More Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan Reservoir at Polonnaruwa
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Dense vegetation surrounds an ancient reservoir at Polonnaruwa, the 11th-century capital of Sri Lanka’s Chola Kingdom. Three centuries later the city was abandoned, but the ruins of its great monuments remain. Enormous statues of Buddha and elegantly carved pillars attest to the skill of the kingdom’s sculptors and architects. |
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| Sri Lankan Tea
Harvest
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In Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, farm workers on the vast green slopes of a tea estate harvest the country’s most famous crop, still called Ceylon tea. The best tea is grown at elevations above 1,220 metres (4,003 feet) in the fertile south central plains of Nuwara Eliya and Horton. Tea production was initiated by 19th-century British landowners when it proved more profitable than coffee. After independence in 1948, the government assumed control of most tea estates. | |
| Ocean Fishing
Near Negombo
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On the west coast of Sri Lanka, fishermen haul full nets onshore near the port of Negombo. Although fish comprise a staple of the local diet, the fishing industry makes up a relatively small part of the national economy of Sri Lanka. |
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| Colombo, Sri
Lanka
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Colombo is on the west coast of Sri Lanka, and it is the country’s largest urban area, with about a million inhabitants. Colombo is also the largest port of the Indian Ocean nation, from which tea, rubber, gems, graphite, and coconuts are exported, primarily to the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. | |
| Buddhist
Funeral Procession
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This colourful and lengthy procession bears a body across a rice field to celebrate its passage through the afterlife. Dancing and other rituals will follow. Buddhists customarily cremate their dead, collect the bones and ashes, and then build a stupa, or mound of earth, over them. In Sri Lanka, however, it is also common for Buddhists to bury their dead. | |
| Film Favourites
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These billboards advertising films in Maradana, Colombo promote one of Sri Lanka’s favourite pastimes. Although television broadcasts are increasing, going to the cinema is still a popular leisure activity. | |
| Unique Fishing
Technique
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These Sri Lankans are fishing for shellfish in a coastal lagoon. The traditional method of catching shellfish in Sri Lanka is by trapping them in underwater wicker baskets or behind bamboo-stake fences. The rich fishing grounds once were open to all, and people who made their living by fishing could move freely around the coast. Recently, however, the government has set aside some coastal areas for tourist resort facilities. | |
| Multicultural
Mix
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The musicians in Shakthi, a contemporary Sri Lankan band, were among the first in their country to use traditional folk instruments to make popular music. As part of the multicultural mix of influences in Sri Lankan pop music, they also employ indigenous, early 20th-century musical-theatre styles. The group has both Tamil and Sinhalese members and thus represents a fusion of ethnic identities that is unusual in Sri Lankan society. | |
| Elephant
Procession
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Sri Lankans often incorporate music and dance in festivals celebrating religious events. Frequently such celebrations include processions of lavishly decorated elephants, a cherished and protected species in Sri Lanka. The country’s people believe that elephants, like people, have a caste system. Long the object of worship and affection, elephants are featured prominently in many of Sri Lanka’s historical works of art. | |
| Adam’s
Peak
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Situated in the highlands of central southern Sri Lanka, Adam’s Peak is a place of pilgrimage for people of many faiths and from many countries. Set in the oblong platform that tops the mountain’s 2,243 metres-metre (7,360 feet-foot) summit is a large hollow resembling a human footprint, venerated by Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists alike. Many pilgrims climb through the night to reach the summit by dawn, in time for the spectacular sunrise that can be viewed from the peak. |
