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| Saturday, 6 November 2004 |
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Institute of Sinhala Culture strikes Gold tomorrow by L. M. Samarasinghe
The Institute of Sinhala Culture launched in 1954 has gone on for half a century and the 50th anniversary is to be celebrated on November 7th. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is expected to be present on this historic occasion. The fiftieth anniversary is a suitable landmark to look back and assess the past performance of this important institute. This Institute of Sinhala Culture had been incorporated under Act No. 42 of 1980. There is a great need for an institute of this nature to support the promotion of the varied arts and crafts connected with Sinhala culture. Young people who look for the necessary training in the traditional arts and crafts need to be provided the necessary training facilities. Mature artists and craftsmen need to have a meeting place to assemble periodically and discuss their progress and difficulties.
The leading personalities who took the initiative to start this institute were quite enthusiastic and had carried out a good deal of useful work to set up this institute. Among the leading personalities who lent their support were Sir John Kotalawala, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Dr. P. R. Anthonis, D. C. L. Amarasinghe, A. N. S. Kulasinghe, M. W. F. Abeykoon, Nalini Wickramasinghe and R. G. Senanayake. Some of the well-known artists who lent their support in the exercise were Sri Jayana Rajapaksa, Heen Baba Dharmasiri, Wasantha Kumara Chitrasena, Prema Kumara Epitawala and Sesha Palihakkara. In the seventies people such as R. G. Senanayake and dramatist Dayananda Gunawardana took a great deal of interest and initiative to harness enthusiasm and support to develop the institute. A building was started on a very suitable location on Bauddhaloka Mawatha but due to a shortage of funds they failed to complete the building and during the last several decades progress has been far too slow. This is most unfortunate and indicates the non-availability of necessary financial and other resources needed for the development of the institute. However in 1980 the Institute was made an incorporated body under Act No. 42 of Parliament. It is on record that among the students who had received training at this institute at that early stage were Chandrika Bandaranaike, Anura Bandaranaike and Ranil Wickremesinghe.
This is a very good history and we do hope that the second half of the century would make all changes needed and that the institute would possess a complete and well equipped building to carry on the intended programmes with much vigour and enthusiasm. Different types of persons have been holding office in the institute during the last several decades. Not all of them have succeeded in making the necessary efforts to move forward and build up the institute and achieve the desired results. At the present time the Chairman is Lakshman Jayakody, a former Minister of Cultural Affairs and the Secretary is Leel Gunasekera who had functioned as Director of Cultural Affairs. It is hoped that this team would succeed in making the necessary and long over due progress for the Sinhala Institute of Culture. May they succeed in harnessing the necessary support and resources to complete the construction of the building and build up the institute in all its varied aspects to produce a National Institute of Sinhala Culture which would be a showpiece in Sri Lanka! In the past when Sinhala kings managed the affairs of this nation, arts and crafts always received royal patronage. Artists and craftsmen were given the necessary support. It was the practice, then, for the king to provide lands for the artists for cultivation of paddy and also highland for their sustenance. They also received occasional gifts. To refer to one instance, the craftsmen who make the royal crown and other jewellery for royalty in the Kandyan kingdom lived in the village of Neelawela in Hewavissa Korale in Patahewaheta. The report of the Kandyan Peasantry Commission appointed in 1949 (Sessional Paper 1951) at page 279 states as follows: "These craftsmen claim that in ancient times they had grants of lands from the kings, which were worked for them and the produce of which was available to them for their sustenance thus enabling them to carry out their trade undisturbed. "They produced numerous 'Sannasas' by which they say they were gifted with lands by the ancient kings....Two pieces of finely worked metal were produced, which they say were models used for making the Kings crown in ancient time. They also produced a delicately carved ivory balance of very small dimensions said to have been used by the ancient Kings for weighing gold. The indicator needle is still working smoothly. The entire balance is encased in a delicately worked case." Dr. P. E. P. Deraniyagala, Director of National Museums, in his book "Some Sinhala Combative, Field and Aquatic Sports and Games" states at page 22 as follow: "Bell (1892) records the following tradition from the Kegalle district - a Maruvalliye's gladiator summoned to Court to fight a famous Sudhaliye champion, instructed his wife to train their unborn child in the Science of Arms in case he fell. He was killed in the contest and his child, a daughter was trained in fencing. Years later, she came to court disguised as a man and challenged any Sudhaliye' warrior. The challenge was accepted. She killed her opponent and revealed her identity to the King who presented her with five elephants and appointed her Disawa of the Satara Korale." The purpose inciting these stories from the past is to highlight the need for State support to sustain our arts and crafts. Such support should NOT be ruling, political party support. But State support and artistes should not be kept under particular political party umbrellas. Under our traditional system, many of our artistes who engaged in painting, dancing, drumming, music and even wood carving were granted temple land for their sustenance, and the artistes carried on their performances on the relevant occasions at Temple ceremonies and processions. Around 1960 the Nayaka Thera of the Sri Maha Bodhi Temple in Anuradhapura during a private conversation related the story of a certain Nayaka Thera of a particular temple in a certain district long time back. Due to the damages and destruction caused by the foreign invasions, the traditional arts and crafts had almost vanished from that area and the temple could not find the necessary dancers and artists needed for the ceremonies for that particular leading temple. He said Nayaka Thera, before his ordination as a monk, had learnt dancing and he decided to train a set of dancers for the needs of the temple. He selected a team of young men from the village and got them to come to the temple Aramaya late in the evening on certain days of the week and in the inner courtyard or the meda midula of the temple he trained the young men to dance and over a period of time, the young men became very good dancers and performed very well at the temple ceremonies. Each of them asked to train a batch of dancers back in their own respective villages and in due course the dancing art became available in that region. Until recent times, many dancing experts in Harispattuwa, Pata Dumbara and some other areas around Kandy maintained their practice of training young persons in dancing. But they found it difficult to continue this service without the necessary support and patronage. The Cultural Affairs Department should pay sufficient attention to keep these arts going and device processes to attract the attention and enthusiasm of the younger generation amid the many distractions they now have to face. Government also should promote institutions like the Institute of Sinhala Culture and other such bodies. |
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