Sri Lankan Folk Dancers

We had been told that we should see one of the traditional dance shows while we were in Kandy, so we purchased tickets at the local YMBA (no it's not a typo, it stands for Young Men's Buddhist Association). The performance lived up to it's reputation as the women pranced around in some beautiful costumes and the men showed off their abilities doing some truly amazing gymnastics in their elaborate garb of cloth and metal.
The dancer's musical accompaniment, consisted of a half dozen percussionists with drums of various sizes and pitches and an occasional song included a oboe type instrument.

This particular act of spinning flat clay drums on sticks brought back memories of the old Ed Sullivan show.

At the end of the show, the audience was led outside where several men performed a fire dance where they tried to incinerate themselves with kerosene as they walked across a burning pit or flung burning torches around.

The night we attended the show the hall was full of European, Slavic and Indian tourists. It emphasized for me that it was the tourist dollar that was keeping many of the traditional customs alive, much like the elephants at the orphanage. (As a side note I really do mean US dollars which are used as a sort of second currency in Sri Lanka.) If not for those dollars I fear these dances would be lost to the 21st century which would be a real loss for the world.

Gardens, Kings & recent history

Located just outside Kandy is the large Paradeniya botanical garden that was originally kept for the royal family. The large grounds are kept immaculate and include just about every imaginable type of garden with plants imported from around the world. The gardens were one of the highlights of our trip as we wandered for hours in perfect weather through arboretums, bamboo groves and various formal gardens.

Giant bamboo is fairly common on the island, but it was our first encounter with stalks as large as palm trees.
One gardener motioned for me to check out this colorful spider and it's interesting web.

Another caretaker unrolled a large leaf he had pulled from his pocket to reveal a 4-5" scorpion. It was worth the few rupees he extracted from us for the photo.

Some of the trees grew to enormous size in this tropical environment. If you look closely at this picture you can get a sense of proportion by the lovers nestled in the roots of this tree under their umbrella.

Visiting Kandy where the Monarchs have left their legacy of the lake and gardens left me with an impression of just how powerful and luxuriously they had lived before the arrival the Portuguese, Dutch, and later the British. The isolated hill country of Kandy remained a region ruled by the last king of Sri Lanka until the early 1800's when local chiefs, who felt they would be better off under British rule than the oppressive king, banded together to cede the kingdom to the British.

Sri Lanka is a country that has been hard hit in recent history by a civil war between different ethnic groups and the politics of creating a government in the void left by British rule. Today there are soldiers and checkpoints everywhere you go, with locals frequently pulled over on the road at random. We were only stopped once where we were politely but thoroughly questioned about our itinerary. On the heels of the war the 2004 Tsunami hit the coast, where there are still remains of ruined buildings and many recent roadside graves, evidence of the devastation it caused.

Today Sri Lanka is at peace and is rebuilding at a rapid pace with new private and public works projects every where you go. You can feel the mood of the country in the air, and when talking to the locals, you get a sense of relief that the worst is behind them, and an optimism about moving on to the future.

Kandy

From the flatlands of the area around Colombo, we quickly gained elevation and made our way to the city of Kandy. They call this the hill country, but for me it qualifies as mountains, with very steep terrain and a definite change in the climate, still very tropical, but much cooler. Our home for the next several days was a small guest house high on a hill with a great view of the man made lake that the city is built around.

Kandy itself is not a large city, but it is crammed with people, buses and busy markets. We spent most of our time away from the crowds by strolling along the lakeside path that surrounds the lake.




There was a lot of wildlife to be seen including shore birds, Fruit bats and Monitor Lizards. The first and largest lizard we saw, we took to be a crocodile at first. Fortunately for us it wasn't, as it was only 10 feet away. From tip to tail, this guy is probably over 5 feet in length.

Monkeys were everywhere, in fact the owner of our guesthouse was complaining about how they tear the roofs apart, and even open the water tanks and yank out all the wiring. As a tourist though they did not bother us, and were fun to watch as they slid down tree trunks and leaped from branch to branch.

There is also an interesting arts and crafts store where craftspeople were giving demonstrations. You weavers out there will appreciate this women at her floor loom who is hand picking out an intricate pattern.

This gentleman is pounding out very intricate brass sheets which will be used for decorative corners and other appliques. His only tools are a hammer, file and old square nails for punches, on a table covered with a thick wax surface.

The majority of Sri Lankans are Buddhists and the main attraction in Kandy for tourists and pilgrims alike is this temple where it is said there is a tooth from the Buddha himself that was snatched from his funeral pyre.









A common sight on in Sri Lanka are elaborate carvings of Teak & Ebony which are used for ornamentation and ventilation around doors and windows.

These paintings adorn the entrance to a very old Shrine.









As we sat by a busy street eating local pastries and Lemon Munchie Biscuits, Char spotted this guy lumbering down the street.