New Year in the village

Andrew Scott

NEW YEAR: The old year has melted into the shadows of the dead and a new year vibrant with a message of hope, comfort and expectation has dawned. With the close of the old year and the birth of the New Year the air is filled with the din of crackers and fireworks ending with one sustained shattering outburst of multitudinous noises and specially the village folk of Sri Lanka are caught up in the fun and frolic of this all important festive occasion.

Whatever the problems the country is facing with the entire country is permeated with the same spirit of goodwill and cheer and expectation of the previous years.

While the Sinhala and Tamil New Year is traditionally celebrated throughout the country the undiluted spirit of the Sinhala New Year lies in Sri Lanka's remote villages and specially at this very time when so much emphasis laid on the resurrection of the villages to their former pristine glory it is very appropriate that we think about the New Year in the village which is a much looked forward to annual event specially in the villages.

New Year in the village. What an exciting day with swings to swing on, houses to visit, gardens to raid, trees to climb, fruits to eat and a universal spirit of goodwill and mutual understanding pervading the entire place. New Year is celebrated with much rejoicing and festivity in a few remaining out of the way villages spread in the nooks and corners of Sri Lanka.

The people in these rural villages seem to live up to the very words or Robert Knox who wrote: "At their New Year they will sport and be merry one with another..... At this time none will work, until their astrologers tell them it is a good hour to handle their tools."

Though the rural Sri Lankan villager is not as much of a sportsman as his urban counterpart, from recent times organised games and sports-meets have become a regular feature in almost all New Year celebrations in the villages. History suggests that from the ancient times the Sinhala people have known to enjoy themselves, specially on festive days.

Old chronicles give exuberant details of various new year festivities at that time. The Chulawamsa refers to "all kinds of sportive games, such as were customary in the country".

In connection with the past we read of archery contests, jugglery, puppet shows, water festivals and dancing contests which heralded New Year celebrations in the villages. It was about these that Robert Knox said: "Their chief play is to bowl coconuts one against the other, to try which is the hardest." This very same traditional pattern of activities is prevalent in the villages, specially during the Sinhala New Year.

The common venue of the New Year celebrations in the village is the village school grounds, the esplanade or the public play-grounds, where enthusiastic gatherings of men, women and children gather quite early in the morning and enjoy themselves till late sunset.

The celebrations are usually organised by the village school master, his wife, some others of the village and other interested individuals. The new year celebrations in the village show the great hospitality and the sense of sportsmanship of our rural folk.

During the new year celebrations in the villages the age old favourite items like thread and needles race, obstacles race, hop-skip and jump, long distance running and cycle races take pride of place. Rural women are greatly interested in the paddy pounding contest. In this contest a number of mortars are placed in a row and each of the contestants is provided with a pestle and a few measures of paddy. The winner is the one who pounds the paddy and shifts the rice from the chaff quickest.

The contest that draws the keen attention of village lasses is the coconut scraping contest. The contestants scrape along at express speed on their old 'hiramaneys' while spectators wait eagerly to know the village woman who can scrape a coconut fastest.

Breaking the pot blindfolded is a very entertaining contest. A pot is suspended from a rope and the blindfolded contestants, with poles in their hands, gather in the vicinity and the one who breaks the pot first is the winner.

Onlookers burst out in laughter at this very amusing contest. Another thrilling contest organised to find out who can swing the highest draws the attention of both the young and the old. The contestants of this are young women. It is really exciting to see these lasses dressed in seemingly insecure clothes go high up into the clear blue April sky.

The 'grease tree'. Young boys are so excited to climb the 'grease tree'. This is a tall, slippery pole covered completely with grease that forces the climber to always slide down. The first to climb the top of this post gets the money which is suspended there.

Many have a try at this which is rather risky contest. During the New Year celebrations the village youngsters play gudu and elle. These matches arouse a great deal of interest and excitement between the participating sides and their supporters.

Magicians and jugglers too try their very best to delight the spectators during the New Year celebrations in the village. The fun and frolic of these magicians in the Kandyan villages during the ancient times has been described best by Robert Knox who wrote: "When they would be merry they have people that would show pretty tricks and feats of activity before them. A man sets up a pole of seven or eight feet long upon his breast. A boy gets to the top of this pole and leans with his belly upon the end of it and the man dances with the pole on his breast and the boy on it, and but little holding the pole."

Where there is a stream, river or lake boat races are organised. In villages near the city hackery and elephant races are very enjoyable events. Games of skill too are great favourites among the younger village folk who like to try their hand at events such as putting a ball into a particularly tricky hole. The concluding event in the New Year celebrations in the village is tug-of-war, where many individuals comprise each of the sides. And bets are held on the winning side!

New Year in the village is incomplete without the rabana whose reverberating sound announces both the dawn and the close of the New Year. While dexterous hands play the rabana, men, women and children engage themselves in innocent enjoyment. In modern times it has become customary to choose an 'Avurudu Kumari' in the New Year celebrations in the village.

Charming village lasses dressed in their very best and sporting innocent smiles participate in this very popular contest.