The Singing Fish of Batticaloa
On still, moonlit nights in a lagoon in Sri Lanka, people say they hear music coming from under the water, like strings being plucked.
What was reported
Batticaloa, on the east coast of Sri Lanka, is known as the land of the singing fish. On calm nights, especially around the full moon, people out on the lagoon near the old bridge say they hear faint musical sounds, humming, plucking or chiming, rising from the water.
The best way to hear it, people say, is to put one end of an oar in the water and the other to your ear. A priest is said to have recorded the sounds in the 1960s.
Explanations offered
The usual explanation is that the sounds are made by fish such as catfish, or by shellfish, in the lagoon. Nobody has pinned down the source with certainty, and the 'singing fish' are now the town's emblem.
- When
- Told for centuries
- Where
- Batticaloa Lagoon, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
- Witnesses
- Fishermen and visitors
- Status
- Unexplained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
More from Sri Lanka