Sri
Lanka is a land of great cultural diversity. Religion
pervades many aspects of life and constitutes a basic
element of this diversity. Buddhist and Hindu temples,
as well as mosques and churches, with their own colourful
rituals, are the most readily visible features of
the cultural landscape. Varying degrees of colonial
impact, modernizing influences, and wealth and income
add other shades to the cultural mosaic.
Religion
plays an important role in Sri Lanka; a revival of
Buddhism was associated with the rise of Sinhalese
nationalism. Most public holidays are based on religious
festivals. The annual torchlight temple procession,
or Perahara, in which ornamentally covered elephants
and hundreds of dancers participate, draws thousands
of devotees. Pilgrimages also play an important role
here. The most important pilgrimage is to the top
of Adams Peak. Muslims believe that Adam and Eve lived
here after they left the Garden of Eden. Buddhists
visit a rock on the peak that they believe, contains
one of Buddha’s footprints. Another important
pilgrimage is to the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy,
where it is believed that one of Buddha’s teeth
is enshrined.
In
architecture, sculpture, and painting, Sri Lanka's
traditions extend far back into antiquity. The remnants
of ancient works restored and preserved at archaeological
sites, while reflecting Indian influences, also bear
testimony to the inspiration derived from Buddhism.
Classical literature, too, presents a blend of stylistic
influences from India with Buddhist themes. Since
the beginning of the 20th century, with the literati
being exposed to European literature, local creative
writing has acquired greater diversity in style and
has become more secular in content.
Owing
to its long, rich history, Sri Lanka endows exquisite
arts evolving through the course of time which has
refined its culture to be unique and precious heritage
of the nation. Its pivotal position on the ancient
Silk Route made Sri Lanka a crossroad of cultural
and trade exchange of the West and the East. India
and China's record has proved the cultural, political
and trade exuberance of this island.
In many ways Sri Lankan art is an inspiration of its
long and lasting Buddhist tradition which in turn
absorbed and adopted countless regional and local
tradition for thousand of years, evolving a unique
variant of Sri Lankan arts. Unsurprising, most of
Sri Lankan arts originated religious beliefs, represented
in many artistic forms such as painting, sculpture,
architecture, and so on.
Indian
culture has also given dominant and deep mark in Sri
Lankan arts. Indian culture here means the Indian
Buddhist culture introduced along with Buddhism into
Sri Lanka in the 3rd century B.C and becoming the
core of Sri Lankan culture ever since. Nonetheless,
Indian culture has not restrained the formation of
a distinctively Sri Lankan tradition to express in
its own ways. Sri Lankan artistic style varied from
kingdom to kingdom along its historic lines, each
of which has successively added some characteristic
elements to Sri Lankan arts, becoming the completely
priceless inheritance.
Sinhala
Artists of Kandyan Era |
On
the advice of Rev. Welivita Sangaraja Saranankara,
King Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe rebuilt and renovated
hundreds of Buddhist temples which were destroyed
by invaders or abandoned. For the restoration works,
the King employed traditional Sinhala artists who
were scattered throughout the country. These artists
belonged to the artist caste called "Hiththaru".
This caste is also known as ‘Acharis’,
‘Nawandanna’, ‘Galladdo’,
or ‘Gurunnanses’. In the Kandyan region
they are regarded as high caste people, second only
to the Govi caste.
Members of this caste use surnames "Naide"
for males and "Nachchire" for females. Most
of the names are of Indian origin as some craftsmen
and artists migrated to Sri Lanka recently. "Naide"
is similar to the Telengu word ‘Naidu’
used in ‘Andra Pradesh’ in Southern India.
Females of this caste are allowed to wear Kandyan
‘Osariya’ as a special priviledge.
There
were different schools of artists or generations,
called "Paramparawa". "Nilagama paramparawa"
(school) is one of the most famous tradition. The
well-known Dambulla rock temple was built by the "Acharis"
of Nilagama tradition. The Head Craftsman or the Artist
is called "Mulachari". Under a Mulachari
several assistants were employed.
Rev.
Dewaragampola Silwaththena was a Buddhist Bhikku turned
artist who painted the murals at "Ridivihara"
and "Degaldoruwa". Rev. Wettewe and Rev.
Katuwana were the other monks who painted temple murals
in this period. Dingiran Appu of Ahangama and Welitara
Heenappu were famous artists in the Matara area. One
still finds traditional artists in this area with
family names of Devendra and Devasurendra.
Deldeniye
Siththara Naide, Bodhinarayana Chithracharige Kapuru
Naide, Wijayapala Muhandiram Neththa Naide and Hiriyale
Naide were also famous traditional artists at that
time.
Devendra
Mulachari was the Head Craftsman of the King Sri Wickrema
Rajasinghe, the last King of Sinhale. He was the creator
of Paththiruppuwa of Sri Dalada Maligawa and the beautiful
Kandy Lake. The descendents of this Mulachari are
still found in the Kandy area and they are using the
family name "Rankoth Vibhushana Gedera".
After
the completion of a Temple or a Devale the artists
were given titles and gifts including lands. Some
artists were given "Nalalpata" (Jewelled
ornament worn on the forehead) with a special title
in appreciation of their skill. Some were elevated
to the high caste by a proclamation made by the King.
It
is mentioned in the "Dambulla Gal Sannasa"
(Rockedict) that King Wimaldharmasuriya II, upon the
occasion of fixing a bell on the rock in front of
Raja Mahawihara at Dambulla, the craftsmen were rewarded
with one amuna of paddy land (aprox. 2 acres) and
200 fanams.
After
the advent of western art, the Kandyan art tradition
was ignored and neglected. Descendents of the Kandyan
artists are no more interested in preserving this
unique style of painting.
Sculpture and painting of Sri Lanka
It is Buddhism again which profoundly rooted
in arts of sculpting and painting in Sri Lanka. For
sculpture, most of works are dominated by the Buddha
images. In early times, the statues of Buddha were
often carved from the living rock of limestone cliffs.
Over the centuries, other kind of materials have also
been adopted for sculpting the statutes of Buddha
such as jade, rock, crystal, marble, emerald, ivory,
coral, wood, and metal. The Buddha is represented
in three main poses: standing, meditating, and reclining.
The ornamental sculptures on the staircases of Buddhist
shrines and palaces reveal exquisite skill of Sri
Lankan sculptors and also symbolize religious belief
among the Sinhalese Buddhists.
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Similar
to sculptures, Sri Lankan painting closely attaches
to Buddhist belief. Themes in Sri Lankan painting
are all related to Buddha: Buddha's life and tales
of former lives of the Buddha, for example. The excellent
painting works can be seen on walls in several Buddhist
monasteries and shrines. There are two different styles
of painting in Sri Lanka: classical style and Kandyan
style. The Classical style is vigorous, complex and
expressive whereas the Kandyan style holds it simplicity
and continuity of expression.
