Must-Know Factors about Sri Lankan Culture

You may know it as the spice island of the world, or you visit Sri Lanka to see the amazing beaches and tea plantations. But, Sri Lanka is more than that, and one primary reason to explore this wonderful land is its culture. Sri Lankan culture is rich and loaded with amazing stories, and it has a proud history of more than 2,500 years. Let’s go through some of the less-heard factors of local Sri Lankan culture and history.

6 Must-Know Factors about Sri Lankan Culture

The country was devastated by a 30-year civil war, and it came out of the hole only in 2009. The North and East parts of the country severely faced the war when the “Tamil Tigers” fought against the Sri Lankan government, asking for a separate land for the Tamils.

This has hampered literally every aspect of this tiny little island. Several thousands of lives from both Sinhala and Tamil people paid the price. However, the government defeated the Tamil Tigers in 2009 and now the situation in the country is very much safe for visitors.

Sri Lanka was colonized by three nations

From the early 1550s to 1948, the country was a colony of three European nations. First Portuguese came and ruled the country for more than 100 years. Even now, most of the names of Sri Lanka are similar to Portuguese. However, they never had the upcountry kingdom of the island under their control. It was the same with Dutch. Dutch won the war against the Portuguese, and they ruled for more than 150 years. British came in 1796; they were the only nation that governed the entire country, including the upcountry.

The influences of these three nations can be seen in most parts of Sri Lanka. Nuwara Eliya is a classic example of that, and the suburbs around the area have English county names. It is one of the major tourist hotspots in Sri Lanka; even Nuwara Eliya is called the “Little England” of Sri Lanka.

Buddhism is the main religion of Sri Lanka

Nearly 70% of the population is Sinhala Buddhists. The rest of the people are Hindus, Muslims, and Christians. All of them live at ease with each other, and overall, they respect all religions and races. Considering the marriages, older generations of Sri Lanka stayed away from mixed religion marriages. However, things are changing gradually over the last century, and the younger generations tend to have no issues with such marriages.

There are Buddhist temples, Hindu Kovils, Muslim mosques, and churches all over the country. As said, they are living peacefully again after the conclusion of the catastrophic civil war. However, the Easter bombings, which took place in 2019 on Easter day against the Christians, cracked the soothing somewhat. But it has to be mentioned that Sri Lankans, including all four religions, reacted with unbelievable tranquility to the situation. There was hardly any conflict or retaliation happened after that unfortunate incident.

The “Veddah” community

Veddahs are considered the original people of Sri Lanka. And, there are small communities of Veddah that still can be seen in small groups inside certain parts of the island. They mostly live in the Southeast jungles and go hunting for a living. Locals visit places like Dabaana in Mahiyanganaya to see the Veddah tribe.

You can allocate a day to witness the true original people of Sri Lanka, which definitely will be a unique experience. There is a small shop in the leader’s house of the tribe where you can purchase some of the herbs and fruits; also, there is a government-made museum available in the Veddah village for visitors to learn about the culture and history.

The journey to Dabaana is a fascinating one and is surrounded by many tourist attractions such as Mahiyanganaya Temple, Sri Maha Sumana Mahamevnawa Buddhist Monastery, and Maduru Oya National Park.

The country is in a rebuilding phase

The 30-year war had a significant say in terms of the development of Sri Lanka. During this time, a considerable number of able Sri Lankans left the country seeking security for themselves as well as their children. Most of them came back to the country after the end of the war with vast international experience.

These Sri Lankans are contributing to the economic development of the country, and humongous projects are running inside the country to catch up with the 30-year delay. However, the political condition is not the most perfect. In fact, that is the case with most South Asian countries; the growth of the economy is heavily dented because of corruption in politics.

Buddhist culture makes the country a safe place to travel

Indeed. Sri Lankans are so proud of their rich history. It is called “Dharamadhweepaya” back in the day because there were little to no criminal activities in ancient Sri Lanka. Although the situation is not the same right now, the overall safety of the country is head and shoulders above compared to most of the countries in the region. This is mainly because of the Buddhist influence; the calming nature can be seen among other religious people as well.

There is a Poya Day holiday each month, and Buddhists celebrate Wesak, the birth, enlightenment, and death of Lord Buddha in May. The Wesak celebrations are unique. It consists of meditating programs, chanting events, alms, and most Buddhists spend the whole Wesak day in the temple following Buddha’s teachings. Wesak Day was formally accorded by the United Nations in December 1999.