Culture of Sri Lanka

[1] For over 5000 years, India and Sri Lanka have nurtured a legacy of historical, cultural, religious, spiritual, and linguistic connections.

The country has a rich artistic tradition, with distinct creative forms that encompass music, dance, and the visual arts.

Sri Lankan culture is internationally associated with cricket, a distinct cuisine, an indigenous holistic medicine practice, religious iconography such as the Buddhist flag, and exports such as tea, cinnamon, and gemstones, as well as a robust tourism industry.

[3] Sri Lanka has a documented history of over 3,000 years, mainly due to ancient historic scriptures like Mahawamsa,[4] and with the first stone objects dating back to 500,000 BCE.

[5] Several centuries of intermittent foreign influence has transformed Sri Lankan culture to its present form.

Women and men in Sri Lanka have been viewed equal for thousands of years from ruling the country to how they dress.

[6] Techniques and styles developed in India, China and later Europe, transported via colonialism, have also played a major role in the architecture of Sri Lanka.

[7] Many forms of Sri Lankan arts and crafts take inspiration from the Island's long and lasting Buddhist culture which in turn has absorbed and adopted countless regional and local traditions.

In most instances Sri Lankan art originates from religious beliefs, and is represented in many forms such as painting, sculpture, and architecture.

For example, traditional wooden handicrafts and clay pottery are found around the hilly regions while Portuguese-inspired lacework and Indonesian-inspired Batik are also notable.

The movie Kadawunu Poronduwa (The broken promise), produced by S. M. Nayagam of Chitra Kala Movietone, heralded the coming of Sri Lankan cinema in 1947.

Undoubtedly, the most influential and revolutionary filmmaker in the history of Sri Lankan cinema is Lester James Peiris, who has directed a number of movies which received global acclaim, including Rekava (Line of destiny, 1956), Gamperaliya (The changing village, 1964), Nidhanaya (The treasure, 1970), and Golu Hadawatha (Cold Heart, 1968.

[8] Rice is a staple and usually consumed daily, and it can be found at any special occasion, while spicy curries are favourite dishes for lunch and dinner.

More recently, there has been a rise of westernised Tamil chefs returning to Colombo, including the now famous Janakan Gnananandan who spent his early years training in South London's Michelin Star restaurants.

This influx has given rise to a new breed of Sri Lankan and Tamil cuisine that blends traditional spices with European fast food, such as Rmammidan, meaning hot chips that has proven very popular with younger generations.

[citation needed] Much of Sri Lanka's cuisine consists of boiled or steamed rice served with spicy curry.

In addition to (sambols, Sri Lankans eat "(mallung", chopped leaves mixed with grated coconut and red onions.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, spice and ivory traders from all over the world brought their native cuisines to the island, resulting in a rich diversity of cooking styles and techniques.

Lamprais rice boiled in stock with a special curry, accompanied by frikkadels (meatballs), all of which is then wrapped in a banana leaf and baked as a Dutch-influenced Sri Lankan dish.

Sri Lankans use spices liberally in their dishes and typically do not follow an exact recipe: thus, every cook's curry will taste slightly different.

It is generally accepted for tourists to request that the food is cooked with a lower chili content to cater for the more sensitive Western palette.

[11] Unusually, both the end of one year and the beginning of the next occur not at midnight but at separate times determined by astrologers with a period of some hours between (the "nona gathe" or neutral period) being a time where one is expected to refrain from all types of work and instead engage solely in relaxing religious activities and traditional games.

The Northern and Eastern parts of the island have several notable Hindu temples due to the fact that the majority of the population living in these areas are Tamil.

The King Ravana story involved a wooden air craft called Dandu Monara (Wodden Peacock), in which he flew to India to abduct Seetha causing a war among Rama and Rawana.

and some of them are, The National symbols within Sri Lanka and abroad, and these also represent the country's traditions, culture, history and geography.

Emerging trends in the tourism industry in Sri Lanka points the way to tourists seeking more traditional experiences over conventional ideals such as tours and resorts.

Consequently, these tourists seek out cheaper accommodation where they can be exposed to authentic villages and richer and more rustic experiences - this gives indigenous identities a chance to be preserved and not overtaken as tourism takes hold in the more remote areas, with Sri Lankan indigenous people taking their place as a part of the attraction for tourists and are thus protected and provided with support.