සිංහලයා මෝඩයා කැවුම් කන්න සූරයා

Kaum (කැවුම්) is an essential item in the Sinhalese New Year celebration.

The people of yesteryears knew Kaum is not only a sweetmeat but can be turned into lifesaving drug too.

Well before the western medicine identified the value and usefulness of Penicillin, people in this land knew about it and put to good use of it without calling the substance any particular name.

The first Kauma made according to the auspicious time during the Sinhala New Year Celebrations time is dedicated to Fruit flys (කොදුරු කැවුම) and hung in the kitchen for days until the surface of it turns into light greenish.

Fruit flies are essential in this transformation and with them, they bring in the Penicillium (ˌpɛnɪˈsɪliəm) ascomycetous fungi.

The fungi grow on the surface of the Kauma and turning the dark brown colour of the surface of it into a light greenish in a few days’ time.


Once that process is completed, the Kauma is then kept in a safe place and use as a First Aid, where all cuts and bruises are treated with by squeezing a few drops of oil into the affected area.

There is another saying concocted by the British that Sinhalese people are a foolish lot and they are only capable of eating Kaum.

සිංහලයා මෝඩයා කැවුම් කන්න සූරයා.

This saying came into being during battles with the British.

While searching bodies of the Sinhalese soldiers died in battles, the British have discovered that everyone was carrying a small pouch containing a few Kaum, so they presumed that Sinhalese were no good soldiers and only fond of eating Kaum, even during battles, not knowing that those pouches were indeed their life saving First Aid kit in the battlefields.

So Kaum is not only a sweetmeat prepared on a very special occasion and also a lifesaving medicine for the people of this land.