Sri Lanka has a rich artistic tradition, with distinct creative forms that encompass music dance and the arts – and one should not forget the country’s passion for cricket.
The culturally rich island is home to a number of different religions, each who have their own traditions that take place every year, meaning Sri Lanka is never short of celebrations. The country’s festivals and parades are a hot spot for tourists and locals alike, and it’s not hard to see why with Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu celebrations each bringing their own unique flavour of traditional dance, costume and music.
On April 14 each year, the Sinhala-Tamil new year begins with a week-long series of traditional rituals and celebrations. Marking the start of a lengthy holiday, the new year is celebrated with sounds of the traditional raban drum, fireworks and a table full of oily traditional delicacies – making it one of the most anticipated in the country.
The most common religion in Sri Lanka is Buddhism who hold their parades according to the solar and lunar calendar to commemorate different significant events in Buddha’s life. One of the most important Buddhist religious celebrations is Vesak, or the May full moon poya day, which commemorates the nativity, enlightenment and passing away of Lord Buddha.
This is closely followed by the largest cultural parade in the world, Kandy Esala Perahera in August, which showcases the best Sri Lankan dancing, music and domesticated tuskers in the country. The annual festival marks the arrival of Lord Buddha’s Sacred Tooth Relic to the famous Temple of the Tooth, and can see up to 90 majestically decorated elephants parade the streets of Kandy to celebrate.
Synonymous with the Sri Lankan culture is the island’s traditional dance, to which there are only three types known to the country – the Kandyan dances of hill country, the low country dances for southern plains and Sabaragamuwa dances. But it is the Kandyan dance that is considered the ‘pearl’ or traditional dance of the country, delighting with elaborate traditional costumes – with performers twirling, spinning and turning to mass drumming.
Also famous in Sri Lankan culture is the Devil Dance, which has been practiced for centuries to chase away devils and to help patients be cured of their illness. On the other hand, to ward off demons, the Masked Drama dance is your best bet and sees performers wear masks to depict different characters – dances can involve family and sometimes even entire villages.
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