Sinhalese New Year - Traditions and Customs

According to Sinhalese tradition in April, when the sun moves from Meena Rashiya, the house of Pisces to Mesha Rashiya , the house of Aries, the natives of Sri Lanka begin celebrating their national new year or Aluth Avurudhu as known in Sinhala. The actual history of the Sinhalese new year goes back to primitive period in Sri Lankan history where it’s believed that the Prince of peace named Indradeva riding in a white carriage and wearing on his head a white floral crown with seven cubits high descends upon the earth to ensure peace and happiness.

Sinhalese new year celebrations begins with the customary bathing on the last day of the old year and viewing the moon on the same night. The ringing of the bell accompanied by the beating of drums in the village temple announces the times to perform the different rituals. The customary bathing for the passing of the year is very important. Sinhalese new year festival witnesses different merry making activities. On this day, people visit the temples and special prayers are offenavy in the name of Lord Buddha and other mighty gods and goddesses.

Traditional Sinhalese new year starts with the observance of "Nonagathe” a religious ritual but the actual festivities begin with the lighting of hearth at the new year’s eve, when the whole family dresses in new clothes and eats together the first meal of the new year’ s day. Traditional games and sports activities are also held on this day to mark the occasion. Special Sinhalese new Year dishes like ‘kiribath’ or rice milk is cooked and feasted by the whole family. Thus, Sinhalese New Year celebrations bear true spirit to the rich culture of Sri Lanka.

Valli Marries the God of the Mountain

An oral tradition from Sri Lanka as retold by Patrick Harrigan.......

You might as well know from the start - this is a girl's story. The girl, Valli Amma, was a princess of sorts - a stone-age jungle princess who grew up among the prehistoric hunting people of the island now called Ceylon or Sri Lanka. Mind you, this happened many thousands of years ago at a time when Sri Lanka was still connected to India by a land bridge.
Valli, who was only twelve years old at the time, had her heart set on Kande Yaka, the age-old hunting God of the Kataragama Mountain whose power and wisdom - they say - was beyond human understanding. The Spirit of the Mountain was so touched by Valli's innocent love that he came down to earth in disguise to touch her in return - but she wouldn't let him! Of course, they both fell in love at last, and their love story still continues to this day in far-off Sri Lanka.

Here are the details:

In the Indian Ocean not far from India lies a teardrop-shaped jewel of a tropical island called Lanka. Many thousands of years ago - nobody knows for certain when - Stone Age people of ancient India walked to Lanka across a narrow bridge of land, called Adam's Bridge, and populated this island of paradise. Their descendants today call themselves Wanniya-laeto or 'inhabitants of the forest.' But most Sri Lankans call them Veddas, meaning hunters.
Veddas believed that the spirit of a great hunter lived upon a remote mountain peak within sight of the Indian Ocean. Kande Yaka, the Great Mountain-Spirit and Hunter-God, was the Vedda people's greatest friend and guardian spirit, then even as he still is today. No successful hunt began without Vedda hunters first dancing themselves into a trance-frenzy in which Kande Yaka spoke through them, telling them where to hunt and how to survive happily. But the Vedda people also knew that Kande Yaka was easily angered, so all regarded him with a mixture of love, respect, and fear.
Now Veddas are a people who are accustomed to marvelous occurrences. So when Nambi, the chief of the Kataragama Veddas, and his wife one day discovered a baby girl in the jungle, they were overjoyed because they had been praying for a daughter, and yet nobody considered it a miracle. They called her Valli, meaning 'Sweet Potato,' because they found her in a patch of yam or valli creepers. Some say her real mother was a red deer, so perhaps Valli also had reddish hair and wide innocent eyes of a doe. Others say that since Nambi was the Veddas' chief, therefore Valli was a Vedda princess. But all agree that Valli was the sweetest child anyone had ever seen, and everyone adored her.
Valli's girlfriends loved her too, but they couldn't help but tease her about the peculiar vow or promise she had made. Valli was twelve years old and her girlfriends were always talking about brave, handsome Vedda boys who were already hunters themselves. But Valli had vowed to herself - and to Kande Yaka - that she would only accept Kande Yaka and no one else as her life companion. All the other Vedda girls laughed and teased Valli for vowing to marry a god whom no one had seen.
But Kande Yaka had been watching all his Vedda people - including Valli - with great interest all this time. The hunter-god of the Mountain was as old as the mountain itself, but as a spirit he was also young just like Valli. Before long, the ever-youthful Kande Yaka felt so attracted to Valli that he decided to come down from his mountain and meet her.
At the time, Valli's family had cleared a small patch in the jungle near Kataragama Peak and were growing millet there. But someone had to stand guard against parrots and other birds that came to eat the millet. Valli, who grew up in the jungle, was not afraid of being alone, so her father sent her to guard the field while he and Valli's brothers went hunting with bow and arrows. Day and night Valli's sweet voice could be heard as she sang to the birds and animals, warning them to keep away and twirling a sling that she used to fling stones if they ignored her and tried to eat the tender millet.
Kande Yaka could see that this was his chance to meet Valli alone face-to-face. So just like you or I would put on a fresh change of clothes, Kande Yaka put on the human form of a handsome young hunter. He figured this would be the best way to impress her. Pretending to be tracking a deer, he strolled out of the forest and into the millet field.
Of course, Valli could not recognize the handsome stranger. "Hey, get out of here fast and don't come back!" she yelled, adding "Who do you think you are?" Poor Kande Yaka was just about to apologize and retreat back into the forest when suddenly there was the sound of drums - Nambi and his hunters were bringing Valli some mangoes and honey to eat.
The moment Valli looked away, Kande Yaka turned himself into a tree. As soon as the hunters left, the god reappeared in human form and confessed his love for her. Valli was shocked and angry, and told the stranger to beware or her brothers would come back and go wild if they saw him there alone with her.
Just at that moment there was the sound of footsteps and they knew that Valli's family was coming back. In the blink of an eye, Kande Yaka changed himself into an old man with long gray beard bent over with age. Valli's family paid their respects to the kind old man and suggested that Valli would be good company for the old man as long as he stayed.
As soon as the hunting party left, the old man told Valli that he was hungry, so she gave him some millet flour mixed with honey. This only made him thirsty, so she took him to a stream and gave him water to drink. Then he told her: "Now that you have satisfied my hunger and thirst, do satisfy my love for you."
This was too much for Valli - so she gave the strange old man a piece of her mind and was about to start back to the clearing. Kande Yaka mentally asked his brother the elephant-god Ganesha for assistance. Instantly from out of the jungle from behind Valli came Ganesha in the form of a wild trumpeting elephant. Valli got the fright of her life, rushed back into the arms of the old man and begged him to save her.
"I'll save you," he said, "but on one condition. You must marry me."
There was no time to argue, so Valli agreed. No sooner did Valli agree to the stranger's condition than he revealed himself as Kande Yaka, seated on a peacock and surrounded by dazzling light. Valli was thrilled to see that it was her beloved god and after that they were never apart.
Never, except the time of harvesting the millet approached, and her family called Valli back to their tribal hamlet. Kande Yaka was awfully upset when he came to the clearing and could not find Valli. So late at night he slipped into the hamlet and together they ran away.
When Vedda chief Nambi woke up in the morning, he figured out that Valli had run away with the old man and was furious. He organized a search party and set to get revenge. When they found them, they released a volley of arrows, but instead of killing the mysterious old man, the Veddas all fell dead instead.
Valli was stricken with grief to see her relatives dead. Seeing her grief, Kande Yaka told her to revive them to life, which she did simply by touching them. The Veddas at once realized that Valli's friend was the great God of the Mountain himself, and they all fell down to worship him.
Valli's parents gave their consent for the couple to be married and the whole village rejoiced. Since that time long ago, Valli and Kande Yaka have never left Kataragama and never died, either. And they still have fun like other children, playing hide-and-seek with each other and with their devotees, who come in search of them from all over the island and even from far, far away. And if you don't believe it, you can go to Kataragama and find out for yourself.  

Happy Diwali!!!!!

A festival full of sweet childhood memories,
sky full of fireworks,
mouth full of sweets,
house full of diyas and heart full of joy.
Wishing you all a very happy Diwali!

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Food of Sri Lanka

Food of Sri Lanka is hot and spicy. Base food of the inhabitants of the island is rice which they consume with curry both veg and fish based. All the dishes are cooked on the base of coconut milk and flavored by liberal use of spices. Like all the people of coastal regions, the Sri Lankans are also expert in preparing fish dishes. Mallung, Sambol, Lamprais, Buriyani and Polos Pehi are some popular dishes of Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans also like several juicy sweetmeats like Kavum, Halape, Thalaguli and Wattalapam. Sri Lankans also like to have drinks like tea and coffee.

Curry
Curry accompanies the dishes of meat, vegetables or fish. Number of spices, all roasted and then stone-ground come together to prepare these curries. Coconut milk forms the base of this curry. Fresh herbs and garnishes flavour these curries. Basic items like chicken, beef, mutton, eggs or vegetables are cooked in a thick sauce of coconut milk with all the ingredient spices. There is plenty of variety in fish curries across the region. The Sri Lankans have their own distinctive style of preparing fish curries. Southern ambul thiyal or sour fish curry is very famous. Vegetarian curries are prepared from very available fruit or vegetable like brinjals, beans, beetroot, carrot, banana flower, pumpkin etc. Curries in Sri Lanka are very hot. However, adjustments are made to suit the foreign palate. Ingredients of curries include chilli powder, fresh chillies, cinnamon, tumeric, curry powder, curry leaves, onions, garlic, ginger and coconut milk. 

Rice
Rice is the staple food of the Sri Lankans. Almost every household in Sri Lanka takes rice and curry as its main meal. Rice too comes in plenty of variety. Samba is a pearly rice consumed on special occasions. On festivals yellow rice is cooked on the base of coconut milk and delicately flavoured by spices. Kiribath or milk-rice is a popular festive dish. Large grained milchard variety of rice gives a slightly pungent smell when cooked.

Fish Dishes
People of coastal towns consume delicious fresh fish with prawsn, crabs and lobsters. Fried fish is eaten with chips and salad while fish curry is taken with rice. Sour fish curry is a popular dish of southern Sri Lanka. Tuna, seer and para fish are very popular among the natives of Sri Lanka. 

Popular Dishes
Mallung is fondly eaten with curries. Prepared from finely shredded green vegetables and dried shrimps, it is mingled with grated coconut and spices. Sambol is a spicy hot dish. Pol Symbol is a simple combination of grated coconut, onions, red pepper, lime and salt. Seeni Sambol is a juicy combination of Maldive fish preserve and spicy onion. The Sri Lankans are fond of eating wafers, pickles and chutneys with their food. Lamprais is a dish with unique flavour. Plenty of ingredients including curries, cutlets, sambols, special prawn paste, eggplant curry and rice are kept together in a banana leaf and baked. Buriyani is rice cooked in meat stock. Polos Pehi is a dish made of the tender fruit of the jak tree. Several juicy sweetmeats are also part of the island's cuisine. Kavum is a battercake made of ground rice and treacle. Halape is a blending of coconut, jaggery and floor. Thalaguli is a confectionary ball. Many Indian sweetmeats are also found in Sri Lanka, specially in Colombo and Kandy. Wattalapam is a mouth-watering dessert. Curd and treacle is also very much liked by the visitors. Scrunchy sandwiches, delicious biscuits, potato chips and sausages are used as snacks by the Sri Lankans. 

Fruits
Several varieties of fruits are found in Sri Lanka. One can enjoy fruits like mangoes, pineapple, water melon, papaya, woodapple, bananas (also known as plantains), and rambuttan (a fruit resembling lychees). Some of these fruits are found only in Sri Lanka.

Drinks
Sri Lanka is among the topmost producers of tea in the world. Usually, it is consumed with sugar and milk. Some people are fond of taking 'plain tea' which means tea only with sugar and without milk. Crushed ginger can add more flavour to the tea. The Sri Lankans also like to have coffee. Colombo is a place to enjoy really good espresso. Indigenous cold drinks in Sri Lanka are made of fresh fruit. Bottled carbonated branded drinks like Coca-Cola, Sprite, Pepsi etc. are also widely available. Carbonated drink brands Elephant House and Ginger Beer are very popular in Sri Lanka. People also like drinking water of young coconut. Cut fresh they are delicious and nutritious too. An array of locally produced and imported beers are also available. Two local intoxicating drinks are Toddy and Arrack. Toddy is made out of palm trees while Arrack is fermented and refined toddy. 

Girihanduseya Temple at Thiriyaya (World's first Sthupa ever built)

The Girihanduseya temple at Thiriyaya is considered unique as it is supposed to be the oldest Buddhist temple in Sri Lanka enshrined with the hair relic of the Buddha.
According to Buddhist annals two trader brothers Thapassu and Bhallika offered the first `dana' to the Buddha on the 50th day of His attaining Buddhahood.
The Buddha delivered an anusasana and having come to know that the glorious personality to whom they offered alms was the Buddha himself, they requested him for something for them to worship. The Buddha offered them a lock of hair from his head.
The jubilant trader brothers placed the hair relic in a golden casket and carried it with reverence wherever they went. Soon they set sail with a large consignment of cargo and having arrived in Lanka they anchored at Galwaraya now known as Kallarawa. The people lived there were `yakka'. The two brothers who met their chieftain spent the night on a hilltop where they placed the golden casket on a small rock and covered it with a white cloth.
The next morning to their astonishment they found that the golden casket was embedded to the rock. All attempts to retrieve the casket failed and they left the place having covered the casket with a piece of rock for safety.
The `yakka' chieftain who came to know about the Buddha began to worship the relic. Later he became a follower of the Buddha. Legend has it that king Wasaba (67AD) built the original stupa and also an irrigation tank which is known as Thiriyaya tank. King Pandukabhaya and king Devanampiyatissa also venerated this `stupa' till 412 AD, it is claimed.

The Girihanduseya is also known as `Neethupatpana' a `Pali' word meaning rock visited by trade leaders. King Agrabodhi Seelamega (733AD) built a bigger chetiya over the small one. Later foreign invasions followed and the people had to seek refuge elsewhere. The overpowering forest began to set in leaving the chetiya at the mercy of the elements.
It is believed that king Agbo (VI) (772AD) who stationed himself on the hilltop with an army completed the granite work and also built the `Watadage'.
The area became once again populated with the native Sinhala Buddhists but who too had to leave the area due to constant enemy conquest. Once again the temple fell victim to the thick jungle.It was however in 1929 that a group of surveyors discovered the Chetiya and observed several stone inscriptions. The inscriptions bore testimony to the true identity of Girihanduseya where Buddha relics were enshrined.

KONESWARAM, THIRUKETHEESWARAM & MUNNESWARAM HINDU TEMPLES IN SRI LANKA

KONESWARAM, on the summit of the Rock, known as the Swami Rock or the Three Swami Rock, was the “temple of unusual size and splendor, renowned through the whole of India,” the temple which was razed to the ground and despoiled by the Portuguese in 1624. Tirujnana Sambandar the Saivite saint of the 7th century AD features the temple in his devotional hymns. This is the earliest reference to the temple, which in point of time goes back to a far distant epoch.
The Pallavas of South India had considerable influence over the region, in the time specifically of the King of Ceylon, Manavanna (668—703 AD), as we learn from the Sanskrit inscriptions at Tiriyayi, 29 miles north of Trincomalee. From this and other related accounts, it is reasonable to conclude that the Pallava kings bestowed much attention to the temple dedicated to Koneswara and enlarged it considerably. From references to the “Thousand Pillared Mandapam,” it was obviously a shrine of magnificent proportions.
The Chola and Pandyan kings maintained the traditions of royal patronage. The inscriptions at the archway of Fort Frederick with the insignia of the double fish symbolism of the Pandyan kings, are eloquent of the Pandyan connections ascribed to the 13th century.

THIRUKETHEESWARAM, is an ancient temple in Manthottamam, in Mannar District, about seven miles north of the Mannar Town. According to legend, it was at this ancient temple that Kethu Bhagavan worshipped Lord Easwaram (Shiva). Hence the shrine acquired the name of Thiruketheeswaram.

This temple dedicated to the worship of the Supreme God Siva has been the most venerated for centuries and the holy waters of the Palavi Tank by its side are venerated in the sacred hymns of two great Saivite saints, Thirugnana Sambandhar and Sundarar, who lived in the 7th and 8th Centuries respectively.
This great temple was completely destroyed by the Portuguese in the 16th Century and the stones from here were used to build the Fort at Mannar, the churches and also the Hammershield Fort at Kayts.
The history of the temple goes back to the era of Chola. It is believed to be built in 600 B.C. Another story related to the Kovil says that the father-in-law of Ravana, the king of Lanka, built Thiruketheeswaram. Ravana himself had been a devotee of Koneswaram Temple, Trincomalee. Rama, who built the Sivan Temple at Rameshwaram, on his way back to Ayodhya from Lanka, is reputed to have worshipped Lord Siva at the Thiruketheeswaram as well.


MUNNESWARAM, a slumbery, sleepy and normally inactive hamlet, lying in the outskirts of Chilaw, comes alive this season, with complex ritualistic festivities, ceremonies and processions, culminating with the water cutting ceremony, to be performed at the Deduru Oya, two miles off Chilaw, on September 16.
The Munneswaram temple, dedicated to Lord Ishwara, is reminiscent of other celebrated and renowned temples like Koneswaram and Thiruketheeswaram, in which, three Sivalingams are enshrined.
Looking back to the festival legend of this glorious Hindu shrine, Munneswaram is regarded as one of the oldest Hindu temples in the island. And it has a strange origin; and according to legend, Rama, after slaying Ravana, was returning to India with Sita in his "Air chariot,'' when, impulsively, a desperate feeling of guilt gripped him.
And, passing Munneswaram, he espied a spire of a temple, and decided to alight and worship there. While praying, Lord Siva and his consort Parvathy appeared before him; and a feeling compassion for the penitent Rama, ordered him to enshrine three Sivalingams, one in each of the most sacred places: Munneswaram, Koneswaram and Thiruketheeswaram.
Lord Siva, according to legend, had pointed to a place north of the Mayavan Aru (Mee Oya), and told him to enshrine the relic. And Rama built the temple at the exact spot, which is now known as Munneswaram. The festival, too, is obscured in antiquity, and according to legend, one full-moon night, in the month of Nikini, a sage who was meditating under a banyan tree looked up and saw the goddess Amman, the mother of Skanda, who granted him his wishes.