Embekka Devalaya (temple)

There are many historical monuments that reveals the Sri Lankan heritage in the hill capital and the temple of Embekka is very special because it owns some of the greatest carvings in Sri Lanka. the temple is situated in the central province.

There is a small village called "Arathtana" which was, many moons ago in Sri Lanka, well known for its dancers and drummers. In this village lived a drummer who had a skin disease. He tried every possible treatment to rid himself of his problem, but none of them worked. Every medicine failed to cure him. He decided to go to the "temple of Katharagama", a temple in the southern part of Sri Lanka. This temple was built for the god of Katharagama. He went there and asked the god of Katharagama to cure his illness, promising to worship the temple annually. Then his illnesses were cured, and he kept his promise to Katharagama for many, many years.

It was a long, tiresome journey to the south and finally the time came when he knew his body could no longer make the trip. For the last time he traveled to the temple and praised the god that he could no longer continue his annual ritual, as he was too old. The sad drummer returned home and that night, the god of katharagama spoke to him in his dreams. He made a prediction. The god said, "in few days, a miracle will happen! You must go there and perform your traditional drumming!" As predicted by the god the miracle happened.

There was a flower garden known as Embekka, which belonged to the wife of King Wickramabahu- Queen Henakanda Bissobandara. When the gardener was working in the garden he tried to remove a "Kaduru" tree from the garden. When he cut it a stream of blood began to flow from the tree. The drummer heard of this miracle and so went to the flower garden to perform the rituals as he was ordered to do by the god. He built a small temple out of tree branches around the tree. It has been called the "Embekka Devalaya" ever since.

After some days the king of "gangasiripura", "gampola" king Wickramabahu, was informed about the event. The king ordered to build a three story building in the land. He gave land and elephants as gifts to the temple. His queen's jewelry was also given to the temple as a gift. Since then the temple of embekka is worshiped by thousands of people every year. They say, even today, the drummer's ancestors' perform rituals in the temple.

How the village got its name.

There are many stories about this village. There is an ancient game known as "ankeliya" performed for the goddess of Paththini. There was a playground in this village where they performed this game annually. This village had a horn, used to play the game. And this was a big horn. In sinhala "ann" or "anga" means the horn. They say "bekka" for big. Earlier they called the village "An+bakka", which means 'the big horn'. The word "an+bakka" has changed to "Embekka", as we know it today.

There are total of eight buildings built for the temple of Embekka. Six buildings are in the inner temple, and two of them outside. The structures that are inside the surrounding wall are known as the 'inner temple'. The structures that are outside the wall are known as the 'outer temple'.

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya of the Polonnaruwa Ancient Kingdom

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya is a square buiding with fine rock cut railing g going all around lying the Dalada Maluwa area of the ancient kingdom of Polonnaruwa. This building has been built by king Nissanka Malla (1187-1196).

The most important feature of this building is the shape and the carvings of the stone pillars. These pillars are carved in the shape of a lotus stem and are curved in three places. The top of the pillars take form of a lotus flower. On the center is a small Stupa. The whole building is surrounded by a fence made out of stone.

Distance from Polonnaruwa – 3.1 km (6 minutes)

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya is a unique and ancient structure situated in Polonnaruwa. By definition a mandapaya is a pillared structure which is open on all four sides and has a roof which protects the person inside from the sun. Nissanka Latha Mandapaya was built by King Nissanka Malla who ruled the kingdom of Polonnaruwa from 1187 to 1196. It is located near the western entrance of the Dalada Maluva which is the area that contains the most sacred and oldest monuments of the city of Polonnaruwa.

Inside the Nissanka Latha Mandapaya

Nissanka Latha Mandapaya is built on an elevated stone platform with many stone pillars around it. At the center of the platform stands a small stupa made of stone which has been partly destroyed along with time. As per the inscriptions on a stone nearby, the Nissanka Latha Mandapaya was used by King Nissanka Malla to listen to pirith which is the chanting of Buddhist scriptures.

Fa Hien Cave

LOCATED IN THE VILLAGE OF Yatagampitiya in Sri Lanka, Fa-Hien Lena (also known as Pahiyangala Cave) is the largest cave on the island, and one of the largest natural rock formations in all of Asia. The cave was also the site of a remarkable archaeological discovery that dug up human skulls dating back about 37,000 years—the remains of one of the region’s oldest prehistoric human settlements.

Surrounded by tropical greens, the mammoth cave measures 200 feet long, with an entrance 175 feet high and 160 feet wide, and sits 400 feet above sea level. There are areas inside the cave which are over 400 feet high. As archaeological research is still being conducted, many of the cave’s natural tunnels have been blocked. Aside from research, the cave is also the home of a Buddhist temple. A local monk used a heavy stone tool to clear the cave entrance and level the ground. Visitors to the cave are greeted by the temple’s 40 foot long reclining Buddha statue.

Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic

Sri Dalada Maligawa (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව) or The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic is a Buddhist temple in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex which houses the Relic of the tooth of Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese kings and is a UNESCO world heritage site partly due to the temple. The temple which houses the Sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha is one of the holiest shrines in the entire Buddhist world.

History

The Sacred Tooth of Lord Gautama Buddha is preserved in Kalinga, India.The Kalinga king Guhasiva in the 4th century AD sends the tooth relic to Sri Lanka with Prince Danta and Princess Hemamala in order to prevent its possession by his enemies who made war.The tooth relic is received by the then King Meghavanna in Anuradhapura and enshrined in a 3rd century holy edifice.

The tooth relic became a symbol of status denoting the right to ascend the throne, and later kings in the kingdoms of Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Dambadeniya built temples for the relic close to the royal residences.In the era of the Kotte Kingdom, the temple of the tooth was situated in the toyal city – Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte.

With the rise of the Kingdom of Kandy the Tooth of Lord Buddha was brought to the city, where it was housed in a two story building by the King Vimaladharmasuriya I. The building did not survive the ravages of time.The tooth relic was taken into hiding during the Portugese Invasion in 1603. It was brought back to Kandy by King Rajasingha II almost half a century later, and rehoused in a building identical to the former building.The current temple of the tooth was built by King Vira Parakrama Narendra Singha in the early 1700s. There was further construction on the moat and octagonal structure by the later King Sri Wickrama Rajasingha.

The Temple of the Tooth suffered damage and had to be repaired due to various civil wars in the late 20th century.

Sigiriya - Archaeological Museum

Sigiriya Museum: a visual narration of a tangible heritage of Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT 

The entrance to the Sigiriya Museum is through a brick tunnel that is designed in the same way as the archway of Water Garden of the Sigiriya Royal City Complex. Inside this newly built museum exhibits human  skeletons,  clay  objects,  tools,  jewellery,  sculptures  and  carvings,  which  were  found  from archaeological excavations  at Sigiriya and  its surrounding  area. Some are  iron and bronze objects that portray the prehistoric and historic cultural evolution in Sri Lanka. The galleries at the Museum are filled with drawings and photographs but these do not provide much technical information. These commodities  and materials  have  cultural, technological  and  archaeological value,  and provide an indication about cultural evolution in the region from Prehistoric times to the reign of King Kasyapa which extends from 10,000 yr B.P to 1,520 yr B.P.

Introduction 

The Sigiriya Museum is known to be the most attractive museum in South Asia, managed by the Central Cultural Fund of Sri Lanka. As a UNESCO world heritage site, archaeological excavations are continuing since last three decades at Sigiriya and its surroundings. Based on those  excavations  a  large  numbers  of  structures,  commodities  and  materials  of  cultural, technological and archaeological values have been explored at the Sigiriya Museum, which is established on August, 2009. The entrance to the Sigiriya Museum is through a brick tunnel that is designed in the same way as the archway of Water Garden of the Sigiriya Royal City Complex (Photo 1).  The  museum  design  is  based  on  creative  concepts  obtains  from  Sigiriya  royal  city complex.   In keeping the archaeological and environmental imperatives the museum can be seen as a building  merged with  the  forest  (Bandaranayake  2011:11). The  design  of  the  museum  was inspired by the fashionable design of Sigiriya itself. It followed the concept of Green Building with the mastery use  of water and the use of trees so that it stimulates a  true experience (Photo 2).  By adopting  the  eco-focused  design  concept,  the  Sigiriya  museum  has  not  only  become  a contemporary “Green  Building”  in  vogue  but  also  successfully  conserve the  archaeological material found from Sigiriya site and its surroundings (Ellepola 2009: 2). Also the museum is active with temporary exhibitions and various kind of indigenous activities.  

Among the museum exhibits human skeletons, clay objects, tools, jewellery, iron and bronze objects, sculptures and carvings are very valuable things. The most significant artifacts are „an  iron  melting  kiln‟  and  „a  purple  colour embedded  gold  earring‟.  The galleries  at  the Museum are filled with drawings and photographs but these do not provide much technical information.

Among the museum exhibits human skeletons, clay objects, tools, jewellery, iron and bronze objects, sculptures and carvings are very valuable things. The most significant artifacts are „an  iron  melting  kiln‟  and  „a  purple  colour embedded  gold  earring‟.  The galleries  at  the Museum are filled with drawings and photographs but these do not provide much technical information.         The artifacts enlighten us on the way of humans settlements distributed and evolved in and around Sigiriya; how human  beings changed  from itinerant  food gatherers and  hunters to sedentary farmers  while their settlements  changed from temporary dwellings to permanent agrarian  villages.  Likewise,  the  exhibits  at  the  Museum  educate  us  about  the  Buddhist monastic era from the Pre-Kasyapa period to the „Golden  Age‟  of  Sigiriya  which emerged during the reign of King Kasyapa. Such artifacts, commodities and materials have cultural, technological and archaeological value, and depict an indication about cultural evolution in the region from Prehistoric times to the reign of King Kasyapa which extends from 10,000 yr B.P to 1,520 yr B.P. Although, a number of disciplines come alive in the newly built Sigiriya Museum, the number of visitors is relatively low when compared to the number of arrivals to the  Sigiriya  Rock  Site.  Accordingly,  this  paper  reveals  the  courses  and  consequences responsible for the reduction of arrivals to the museum. Also this paper attempts to provide recommendations to attract more visitors to the Sigiriya Museum for visual narration of our tangible heritage.

Arrangement of the museum 

With entering the Sigiriya Museum, one has to go through a brick tunnel that was designed similarly to the archway of the Sigiriya Fortress. The floors are built so that visitors can feel the Sigiriya climb through the ascending terraces and the wide stairways. The exhibits of the museum contain two galleries as the lower floor and the upper floor.  First floor gallery has twelve thematic and chronological divisions. The entrance to the first gallery is through a brick tunnel (Photo 1) that is designed in the same way as the archway of the Sigiriya Fortress. The first division of the first gallery exhibit the objects of Geology ofSigiriya,  pre  and  protohistory  and  the  technology  of  iron  production.  Prehistoric  human skeleton (Photo 3) found from the Pothana rock shelter, which is exhibited at the museum depict C14 dating as 5500  yr B.P (Adikari 1994: 67). Likewise, the especial burial objects from Ibbankatuwa megalithic burial site (Photo 4) and the iron furnace from Alakolawewa iron production site are some of the valuable exhibits at the museum.

The second division of the museum exhibits the objects related to the early and late Buddhist monasteries  of Sigiriya  and suburb.  The special  objects  in the  gallery  are two  dolomitic marble plaques found from the stupa at Pidurangala. One of these is rare, and has carvings on both sides.    Third  division  exhibit  the  objects  related  to  the  theme  of the  “Golden  Age”  of Sigiriya. There  are exhibits of architectural ornamentations, tiles, all types of bricks, terra cotta tubing, iron nails,  hinges, struts etc. Especially, visitor can see the model of Sigiriya rock and garden in a bird eye view. Additionally there is a conjecture 3D film depicting the ancient Sigiriya palace in its glory.  Fourth  division  exhibits  Sigiri  graffiti,  the  paintings  of  boulder  garden  and  terra  cotta sculptures. Here audio strategy is used to listen to the Sigiriya graffiti. Similarly, the Fifth division is used to exhibit the artifacts related to courtly and monastic life and foreign trade. That collection contains jewelries, coins, weapons and potteries. Sassanian vessels (Photo 5), which reveal the international affairs is the attractive item at the Sigiriya museum. Withal, the sixth division includes the objects of the “hidden centuries”, and there one can see folk terra cotta objects found from Ilukwewa, Iberian door lock (Photo 6) and a headdress of a regional chieftain. Furthermore, musicological techniques are using at the Sigiriya museum especially electronic instruments for visual narration of our heritages. The upper (second) gallery is a replica of the “fresco pocket”. The targeted visitors of this gallery are the disable visitors who cannot reach to the Sigiriya rock fresco pocket. Thus, a number of disciplines come alive in the newly built Sigiriya Museum. However, the number of visitors to the museum is relatively low when compared to the number of arrivals to the Sigiriya Site. The number of local visitors to the Sigiriya Site was 392,552; 460,658;311,628  and  389,724  from  2010  to  2013  respectively.  Similarly,  foreign  visitors  at  the Museum are also low, ranging between 166,187; 204,388; 234,906 and 273,344 during the same period (Figure 1). When compared the arrivals to the Sigiriya site with the local and foreign arrivals to the Museum fluctuated from year to year. Between 2010 and 2013 all the locals who visited to the Sigiriya museum only 9.3%, 19.0%, 20.0% and 20.7% respectively. Among the foreigners, the proportion who visited the Museum during the same period was 16.11%, 9.23%, 26.54 and 29.51% respectively (Figure 2). These figures show that the lack of local and foreign visitors for the museum. Majority of the tourists gave their priority and attention to the Sigiriya Rock site. 

The museum premises have established alongside from the main pathway. This is one of the main reasons that  reduce the number of visitors  at museum. The  majority of  the  museum visitors are school children, but school children or teachers have no idea about the museum and exhibits due to lack of historical, cultural and geographical knowledge and values. Many foreign tourists are going to another destination after visiting the Sigiriya Rock site. This also happens due to lack of knowledge on museums, their exhibit materials and print makers for guides  who bring  foreigners  from different  countries.  However, a  large  number  of local visitors arrive to the rock site and the museum during the Wesak, Poson and Esala Buddhist Festival periods, while most  of the foreign arrivals  occur between September  to February each year. 

Conclusions 

National museums  provide  with exhibitions  of archaeology, nature,  art, and  industrial and social history, mainly for local and foreign visitors of any country. As a World Heritage site Sigiriya  Rock and  its surroundings  supply  an  archaeological  wonder of  Sri  Lankan  City Planning, Arts, Gardenscaping, Engineering, Hydraulic Technology and Defense of the 5th Century  AD. Following  such  activities,  the  Sigiriya museum  is  an important  monument, which exhibits the archaeological heritage and traditional folk heritage.   

There are many activities and promotional programmes undertaken to increase the arrivals of tourist at the Sigiriya museum. Thus various temporary exhibitions based on heritage of folk culture,  cultural  shows,  visitor  activities  are  going  on  through  the  permanent  museum exhibition.  As  a  result  of  those  kinds  of activities,  museum  is  receiving  positive  visitor comments,  yet  it  is unable  to increase  the head  count of  visitors  attending the  museum.. Therefore,  to  overcome  this  issue,  well developed  awareness  programmes,  guide  papers, instructions for  guides and booklets for  school children, teachers as well as for locals and foreigners are necessary.

The entrance to the Sigiriya Museum is through a brick tunnel that is designed in the same way as the

archway of Water Garden of the Sigiriya Royal City Complex. Inside this newly built museum exhibits

human skeletons, clay objects, tools, jewellery, sculptures and carvings, which were found from

archaeological excavations at Sigiriya and its surrounding area. Some are iron and bronze objects

that portray the prehistoric and historic cultural evolution in Sri Lanka. The galleries at the Museum

are filled with drawings and photographs but these do not provide much technical information. These

commodities and materials have cultural, technological and archaeological value, and provide an

indication about cultural evolution in the region from Prehistoric times to the reign of King Kasyapa

which extends from 10,000 yr B.P to 1,520 yr B.P.

The entrance to the Sigiriya Museum is through a brick tunnel that is designed in the same way as the

archway of Water Garden of the Sigiriya Royal City Complex. Inside this newly built museum exhibits

human skeletons, clay objects, tools, jewellery, sculptures and carvings, which were found from

archaeological excavations at Sigiriya and its surrounding area. Some are iron and bronze objects

that portray the prehistoric and historic cultural evolution in Sri Lanka. The galleries at the Museum

are filled with drawings and photographs but these do not provide much technical information. These

commodities and materials have cultural, technological and archaeological value, and provide an

indication about cultural evolution in the region from Prehistoric times to the reign of King Kasyapa

which extends from 10,000 yr B.P to 1,520 yr B.P.

The Summit

Covering an area of around 1.6 hectares, the remains of the foundations show that the summit would have been completely covered with buildings. The design, layout and magnificent views that it still enjoys to this day, suggest Sigiriya would have been more of a royal palace of pleasure than a fortress. A pond scooped out of solid rock measuring 27m x 21m, looks like a modern rooftop pool. A smooth slab of flat stone, often referred to as the kings stone throne, faces the rising sun.

Lion Platform

The Northern end of the rock the pathway emerges to a platform, from which the rock derives its name Sigiriya (the Lion Rock). At one time a gigantic brick lion sat at the end of the rock, and the final ascent to the summit was between the lions paws and into it's mouth! Today the lion has disappeared, only the paws and the first steps are visible.

The Mirror Wall with Graffiti

Beyond the fresco gallery, the pathway circles the the sheer face of the rock, and is protected by a 3m high wall. This wall was coated with a mirror-smooth glaze, in which visitors over 1000 years ago noted their impressions of the women in the gallery above. The graffiti was mostly inscribed between the 7th and 11th Century AD. 685 of them have been deciphered and published. The graffiti are a great source for the scholars to study the development of the Sinhala language and script.

The Healer and the drug pusher

The medicine you take can kill you

The Healer and the Drug Pusher
Daya Dissanayake.
ISBN 0-595-13700-8.

Say no to drugs. Not just narcotics, but all drugs sold as Western Medicine. That is what the young girl Bhanu tells her father who is marketing pharmaceuticals. Her friend, Suneeta is dying in a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from the effects of a drug manufactured by a Multinational company. Bhanu is a Tamil. Suneeta is a Sinhala. The time is the end of the 20th century. Could Suneeta's life be saved by going back to our ancient medical science?

Mitra is a Persian sailor who is cast ashore in the North of Sri Lanka. His life is saved by the Tamil villagers and treated at the hospital attached to the Buddhist temple. His blindness is treated at an eye hospital in the South of Sri Lanka. The time is the end of the 10th century.

This is the story in the novel The Healer and The Drug Pusher, which tries to go back to our ancient healing practices and how advanced they were and questions todays developments and if they have really benefited mankind. Isn't our indigenous healthcare system more affordable, more effective and least harmful?

It is the 3rd novel by daya dissanayake, and was published by iUniverse in October 2000. The Second edition of this book has been printed by Vijitha Yapa Publishers and is available at leading Sri Lankan Bookshops.

daya dissanayake won the State Literary Award in 1998 for his historical novel kat bitha. His 2^nd book the saadhu testament which created history as the first e-novel from asia can be freely downloaded from this website. The Sinhala translation of the Healer and the Drug Pusher is also available for free download

Sigiriya is ancient places in sri lanka

Audience Hall

This is an enormous split boulder. The fallen half of the boulder is known as the Audience Hall Rock, a 5 m (16 ft) long carved throne facing a levelled square. The standing half is a water reservoir, dug into the rock - hence its name, Cistern Rock.

The Palace on the Summit

The inner palace occupies the higher western sections. The outer palace occupies the lower eastern sections and the palace gardens cover the south. They all converge on a large and lovely rock-cut pool, probably used for water storage. This 3 acre site is stupendous and the view is breathtaking with its thousands of marbled steps and walkways.

Sigiriya is ancient places in sri lanka

The Water Gardens of Sigriya

The terraced gardens slope down to the boulder gardens and then to the geometrically laid out water gardens, with running water and fountains, pools and ponds, aquatic flowers and birds, and tropical trees. The entire water garden is in a walled enclosure.

The miniature water garden was discovered not long ago. It has winding waterways, shallow reflecting pools, cobbled watercourses, marbled floors and an intricate layer of tiled roof buildings.

Adjacent to this is a central island surrounded by four L-shaped water pools. These pools appear to have been used as bathing pools. These had polished walls, flights of steps and surrounding terraces - similar to a modern-day swimming pool.

There are fountains fed by water under gravitational pressure from the artificial Sigiriya Lake. Symmetrically perforated limestone plates fashion their spouts. These fountains operate in rainy weather even today.

An octagonal pool is set at the transition point from the water gardens to the boulder gardens. It is surrounded by a wide terrace, which follows its shape. A gigantic boulder almost the height of a six-storey building shelters the pool.

Water Gardens

The beautifully and elaborately landscaped water gardens, contain a complex network of underground water distribution system, which provides water to the Royal baths, the many little moated islands & fountains, some fountains still work during the rainy season! A superb view of the Gardens could be had from halfway up the rock.

Preaching Rock

Its tiered platforms are believed to have been used by monks to deliver orations.

Cobra Hood Cave

This is thus named because of its shape. Its painted ceiling is dated back to the period of King Kasyapa (5th Century AD). It is however believed, that Buddhist monks from as early as the 3rd Century BC used this cave.

Sigiriya is ancient places in sri lanka

The Terraced Gardens

Merging with the boulder gardens are the terraced gardens, with each terrace rising above the other. Impressive brick-built staircases with limestone steps traverse the terraces, providing access to the uppermost terrace and onwards to the Sigiriya Rock itself.

The Boulder Gardens

Picturesque boulders of various sizes can be found here. These are linked together by winding pathways and paved passages, with boulder arches and limestone stairways. The honeycombed holes on these boulders are merely footings for brick and timber edifices. These boulders also have fascinating rock carvings.

Sigiriya is ancient places in sri lanka

Mirror Wall

Above the Lion's Platform and beneath the fresco pockets is a highly polished Mirror Wall. Coated with polished lime, this wall reflects like glass. Scribbled on the surface of the Mirror Wall are nearly 1,500 pieces of prose and poetry composed by the ancient visitors who flocked to Sigiriya from all over the island. These poems were written between the 7th and 13th centuries. They are said to be Sri Lanka's oldest graffiti.

Frescoes

These are one of the highlights of Sigiriya. These figures of women are depicted as rising from clouds and are known as "the cloud damsels". They are depicted in three quarter profile. Shown in three quarter profile, the paintings have striking diversity in mood and personality, face and body, clothes and make-up. Flowers are used in profusion in their hair, in baskets and in various forms. Originally, there were over 500 paintings drawn across the face of Sigiriya Rock forming a gigantic gallery of paintings. This covered an area almost twice as large as a football field. These paintings may perhaps have been the largest murals ever attempted by man. However, only 23 of these remain today.

Sigiriya was created by King Kasyapa who reigned between 477-495 AD. The summit of this almost inaccessible rock is 180 m (600 ft) above the surrounding jungle, and was the setting for a courtly paradise of elegant pavilions amid gardens and pools. The rock was transformed into a recumbent lion by the addition of a brick-built head and foreparts of which only the paws remain. The rock's natural defences were augmented by broad moats and stone perimeter walls. In the event of an enemy approach, the outer moat was built so as to flood the entire area between the two moats.