On a journey to lost cultural intricacies
Book -Things Sinhala
Author - Hemachandra Senaratne
Reviewed by - Chaminda Seneviratne
Hemachandra Senaratne, popular journalist, author and a teacher has
introduced his book ‘Things Sinhala’, after careful and detail
compilation of age-old cultural intricacies of the Sinhala people.
 The
identity of a group always rests on the beliefs, practices and the modus
operandi of its people. Hence the collection of practices, beliefs and
rituals common to a group of people comprise the cultural identity of
them. Many races lose the traditional practices and values with time due
to interchange of ideas with different cultures and to modernization.
The Sinhala culture is no exception.
Age-old beliefs
The age-old beliefs replaced by modern scientific explanations. The
time consuming but yet pleasant practices of the early Sinhala peoples
get replaced by practices to suit the busy urban lifestyles of the
modern society.
Through his book ‘Things Sinhala’, Senaratne has tried to document
and archive the disappearing beliefs and practices for the benefit of
the modern society, of which, a significant fraction is completely
unexposed to the practices and beliefs of their forefathers.
He recognises and highlights the intrusions from the outside cultures
but also commends the efforts taken by the people to cling on and
preserve the remaining values and practices in spite of many foreign
invasions throughout our history.
Cultural practices
The book takes the reader on a journey exposing him to the cultural
practices of the Sinhala people from birth to death, emphasizing the
important events within a Sinhala home. Many beliefs and practices
associated with the day to day activities of the people like marriages,
child birth, puberty, cultivating paddy, and buying and selling are also
highlighted for the benefit of reader. Moreover the book documents in
detail the vanishing practices i.e taking a ‘bathgediya’ during visiting
relatives and friends, marriages between cousins.
An elaborate and comprehensive account of the elephants, sacred to
the Sinhala people, and not very common to the public is also included
in the book. Interestingly the author has tried to describe the local
animals and the environments in the way the Sinhala people see it.The
author tries to bring some rationale to the many superstitions
associated with the Sinhala people, i.e carrying a piece of charcoal
along with the food taken out of the house, abstaining from performing
certain acts during certain days of the week etc. The rules and ways of
the popular games they played and the methods of settling the disputes
are also vividly described. He has used simple language to keep the
reader at ease to grasp the underlying meanings of these practices.
Born and raised as a villager, Senaratne has lived and experienced
some of the cultural practices that he described in this book , which
make them the first hand experiences to the reader.
The author does not praise nor criticize these cultural practices of
the Sinhala people but he emphasizes that he only reports them for the
benefit of the future generation. Especially the jet-set younger
generation who has neither time nor opportunity to be part of the
culture of their ancestors. The book has covered many aspects of the
Sinhala cultural including the myths, sports, superstitions,
environments and festivities. Many people of this country are now
migrating to foreign lands for various reasons. Some of the children who
are born in these foreign lands will want to search their roots to claim
identities. For that ‘Things Sinhala’will give a good staring account of
the Sinhala cultural practices to quench their search. |
