Music of Sri Lanka

Music of Sri Lanka

 Sri Lanka has been influenced by several eastern and western cultural traditions due to a number of reasons. Most prominently, being an island which has been a key economic ntre since the ancient times has highly stimulated that process. As a result of having been colonized by the Portuguese, then the Dutch and lastly the British for a period of nearly five hundred years, the cultural diversity of Sri Lanka can be identified especially with regard to the language, religion, customs, food habits and arts. However, it should also be mentioned here that there were characteristic traditional customs, food patterns and art forms in Sri Lankan villages long before the above mentioned cultural contacts and colonization. Music is also a significant cultural phenomenon that has been shaped in the course of this process. Music has also equally and significantly changed as other cultural traditions.

 2.1 Music in Ancient Time Even though the signs of written history of Sri Lanka can be traced back to more than 25 centuries, no conclusive record of ancient musical tradition(s) of Sri Lanka could be found. Due to the lack of reliable evidence, it is extremely difficult to define the characteristics of ancient music in the country. The musical tradition of ancient Sri Lanka can only be understood through the chronicles, folklore, archeological information, traditions of art and other literary works. The earliest reference to music, found in Mahawamsa, is related to the classical legend of Princes Vijaya and Pandukabhaya. It is mentioned in Mahawamsa that there was a 11 musical festival that took place on the same day of the arrival of Vijaya at the Sirasawatthupura the village of the Yakka (Yaksha) clan . Furthermore, in the time of King Pandukabhaya, music and dancing were said to be associated with the customs of worshiping two Yakkha (demons) named Chittaraja and Kalawela with the aim of obtaining their support for the well being of native people of Sri Lanka . Thus, it becomes clear that the music in Sri Lanka was to worship demon gods. Even today, the Sri Lankan aboriginal inhabitants, called Veddas worship demon gods with music and dance. It must also be stressed that the contemporary Vedda musical traditions has dramatically made impacts on other musical traditions both at the local and international levels. Although Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka in the middle of the 3 rd entury, it did not encourage arts like music and dance, since th se stimulate peoples‟ secular minds. Buddhism is not only a religion aimed at enlightenment (Nibbhana or Nirwana but also a philosophical doctrine for proper guidance to society. Consequently, following Lord Buddha‟s discipline, monks and other laymen did not encourage „forbidden‟ arts like music and dances. This significantly had major impacts on Sri Lankan music, effecting the development of a pleasing musical tradition. On the contrary, musical cultures in the world have grown even in religious contexts.

 However, in ancient times, Sri Lanka had a tradition of worshiping gods and demon deities through performing art forms like music and dances. In course of time, some of such rituals were adopted by certain Buddhist temples. Accordingly, music, drama and dance received patronage from the Buddhist temples. That significantly helped in the development of performing arts in Sri Lanka. However, the “Mahayana” tradition of Buddhism dramatically sustained these arts though Theravada (Hinayana) tradition of Buddhism did not do so. 12 According to literary materials, music was used in religious rituals and practi