Images of Campus (University of Peradeniya)

Images from the Southern Coast

Pirith

For a good description of a standard Sri Lankan Pirith ceremony visit: www.kothmale.org/kcrwebsite/english/past_events/pirith/site/index.htm

Nathaliege Palaweni Upan Diniya

(Sinhalin kataa karanne onee, itin teranne amaruy, sinhalin kataa karanna baeriot)  Mee pintuuree Narada ayyay, Chamelika akkiy, Nathalie babaay.  Ada Nathaliege palaweni upan diniya, ee nisa gedera gihilla, saemaruwa.  Raeae kalaye, hamduruo awila pirith kiuwa.  iita passe, waninaakirima tibuna.  Mama santoosa una gihin tiyenawa.  Mage pawulouy, eegolange yaluwouy bohoma honday.  Hambawela godak kaemeti una.  Samahara sinhalin kataa kera, namut waDama baeluway aehuway.  yata, video eka pirith kiyanna kotta, man gatta.  mage amma kiuwa kamak naeae kiyela, video keranna puluwan una kiyela.  awaasenaawantaTa, mame kalin piTat una mokeda Asanka awila itin maTa yanna onee una.  kamak naeae, mama inne kotta hari satatuy, passe ayeth hambawenewa.  

Just to clarify, above is a picture of Narada ayya, Chamelika akki, and their daughter (my niece) Nathalie - pronounced "nuh-taaah-lee."  Below is a video of a small portion of tonight's pirith.

It Rained

On the 10th of August 2006, the final day of the Aesala Perahera (the annual tooth relic procession in Kandy), I was sitting in Sinhala class when the skies opened up and let forth a deluge of rain.  It was the first rain of the season, and I noted it my journal at the time because the rain literally began at the moment that Punchi Meegaskumbura (mage guruwaraya) finished describing the legendary rain-producing power of the Tooth.  

The tooth relic, considered by many to be the most important corporeal relic of the Buddha (and certainly the most socially and politically relevant in Sri Lanka) was brought to the island in the 4th century A.D. whereupon it became a symbol of sovereignty; the "palladium of Sinhalese kingship" (as a side note: the British captured the relic in 1818, thereby symbolically assuring their political domination).  The relic developed as a symbol of sovereignty largely because of the understanding that it had rain-making powers, –  powers that legitimized a ruler's sovereignty by assuring his control over the (agricultural) prosperity of the kingdom.  

About one hundred years after its arrival, the dalada (tooth relic) and its perahera (procession) were described in the travel accounts of Fa-Hien, a Chinese monk who visited the ancient Sri Lankan capitol of Anuradhapura in the 5th century.  Fa-Hien's descriptions locate the perahera as having occurred during the height of the dry season, thereby tying the celebration of the relic to a petition for rain.  The relic now resides the in Dalada Maligawa (the Temple of the Tooth) in Kandy, and though it is featured in the annual perahera, the full exhibition of the relic occurs only once every seven or so years.  Well, the once-in-seven-years event happens to be occurring right now (for ten days–from the 6th of March until the 16th).  It seems that in consideration of the Central Province's current dry spell, the lay custodian of the relic (the diya vidana nilame - literally: "water-increasing-official") scheduled the exhibition for early March.  So, thousands upon thousands of people from all over Sri Lanka are making the pilgrimage to Maha Nuwara (Kandy) to see the dalada.  There are five separate lines into the temple and most people spend up to half the day waiting in one of them before they get a chance to get a brief glimpse of the relic.  

After three rainless months, the exhibition of the Tooth began yesterday.  At five o'clock, it rained.  

Vestiges of British Colonialism: Harry Potter sans Quidditch

The British educational system, established in Sri Lanka during the 19th century, may be one of the most obvious vestiges of Sri Lanka's British colonial heritage.  This week I attended two events in Kandy (the Kandy Girls' High School Annual Inter-House Sports Meet and University of Peradeniya's General Convocation) which demonstrate the ongoing influence of British academic customs and conventions (paired with Kandyan flare).  

The Kandy Girls' High School Annual Inter-House Sports Meet was straight out of Harry Potter (minus the quidditch).  The school, which has about 4,500 students, is divided up into four houses (Sanson, Lawrence, Eaton, and Langdon) in order to compete annually for the school cup.  Marks are given to houses throughout the year for good disciplinary records, athletic victories, and the like, but the final competition and marks tally comes down to the annual Sports Meet.  This year's event (the 130th annual Sports Meet) began, presumably as it always has, with the four house captains circling the arena and lighting the ceremonial torch (think olympics) as "Chariots of Fire" blared over the sound system.  [Other epic songs blared over the sound system throughout the day included Queen's "We are the Champions" and Europe's "The Final Countdown"]  By 1 o'clock the events had begun.  Most events were related to track and field, but there were also band displays and dancing.  My favorite portion of the meet involved about 400 girls (100 from each house) and 20 minutes of dancing: the Drill Display (see video footage above).  

On Thursday, I donned my Kandyan saree and ventured off to Peradeniya to attend the 2008 General Convocation.  After wandering around campus for about fifteen lonely (deer-in-the-head-lights type) minutes, I finally found the entrance that I was supposed to use (I'd been given a faculty ticket from the director of the ISLE Program who couldn't attend due to a scheduling conflict).  It turned out that I didn't need to wait in any of the parents' lines which, in order to accommodate the thousands of attendees and create an orderly process, stretched out across the university grounds, winding around buildings and through fields.  For security purposes, no water, cameras, bags, umbrellas, or even cell phones were allowed into the gymnasium where the convocation was being held, so I entered with just my ticket.  Though I was seated by about 8:30, it took another hour for all of the 1,500 "graduands" to be seated and the Chancellor's procession to arrive.  Apart from a few ceremonial flourishes–like the Kandyan drummers leading the procession and the lighting of the traditional oil lamps–the convocation was not unlike your run of the mill U.S. university graduation.  So, in other words, attendees were subject to the usual boredom of listening to two hours worth of names being read.  Don't get me wrong, I am so glad to have seen the convocation, but there's not a Sri Lankan there who would tell you that it wasn't a little tedious, including the "graduands."  

I'm grateful to have attended both the sports meet and the convocation, as they provided insight into not only the Sri Lankan iteration of the British educational system, but also into student life in Sri Lanka and the educational experiences of my Sri Lankan family and friends.  

Program Photo Album

For pictures that I've taken of the ISLE Program check out:

http://www.bowdoin.edu/isle/2009-spring-program/s09-arrival.shtml

and

http://www.bowdoin.edu/isle/2009-spring-program/s09-session1.shtml

(you may need to cut and paste the URL)