Nāgānanda Journal of Cultural Anthropology – Vol. I, Issue 01

පීරිස්, එන්. එස්.
සිංහල අධ්‍යයනාංශය, මානවශාස්ත්‍ර හා සමාජීය විද්‍යා පීඨය, රුහුණ විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය.

සාරසංක්ෂේපය:
අමනුෂ්‍ය උපද්‍රව සහ රෝග පීඩාදී මිනස් දිවියට පීඩා පමුණුවන කාරක දුරු කොට සෞභාග්‍යය උදා කර ගැනීම සඳහා සිංහල ශාන්තිකර්ම බිහි විය. ඒවා උඩරට, පහතරට, සබරගමු යනාදී වශයෙන් භූගෝලීය පිහිටීමට අනුව ප්‍රවර්ග කර හඳුනා ගත හැකි අතර, පහතරට ප්‍රදේශයෙහි යකුන් විෂයයෙහි පවත්නා ශාන්තිකර්ම වශයෙන් සන්නියකුම, රිද්දියාගය, මහසෝන් සමයම, සූනියම් ශාන්තිය, කළුකුමාර සමයම, ගොපලු සමයම යනාදිය සැලකෙයි. රිද්දියාග මංගල්‍යය පහතරට ප්‍රදේශයන්හි යක්ෂයින් උදෙසා පවත්වනු ලබන ප්‍රධාන ශාන්තිකර්මයක් වන අතර මාතර, බෙන්තර ප්‍රදේශවල මෙය ප්‍රචලිත ව පවතියි. සිංහල නර්තන කලාවෙහි භාව පූර්ණ නෘත්‍ය රංග ලක්ෂණවලින් සැදුම් ලත් මෙය කාන්තාවන් උදෙසා යකුන් විෂයයෙහි පවත්වන එක ම ශාන්තිකර්මය යි. ගර්භ සංරක්ෂණය මූලික කොට ගනිමින් විවාහයෙන් පසු දරු ඵල නොමැති කාන්තාවන් උදෙසා දරු ගැබ් ඇති කර ගැනීම, ගර්භිණී කාන්තාවන්ට ආරක්ෂාව සලසා දීම, අතුරු අන්තරාවකින් තොර ව බිහි කිරීමට මානසික පසුබිම සැකසීම, සශ්‍රීකත්වය හා සෞභාග්‍යය යන මූලික පරමාර්ථ පෙරදැරි කරගෙන රිද්දියාගය ශාන්තිකර්මය පැවැත්වේ. එහි දී උපත් කථාව, සංවාද, ගායනා, පූජා චාරිත්‍ර, නාට්‍යමය පෙළපාලි හා රංග භාණ්ඩ ආදි සියලු රංගෝපක්‍රම මගින් ශාන්තිකර්මකරුවා ඉතා සියුම් ආකාරයෙන් දරුවන් නොමැති කාන්තාවට හෝ ගර්භනී කාන්තාවට මානසික සුවයක් ලබා දෙන අතර මානව හිතවාදී සානකුම්පිත දෘෂ්ටියකින් බැලීම සිදු ව ඇත. මෙලෙස රිද්දියාගය ශාන්තකිර්මයෙන් මනෝ චිකිත්සාව හා ගර්භාරක්ෂණය සිදු වන්නේ කෙසේ ද යන පර්යේෂණ ගැටලුවට අනුව සිදු වන මෙම අධ්‍යයනයේ දී ගුණාත්මක පර්යේෂණ ක්‍රමවේදය භාවිත වුණි. මූලික වශයෙන් පුස්තකාල පරිශීලනය මගින් ප්‍රාථමික හා ද්විතීයික දත්ත රැස් කර ගන්නා අතර සමාජ විද්‍යාත්මක දෘෂ්ටියෙන් සහභාගීත්ව නිරීක්ෂණය සහ ප්‍රත්‍යෙයක අධ්‍යයනය මගින් තොරතුරු විශ්ලේෂණය සිදු ව ඇත.

ප්‍රමුඛ පද: ගර්භාරක්ෂණය, මනෝචිකිත්සාව, රිද්දියාගය, ශාන්තිකර්ම, සන්නිවේදනය

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Amarakoon, A.A.C.N.
Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Nahallage, C.A.D.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Abstract:
The Sri Lankan Kaffir people, also known as the Africans of Sri Lanka, represent a unique and historically significant community within the island nation diverse cultural tapestry. This report delves into various aspects of the Sri Lankan Kaffir people, shedding light on their migration, occupations, religion, language and art, rituals, food habits, and cultural elements. For that, the information that has been researched and published about the Sri Lankan Kaffir people was based on this. That is, information from research articles conducted on them from 2015 to 2022 has been included. Although there have been various opinions about their journey to Ceylon, the majority opinion is that they were brought by the Portuguese as soldiers and slaves. Although they worked as soldiers, slaves, musicians, and laborers in the beginning, they adjusted their economic status by engaging in various professions over time. The majority of the Sri Lankan Kaffir people follow the Roman Catholic religion. At the time they came to this country, they used to communicate in Portuguese Creole, but nowadays they communicate in Sinhala and Tamil. Their language still survives only in their art of song. It can be identified as a group of people who come to Sri Lanka from Africa and lead a peaceful way of life, bearing with equanimous the way their culture is fading away and getting used to an unfamiliar culture. Through this exploration of information, a broader understanding of the heritage of the Kaffir community and its contribution to Sri Lankan society will emerge.

Keywords: Kaffir people, culture, community, Sri Lankan African, Portuguese Creole

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Wickramanayake, T.Y.D.
Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Samarasekara, K.M.S.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Abstract:
Poverty remains a persistent and challenging problem in many parts of the world, with fisheries community often disproportionately affected. This study addresses the complex and persistent cycle of poverty in fisheries community in Sri Lanka, using an anthropological perspective to comprehensively examine the underlying factors, consequences and possible solutions. The general objective is to formulate context-specific strategies to break the cycle of poverty and promote sustainable development. Specific objectives of the research are to identify the cultural diversity of poverty as well as the social and cultural variables that influence it, determining whether all factors have affected the poverty problem of these people from the existing factors of the vicious cycle of poverty. And determining how the culture of poverty operates inside the people’s socio-cultural domain. This study explores the vicious cycle of poverty in small-scale fishing communities in Sri Lanka, specifically in the Mathara district. Data collection was conducted through a judgmental sampling technique, focusing on family units engaged in fishing activities. The study aims to understand the dynamics of poverty in these communities, highlighting the importance of addressing issues such as lack of capital, limited investment, low productivity, and insufficient savings. The research also considers development projects and proposals to address these challenges. The study employs a mix method for data analysis, focusing on the Mathara district and its fisheries community. The research reveals that the fisheries community in Matara district exhibits cultural poverty, with factors such as unplanned economy, high debt, short childhood, lack of attention to learning, and broken families contributing to the issue. The community faces severe economic crises due to the large number of extended families living in one house. The culture of poverty is intertwined with the fishing community, with beliefs and behaviors perpetuating economic deprivation and valuing traditional fishing activities over alternative options. Poverty appeared to be deeply rooted in the culture of this community, with few individuals striving for self-improvement. Applied anthropologists can play a critical role in this, and sharing anthropological insights with government and officials is essential. Future state-level interventions to address this solvable social problem are expected in the future.

Keywords: Culture, Culture of poverty, Poverty, The Vicious Cycle of Poverty

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Gunarathna, M.R.
Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Jayatillake, H.D.Y.D.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Samarasekara, K.M.S.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Abstract:
In the intricate tapestry of family structures, single-parent families stand as a unique and dynamic demographic. This anthropological review delves into the role of kinship practices within single-parent households, illuminating how these practices shape social support networks and childcare strategies, providing insights into the resilience and adaptability of families facing the challenges of single parenthood. Hence, this study objectives attempt to fulfilled the requirement of anthropological approach to study the ability to provide the child care, household management, well-being, resilience, of single-parents in different sociocultural settings with balancing their own personal life using kinship practices as a coping method. This study is based on purposively selected ten single father families and ten single mother families of Seethawaka DS division, Colombo district, Sri Lanka. The qualitative methods and techniques have been applied to collect data including interviews, case studies, focus group discussions and observation methods. The research findings revealed that all the single fathers are employed but only one single mother rely on the extended family income while the others engage in occupations. Accordingly, some single mothers are vulnerable in economic aspect where seeks for her parent’s support to up bring the children. 100% of positive compliments were identified in children’s school attendance, in addition, it was stated that children from these households have a more significant amount of participation in sports at school. These children’s academic performances were poor according to the student report card analysis. While 50% of the sample was nuclear families and socialization process and personality molding of children in a critical aspect but the extended family structure provided supportive network for the children identify their gender roles and build up their personality. Further, the study revealed that single mothers experiencing social and cultural stigma even in their own kindred, while the evolving gender dynamics within single-parent families, with an increasing recognition of fathers’ capacity to play active roles in childcare and household responsibilities. In conclusion, this research enriches our understanding of the challenges and adaptations experienced by single parents in Sri Lanka, calling for comprehensive and inclusive policies and support systems that empower and uplift single-parent families, contributing to their well-being and that of their children.

Keywords: Childcare, Kinship Practices, Single Parent Families, Social Support, Sri Lanka

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Abhayasundere, P.N.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Srishan, G.A.A.N.
Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Jayasiri, A.A.J.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Shaveeniya, T.P.P.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Abstract:
It has been a tradition among the Sri Lankan people since ancient times to make offerings to Goddess Pattini to seek blessings for good health. Navagamuwa Pattini Dewala is known as a miraculous dewala with historical stories about Goddess Pattini. The ‘Gon pita Perahera’ festival at Navagamuwa Pattini Dewalaya is the focus of this study’s medical anthropological investigation, which explores the complex interactions between cultural practices, conventional healing beliefs, and community health views. What folk beliefs are associated with this ‘Gon pita Perahera’ festival performed for the Goddess Pattini to ward off epidemics? is the research problem in this research. The purpose of this research is to study the folk beliefs associated with this ‘Gon pita Perahera’, which is conducted to eliminate epidemic diseases that spread to cattle, from a medical anthropological approach. This research is a descriptive research based on secondary sources and conducted using qualitative data under library survey methodology. The ‘Gon pita Perahera’ held at Pattini Dewala in Navagamuwa is the only procession in Sri Lanka with the participation of cattle. This procession is held with the hope of getting the blessings of Goddess Pattini to ward off the epidemics spreading to cattle and protect the cattle. The special feature of this procession, which includes all the elements of a Sri Lankan traditional procession, is the participation of cattle decorated with colorful costumes. Correspondingly, in this procession, the deity ornaments of the Dewala are taken in the procession on the backs of cattle decorated like this. Locals refer to this procession as ‘Gon pita Perahera’ due to carrying these divine ornaments on the backs of cattle. The people of the village believe that by holding this procession annually, the cattle will be protected from hoof disease epidemics. This procession is expected to get the blessings of Goddess Pattini for the wealth of cattle. Accordingly, there appears to be a complex and dynamic relationship between cultural ceremonies, traditional medicine, and community health perceptions. It is a characteristic of cultured man that people turn to different rituals according to their beliefs in situations like epidemics. Accordingly, it is clear that through this festival, the people seek the blessings of Goddess Pattini to protect the cattle resources that help them earn their living from epidemics.

Keywords: Gonpita Perahera, Navagamuwa Pattini Dewalaya, Epidemics, Cattle

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Abeysinghe, A.A.D.S.N.D.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Samarasekara, K.M.S.
Department of Anthropology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka.

Abstract:
When studying a human society, it is very important to examine the culture. The reason is culture is the way of life of the people living. Subcultures can be defined as lifestyles that have been created as a part of the larger society, but as a separate unit from the larger society. Subcultures are found in any society where the main culture is represented. In the past, Sri Lankan Veddas people had a great culture. It has become a subculture over time due to various reasons. The purpose of this research was to study the facts that Vedda people have occurred at present. This study was conducted at the main settlement area of the Veddas’ community, which located at Henanigala, in the Ampara district in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. 20 elderly women over 50 years of age were selected for this purpose that had maximum experience in cultural change. Women have a better understanding of cultural change and are more exposed to that social change; therefore women were used to collect the data. At present, the people of Hennanigala have come under the cultural grip of Sinhala great society in every way. They no longer have the need to pretend to be Veddas. Having lost their native land, they have to face a life struggle. To get rid of it, they have turned to farming and fishing, and migration to cities in search of work is also increasing. Children of this culture are aware of the world around them. Due to the education they receive from school, they are accustomed to a systematic behavior. This situation continues to change due to factors such as constant mixing with the Sinhalese people, measures taken by the government to civilize the Veddas, the spread of Christian missionary religions, road construction, and development activities. On the whole, it can be concluded that Vedda’s society is also becoming multicultural by submitting to the general principle of change. In the past, Veddas culture has been widespread in Sri Lanka as a great culture. But due to the above-discussed facts, artistically, that great culture has transformed into a sub-culture. At present, it can be concluded that the existing sub-cultural characteristics are gradually fading away.

Keywords: Culture, Henanigala, Primitive society, Sub culture, Vedda

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