The belief is that the name Hambantota was derived much later, during
Dutch times, when Indonesian Malays arrived in their boats - sampans - to the tota -
harbour - of this bay in search of elephants. It became Sampan-tota, the harbour of the
sampans, which over time was modified to Hambantota. Further migration by Malays to
Hambantota has resulted in the town having the largest proportion of Malay Muslims in the
island.
A major activity in the environs of Hambantota is the production of salt by the ancient
method of evaporating seawater from shallow saltpans.These enormous square enclosures,
which glisten with an intense glare in the harsh sunlight, together with the heaps of
harvested salt, are a sight worth experiencing. Hambantota is also renowned for its rich,
creamy curd, which is made from the buffalo milk. Curd, along with it. |
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