Description

<ul>It is believed that the area in which the Kumana National Park is situated conceals an ancient civilization dating from about the 3rd century BC to about the 10th century AD.<br>
<br>An ancient monastery of 3rd century BC on a rock-strewn mountain named "Bowattegala", located in the midst of the park was lost to the forest and wild beast. The caves, rock structure, singularly lengthy stone inscription, and Buddha statue lay abandoned with time scattered and unexplored, had been first fashioned a monastery in the 3rd and 2nd century BC by the ten noble brothers of Kataragama, known as the “Kataragama-Kshatriya”.<br>
<br>In 1886 a British civil servant, Hugh Nevill reported that a strange race called the “Nittaewo”, people with hairy bodied, short and dagger clawed, inhabited the inaccessible mountains of southeast Sri Lanka, the area now belongs to Kumana national park called Mahalenama.
The Nittaewo were reported to resemble orangutans or gorillas and were expert climbers of nearly one-meter height and had the ability to walk upright and were covered with reddish hair with claws of great length and strength.<br>
<br>Hugh Nevill also learned that the Nittaewo used to descend from the rocks in a group to steal meat that had been spread out in the sun to dry by Veddah hunters, who feared Nittaewo’s fearsome claws.</ul>