The capital of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the main city in its eponymous district, Jaffna is also the twelfth in the country in terms of absolute size. The original name of the place is “Yalpaanam”, or “Land of the Yazh-Player”, with the “yazh” or “yal” being old Tamil for the harp or a similar instrument. At times in history, it has been called “Nagadipa” or “Naga Nadu”. This comes from the “Nagas”, an ethnically and genetically extinct culture from Northern Sri Lanka. The Portuguese colonists called it Jaffnapatao.
