Culture

The culture of Sri Lanka has been influenced by many factors but has managed to retain much of its ancient aspects. Mostly it has been influenced by its long history and its Buddhist heritage.

The country has a rich artistic tradition, embracing the fine arts, including music, dance, , visual arts and martial arts.

Sri Lanka boasts of a documented history of over 3,000 years mainly due to ancient historic scriptures like Mahawansa. Several centuries of intermittent foreign influence, has transformed Sri Lankan culture to the present outlook. Nevertheless ancient traditions and festivals are celebrated by mostly conservative Sinhalese people of the island, together with other minorities that make up the Sri Lankan identity.

Esala Perahera 

August The Kandy Esala Perahera also known as The Festival of the Tooth is a festival held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred Tooth Relic of Buddha, which is housed at the Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy.

Traditional Dance 

There are three main styles of Sri Lankan classical dance: The three classical dance forms differ in their styles of body-movements and gestures, in the costumes worn by the performers, and in the shape and size of the drums used to provide rhythmic sound patterns to accompany the dancing. The Kandyan dances of the Hill Country, known as Uda Rata Natum; The low country dances of the southern plains, known as Pahatha Rata Natum; Sabaragamuwa dances, or Sabaragamuwa Natum. In Addition to above three dances, there are variety of traditional dances in Sri Lankan culture empowered with the each rituals, social beliefs, pleasure, etc.  

Vesak Poya 

May Vesak, also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists. The festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Gautama Buddha in Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism and Navayana. In Vesak Season in electrically lit Vesak pandols called thoranas are erected island wide at public places, being mostly sponsored by donors, religious societies and welfare groups. Each pandol illustrates a story from the 550 ‘Jathaka Katha’ or the 550 Past Life Stories of the Buddha.

Sri Lankan Martial Arts 

There are two styles of martial arts native to Sri Lanka, these are Cheena di and Angampora.

Chenna Di is more popular of the two whereas Angampora shows a decline in students each year due to the fact of the length of time to master the art. Angampora is a Sinhalese martial art that combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and meditation.

A key component of angampora is the namesake angam, which incorporates hand-to-hand fighting, and illangam, involving the use of indigenous weapons such as the ethunu kaduwa, staves, knives and swords. Another component known as maya angam, which uses spells and incantations for combat, is also said to have existed. Angampora's distinct feature lies in the use of pressure point attacks to inflict pain or permanently paralyze the opponent. 

Fighters usually make use of both striking and grappling techniques, and fight until the opponent is caught in a submission lock that they cannot escape. Usage of weapons is discretionary. Perimeters of fighting are defined in advance, and in some of the cases is a pit. 

According to apocryphal Sinhalese folklore, angampora's history stretches to as far back as 3,000 years, with the Yaksha tribe (one of the four "hela" - the ancient tribes that inhabited the island) being identified as originators. 

Two ancient scripts named the Varga Purnikawa and Pancha Rakkhawaliya go further, identifying nine hermits as founders. Folklore goes on to describe Rana Ravana, a mythical warrior said to have lived 5,000 years ago, as the most feared angam warrior of all time.