Myth and Hidden History of Madhu Church (Mannar, Northern Sri Lanka)

The Catholic Antiquity of this so-called "Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu" (Madhu Church) is a MYTH.

At the Madhu site, there existed originally a Hindu Amman Kovil that was atleast 1850 years old, if not older. The nearby tank is still called Kovil Kulam (Temple Tank) after the Tamil name of the site.

The Buddhists co-worshipped at the same site (like in Kadirgamam) and called it a "Pattini Devale", where "Pattini" refers to Kannagi Amman and "Devale" means "Devalayam" (Kovil).

"It is essentially a forest pilgrimage...the earth of Madu is considered to posses special medical properties, hence the sanctity, resulting in the reputation that `Madhu Medicine' effects cures in cases of snake bite" (Denham : page 76f). That age-old belief has nothing to do with Roman Catholic Christianity.

Idolatry and Vandalism by Portuguese Catholics

Reverend James Cordiner has given the explanation why we do not see the old, original buildings like the old Hindu Amman Kovil at Madhu:

"It is well known that every trace of religious fabrics of the Ceylonese was obliterated with enthusiastic ardour by the idolators from Europe" [i.e. the Roman Catholic Portuguese]." (A Description of Ceylon Vol. I (p. 188))

Barely 130 years ago, Catholics gradally usurped this ancient Hindu temple (Amman Kovil) in the dense forests, desecrated the sacred icon (Durgai Amman Silai) and built a Catholic church after destroying the temple.

Hindu pilgrims used to go there because of their belief in the special healing powers ascribed to the Hindu Goddess Amman. Amman's blessing is also sought by childless women. By building a church there starting in 1876, the Catholic bishop of Jaffna conveniently appropriated the popular age-old belief in the healing powers of Amman's for the edification of Virgin Mary of the Christian faith ("Madhu Matha").

The annual Madhu Festival on July 2nd initiated by the Bishop of Jaffna dates back only to 1870. Even at that time there was no Madhu Church. The foundation stone of the Madhu Church was laid down only in 1876 CE. So, even if we take 1870 as the date of official sanctification, the history of Madhu as a site of Roman Catholic pilgrimage does not date back to more than 132 years. Recently, in 2002, local Catholic converts have legitimised their illegal control of this Madhu Amman Kovil and successfully turned this church into a grand National Basilica, with Vatican approval.

You will be advised to read the hidden history of the genocidal Catholic inquisition in Jaffna/Mannar and other parts of the Tamil kingdom in the 15th century that witnessed in the wanton destruction of the ancient Pancha-Ishwaram temples (that were discovered and reconstructed in the 20th century), forcible mass-conversions and massacres of Tamil Hindus (who refused to convert) and the remaining Hindu civilians who fled the Catholic ruled areas to the hinterland.

Read more about the Catholic desruction of the ancient Thiru Koneswaram temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koneswaram_temple and http://www.tamilnation.org/heritage/thirukoneswaram.htm

and the Thiru Ketheeswaram temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketheeswaram

and the Thiru Naguleswaram temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naguleswaram

The Catholic clergy ordered the beheading of the last Tamil Hindu ruler (Sangili Kumaran) and extinguished the Jaffna kingdom. His surviving family members were forcibly converted to Catholicism and their descendants are shamelessly Catholic today, even though they are aware of the past history.

The same is true of all Tamil Catholic converts who today hypocritically will bow to a foreign white-skinned Pope, but shameless spurn a return to their glorious Hindu Saivite history. For the convert, the Bible becomes sacred but the Tirumurai, Thevarams and Bhagavad Geethai are useless junk.

The Catholics have been like the green snake in the grass for us Tamil Hindus.... Invisible, Deadly and Deceitful.

The murdered Hindu Religious Affairs minister Thiagarajah Maheswaran made many enemies in the Church which was angered that this outspoken Hindu devotee dared to do three things:

a) Maheswaran instituted an anti-conversion legislation in the Sri Lankan parliament.

b) Maheswaran pointed out that over 7000 poor, traumatised Tamil Hindu families had already been converted to Christianity in the past ten years in the refugee camps in the North East, as well as among the tea plantation workers in the Central Provinces. The bait was food, jobs and homes but if refused, the missionaries' threats were dire.

c) Maheswaran cited many incidents in Amparai, Batticaloa, Mannar, Vavuniya and Jaffna, where the foreign relief agencies allegedly put up churches during reconstruction work

In another tragic incident, in January 2005, three Hindus were killed and thirty eight persons were injured when Christian assailants threw two hand-grenades on a Hindu funeral ceremony for Tsunami victims in Vahaneri (northwest of Batticaloa town). An eight year old boy was among the three people who were killed. The three persons who were killed were: Mr. P. Mahenthiran (38), Mr. T. Tirusan (8), and Mr. N. Ananthan (24).Two suspected Christian assailants were arrested for the killings, which occurred in an area plagued by conversion-driven tension.

The three decades long civil war and the Tsunami has provided an easy way for the Catholics and Evangelicals to convert poor, traumatised Tamil Hindu refugees by offering them food, jobs and money as bait. The Tamil Diaspora and Colombo elite prefer to look the other way, distracted by the civil war and cricket matches.

Tamil Hindus are waiting for another Arumuga Navalar to emerge in their midst to reconvert all the prodigal Tamils who fell prey to the white man’s economic carrot and mimicked the white man's religion only to thow away their very own.

See: http://www.tamilnation.org/sathyam/east/navalar_hudson.htm

Tamil Hindus must unite and organize themselves to accomplish the following goals:

a) Encourage and welcome Tamil Christian converts to revert to their ancestral Hindu Saivite faith

b) Prevent future Christian conversions by opening more Hindu schools, orphanages, seva groups, bhajanai manrams and serve free food in the refugee camps

c) Reclaim the Madhu Hindu Amman Kovil back for Hindu worship.

d) Demand an apology from the Vatican Pope for the destruction of the Pancha-Eeswaram temples, forcible mass-conversions and massacres of Tamil Hindus.

Now, this would be a true tribute to Arumuga Navalar's memory.