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: Florence Wickramage The Weekend Express - Saturday 24th - Sunday 25th, July 1999

Amidst the wafting fragrance of the golden-hued Esala flowers, the Esala full moon will once again herald in a season of splendour, unequalled to nay other such season anywhere else in the world. The Esala season which goes into the annals of Sri Lankan history as a period dedicated to festival connected with different deities, is unique, in that the whole nation involves itself in these festive Esala celebrations. Lanka is a land where all the major religions of the world are practised. Therefore it could be surmised that this is a blessed land. According to Buddhist belief Lanka is known as the thrice-blessed land due to the "Tun Saranaya". Associated with the Esala Full Moon, are several Buddhist festivals. However, festivals connected with other religions too coincide during this season. The Esala Full Moon Poya is of special significance to Buddhists, because it was on such a poya day that the Buddha preached his first sermon, 25 centuries ago, according to the reckoning under the Buddhist Era 544 BC.

Dalada: Certain festivals held during this season are dedicated to different Gods such as Skanda, Vishnu, Natha, Paththini and Saman. But the crowning glory of all these festivals is the Sri Dalada Perahera, held in the charming hill capital and culture city Mahanuwara (Kandy). (Incidentally the Colonial rulers called it Kandy for Kanda in Sinhala, meaning a hill). The colourful perahera held annually to pay homage to the Sacreds Tooth Relic dates back to the period of the Sinhala kings. Spreading over two weeks, the perahera begins with the traditional "kap situweema" - and ends with the water cutting ceremony at Gatambe. The Mahanuwara Esala Perahera begins with the festivities inside the Maligawa, which preceeds the actual parading of the streets by the perahera. The center of attraction of the Dalada perahera is the majestic Raja, the Maligawa Tusker, carrying the jewelled casket of the Sacred tooth Relic, walking reverently over the pavada, amidst the beating of drums and kandyan dancing...

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).

The astrobiologist has claimed that fossil diatoms found in a meteorite are proof of alien life.Chandra Wickramasinghe is director of the Buckingham Centre for Astrobiology at the University of Buckingham and along with astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle developed the concept of "panspermia", the theory that life is distributed throughout the cosmos on asteroids, comets and other bodies. In this case his team is said to have discovered tiny fossils inside a carbonaceous meteoritethat represent evidence of extraterrestrial life.The claim inevitably sounds too good to be true and that"s because some of Wickramasinghe"s previous claims have been highly controversial.

"Wickramasinghe jumps on everything, with little or no evidence, and says it"s from outer space, so I think there"s a case to be made for a bias on his part," said astronomer Phil Plait. To date his claims of alien fossils within the meteorite have yet to independently corroborated. If a group of scientists are correct, tinyfossils uncovered inside a meteorite found in Sri Lanka in December are proof of extraterrestrial life.  

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