Sita Eliya & its Legends

T

he opinions of the few notwithstanding, that the Lanka of Ravana lies submerged in the sea, Ceylon is full of reminiscence which unmistakably link scenes and stories with king Ravana and his days, scenes places all over the central uplands of Ceylon amid the gorgeous setting of the thickly wooded hills & the glorious valleys below. Intimately associated as these are with Ravana and his deeds and with stories if Sita in her sojourn in Lanka, they leaved no doubt in the mind of the student of folk culture that king Ravana’s Lanka is essentially the Ceylon today.

Ravana Ella Cave

Among such scenes & sights, is the Ravana Ella cave, traditions relating to the cave are rife all over the highlands of the district of Bandarawela. Mystery surrounds the cave, “where elephants go to die” as the folk say. The cave, hard and arduous to reach, may well have been a secret stronghold that it is supposed to have been in the legendary days, with a rest house in the Ella pass, up the zig-zag paths of which one climbs until the rocky walls of the pass gradually close in and Ravana’s cave comes to view amidst towering mountainous primeval geologic formations.

About a mile away, is the Ravana Ella or Ravana’s waterfall with a drop of 90 feet following in to the valley below. With the heavy rains that fall during six months of the year, much of the cave floor is damp. Advancing inside, the roof of the cave closes in. and crown of the head grazes the roof of the cave. The tradition of the secret passage stands discredited, recent explorations of the cave showing no way out. Whether a secret passage existed or not, Sita Eliya holds the key to the story of the days of king Ravana more than indeed any place in Ceylon.

Siat Eliya – The Plains of Sita

Redolent of stories of Sita’s life Ceylon in is Sita Eliya (the plain of sita) a charmingly undulating plain, fringed with thickly wooded hill ranges, picturesque waterfalls and silvery rivulets rushing downhill sides, dotted with rhododendron bushes tipped with clusters of crimson flowers. Beyond are the steep mountain ramparts with the thickly wooded tops, the haunts of the leopard and the sambhur. A vast amphitheatre of hills and deals, if the classic Trikuta Mount of Ramayanaya is anywhere in Ceylon, it is here, the glorious city and palace of king Ravana with its fortress, its lovely groves and terraced Gardens, a true reflection of which may be seen today in the nearby Hakgala Gardens with its charming wooded glades cleverly reclaimed & fashioned by the hands of man. A situation commanding as it does the natural approaches to the valleys on all the four sides- the Kotmale to the North East, Uva to the South East, Dambulla to the West & Uda Pussellave valley to the East, no more favorable site could have been chosen by the Rakshasa king for his fortified mountain capital.

Note worthy for the many features which find a true reflection today, is the reference in the Ramayanaya to the “little bells suspended from trees” which made music in the breeze” an appliance the various forms of which may be found distributed all over the hill county of Ceylon today. The simplest of such tree top appliances is the “ Bambraya” as it is popularly called, meaning, a “top” working as it does on the technology of a top turning on a pivot, a single noduled hollow reed within which turns a short upright stem from which branch two thin flat wooden blades set oblique on either side. This appliance is tied to the top branches of trees standing out as a conspicuous feature of the landscape as the blades turn in the wind, a whirring sound is heard. Slow at first, the sounds gains in intensity as the blowing grows strong.

In additional feature is a small reed whistle attached on either side of the blades. As it blows, the wind automatically works the whistles producing the characteristic whistling note in conjunction with the whirl and the whir of the turning blades. Rarely too, a tiny bell is tied to the Bambaraya as in a specimen collected in a Kandyan village.

These humble appliances serve the purpose today of denoting the direction of the wind as also of a device for scaring away crows and birds from vegetable and grains plots. That the early beginning of such appliances, collectively belonging to the class if Aeolian musical instruments may be traced to the days of king Ravana, is a conclusion we may justifiably draw from  the references in the Ramayana.

A Sinhalese Village

A

 Sinhalese village is not a “village” in the sense of crowded assemblage of houses. Such villagers may indeed be seen in Ceylon in the dwellings of the erstwhile tribes, the Rodiya, the Kinnaraya & the Veddha- as also the villages of the functional service communities, the Beravaya (the nekati), and the kumbalkarya, the potter. These groups apart, a Sinhalese village is territorially extensive. Each house bog or small stands in its own grounds, thickly grown with an assortment of trees and plants, notably the coconut, Jack, plantains & yams, breadfruit and other trees and plants of economic value, or of no value at all.

Every village has its highland of houses and gardens, with either a chena as in the Dry Zone grown with seasonal crops, or paddy plots as in the wet zone. The number of houses in a village varies according to its extent irrigation facilities & topography. Round each homestead is a live fence, with or without a style at the front with two or three cross-bars. One step into the premises of the house crossing the style, or by letting down one or two of the cross-bars. The house has an open courtyard. A long front veranda is a feature of most houses, big or small. This gives to the living room.

Food Habits

Food habits are more or less the same for all classes, a morning meal generally of hoppers (Appa), pittu or string hoppers, with hot fish or meat curry, or the pol sambola alternatively, kiribath (rice cooked in coconut milk) and tea, mid-day meal of rice & spicy curries & the night food of rice & curry repeated, not generally so heavy or sumptuous as the mid-day meal. Both fish & meat are generally not served at the same meal. Boiled or curried jack, bread-fruit, manioc & tubers from part of the menu of an average noon time meal. In the southern province, curds & honey, is the favorite last course. The curd is of buffalo milk and the honey, the delicious honey of coconut toddy. The making of honey of the coconut toddy, is a specialty of the Sinhalese peasant of the south.

Chewing the betel, with Arecanut, and the lime (Chunam) comes at the finish of every meal. It is indeed a habit so inherent in the villager, that there is scarcely awaking moment he is not without the quid of betel in his mouth. In this he is one with the south Indian villager. Those used to it, and to the flavor by a small quid of tobacco taken with the betel. The spittle, colored red, is spat out & seldom swallowed.

Normally cleaner that the man of the town, the villager is fond of elaborate & daily baths, in the tanks which dot the country side, running streams, or in the quiet retreat of shady pools. After the bath the hair is combed and oiled, secured in a shapely knot (The Konde) at the back of the head. Women let the hair loose to dry, before doing up the konde (hair).

The pintaliya & pahan pela

The pintaliya or the water pot is among the wayside feature of rural Ceylon. True to Buddhist traditions, it reflects concern for the weary travelers. Simple as the idea is the water vessel, its disposition & equipment, has a certain technology about it.

At nightfall the villagers in Ceylon light a coconut oil lamp on a stand in the garden, the pahan pela by the side of the house. The idea is to propitiate the “Huniyam Devatawa”. The premises are kept clean. Prosperity is supposed to follow the visit of the God of the night. In essence a ceremonial light to the Gods, in form it varies from the very simple to highly elaborate patterns.

Ancient Dhowa Cave Temple Ella Bandarawela

D

howa rock Temple is one of the great heritage showing temple  in Sri Lanka. The temple situated in Uva province. Dhowa is a beautiful small village which is situated on Badulla, Bandarawela main road. Previously it was known as kumbaltispaha Ariyagala viharaya. It was the name given by the instructor who got initiated to build this temple on behalf of a huge Cave.

This temple is thought to be done by King Walagamba in the in first century BC. This is one of the many temples built by the king while taking refuge in the Uva province after an Indian invasion. King Walagamba had so many hiding places to get protection from enemies. Some believe that the Dowa Rock temple is also such a place that used by King Walagamba.

The temple has gain popularity mainly due to its massive 38 feet uncompleted Buddha Statue carved in the granite rock; it can be identified as Mahayana iconography. But this temple also hides some secrets that time has forgotten. King walagamba was unable to complete the construction of the temple. Therefore it was completed during the Kandyan kingdom. Reference sources reveal that the statue was carved by King Walagamba himself while hiding in the temple. Unfortunately he had to leave the place remaining a half completed sculpture.

Passing through the ornamental gateway you will find a newly built stupa. is stupa is the on the same level as the road and it is the only indication of a temple to a traveler on the road. Further a sacred Bo tree and a natural water pond are located in front of the Vihara Geya. The Gal Vihara Geya or the image house is also adorned inside a rock cave.

The Image house built inside the cave is full of colourful murals and Buddha Images and consist of 3 chambers  with kandyn style. The cave constitutes of 28 buddha statues, Samadhi Buddha statue, God statues and paintings On the sides of the main entrance to the image house is two guardians, one with a elephant in its mouth and the other with a bull in its mouth. It is said to be they are Watuka and Kuvera, two Rakshasa tribal leaders, guarding the entrance to the shrine room. The door frame of the Image House in the temple is made out of solid rock and has a inscription to say it was built in 1880. The outer most chamber is filled with murals from the Kandyan Era. Entrance to the second chamber is decorated with a elaborated Makara Thorana . In the second chamber is a row of Buddha images along with paintings.

At the rear of the image house is a small stupa inside a cave. Behind this stupa, inside the cave is a tunnel called the Ravana Guhawa guarded by a figure of a Clay King Cobra. Eventually this secret tunnel, a kingdom of bats, was supposed to be used by king walgamba to escape. No one has got the permission to enter the tunnel .This 11 km long tunnel is said to be connecting the Ravana Maha Viharaya at Ella and the Bogoda Raja Maha Viharaya. But unfortunately this tunnel entrance has been sealed off with cement by the temple due to various vandalism acts by treasure hunters. It said that the king walagamba disappeared from the area overnight using the the tunnels and thus the working on the Buddha Statue was abruptly stopped.

On the way you will get feelings of peace and tranquility when visiting the Dowa temple. Even today the ending point of the tunnel is unknown. Due to the folktale’s hided among the people, believe that the tunnel is being guarded by a huge snake. The 38 feet Buddha statue and the beautiful gateway to the temple are the most valuable attractions of the temple. Hence a beautiful river was flown near the temple. But today the river has turned into a stream due to the lack of water resources.

Buduruwagala Buddha Statue - Wellawaya

Buduruwagala is located about 5 km from the Wellawaya on the Thanamalwila road. The name Buduruwagala means “the rock with the statue of Buddha” And this is exactly what it is. Seven figured are carved in this rock with a massive 51 foot Buddha statue in the Abhaya Mudra gesture at the centre. The rock it self has shape of a kneeling elephant with its head own. Although there is no documented information about this site in the ancient scriptures, Different historians have dated these statues from the 6th centuary to late Anuradhapura period. (between 8 – 10 Century). These carvings are of the Mahayana Buddhist style and belongs to the Pallawa- Sri Lankan art tradition and similar to the statues at Dova Temple.

The tallest Buddha statue in the world was the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan until the destruction of this ancient monument by the Taliban in March 2001. The Buduruwagala Buddha Statue is now considered the tallest in the world.

The centre statue is flanked by two statues which each about 40 foot in height. These two again flanked by two figures, one female and the other male.

The centre figure on the left (as you stand in front) still has most of the plaster and some paint which has been applied by the ancients. This centre figure is thought to be of the figure of Avaloktheeshvara Bodhisattva (the manifestation of all the Buddha’s’ compassion in the Mahayana Buddhist teaching – In Theravada Buddhism Avaloktheeshvara is known as Lokesvara). He is identified by the small image of the meditating Buddha in the crown that he wares. This image can be clearly seen the carving. The bare breasted female figure on the right to this is thought be Thara Devi, the spritual consort of Avaloktheeshvara Bodhisattva. She is carved in a ‘thivanka’ position (bent in 3 places) and is wearing a tall head dress. The other is thought to be their son Prince Sudana.

On the right is 3 similar figures. And the centre figure is thought to be the Maithri Bodhisattva. He is the fifth Buddha for this eon. On the left is the Vajirapani Bodhisattva ( Sanskrit Vajra : thunderbolt/diamond, Pani : lit in the hand). He is one of the earliest bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. He is generally represented with a diamond club in his hand)