Traditional Arts & Crafts of Sri Lanka

• Arts & Crafts

Art of Sri Lanka has achieved great heights during the course of history. All the Sri Lankan art forms like dance, music, sculpture, paintings and architecture have enjoyed development. with the influence of Buddhism. Originated religious beliefs of the people is the base of Sri Lanka arts. Every phase in the history of Sri Lanka has added some characteristic elements to it's arts and crafts.

• Wood Carving

Handicraft of woodcarving in Sri Lanka has a long history. The tradition of woodcarving in Sri Lanka is visible at Lankatilaka Temple and Ambakka Devale at Kandy. At these temples, miniature replicas of the low-relief wood carving done by the traditional woodcarvers can be bought at fair prices. The three dimensional carvings of ebony Elephants, Buddha are popular in Sri Lanka.Wood-carved decorative panels are used widely in Sri Lanka in the trade of interior decoration too.

A wide range of handicraft items made of wood combine utility and beauty adding elegance to your lifestyle, such as wall hangings, fancy jewellery, figurines, sculpture, lacquer products, gift boxes, toys, educational items for pre-school children, household items are some of the woodcraft items produced in Sri Lanka.

• Brassware

Brassware is produced in two main techniques: wrought and cast. Bowls, tea services, trays, and ornamental ware as well as decorative ware are produced in wrought technique.

• Metal Cut work

Handicraft of metal cutwork involves cutting the design onto a flat sheet of metal first and embellishing the work by engraving, hatching or Repose secondly. This method is adopted mainly in production of metalwork such as trays and plaques. In Repose method, the desired pattern is hammered in on the reverse side so that the relief carvings emerge on the front side. Repose metalwork is the most characteristic type of Sri Lankan metalwork. This method is applied on brass, copper, silver, or all three together to create a variety of traditional designs.

• Lace making

Lace making is not an indigenous art that was pioneered by the Portuguese in the 16th century. It began in the South-western coastal areas, especially around Galle and was practiced by the Dutch ladies during the Dutch colonial era. Later the Sinhalese ladies caught on Lace making and established a handicraft in south western coastal belt of Sri Lanka. During the 19th century, when Galle sea-port was in its heyday, lace products of the South-western coastal belt arose to outstanding heights in popularity. Today lace making is continued mainly by the Sinhalese ladies who inherited the handicraft from their ancestors.
Along Galle, Weligama coastal areas the ladies are seen engaged in lace making-crochet and tatting-in the verandahs of their houses. Among the range of products made with lace making are blouses, table linen, curtains, bed spreads and pillows.

Traditional Dances In Sri Lanka

• Uda Rata Natum - (Ves)

"Ves" dance, the most popular, originated from an ancient purification ritual, the Kohomba Yakuma or Kohomba Kankariya. The dance was propitiatory, never secular, and performed only by males. The elaborate Ves costume, particularly the headgear, is considered sacred and is believed to belong to the deity Kohomba. Only towards the end of the nineteenth century the Ves dancers were first invited to perform outside the precincts of the Kankariya Temple at the annual Kandy Perahera festival. Today the elaborately costumed Ves Dancer symbolize Kandyan dance.

• Devil Dances

The "Devil Dances" are an attempt to respond to the common belief that certain ailments are caused by unseen hands and that they should be chased away for the patient to get cured. If an individual or a family is not doing well, the village-folk believe that it's because that person or the family is being harassed by unseen hands. A 'Thovil' ceremony is the answer. The 'Thovil' can be a simple ritualistic ceremony at home restricted to family and immediate neighbours or involving the whole village like the 'Gam-Maduva' or the 'Devol-Maduva' which is closely linked to the worship of gods.
Masked dancers take part in at least two of the well-known 'Thovil' ceremonies referred to as the 'Maha Sohon Samayama' and the 'Gara Yakuma'. The mention of 'Maha Sohona' frightens the people since he is believed to be the demon of the graveyards.
The performer disguises himself as a bear and wears a mask and a dress to resemble one. Often the 'Thovil' involves the 'sanni' dances where all the dancers wear masks. The 'Daha Ata Sanniya' refers to sixteen ailments with a demon being responsible for each one of them.Dancers wearing masks take part in processions while at certain ceremonies, masks are used to depict different characters.

• Dance Drama

There is also in the low country a dance-drama called Kolam in which the performers wear masks depicting animals or people such as kings or high officials, and provides amusement and social satire. It has been suggested by scholars that Kolam may have developed from the ritual known as Sanni Yakuma and had later become a dance-drama independent of ritual elements.

Traditional Dance - Pahatharata 'Nagaraksha' Dance

Traditional Dance - Salupaliya

Gems In Sri Lanka

• Sapphire

Sapphire is an aluminum oxide. Its colour varies from very light to dark blue to violetish-blue, bluish-green, yellow, slightly reddish-orange, brown, nearly opaque black, colourless, pink, violet and the pinkish-orange padparadscha (lotus flower).
Varieties
Coloured varieties, star sapphire, alexandrite-like sapphire.

Sources
Sri Lanka, Kashmir (India), Burma, Thailand, Australia, Tanzania, Kenya, Montana, Madagascar

Toughness
Excellent, except in laminated or fractured stones.


Precautions
Sapphires may fade if heated

• Ceylon Sapphires

The Ceylon Blue Sapphire is known for its beauty ? possessing the glorious cornflower blue shade ? as well as for being one of the few sapphires in the world that can be sold as a completely natural stone without heat treatment. The blues aside, Ceylon sapphires also come in beautiful hues including pink, yellow, orange, green, purple, lavender and of course, the inimitable padparadscha sapphire ? named after the lotus flower. All these highly marketable qualities of Ceylon sapphire has created brand recognition world wide - a brand not created by the producers of the stone, but by the sellers and consumers.
Sapphires that show a star-like light effect are called star sapphires; the most famous star sapphire from Sri Lanka is displayed in the Museum of Natural History in New York. Star sapphires or star rubies display a star-like marking and this effect, commonly known as asterism, occurs when light falls on the cut stone, cut in the cabochon form, and three rays appear giving a six-point star. However, stones with six rays have also been known to occur.

• Ruby

Ruby is an aluminum oxide, a variety of corundum; it occurs in medium to dark tones of red and violetish-red to brownish-red

Varieties
Star ruby
 
Sources
Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Africa (Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania), India.
 
Toughness
Excellent, except in laminated or fractured stones.
 
Treatments
The Burmese believed that "blazing red" stones could be found in a "bottomless" valley. Natives threw pieces of meat into the valley, hoping that some stones could then be recovered by killing the vultures. In the Royal Collection of England, you can view a gold ring set with a pale but nearly flawless ruby into which a portrait of Louis XII of France is carved.

Cuts & Uses
Faceted or en cabochon, usually mixed cut (brilliant crown, step-cut pavilion), beads, carved (poor quality).

Choosing a Ruby
The most important factor in the value of a ruby is colour. The top qualities are as red as you can imagine: a saturated pure spectral hue without any overtones of brown or blue. The word red is derived from the Latin word for ruby, ruber, which is derived from similar words in Persian, Hebrew, and Sanskrit. The intensity of colour of a fine ruby is like a glowing coal, probably the most intensely coloured substance our ancestors ever saw. It is no wonder they ascribed magical powers to these fires that burned perpetually and never extinguished themselves.

• Logan Blue Sapphire (423 carats)

Considered to be the second largest blue sapphire in the world on record. A flawless specimen with a rich deep blue, the stone was gifted to The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC by John Logan.

Gems of Sri Lanka

Cultural Events In Sri Lanka

Sinhala & Hindu New Year

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Sri Lankans celebrated the traditional ‘Aluth Avurudda’- Sinhala and Hindu New Year which marks the transit of the sun from the house of ‘Meena Rashiya’ to the house of the ‘Mesha Rashiya’. According to the reports, Sinhala and Tamil people throughout the country enthusiastically got ready to celebrate it in usual grand style
The Sri Lanka’s first family including President Mahinda Rajapaksa along with their sons Namal, Yoshitha, Rohitha and other relatives celebrated the Sinhala and Hindu New Year rituals at their ancestral home, Carlton House in Tangalla, Hambantota. First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa conducted all the rituals at the auspicious time with the President and other family members assisted her. At the auspicious time for the lighting of the hearth the President, First Lady and many other family members attended the symbolic tradition of boiling milk at the auspicious time.

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Sri Lankan peoples conducted "Aurudu Ullela" with lot of traditional games. Like,

1. Selecting Aurudu Kumariya & Kumara
2. Eating Buns
3. Searching Hidden Guest,ect.

Vesak Ceremony

Sri Lankans will be celebrate Vesak on 14th & 15th of May .Temples will adorn with decorations and flowers on Vesak Day. Some community groups will be organize acts of charity, like releasing caged animals or donating food and gifts to the poor.

1. Cultural performances featuring song and dance
2. Plays about Buddha’s life and teachings

Sigiriya

Sri Lankan Cricket team

Temple of Tooth Relic