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| Sunday, 7 March 2004 |
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'Shilpa' to preserve Lankan crafts by LAKMAL WELABADA
Sri Lanka is a country blessed with a rich and vivid legacy of arts and crafts. The traditional master craftsmanship which was inherited from the ancient socio-economic system still exists here to mark the proud identity of our people. 'Shilpa', Sri Lanka's second Craft Village was opened recently by the National Crafts Council at the Folk Art Complex, Battaramulla. It aims to preserve Lankan crafts by providing vital exposure for the native craftsman with opportunities to meet buyers (both the local and foreign art enthusiasts). When entering the Folk Art Complex which is 9 km away from the city centre, Colombo, one can see the little village with a nameboard 'Shilpa'. The sixteen huts built of clay walls and hay roofs give a traditional Lankan folk effect. The breeze from the nearby Diyawanna Oya, and the shady trees and scattered bushes, provide a serene and quiet environment for handicraft lovers. In each small house, a craftsperson can be seen deeply engaged in his/her work, either carving a piece of Kaduru wood to turn out a colourful demon mask or polishing a piece of silverware with exquisite filigree work.
Silver and gold jewellery and brass work are the three main traditional kinds of metal work done and displayed at Shilpa. The brass work includes boxes, trays, lampshades, lamp-stands, hinges, mountings, vases, statuettes figurines and oil lamps. In another house a range of items comprising mats, purses, bags, baskets, hats, boxes, table mats, lampshades, cane furniture, kitchen and household articles, screens, cushion covers and rugs are made out of bamboo, coconut and palmyra leaves, banana fibre, pan and coir. Also among them is Dumbara mat work, a highly localised craft in the Dumbara valley of the Kandyan highlands with distinctive age-old woven designs. Beautiful and exquisite crotchet and tatting lace which is very much a Southern speciality are also among the eye catching items done at the Shilpa craft village. Lacquer ware is next on line. This natural lacquer which is used in paint form is made out of the 'lac' pigments that is traditionally obtained from insect resins collected from forests. This long lasting 'paint' work which comes mainly in red, black and brown is used for walking-sticks, book ends, ash trays, letter openers, wooden handles, small tables and other furniture. Batik, the hand dyed textiles with beautiful designs in vivacious colour schemes; handloom textiles; pottery; drums and other traditional musical instruments; wood carvings including exquisite wall plaques and other ornaments; miscellaneous items ranging from papier mache costume dolls, embroidered garments to linen are also among the other handicrafts done at the Shilpa, using traditional tools and techniques on natural and indigenous raw materials. The customer selects the artifacts from the craft-houses and collects them from the adjoining showroom. They also can place orders with the handicraftsmen and women. Apart from that a restaurant which serves delicious native foods is situated nearby for customers to relax and refresh themselves. The menu includes hoppers, pittu, string hoppers, kiri bath (milk rice); Sri Lankan sweetmeats including kevum, kokis, athirasa; tea, coffee and herbal drinks like 'polpala' and 'ranawara' and all the native fruits of Sri Lanka. The daily routine in the Shilpa village starts at 9.00 am and is over at 8.00 pm. There is an open air theatre where folk art dancing and traditional Sri Lankan dancing are performed by the Sama Dancing Troupe for the visitors daily in the evening. Shilpa is the first ever crafts village opened in the Western Province. It is the brainchild of the Chairman of the National Crafts Council Buddhi Keerthisena, and promises a long and healthy development in the future of the Sri Lankan handicrafts. "Dancing, music and crafts are the three areas that come up very strongly to showcase the culture of a nation. In countries like England, Thailand, Indonesia and India where the tourist industry thrives, they promote their crafts through the concept of 'crafts villages' as it provides a fine exposure for their national identity. In Sri Lanka, we lacked this part of tourism. Hence the Rural Economic Development Ministry started the first crafts village at Sigiriya four months ago. And then I saw the necessity of having another village in the Western Province as it would be a centre of attraction to the tourists who stay in Colombo," said Keerthisena. The craftspeople for the 16 show-houses were selected on a first come first served basis. "But all of them have been the members of the provincial branches of the Crafts Council, and are well skilled and talented in the work. Also we gave preference to those who live in the Western Province as it is easy for both parties to work together," he said. Keerthisena further said that they hope to set up Shilpa villages in Bentota, Weerawila, Anuradhapura, Kandy and Kurunegala in the near future. "By this we hope to provide opportunities to the handicraftsmen in provinces as it will also help the preservation of traditional handicrafts," he said. Since the Battaramulla area (where the Shilpa village is situated) lacked transport facilities, the Chairman hopes to arrange a proper bus service with the CTB and Private Bus Owners' Association so that even the locals can visit the place frequently. The Shilpa village also comprises an auditorium to hold educational workshops and seminars for the craftspeople. The library provides information not only for the craftspeople but also for school children, university students, researchers and even the business entrepreneurs. At the handicrafts museum in the Shilpa village visitors can have a glimpse of displays of the antique and contemporary handicrafts, and the award winning masterpieces of the skilled Lankan handicraftsmen done during the past 17 years. |
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