. Water-sports and diving are also popular among visitors, with a few well-preserved coral reefs and a 50-year-old shipwreck (''Kudapaduwa'') that serves as an artificial reef for many varieties of fish.

There are also local handicraft sales on the beaches and the shops near the town.

Religion

Since the beginning of European Colonization, the township of Negombo has a majority of Roman Catholics along with Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims. Negombo has been given the name "Little Rome" due to the highly ornate Portuguese-era Roman Catholic churches such as St Marys church found within the township. The Katuwapitiya Church and the Grand Street Church are two biggest parishes in Negombo. "Agurukaramulla Pansala" is a famous Buddhist temple bringing Buddhists from all over Sri Lanka to Negombo every year.

Transport

Colombo Puttalam A3 main road go through via Negombo, there a sufficient good road system in and around Negombo . Negombo is a main hub of the Ragama - Puttalam rail road, Unfortunately the new bus complex has been not completed in so may months, so there are fewer facilities in the for passengers. Bus ride from Negombo to Colombo takes about 45 minutes and costs LKR 40 in ordinary bus and LKR 75 in special buses

Train Services are available from Negombo to Colombo. However the 40 km train ride can take as much as 2 hours due to single track and slow moving trains. General class train ticket from Negombo to Colombo costs LKR 40.

Renting a minivan for airport drop/pickup can cost about LKR 1200 to LKR 2000.

See also

Negombo Tamils

Bharatakula

RAF Negombo

Place names in Sri Lanka

References

External links

Negombo - a large fishing town

Category:Gampaha District Category:Populated places in Western Province, Sri Lanka

ang:Negombo cs:Negombo de:Negombo fr:Negombo it:Negombo lt:Negombas nl:Negombo no:Negombo pl:Negombo si:මීගමුව sv:Negombo ta:நீர்கொழும்பு

name	Joseph Vaz
dead	yes
birth date	April 21, 1651
birth place	Benaulim, Portuguese India (now India)
death date	January 16, 1711 (aged 59)
death place	Kingdom of Kandy (now Sri Lanka)
occupation	Catholic priest, missionary }}

Blessed Joseph Vaz (April 21, 1651, Benaulim – January 16, 1711, Kandy) was a Catholic Oratorian priest from Goa. He is known as the ''Apostle of Ceylon''.

He entered Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) when, due to the Dutch colonial occupation, Calvinism was the official religion. He traveled throughout the island bringing the Eucharist and the sacraments to clandestine groups of Catholics. Later in his mission he found shelter in the Kandyan kingdom where he was able to work freely. At the time of his death he managed to rebuild the Catholic church on the island. On January 21, 1995, Joseph Vaz was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Early life

Joseph Vaz was born on April 21, 1651 at Benaulim, his mother's village. His parents, Cristóvão Vaz and Maria de Miranda, were devout Goan Catholics. Cristóvão belonged to a prominent Brahmin ''Naik'' family of Sancoale. He was the third of six children. He learned Portuguese in Sancoale and Latin in Benaulim.

He studied rhetoric at the Jesuit college and philosophy and theology at the College of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Goa, was ordained in 1676, and became a favorite preacher and confessor. He opened a Latin school in Sancoale for prospective seminarians. In 1677 he consecrated himself as a "slave of Mary", sealing it with a document known as his "Letter of Enslavement"..

Ministry in Canara

Fr. Joseph Vaz was appointed the Vicar Forane of Canara by the Padroado in 1681.

During his stay, Fr. Vaz undertook serious missionary activities in Canara from 1681 to 1684, returning again briefly in 1686, carrying out a lot of missionary work in Mangalore, Basrur, Barkur, Mulki, Kallianpur and other areas, and reviving the spirits and faith of the widely scattered Roman Catholic community. He reconstructed the Rosario church in Mangalore and built new churches at Basrur and Gangolim.

In his short stay, Fr. Vaz acquired a great and saintly reputation. Many miracles are attributed to him. A local legend has it that while serving as parish priest of Our Lady of Mercy parish, Paneer, a few kilometres from Mudipu, a few Hindus arrived in the night, asking him to accompany them to administer final sacraments to a sick parishioner in the neighbourhood of Mudipu.

The men had conspired to slay the priest, due to his tireless missionary activities. However, when they reached the top of the Hill, the men tried to kill him. The serene Fr. Vaz knelt down on the rock and held his stick straight on the ground. A light flashed in their midst and the men could see water gushing from the spots where he knelt. Owing to this miracle, the men fled from the scene and Fr. Vaz returned to the parish unharmed.

A shrine dedicated to him, Blessed Joseph Vaz Hill shrine was constructed at that very site at Mudipu in Mangalore. It is visited annually by thousands of pilgrims and devotees, seeking blessings and cures for various ailments.

Sri Lanka mission

Hearing of the distressful situation of the Catholics of Ceylon who reportedly had no priests for many years, Father Vaz desired to go to their rescue. But instead he was named Superior of the Kanara Mission, a post which he occupied for three years. On his return to Goa in 1684 he spent his time preaching in the villages, and joined the Oratorians then recently established in Goa, at the Church of the Holy Cross of Miracles. He was soon named ''superior'' there. In 1686 he obtained permission to give up this office and to proceed to Ceylon. Disguised as a mendicant, he reached the port of Tuticorin on Easter 1687.

Jaffna mission

On landing at Jaffna he found a strong Calvinist presence. As Catholic priests were banned by the Dutch authorities he had to travel under the guise of a mendicant and to work in secret. He traveled barefoot as an Indian sanyasi.

He suffered from acute dysentery, contracted from the terrible traveling conditions. Upon recovering he began contacting Catholics and hiding from the Dutch. He was taken in and ministered to his secret flock by night. In 1689 taking up his residence in a village called Sillalai where the Catholics were numerous and resolute, he succeeded in reviving the spirit of the faithful. In 1690 he was forced to change his quarters for Puttalam, where he worked with great success for a whole year.

Kandy mission

In 1692 he settled in Kandy, the capital of a native independent kingdom, as his centre of operations. On his arrival he was deemed to be a Portuguese spy and was imprisoned with two other Catholics. There he learned Sinhala, the local language. They were left alone by the prison guards as long as they didn't try to escape and he built a hut-church and later a proper church dedicated to Our Lady, and began converting other prisoners.

In 1696 the Kingdom of Kandy was suffering a serious drought, and king Vimaldharna Surya asked the Buddhist monks to pray to their gods for rain as there was no rain. He turned to Father Vaz, who erected an altar and cross in the middle of the square and prayed. Abundant rain began to fall, while Father Vaz and the altar stayed dry. This prompted the King to grant Father Vaz license to preach throughout the kingdom.

Making the most of his new-found freedom, he made a mission visit to the Dutch controlled areas and visited Catholics in Colombo. Three missionaries from the Oratory of Goa arrived in 1697 to help him with the news that Bishop Pedro Pacheco of Cochin had appointed Vaz as Vicar General in Ceylon. He was organizing the basic mission structure when smallpox broke out in Kandy. His work with the sick convinced the king to allow Father Vaz freedom in his labors.

Father Vaz carried his mission to the main centers of the island. He returned to Kandy in 1699 with Father Joseph de Carvalho who had been expelled at the instigation of Buddhist monks. He completed the construction of his new church, and went into service for the king, translating Portuguese books into Sinhala. From this vantage point, he intensified his ministry, and converted some Sinhalese notables. New missionaries arrived in 1705, which enabled him to organize the mission into eight districts, each led by a priest. He worked on the creation of Catholic literature comparable to that of the Buddhists, and to affirm the rights of Catholics with those of the Dutch Calvinist Government.

Death

King Vimaldharna Surya II, Father Joseph Vaz's patron, died in 1707, but Narendra Sinha, his successor, was an even greater supporter. New missionaries arrived in 1708. In 1710, despite health problems, Father Vaz took another apostolic trip. On his return, he fell ill. He recovered from a series of infections and fevers, but was left weakened. He undertook eight days of spiritual exercises prescribed by the Rule, but before the seventh day he died at Kandy on January 16, 1711, at the age of 59.

Beatification

The subject of his beatification was first urged upon the consideration of the Holy See about 1737 by Dom Francisco de Vasconcellos, S.J., Bishop of Cochin, who also claimed jurisdiction over Ceylon.

The process was begun in Goa, and a number of miracles were registered. But the non-fulfillment of certain essential formalities led Benedict XIV to cancel the proceedings, with an order, however, that they should be re-instituted. In South Kanara, he is generally known as Venerable Father Joseph Vaz. On January 21, 1995, Joseph Vaz was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Bibliography

Mascarenhas, Michael, SDB. ''Through Storm and Tempest''.

Mascarenhas, Michael, SDB. ''Vadoll ani tufananantlean: Goencho bhagevont put Padri Juze Vazachea jivitachi kotha''. Translation into Konkani (Kannada script).

Mascarenhas, Michael, SDB. ''Vadoll ani tufananantlean: Goencho bhagevont put Padri Juze Vazachea jivitachi kotha''. Translation into Konkani (Roman script) by Thomas Misquith and Jess Fernandes. Panjim: Boskon Communications, 2010.

Mascarenhas, Michael, SDB. ''Vadalvara va tufanatun: Dhanyavadit Joseph Vaz yanche jivan caritra''. Translation into Marathi by Anil Dabre. Mumbai: Tej-prasarini Don Bosco Communications, 2006.

External links

Catholic Encyclopedia: Blessed Joseph Vaz

Joseph Vaz, C. O.

Patron Saints Index: Blessed Joseph Vaz

Blessed Joseph Vaz - Apostle of Sri Lanka

References

Category:Beatified people Category:Oratorians Category:1651 births Category:1711 deaths Category:Indian Roman Catholic priests Category:Christian missionaries in Sri Lanka Category:Konkani people Category:Roman Catholic missionaries Category:Indian Christian missionaries Category:People from Goa Category:18th-century venerated Christians Category:People of the Kingdom of Kandy

fr:Joseph Vaz ru:Ваз, Иосиф ta:யோசப் வாசு