Culture Of Sri Lanka
Manoj Samarawickrama: Sri Lanka is a country in south Asia, which boasts of a rich cultural heritage spanning over 2500 years. This had been enriched by much other culture, especially from India. Many a kingdom that was established in ancient Sri Lanka, along with various cultural influxes from India has influenced in shaping the cultural heritage of Sri Lanka.
Inarguably the factor, which has played the lead part in contributing to the culture along with everything traditional, is the presence of Buddhism. Ancient rulers of Sri Lanka built monuments established institutions to honor the philosophy of Buddhism. In turn this led to lesser folks following the principles advocated by Buddhism en masse. This could be described as a way of life, a pattern of thinking, which led to a self-sufficient society that engaged in agriculture as the means of living.
To support agriculture an advanced irrigation system was constructed. These people pursued matters aesthetic such as dancing, music, painting, sculpting and literature in spare time. This led to the development of quaint traditional customs that are so peculiar to Sri Lanka. The concept of "Wewai Dagobai" (Wewai = Reservoir, Dagobai = A Buddhist shrine) arose from the above, establishing the links between Buddhism, culture and irrigation.
