Sinhala literary culture
[Part 1]
The two sessions on Sinhala literature at the recently concluded HSBC
Galle Literary Festival prompted me to explore the Sinhala literary
culture as a prelude to my discussion on the two sessions on Sinhala
literature at GLF in general and contemporary Sinhala literature in
particular.
Sinhala and Tamil are the first local languages (desabasa) used for
literature in South Asia. As early as seventh century and almost at the
same time, thoerisation of poetry (Kavya) in Sanskrit began, literature
began to emerge in Sinhala. It is obvious that by the time Sinhala
literature emerged, Sri Lankan had already come under the pervasive
influence of Sanskrit literary culture. For instance, this fact is amply
clear from the literary texts such as Janakiharana (The Theft of Janaki)
written in 6th century by Kumaradasa who was considered a great poet in
Sinhala. The transition of Sinhala from a local language to a literary
language seems to be a conscious one.
Charles Hallisey in an essay entitled ‘works and persons in Sinhala
Literary Culture’ observes; “Sinhala also provides evidence that the
transformation of a local language into literary language (its
“literarisation”) was intentional. The nineteenth century poetic
handbook, Siyabaslakara (Poetics of one’s own language) urges “clever
poets” to be on the lookout for unintentional vulgarity in poor turns of
expression on the ground that they might come to be perceived as
acceptable.
This handbook for aspiring poets –among the earliest extant literary
texts in Sinhala- is concerned with removing faults (dosa) in individual
turns of phrase and sentences. Indeed, to this end, the Siyabaslakara
contrasts the historicity of Sinhala, which leaves it open to change,
with ahistorical stability of Sanskrit, the “ speech of the gods”, and
it urges poets to be on guard against unacceptable “Traditional usage”
(pera piyovak:SKt. Purva Prayoga) “ because as time goes on, will not
our own language (siyavadan;Skt. Svabhasa vacana) change, unlike
Sanskrit (diva vadan). ”
Hallisey observes the fact, among other things, that the language of
Sinhala was inherently linked with political power and played a role in
the formation of identity. Sinhala literati was aware of the literary
heritage and always took steps to preserve ‘their literary heritage and
to resist changes to the form of Sinhala used for literature’. One
logical steps in this direction is the ‘pedagogical models for good
literature’ provided in the Sinhala literary culture.
Aspiring poets
Hallisey observes, “‘canon’ intended to provide aspiring poets with
models of ‘good literature’, began to take shape as early as thirteenth
century. An early mahakavya in Sinhala, the twelfth century Kavisilumina
(Crest jewel of poetry; Skt. Kavyacudamani), is cited as an example in
the poets’ manual like Sidatsangarava (Compilation of methods; Skt
Siddhantasamgrapha) and Elusandaslakuna (Character of meter in Sinhala;
Skt.Simhachandolaksana), and it quickly received a pedagogical
commentary (Sannaya), much the same as works in Pali and Sanskrit; all
of these pedagogical works are from the thirteenth century but they
continued to be used in literary education for centuries after, just as
Kavisilumina apparently was. Although works were added to this canon
from time to time, it still had a remarkable stability, as well as
longetivity. Ad hoc anthologies found in manuscripts from as late as
nineteenth century, clearly meant for working poets of the time, bring
together works on prosody from the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries,
for example. “
One of the important factors that Hallisey has identified is the
existence of monastic centre of learning such as the one at Totagamuva
to foster the Sinhala literary legacy and to transmit from generation to
generation.
Hallisey observes; “ In the curriculum, which promoted the continuity
of Sinhala literary heritage up to the twentieth century , Sinhala
authors and critics simultaneously and consistently created catholic
literary cultures, especially by their inclusion of the works of the
other languages. For example, thirteenth century pedagogical commentary
on another early Sinhala mahakavya, the Sasadavata (Story of the Sasa
Jataka), places the Sinhala poem within a Sanskrit literary milieu by
identifying Sanskrit sources as the inspiration for various versus;
among these sources are Balaramayana, Maghakavya, Sakuntala, Raghuvamsa,
Kavyamimansa, Kumarasambhava, and Kavyadarsa.
Similarly the cosmopolitan nature of the educational institutions
that provided the conditions for the transmission of the Sinhala
literary heritage is clear in a long description in the
fifteenth-century Girasandesaya ( Parrot’s message) of a monastic centre
of learning at Totagamuva, on the South coast of Sri Lanka. We are told
that among the monastic and lay scholars studying Buddhist scriptures,
commentaries, and doctrinal works as well as grammar, the Vedas,
astrology, medicine, and political science (arthasastra), there were
also connoisseurs of poetry.
In various places in that beautiful and luxurious monastery there are
groups of learned men who have studied prosody [sanda;Skt.chandas],
poetics [lakara; Skt. Alankara] and grammar [viyarana;Skt.vyakarana].
They sit as they pleas and recite poems and dramas composed in Sanskrit
, Pali, Sinhala, Tamil, maintaining the splendour [siri] of the best
poets of old.” It is important also to note that Sinhala literary
culture has been greatly influenced by other literary cultures such as
Sanskrit and Tamil literary culture. In fact, most of the leading
Sinhala authors and scholars knew Tamil well.
Hallisey states, “ Sinhala authors in the fifteenth century, such as
Totagamuve Sri Rahula and the monastic authors of the Kokilasandesaya
(The cuckoo’s message), commonly knew Tamil and sometimes referred to
Tamil works, while authors who were ethnically Tamil sometimes wrote in
Sinhala, as , for example Nallurutunumini, a royal minister in the
fifteenth-century court of Parakramabahu VI and author of the Namavaliya
(Garlands of nouns). The involvement of Sinhala authors and critics in
the creation, functioning, and self-understanding of multiple
transsocietal lifeworlds defined by the use of different translocal
languages (such as Pali and Sanskrit) and structured by different
ideologies (one religious, other an ideology of erudition, refinement
and valour) not only illustrate the general pattern that ‘all literary
cultures participate in what ultimately turn out to be network of
borrowings, appropriation, reacting, imitating, emulating, rivaling,
defeating’”
What is obvious is that the Sinhala literary culture is not only one
of the oldest in Asia but also one which has been highly influenced by
the other major literary cultures such as Pali and Sanskrit.
|