Mysterious Sri Lanka

by Gamini G. Punchihewa

If one were to travel along the Colombo-Kandy highway, going past Mawanella, near the bridge over Maha Oya there lies a stone monument by the roadside reminiscent of the daring highway man called Utuwankande Saradiel. This monument carries the following words etched on it "Near this spot on March 1864, P.C. Sabhan of the Ceylon Police lost his life in an act of gallantry which was immediately responsible for the arrest by Mr. F. R. Saunders, Asst. Government Agent, Kegalla, of Saradiel. Five days previously George Van Haght and Christian Appu were killed and four others wounded in an attempt to effect Saradiel’s capture".

Though over 125 years have passed away since the death of Saradiel caused by execution, still his name not only around the Kandyan kingdom but in the rest of the country lingers as a legend Saradiel was a daredevil highway robber. He waylaid stage coaches and plundered the money and distributed them among the poor villagers who were in need of money. Saradiel was romantically called as the Robin Hood of Ceylon then. Even cine films were produced of his notorious exploits and his romantic episodes with the village lasses around his village in Utuwankanda. Utuwankanda is called in Sinhalese more appropriately as Otuwan-kanda — meaning its profile has the shape of a camel’s hump. Around his rustic village of Utuwankanda/Otuwankanda, old folk still reminisce about his daredevil life and times as a highwayman who robbed the coaches carrying money. Recently when I past Utuwankanda old timers gave me wealth of information about his biography. The British well-noted for naming romantic and fascinating spots on its natural beauty, called this rocky mountain as Camel’s hump.

Saradiel was born in 1835 to a family in Otumankanda. His father’s name was Dikiri Kaga Adasi Appu, a carter by profession, while his mother’s name was Pichche Hami. He was the eldest of five children. Saradiel’s earliest schooling to learn to read and write was at Etulgoda Vihara. Saradiel by nature was a mischievous and an incorrigible chap as he was stubborn and wanted to do things on his own in a somewhat notorious way.

This is a famous demon of Sri Lanka who it is claimed uses a black dog as the vehicle. When it's influence is felt, people see the apparition of a black dog and faint off; some have the hand print on the body where the apparition struck. Mythological history claims that two warriors of the warrior king Dutugemunu (Circa B.C. 100) had a duel. One kicked the head of the other out of joint effectively decapitating the victim. Since the dead warrior was a champion bear-hunter, he was buried with the head of a bear. This is claimed to be the "Mahasona" apparition.

In the village of Hundarivapi there lived a man named Tissa, who had eight sons. The youngest was named Sona and later became known as Maha Sona. It is said that when Mahasona was seven years old, he had the strength to tear young palms with his bear hands. When he was ten, he could uproot palm trees.

The King of Rohana, Khavantissa, who was looking for brave young men for his army, heard of the this young boy's strength and sent his men with gifts to his parents, requesting them to send their son to the royal court. After seeing him, the King enlisted him into the service of Prince Gemunu who was building up his army.

WWW Virtual Library - Sri Lanka

Text by Alan Pate Photography by Mary Wickline Courtesy of Akanezumiya

A MIDNIGHT ceremony. Crowds milling, bodies slick with sweat in the tropical night. Torches lining an earthen arena. A patient is dazed with illness, propped on a low seat. The rhythmic beat of drums. The smell of smoking resin. A figure enters, back first and the rhythm of the drums changes, intensifies. The figure whirls and the patient is suddenly presented with the face of his tormentor! The yakun natima, or devil dance ritual of Sri Lanka, is nothing if not full of drama. Not just a charade or interval designed to entertain, the yakun natima is a carefully crafted ritual with a history reaching far back into Sri Lanka's pre-Buddhist past. It combines ancient Ayurvedic concepts of disease causation with deftpsychological manipulation. Lasting up to twelve hours, it mixes raucous humour with deep-rooted fears to create a healing catharsis for both patient and community.

But while the beating of the bereya drums, the torchlight, and the smoky resin contribute to the aura of the night's magic, it is the masked face of the edura, or exorcist/shaman, that personifies the power of the moment-the devil incarnate (1). It is the mask or vesmuna which localises the fears and anxieties of both patient and audience. To the Sinhalese, it is this face, carved of wood, with bulging eyes, protruding nose and gaping mouth, disfigured and fierce, which represents both cause and cure (2). For the ethnographer, the traditional belief systems and practices surrounding the yakun natima and other masked dance rituals of Sri Lanka's southern coast provide a rich and fascinating field for research. For the collector, these ritual masks represent a sophisticated folk art form; beautiful and mysterious. Carved of wood and pigmented with natural hues and resins, these masks are infused with a spirit and animation which command attention. The patination of a ritual mask, darkened by years of use, and the repairs upon repairs of cherished examples bespeak their importance within their village communities. Within the context of the dance they are hypnotising. Taken out of that context and viewed on their own they are masterpieces of a rich folk art tradition (3).

By Sirancee Gunawardene

There are many places in Sri Lanka associated with the Indian epic poem Ramayana. The Ramayana was written in Sanskrit about 2000 years before the commencement of dynastic history of Sri Lanka which is calculated with the coming of Vijaya in 544 BC. It tells us of places far back in history in pre- Vijayan times. The emotionally charged legend of Rama and Sita, the much loved Indian Princess and her abduction by Ravana, the Rakshasa king of Lanka, is well known. When Ravana abducted Sita it led to a war, which somewhat resembled the Trojan-Greek war, which was fought over Helen of Troy. It is said that in this pre-Vijayan period King Ravana ruled over the indigenous people of Sri Lanka, the Naga and Yakshas. It is also noteworthy that 200 million years ago, geologically Sri Lanka was linked with India, Madagascar, Australia and Antarctica, in a land mass known as Gondwana.

The earth's surface before seismic earthquakes, ocean currents, winds and drifts changed the land forms into different countries, was one land mass. During the geological changes, sections of the land mass were propelled in different directions and formed continents and countries. South India drifted northward and the Himalayan mountains emerged from the sea with the gigantic up thrust. Sri Lanka separated into a land mass known as Lanka Dvipa (Island of Lanka), and part of the land submerged into the sea. According to the Ramayana epic this took place because of the misdeeds of Ravana, but this seismic happening is confirmed by modern science. The stretch of coast on the North West, North and South of Mannar could easily be reached from India, as is quite evident today. The Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar and the buried city of Kundiramalai were used from pre-Vijaya times by nomadic bands of people. This is probably the route taken by Hanuman who rescued Sita, after Ravana had crossed over to India and disrupted the idyllic romance of Rama and Sita in a sylvan forest glade in the Himalayas.