Welcome to Udappu

Udappu is a traditional Tamil fishing village situated 65 miles and two hours north of Colombo. The people of the village are Hindu Karawa of South Indian origin, whose culture and lifestyle are altogether different from other people engaged in deep-sea fishing living along the coast of Chilaw District.

In the Tamil month of Avani (late July to early August), an 18-day festival commences with the flag-hoisting ceremony and ending with fire-walking in front of Udappu's Draupadi Amman Temple.

The 18-day period is spent in prayer and fasting, with a priest reciting the Mahabharata epic to remind everyone of the story of Draupadi, the five Pandava brothers' common wife, whose chaste and virtuous ways enabled her to recover the kingdom they been deprived of by wicked King Duryodhana.

The Draupadi Festival comes to a spectacular conclusion on the final evening when the entire male population of Udappu walk barefoot over a bed of red hot coals without injury, to the astonishment of all present.