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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.
