Mysterious Sri Lanka

The "Daha Ata Sanniya" is a traditional dance ritual held to exorcise 18 types of diseases from the human body. Though an extremely colourful and vibrant pageant, most Sri Lankans do not get the chance of witnessing it, due to the performance's exorbitant costs and the long duration. The origin of this Shanthi Karmaya (blessing) took place in the times of ancient kings and was performed in the southern and western parts of the country. According to the story, while King Sankapala was at war, his wife who was pregnant had a sudden craving for a certain variety of mango. As she ate it, her maid of honour too had wanted a piece of the fruit, but had been refused by the Queen.

Angry at this refusal, the maid cursed her and when the King returned after the war, told him that the Queen had conceived out of wedlock. The story was believed and the Queen was sliced in two with a sword. The baby was born and ate off his mother and so, a devil was born. As the story goes, lead by this devil, 18 other devils were created and they in turn came to towns and cities and began to spread in the form of diseases. It is to counter this type of sickness that the Daha Ata Sanniya originated. 'Daha Ata Sanniya" will be performed in two sections where the first part will consist of seven palis, while the second part will be performed as the 18 sannis. The mask known as Dahaata Sanniya or ‘eighteen disease’ is studded with 18 diseased faces atop a pair of their gods and two spirits one the spreader of pain through disease and other the saviour is placed vertically apart. Prof. M.H. Goonatilleka explained that in folk religion this is in vogue. He explained that "Pritiatory magical and therapeutic effects of mask and attendant rituals of Sri Lanka are still not forgotten in the remote parts of the country. The dancer donning demon masks may not be aware of the significance of ritual transformation and the assumption of the role of the disease-causing demon."...

by W.T.A. leslie Fernando

When you pass Kegalle on the Colombo-Kandy road there is a mighty rock near Mawanella called Utuwankande, where once lived Saradiel known as the Robin Hood of Sri Lanka. Sentence of death was executed on this bandit believed to be the most daring brigand that ever lived in this country on May 07, 1864.

Deekirikevage Saradiel was born on March 25, 1832. His father was a tobacco merchant from Haldanduwana, Dankotuwa whose business made him to frequent the Kegalle District. For some time he lived with one Pitchohamy near Utuwankande. Saradiel was the eldest son born to them. The boy was sent to Illukgoda Temple for his education. At the temple school, Saradiel proved to be intelligent but he used to quarrel constantly with other students. His studies came to an abrupt end when he was arrested by the Police and severely dealt for assaulting a rich boy a close relative of the village Vidane.

Saradiel even in his young days formed a gang and began to defy the law. There is a legend that Saradiel got hold of a rich merchant from Kandy called Bawa who fleeced the villagers by selling glittering wares at exorbitant prices, cut half of Bawa's mustache, took much of his money and wares and distributed them among the poor villagers. Soon Saradiel's name came to be associated with various thefts in the area but he managed to escape the hands of the law. Subsequently Saradiel left the village and secured employment as a barrack boy in Colombo. At the barracks he came into contact with soldiers and learned to use guns and other weapons. After some time Saradiel left this place carrying some weapons and valuables. Saradiel came back to Utuwankande and began to associate with the notorious criminals in the area. He chose a career of highway robbery and soon daring exploits of Saradiel came to known in the district. He is said to have murdered and robbed a rich Natakoti Chettiar and was arrested. But as there was no evidence to prosecute Saradiel, he was discharged. However as a consequence of robbing Molligoda Walauwa, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Saradiel...

To the untrained eye, it's just a bit on the pale side. To scientists and Buddhists, it's a miracle. White elephants are seen once in a blue moon. So it seems apt that such a fabled creature was sighted in southern Sri Lanka last month during precisely such a rare lunar event (when a second full moon appears in a single month). And after government scientists confirmed that the fair-skinned elephant witha herd in the forests near Yala national park could be classified as a true albino, the fanfare that resulted made any fuss over the moon pale by comparison.The scientists claimed this was the world's first, scientifically certified sighting of a white elephant in the wild, and the news was flashed around the globe.

Sue, as the forest rangers call her, is among a social grouping of 17 pachyderms. Her rather ordinary-sounding new name means "White" in Sinhalese. Vijitha Berera, a veterinarian from Sri Lanka'sdepartment of wildlife conservation, says the elephant is "a new national treasure", and adds: "We hope she might be pregnant." But Sue appears to be only 11 years old, and unlikely to reach sexual maturity until she is 15.

View: Full Article | Source: Independent

A rare albino elephant has been spotted roaming Sri Lanka's Ruhunu National Park, the first recorded sighting in the country. The pale-skinned pachyderm, thought to be around 11 years old, lives with a 17-strong herd of adult females and youngsters. Tracking the herd's movements could help researchers devise new strategies for the protection and management of Sri Lanka's elephants. "This is a rare and excellent opportunity for research," says Dayananda Kariyawasam, director-general of the Department of Wildlife Conservation in Sri Lanka, which is now monitoring the animal'sprogress.The elephant, named Sue after the Sinhalese word for 'white', has been seen several times in the past few weeks.

"She's just hanging around," says veterinary surgeon Vijitha Berera from the Centre for Conservation and Research in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where the sightings were made. "We hope that she might be pregnant," he adds.There were rumours of sightings of an albino elephant in the same area about seven years ago, although its existence was never confirmed. Berera believes this to be the same animal.Albinism is extremely rare in the wild. The condition arises when the body fails to produce melanin, the pigment that gives hair, skin and eyes their colour. A variety of geneticmutations lead to the condition, which crops up occasionally in birds, reptiles and mammals. Researchers are hoping to test dung from the albino elephant to determine which mutation she has. In most cases, the genes for albinism are recessive, meaning that an animal must inherit two copies of the gene (one from each parent) to become albino. So unless the Sri Lankan white elephant finds a male with a similar gene, she is unlikely to give birth to an albino offspring.

View: Full Article | Source: Nature.com