About Kandyan Dancer

Lavishly costumed performers leap & swirl in frenzies of acrobatic movements. Their feel bounce off the ground in intricate patterns that reflect the complex rhythms of drum beats. Hips swing, hands swag, shoulders shrug. Heads, heavy with mask or make-up, tilt torsos, fringed with frills & fancy ornaments, move constantly such is the essence of dance & drama in Sri Lanka. In all its verve & colour, it dazzles the eye & excites the senses. It remotely resembles two forms of classical Indian dancing. The bharatha natyam & Kathakali. But the dances of Sri Lanka are inimitable inventions of the Sinhalese & soul, Unique in the repertories of the world.

THE ELEMENT OF SINHALESE DANCE

The famous Sanskrit treatise on dance & music composed by the sage bharata, sometimes between 2^nd century B.C & the 3^rd century A.D, distinguishes between a pure dance from (nritta), expressive dance (nritya) & drama (natya) by bharatha’s definition, Sinhalese dance can be considered (nritta), Which fit into the category of ‘’Nritya’’.

The two Indian dance forms are primarily employed as media for story-telling & for expressing a wide variety of emotions through the use of symbolic gestures & facial expressions familiar to the audience. In contrast Sinhalese dancing. Relies on the use of symbolic body movement’s expert foot work & strenuous acrobatics to tell its tales.

Bharata also classified dance into two other categories: tandava, its vigorous, masculine manifestations, & lasya, the graceful, feminine form. Sinhalese dancing more closely fits the description of tandava, since it is usually performed by males who can do justice to its dynamism.

Sinhalese dance separates neatly into two stykes, ‘’ Low country dancing’’ refers to the form practiced throughout the coastal belt south of Colombo; this is often broadly called ‘’devil dancing’’ because of its exorcist nature. ‘’ Up country’’ also known as the Kandy school flourishes in the provinces of the former Kandyan Kingdom.

While both forms exhibit the vigorous movements common to all dances in Sri Lanka, Kandyan dancing has been taught to girls as well as boys. Today it is often performed, particularly for tourists. By women – a development that has softened some of the masculine moves integral to a successful performance.

THE KOHOMBAOF KANDY

Both forms of Sinhalese dancing originated in the folk rituals of the island & still exhibit those roots. The dances of kandy date back to the rituals of god khomba, an all-night ceremony for the purpose of appeasing that god & his spiritual associates.

The aesthetics of kandyan dance, and the meaning of its movements, can be most fully appreciated during performances in its original setting: The khomba kankariya, an assortment of ceremonies in honour of komba. In a magnificently decorated pavilion, about 50 dancers fill the stage. Attired in frilled costumes – their beads & breast plates glistening light of torches – the dancers pirouette, skip & whirl to the beat of 10 drums, executing astonishing acrobatics in midair.

The performance culminates in a gesture of obeisance performed with hands folded in worship before the altar of the god. In this scenario, the dancer doubles as a shaman or priest. The yakdessa who has express his devotion to his god in terms of rhythm & movements.

Such ritual dance gave rise to a kind of secular dance entertainment known as vannama. As the appellation suggests, these are descriptive dances manned after the animals & birds whose movements they mimic. In theory, it appears this form denotes a leap from nritta to nritya. In reality the form remains pure rather than expressive dance.

The ‘’Vannama’’ usually marks only a superficial attempt to portray the movements of the animal or bird for which it is named. The gajaga vannama or dance of the elephant is a perfect example of this idiosyncrasy. The dancer begins by singing the ‘’Song of the elephant’’. The words describe a fabulous beats that has eight long tusks & 16 trunks & lives in heaven as he sings, the dancer moves his arms in the sweeping style characteristic of kandyan dance. He does littlie actual dance. The slow, dignified rhythm of the song suggests the majestic gait of the elephant. But when the song ends, the dancer vaults into action, bounding & bouncing to a frenzied rhythm in a manner that bears no resemblance what so ever to the lumbering gait of an elephant.

The other 17 traditional vannams follow the same peculiar patters. The opening rhythm imitates the trot of gallop of a horse or the swoop of a hawk, but the dance that follows leaves the beat being in a delirious fit of pure, ecstatic movement. Interludes of vannama dancing often accompany performance of a traditional kohomba kankariya. Dancers from various schools that practice differing interpretations of the vannama often compete with another during these sessions, providing exhibitions of rare virtuosity.

Kandyan dance can be enjoyed in all its primitive grandeur at the esala perahara, the annual festival in Kandy.

Royal Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya

Peradeniya is km from Kandy, on the Colombo road. It was a royal seat for a short period before Kandy -became the capital. The famous botanical gardens & the university, in a beautiful setting, are on the banks of the Mahaweli River. During the reign of King Kirthi Sri Raja Singha (1747-82), what is now the botanical gardens was a royal residence e& park. Gnnoruwa, a village on the other side of the river reached by a suspension bridge, was the sense of much fighting between the Portuguese & the kandyans. In 1636, a Portuguese army of 27000 sacked Kandy but was surrounded & defeated by King Raja Singha ii (1620-87). Gannoruwa was also the site of the rest house for distinguished foreigners who visited the king in Kandy. From the ceremonial processions formed up. The larger part of Gannoruwa is now taken up by an agricultural experimental station.

In 1821, six years after the fall of the kandyan kingdom, the botanical gardens of about 607029 sq m were opened. They are 472.4m above sea level & have a mean annual temperature of 21.11’ centigrade. The golden age of the gardens began in, 1848 with the appointment of “Henry Kendrick Thwaites, aged 37 as director. In his time the coffee blight hit Ceylon. But he had foreseen it & recommended the planting of the tea shrubs, thus rescuing the Ceylon planting industry from the shattering blow it had received.

The morning hours between eight & ten & the afternoon between four & six are the best times to see the gardens. At the main entrance, on the Kandy side, are a striking row of the plants known as “The Queen of the Flowering Trees” (Amherst Mobiles). During the chief flowering season, between November & April, they yield graceful sprays of vermilion & yellow flowers. On either side of the gate are two handsome specimens of the “Flame Tree” of Madagascar, introduce to Ceylon in 1841.

From here the visitors can take many walks. The spice collecting with the nutmeg grove, is only a few yards from the gate. Cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms, pimento, bay, vanilla, pepper & aromatic grasses may be seen here.

The floricultural section & fernery are also by in the lawn are colorful beds planted with caladiums, spatheglottis, gerbera, helianthus, cannas, chrysanthemums, etc. the fernery, which was originally laid down in 1861 has since been extended & improved.

The orchid house is entered through an archway draped by a creeper of thumbergia. (Cinderella Slipper). Within are represented many genera of orchids both indigenous & exotic, & hybrids: dendrobium, cattleys, Vanda, phalanenopsis, caelogyme, oncidium, stanhopea, aerides, etc.

Three sides of the garden are surrounded by the Mahaweli River. Looking down the river at one point the Hantane peak rises partly framed by a clump of giant bamboos. Experiments show that they grow as much as two feet in a single night.

The avenue of the royal palms is much admired & photographed by visitors. These were planted in 1905 & now present a graceful feature of the gardens. The cabbage palm is a native panamas.

Many varieties of birds are to be found in the gardens, though the heavy foliage hides them. Squirrels go bouncing over the grass while butterflies flourish. The deep cool shade & endless variety of trees growing with space for each to develop in its natural shape make a lasting impression on the visitor.

“Probably no spot in Ceylon” writes Bella Sidney Woolf in how to see Ceylon, “had made more admiration been lavished on it that the peradeniya gardens. “ An earthly Paradise” is in fact non too extravagant a description. Apart from their historical & botanical interest, the gardens stand unrivalled in the natural style of gardening which has ousted the formal gardens. It is a case of “Nature unadorned adorned the most”

Flowers known to western climes are grown in many gardens in Ceylon: roses, geraniums, violets, sweet peas, arum lilies, foxgloves, lobelias, among them. They flourish best in higher altitude retaining their authentic colors. But everywhere , untended one finds magnolias, oleanders, ixoras, Jasmines, rhododendron (above 1524m), frangipani (temple flowers) , hibiscus, lantana & lotus above all pink & white lotus.

There is a great variety of flowering trees & shrubs. Some are deciduous & develop their blossoms when bare of foliage. (e.g. Katu imbul, with large, fleshy, bright red flowers )while others such as amherstia & spathodea are in their full glory of foliage & blossom simultaneously.

The cassias, jacaranda, golden moor (Poinciana) frangipani (temple trees),tabubias & iron wood (a- Gaha) are to be seen lining streets even in Colombo as well as in gardens.

In a later chapter reference will be made to the botanical gardens at Hakgala, the orchid collection of which are also notable. For a small island of its size, Ceylon is rich in orchids. They comprise its third largest natural order of flowering plants both in genera (over 60 different families) & of species & three of the genera are endemic to Ceylon. About two thirds of the Ceylon orchids are epiphytes, growing on rocks of trees. Which they use only for support & not for nourishment. The remainders are ground orchids. The orchids are distributed over the island according to climate zone which may be roughly demarcated according to altitude & humidity: a hot lowland zone from sea-level up to about 1500feet; a cool highland zone covering the hill country, from about 3500 feet to 8000 feet and midland zone an area of intermediate temperature between these two zones.

Among the orchids endemic to Ceylon is the wesak orchid (Dendrobium macarthiae). It is usually violet pink , rarely white & grows in the hot , humid, shady forests of “Sabaragamuwa Province”. A rare albino variety of these orchids is known as the “Bak Mala (Bak Flower) because it blooms in April or the Month of “Bak”. A popular low country orchids is the dove or pigeon orchid (Dendrobium Crumenatum) it is pure white

The Ceylon vandas prefer the less rainy areas of the low lands, where they flower in profusion. Vanda tessellate is said to be the only grey orchid in the world. It carries branching clusters of large fragrant, slate-grey or greenish grey flowers with purple lips. The foxtail orchids in one of the hardiest species in the low country. Defying droughts it produces very handsome drooping trusses of closely packed white florets, splashed with purple. The majority of ground orchids grow in damp, shady jungles in the higher elevations of the midlands & the highlands.  The handsomest of these is the star orchids which has a distribution from 762m to 2133m. stout erect flower spikes bear a succession of showy star shaped flowers about 3inches across, reddish brown, suffused with purplish orange in front, greenish yellow behind with large trumpet-shaped lips.

The daffodil orchids (ipsea speciosa) is an endemic species which grows in open grassy patinas around “ Haputala, Diyathalawa & N.I. The fragrant bright golden flowers are seen in profusion in March or April. The lily of the valley ( white flowers on purple stalks) also flourish in the montane zone.

In the intermediate zone we come across the wana-raja (aneectichilus regalis) which bears beautiful velvety bronze leaves with golden veins. The flowers however are inconspicuous.

About Asala Perahera Kandy

Asala

Next full moon day is Asala. This is the anniversary of the Buddhas preaching his first sermon, the turning of the wheel of the law. Monks preach sermons recalling this event, which began the Buddha’s ministry Asala is also the beginning of the rains retreat (In Sinhala Vas)

Processing of the month of Asala (July/August)

In the latter half of the month of Asala occurs the “Asala Perahara” (Processing of the month of Asala), the most spectacular ceremony in the Sri Lanka calendar. It is hard to know whether to call it religious: Though it is certainly performed by Buddhists, It is rather religion national. Monks take no part in it. Though they are allowed to watch. It consists of conducting the Buddha’s tooth relic through the streets of Kandy. Kandy was the capital of the Sinhalese kingdom of the sixteenth to the early nineteenth century CE, and to be regarded as legitimate a Sinhalese king had to control the tooth relic. The purpose of the processing was thus mainly to display the king’s power legitimacy (Under a show of piety).

It is really an amalgamation of five processions, one for each of the four guardian deities of Ceylon, Which proceed- and thus conduct the tooth relic itself. Caparisoned elephants, in numerable dancers, Drummers & Waving firebrands make this a world – famous tourist attraction, & local people too flock to see it.

Temple of the Tooth Relic (Dalada Maligawa) ශ්‍රී දළදා මාලිගාව

Sri Dalada Maligawa (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව   http://www.sridaladamaligawa.com/) or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex which houses the Relic of the tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings and is a UNESCO world heritage site partly due to the temple.

Monks of the two chapters of Malwatte and Asgiriya conduct daily worship in the inner chamber of the temple. Rituals are performed three times daily: at dawn, at noon and in the evening. On Wednesdays there is a symbolic bathing of the Sacred Relic with an herbal preparation made from scented water and fragrant flowers, called Nanumura Mangallaya. This holy water is believed to contain healing powers and is distributed among those present.

History

After the parinirvana of Gautama Buddha, the tooth relic was preserved in Kalinga and smuggled to the island by Princess Hemamali and her husband, Prince Dantha on the instructions of her father King Guhasiva.They landed in the island in Lankapattana during the reign of King Kirthi Sri Meghavarna (301-328) and handed over the tooth relic. The king enshrined it Meghagiri Vihara (present day Isurumuniya) in Anuradhapura. Safeguard of the relic was a responsibility of the monarch, therefore over the years the custodianship of relic became to symbolize the right to rule. Therefore reigning monarchs built the tooth relic temples quite close to their royal residences, as was the case during the times Princess Hemamali and Prince Dantha of Anuradhapura,Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, Yapahuwa and Kurunegala kingdoms. During the era of Kingdom of Gampola the relic was housed in Niyamgampaya Vihara. It is reported in the messenger poems such as Hamsa, Gira, and Selalihini that the temple of tooth relic was situated within the city of Kotte when the kingdom was established there During the reign of King Dharmapala, the relic kept hidden in Delgamuwa Vihara, Ratnapura in a grinding stone.It was brought to Kandy by Hiripitiye Diyawadana Rala and Devanagala Rathnalankara Thera. King Vimaladharmasuriya I built a two storey building to deposit the tooth relic and the building is now gone.In 1603 when the Portuguese invaded Kandy, it was carried to Meda Mahanuwara in Dumbara. It was recovered in the time of Râjasimha II and it has been reported that he reinstate the original building or has built a new temple.The present day temple of the tooth was built by Vira Narendra Sinha.The octagonal Patthirippuwa and moat was added during the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. Famous Kandyan architect Devandra Mulacharin is credited with building the Patthirippuwa. Originally it was used by the kings for recreational activities and later it was offered to the tooth relic. Now it is an oriental library. Although it was heavily damaged in the 1998 terrorist attack it has restored to its previous state.

Esala Perahera (the festival of the tooth)

Esala Perahera (the festival of the tooth) is the grand festival of Esala held in Sri Lanka. It is very grand with elegant costumes. Happening in July or August in Kandy, it has become a unique symbol of Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist festival consisting of dances and nicely decorated elephants. There are fire-dances, whip-dances, Kandian dances and various other cultural dances. The elephants are usually adorned with lavish garments. The festival ends with the traditional 'diya-kepeema'.

Ancient City of Sigiriya

 The ruins of the capital built by the parricidal King Kassapa I (477–95) lie on the steep slopes and at the summit of a granite peak standing some 180m high (the 'Lion's Rock', which dominates the jungle from all sides). A series of galleries and staircases emerging from the mouth of a gigantic lion constructed of bricks and plaster provide access to the site.

Long Description

Sigiriya is a unique witness to the civilization of Ceylon during the years of the reign of Kassapa I. The site of the 'Lion Mountain' was visited from the 6th century AD, by passionate admirers. The frescoes of Sigiriya inaugurated a pictorial style which endured over many centuries. The poems inscribed on the rock by certain of these admirers, and known as the 'Sigiri graffiti,' are among the most ancient texts in the Sinhalese language, and thus show the considerable influence exerted by the abandoned city of Kassapa I on both literature and thought.

In the heart of Ceylon, the extraordinary site of Sigiriya, a lofty rock of reddish gneiss dominating, from a height of some 180m, the neighbouring plateau, has been inhabited since the 3rd century BC, as attested by the graffiti which proliferate in the grottoes and the shelters of the Buddhist monks. The fame of the 'Lion Mountain' is, however, due to one single factor: during a short period in the 5th century AD, a sovereign established his capital there. King Kassapa I (477-95), son of Dhatusena, only came to power after he had engineered the assassination of his father and had, briefly, dispossessed his brother.

Justly fearing the vengeance of the latter, Kassapa had a fortified palace built on the rock of Sigiriya which was reputed to be impregnable. However, it was there that he was defeated after a short but cruel battle in 495, following which he cut his throat. After the death of Kassapa, Moggallana returned the site of Sigiriya to the monks, thus condemning it to progressive abandonment. During the eleven years that Kassapa resided in Sigiriya, he created a residence of exceptional splendour and founded his capital there, impressive vestiges of which are still extant.

At the summit of the rock is the fortified palace with its ruined buildings, its cisterns and its rock sculptures. At the foot of the rock are the two quarters of the lower city which are defended by a massive wall: the eastern quarter (perhaps postdating the 5th century), which has not been sufficiently excavated, and the aristocratic quarter of the capital of Kassapa I, noteworthy for its terraced gardens embellished by canals and fountains, as well as for numerous monumental remains which have been disengaged from the forest which had invaded the ruins.

Halfway up the rock, within an inaccessible rocky shelter in the vertical wall of the western face are rock paintings which have brought universal acclaim to the site of Sigiriya - 'The Maidens of the Clouds', 21 non-identified female figures, comparable to the most beautiful creations of Ajanta.

Source: UNESCO/CLT/WHC