The Cartography of Culture Zones

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jim Sykes
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
African Descent ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Buddhist Music ◽  
Traditional Cultures

This chapter criticizes the “cartography of culture zones”—the standard way cultural history is described in Sri Lanka—which locates traditional cultures in ethnically defined, regionally based culture zones. First, the chapter expands on the book’s previous exploration of Sinhala and Tamil musics by introducing the musics of Sri Lankan Muslims (an ethnic and religious category), Christians (a heterogenous religious category), Burghers (Eurasians), Kaffirs (Sri Lankans of African descent), and Väddas (the indigenous population). The chapter argues that scholars tend to adopt the European-derived idea that music belongs distinctly to humans with cultural histories rigidly demarcated along ethnic, religious, and regional lines. The chapter then traces histories of musical connection between Sri Lankan communities and culture zones. All the same, the chapter avoids debunking Sinhala Buddhist music as “Hindu” in character (a mistake of colonial era scholarship). The chapter respects difference while arguing for the importance in the Sri Lankan public sphere of recognizing connections.

scholarly journals From the British Isles to Ceylon, or English in Sri Lanka

2018 ◽  
pp. 159-172
Author(s):  
Olga Laskowska
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
English Language ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Early 19Th Century ◽  
A Site ◽  
The 19Th Century

Although Sri Lanka was a site of colonization of the Portuguese, Dutch and (under the treaty of Amiens in 1802) British, it was the English language that had the strongest infl uence on the indigenous population of the island as the earlier colonizers were less interested in disseminating their culture. Taking into consideration the fact that English was established in Sri Lanka by missionaries and British officers, it can be assumed that the language brought to the island of Ceylon was the Standard English of the turn of the 19th century. Exploiting data from International Corpus of English – Sri Lanka and articles on Sri Lankan English, the present study contains a comparison of contemporary Sri Lankan English and the English of the period when the language was brought to the Island (early 19th century). Thus, an effort is made to show the conservative features of the language of the first British settlers, which survive in English spoken in contemporary Sri Lanka.

scholarly journals Historical Perspective of Gender Typed Participation in the Performing Arts in Sri Lanka During the Pre- Colonial, The Colonial Era, and the Post- Colonial Eras

2021 ◽  
Vol 04 (05) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Winojith Sanjeewa
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Performing Arts ◽  
Colonial Period ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Gender Performances ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Performing Art

When the Sri Lankan performing art was analysed, a clear-cut difference in gender-typed participation in dancing, singing, playing music, and the traditional rituals (such as Shanthi karma) can be identified. Furthermore, this research has found that gender roles in performance have evolved through time. It can be seen how the existence of -Hindu- Buddhist practices from Vijaya’s arrival to Sri Lanka in 543 BCE to the period of Portuguese who conquered Sri Lanka in 1505 CE takes a new facet in the colonial period and the post-colonial period blending with the European concepts. It can be analysed as follows, First, the changes occurred in masculinity, femininity, or the concepts of Tandava, and Lasya, then the rituals relating to concepts of Divinity in the pre-colonial period, then the changing constructs and perspectives regarding gender performances in the colonial period and the gender shifts and gender synthesis in the post-colonial period.

The Role of Music and Allied Arts in Public Writings on Cultural Diversity: “People of Sri Lanka”

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Gisa Jähnichen
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Culturally Different ◽  
The World ◽  
Official Languages ◽  
The Way

The Sri Lankan Ministry of National Coexistence, Dialogue, and Official Languages published the work “People of Sri Lanka” in 2017. In this comprehensive publication, 21 invited Sri Lankan scholars introduced 19 different people’s groups to public readers in English, mainly targeted at a growing number of foreign visitors in need of understanding the cultural diversity Sri Lanka has to offer. This paper will observe the presentation of these different groups of people, the role music and allied arts play in this context. Considering the non-scholarly design of the publication, a discussion of the role of music and allied arts has to be supplemented through additional analyses based on sources mentioned by the 21 participating scholars and their fragmented application of available knowledge. In result, this paper might help improve the way facts about groups of people, the way of grouping people, and the way of presenting these groupings are displayed to the world beyond South Asia. This fieldwork and literature guided investigation should also lead to suggestions for ethical principles in teaching and presenting of culturally different music practices within Sri Lanka, thus adding an example for other case studies.

Blood Pressure values of Sri Lankan Tamils in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 66-71
Author(s):  
Balasubramaniam M ◽  
◽  
Sivapalan K ◽  
Tharsha J ◽  
Sivatharushan V ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Sri Lankan Tamils

scholarly journals Sri Lanka: Physical Reconstruction and Economic Development as Conflict Prevention Factors

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (69) ◽  
pp. 55-76
Author(s):  
Boženko Đevoić
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
External Pressure ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Conflict Prevention ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Postconflict Reconstruction ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Government

ABSTRACT This article gives an overview of the 26 year long ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and examines physical reconstruction and economic development as measures of conflict prevention and postconflict reconstruction. During the years of conflict, the Sri Lankan government performed some conflict prevention measures, but most of them caused counter effects, such as the attempt to provide “demilitarization”, which actually increased militarization on both sides, and “political power sharing” that was never honestly executed. Efforts in post-conflict physical reconstruction and economic development, especially after 2009, demonstrate their positive capacity as well as their conflict sensitivity. Although the Sri Lankan government initially had to be forced by international donors to include conflict sensitivity in its projects, more recently this has changed. The government now practices more conflict sensitivity in its planning and execution of physical reconstruction and economic development projects without external pressure.

Grasping at Straws: Judicial Review of Legislation in Sri Lanka

ICL Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-306
Author(s):  
Danushka S Medawatte
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Justice Process ◽  
Provincial Councils ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn this paper, I attempt to examine the evolution of judicial review of legislation in Sri Lanka with a view to better understanding how it has impacted the democratic fabric and constitutional matrix of Sri Lanka. The impact that judicial review of legislation has had on rights jurisprudence, enhancement of democracy, prevention of persecution against selected groups are analysed in this paper in relation to the Ceylon Constitutional Order in Council of 1946 (‘Soulbury’ Constitution) and the two autochthonous constitutions of Sri Lanka of 1972 and 1978. The first part of the paper comprises of a descriptive analysis of judicial review of legislation under the three Constitutions. This is expected to perform a gap filling function in respect of the lacuna that exists in Sri Lankan legal literature in relation to the assessment of the trends pertaining to judicial review of legislation in Sri Lanka. In the second part of the paper, I have analysed decided cases of Sri Lanka to explore how the judiciary has responded to legislative and executive power, and has given up or maintained judicial independence. In this respect, I have also attempted to explore whether the judiciary has unduly engaged in restraint thereby impeding its own independence. The third part of the paper evaluates the differences in technique and stance the judiciary has adopted when reviewing draft enactments of the national legislature and when reviewing draft or enacted statutes of Provincial Councils. From a comparative constitutional perspective, this assessment is expected to provide the background that is essential in understanding the island nation’s current constitutional discourse, transitional justice process, and its approach to human rights.

scholarly journals Contested Numbers: Census Controversies and the Press in 1960s Nigeria

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Gerardo Serra ◽  
Morten Jerven
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
The State ◽  
Population Census ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Press ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
The Public Sphere

Abstract This article reconstructs the controversies following the release of the figures from Nigeria's 1963 population census. As the basis for the allocation of seats in the federal parliament and for the distribution of resources, the census is a valuable entry point into postcolonial Nigeria's political culture. After presenting an overview of how the Africanist literature has conceptualized the politics of population counting, the article analyses the role of the press in constructing the meaning and implications of the 1963 count. In contrast with the literature's emphasis on identification, categorization, and enumeration, our focus is on how the census results informed a broader range of visual and textual narratives. It is argued that analysing the multiple ways in which demographic sources shape debates about trust, identity, and the state in the public sphere results in a richer understanding of the politics of counting people and narrows the gap between demographic and cultural history.

Securing the Sasana through Law: Buddhist constitutionalism and Buddhist-interest litigation in Sri Lanka

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1966-2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
BENJAMIN SCHONTHAL
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Legal Activism ◽  
Liberal Constitutionalism

AbstractThis article examines the history and effects of Buddhist constitutionalism in Sri Lanka, by which is meant the inclusion of special protections and status for Buddhism in the island's 1972 and 1978 constitutions, alongside guarantees of general religious rights and other features of liberal constitutionalism. By analysing Sri Lankan constitutional disputes that have occurred since the 1970s, this article demonstrates how the ‘Buddhism Chapter’ of Sri Lanka's constitution has given citizens potent opportunities and incentives for transforming specific disagreements and political concerns into abstract contests over the nature of Buddhism and the state's obligations to protect it. Through this process, a culture of Buddhist legal activism and Buddhist-interest litigation has taken shape. This article also augments important theories about the work of ‘theocratic’ or religiously preferential constitutions and argues for an alternative, litigant-focused method of investigating them.

CHALLENGES AND CONSTRAINTS TO ENHANCE THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION IN HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF A DEVELOPING COUNTRY: EVIDENCE FROM SRI LANKA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 13-26
Author(s):  
T.M.A. Tennakoon ◽  
Kennedy Gunawardena ◽  
S.P. Premaratne
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Education System ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Developed Nations

This study through an exploratory approach review the challenges and constraints faced in enhancing entrepreneurship education in developing countries using Sri Lanka as a case study. Previous studies on the subject matter is very scarce and even in international journals only few papers appeared on entrepreneurship education in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to study the current entrepreneurship education system in Sri Lankan state universities with reference to challenges and constraints and to propose an action plan to raise entrepreneurship education in Sri Lanka to be in par with that of developed nations so that these universities can act as the centerpieces of business innovations and entrepreneurship development. This paper employs an exploratory study approach by analyzing current entrepreneurship education system in Sri Lanka by reviewing secondary data such as various journals and government publications to build the arguments and recommendations outlined. Among constraints and challenges for the development of entrepreneurship education, lack of resources, lack of entrepreneurial skills in lecturers, poor stake-holder engagement, weak government policies and industry � university gap are common to most developing countries. In addition with its free education policy, Sri Lankan universities are faced with strict university entrance procedures and lack of selection of desired courses for majority of students. Findings of this study and salient suggestions will be an invaluable toolkit for policy makers to design effective strategies for entrepreneurship education in developing countries.

Adoption of integrated reporting in Sri Lanka: coverage and trend

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thilini Cooray ◽  
Samanthi Senaratne ◽  
Nuwan Gunarathne ◽  
Roshan Herath ◽  
Dileepa Neelangi Samudrage
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
The Other ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Legitimacy Theory ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disclosure Requirements ◽  
Comprehensive Index ◽  
Reporting Framework

Purpose This paper aims to examine the coverage of and trends in reporting content elements in the integrated reports of the Sri Lankan companies following the International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRF). Design/methodology/approach Based on a comprehensive checklist developed on the content elements of the IIRF, 171 corporate integrated reports were content-analyzed over a period of three years. The results were theorized subsequently using the legitimacy theory. Findings The study identifies that the extent of and trend in the coverage of content elements of the IIRF have increased during the period under consideration despite some under-addressed areas. It indicates that Sri Lankan companies are making progress in the preparation of integrated reports in line with the IIRF, which provides evidence in support of both strategic and institutional perspectives of the legitimacy theory because of the proactive actions taken by managers to acquire legitimacy along with the other normative and mimetic pressures available in the IR landscape. Originality/value This is one of the first studies that evaluate the compliance of IR adopters with the IIRF overtime in the entirety of a single country. It also develops a comprehensive index to capture the disclosure requirements of IR and extends the analysis to a voluntary context using both strategic and institutional perspectives of the legitimacy theory.

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