Academic literature on the topic 'Folk music – Sri Lanka'

Music preference is being influenced by various sociological factors. This study was undertaken to investigate music preferences across five different socio-economic classes in selected urban and suburban areas of Sri Lanka. Ten music tracks representing the correspondent musical genres were selected. The single most preferred and the weighted hedonic mean score for the genres in each class were obtained as upper class: jazz, upper middle class: nature music, middle class: popular instrumental, working class: popular instrumental and poor class: rock. The interaction between socio-economic classes and genres was significant (p<0.05). Compelling associations for folk, jazz, and popular instrumental genres were found with the upper-middle class while the upper class has shown a significant association for popular instrumental music. Despite the socio-economic status, the highest preference and the highest weighted hedonic mean score were recorded with popular instrumental. Thus, understanding music preference behaviour is vital for music education and research.

There is a long tradition of folk song called Folk ballads (Kaddup padalkal) among the Sri Lankan Tamils. These songs, written by somewhat literate rural poets, are written on the paper or published as pamphlets, as small print copies. But, in their practical way, they are mostly handed over orally.When these Folk ballads (Kaddup padalkal) compose by the rural poets, they follow some rules and regulations. Linguistic regulations are the main one of them. These rules clearly distinguish oral literature from written literature. It has been generally followed that songs should be composed mainly on the basis of various verbal elements. Namely, different features follow the same repetitive methodology.Similarly, we can observe that there is more similarity in the rhythm of the songs. They have been singing their songs in certain rhythms. Thus, they have adopted the method of using oral song forms such as epic, ammānai, sinthu, kummi, thālāttu, oppāri, kavi according to the nature of the objects. Their form and music structures are mostly similar to folk songs.Moreover, a general structure has been followed to the theme of the songs.

Sri Lanka is an island in the Indian Ocean located to the south of India and separated from Indian subcontinent by a small straight. The island has been one of the major tourist attractions since antiquity. End of the protracted civil war is a blessing for the recent surge of tourist arrival and the rapid expansion of tourism facilities on the island. Although small, the island is rich in religious and cultural diversity with an immense attraction to the tourist. Buddhism is the main religion of the overwhelming majority of people even though Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are practiced side by side by several followers. The rich cultural heritage rotating around the religious practices, tolerance and beliefs ranges from historical monuments and ancient cities through meditation, yoga, folk music and dances, festivities, ceremonies and rituals. Special sites with multi-religious attractions reflect the diversity and uniqueness of a rich culture. North Central province is rich in religious and cultural resources than any other province in Sri Lanka. Only a small fraction of these vast resources has been utilized by the tourism industry so far. The promotion of the religious and cultural tourism products in the province will open new avenues for tourists as well as many people of the province.

At the most manifest level, this paper is about agricultural and agronomic terminology as found in the discourse of Tamil-speaking workers on Sri Lanka's tea plantations or tea estates, as they are called there. My use of the terms agricultural and agronomic in this context is admittedly idiosyncratic. In the tea estates of Sri Lanka, two kinds of agricultural (in the unmarked sense) terminology are in use, one belonging to managerial agriculture and the other to folk agriculture. But by and large, the tea estate is the regime of managerial agriculture. Whereas in village India, folk agriculture prevails. I call the class of terms belonging to managerial agriculture, agronomic terminology, and reserve the term “agricultural terminology” for the domain of folk agriculture. By analyzing four communicative events that I observed and recorded on tea estates in Sri Lanka, I attempt to show how these two terminological worlds interact. The nature of that interaction is such that the dominant terminology of agronomy may be seen to be deconstructed by the subdominant terminology of village agriculture.

This edition is the first issue of Dewa Ruci’s Journal, in which all articles are in English. We deliberately changed the language of publication to English to facilitate information delivery to a wider audience. We realize that English is the official language for many countries rather than other languages in this world. The number of people who have literacy awareness and need scientific information about visual and performing arts regarding the archipelago’s cultural arts is also quite large.The decision to change the language of publication to English does not mean that we do not have nationalism or are not in love with the Indonesian language. This change is necessary to foster the intensity of scientific interaction among writers who are not limited to Indonesia’s territory alone. We desire that the scientific ideas outlined in Dewa Ruci’s Journal are read by intellectual circles of the arts internationally. We also want to express our scientific greetings to art experts from countries in New Zealand, the USA, Australia, Europe, especially Britain, and other English-speaking countries such as the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Canada. Of course, a change in English will also benefit intellectuals from countries that have acquired English as a second language, such as Malaysia, Brunei, Israel, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. In essence, Dewa Ruci’s Journal editor wants to invite writers to greet the scientific community at large.We are grateful that six writers can greet the international community through their articles. The first is Tunjung Atmadi and Ika Yuni Purnama, who wrote an article entitled “Material Ergonomics on Application of Wooden Floors in the Interior of the Workspace Office.” This article discusses office interiors that are devoted to workspaces. The purpose of this study is to share knowledge about how to take advantage of space-forming elements in the interior design of a workspace by utilizing wooden floors like parquet. The focus is on choosing the use of wood by paying attention to the elements in its application. This research result has a significant meaning in the aesthetics, comfort, and safety of wooden floors in the workspace’s interior and its advantages and disadvantages.The second writer who had the opportunity to greet the Dewa Ruci Journal audience was intellectuals with diverse expertise, namely Taufiq Akbar, Dendi Pratama, Sarwanto, and Sunardi. Together they wrote an article entitled “Visual Adaptation: From Comics to Superhero Creation of Wayang.” This article discusses the fusion and mixing of wayang as a traditional culture with comics and films as contemporary culture products. This melting and mixing have given birth to new wayang creations with sources adapted from the superhero character “Avenger,” which they now call the Avenger Wayang Kreasi. According to them, Wayang Kreasi Avenger’s making maintains technical knowledge of the art of wayang kulit. It introduces young people who are not familiar with wayang kulit about the technique of carving sungging by displaying the attributes in the purwa skin for Wayang Kreasi Avenger. This creativity is an attempt to stimulate and show people’s love for the potential influence of traditional cultural heritage and its interaction with the potential of contemporary culture.The next authors are Sriyadi and RM Pramutomo, with an article entitled “Presentation Style of Bedhaya Bedhah Madiun Dance in Pura Mangkunegaran.” This article reveals a repertoire of Yogyakarta-style dance in Mangkunegaran, Surakarta, namely the Bedhaya Bedhah Madiun. The presence of this dance in Mangkunegaran occurred during the reign of Mangkunegara VII. However, the basic character of the Mangkunegaran style dance has a significant difference from the Yogyakarta style. This paper aims to examine the Bedhaya Bedhah Madiun dance’s presentation style in Mangkunegaran to determine the formation of its presentation technique. The shape of the Bedhaya Bedhah Madiun dance style in Mangkunegaran did not occur in an event but was a process. The presentation style’s formation is due to a problem in the inheritance system that has undergone significant changes. These problems arise from social, political, cultural, and economic conditions. The responses to these problems have shaped the Bedhaya Bedhah Madiun dance's distinctive features in Mangkunegaran, although not all of them have been positive.Hasbi wrote an article entitled “Sappo: Sulapa Eppa Walasuji as the Ideas of Creation Three Dimensional Painting.” This article reveals Hasbi’s creative process design in creating three-dimensional works of art, named Sappo. He got his inspiration from the ancient manuscripts written in Lontara, namely the manuscripts written in the traditional script of the Bugis-Makassar people on palm leaves, which they still keep until now. Sappo for the Bugis community is a fence that limits (surrounds, isolates) the land and houses. Sappo’s function is to protect herself, her family, and her people. Sulapa Eppa means four sides, is a mystical manifestation, the classical belief of the Bugis-Makassar people, which symbolizes the composition of the universe, wind-fire-water-earth. Walasuji is a kind of bamboo fence in rhombus rituals. Eppa Walasuji’s Sulapa is Hasbi’s concept in creating Sappo in the form of three-dimensional paintings. The idea is a symbolic expression borrowing the Lontara tradition's idiom to create a symbolic effect called Sappo.Mahdi Bahar and his friends wrote an article entitled “Transformation of Krinok to Bungo Krinok Music: The Innovation Certainty and Digital-Virtual Contribution for Cultural Advancement.” Together, they have made innovations to preserve Krinok music, one of Jambi’s traditional music themes, into new music that they call Bungo Krinok. He said that innovation is a necessity for the development of folk music. In innovating, they take advantage of digital technology. They realize this music’s existence as a cultural wealth that has great potential for developing and advancing art. The musical system, melodic contours, musical grammar, and distinctive interval patterns have formed krinok music’s character. This innovation has given birth to new music as a transformation from Jambi folk music called “Bungo Krinok” music.Finally, Luqman Wahyudi and Sri Hesti Heriwati. They both wrote an article entitled “Social Criticism About the 2019 Election Campaign on the Comic Strip Gump n Hell.” They explained that in 2019 there was an interesting phenomenon regarding the use of comic strips as a means of social criticism, especially in the Indonesian Presidential Election Campaign. The title of the comic is Gump n Hell by Errik Irwan Wibowo. The comic strip was published and viral on social media, describing the political events that took place. In this study, they took three samples of the comic strip Gump n Hell related to the moment of the 2019 election to analyze their meaning. From the results of this study, there is an implicit meaning in the comic strip of pop culture icons' use to represent political figures in the form of parodies.That is the essence of the issue of Volume 16 Number 1 (April Edition), 2021. Hopefully, the knowledge that has been present in this publication can spur the growth of visual and performing art science in international networks, both in the science of art creation and in scientific research of art in general. We hope that the development of visual and performing art science can reveal the various meanings behind various facts and phenomena of art life. Therefore, the growth of international networks is an indispensable need.Thank you.

In Sri Lanka, the various groups of Tamils are jointly the largest minority group who migrated from different places of South India and in different time periods. South Indian music is widely appreciated and learnt by both the Sinhala including by large parts of the Tamil minority spread over Sri Lanka. Although a number of Sinhala people prefer and practice North Indian music geographically, and probably culturally, they are much closer to South India than to North India. Some historical sources report that Sinhalese are descendants of North Indians who are believed to be Aryans who migrated from Persia to the Northern part of India in the 13th century and later. Therefore, some scholarly authorities believe that the Sinhalese ‘naturally’ prefer North Indian music as they also continue the suggested Aryan heritage. Nevertheless, some other sources reveal that the North Indian music was spread in Sri Lanka during the British rule with the coming of the Parsi Theatre (Bombay theatre), which largely promoted Hindustani raga-based compositions. This paper explores selected literature and opinions of some interviewees and discusses what could be the reasons for preferences of North Indian music by the Sinhalese. The interviewees were chosen according to their professional profile and willingness to participate in this research. As a result, this paper will offer insights through analysing various opinions and statements made by a number of interviewees. The research also considered some theories which may relate to the case whether Hindustani classical music is due to these reasons a dominating minority culture or a rather self-imposed musical ideology. The latter would establish an aesthetic hierarchy, which is not reflected in the cultural reality of Sri Lanka. This is a new research scrutinizing a long-term situation of performing arts education in this country taking mainly interviews as a departing point.

The culture of a community plays a major role in narrating the history and life of that particular community. This culture includes various aspects such as religion, ritual, faith, food, customs or practices as well as art and culture. Among these aspects, art is not only for entertainment; but it is also for exposing the social character and tradition of that particular community. The undeniable thing here is the factor that art forms in every country, and in every region are not only to create entertainment but also to preserve the antiquity of their existence up to now. In that respect, Vasanthan Kooththu, one of the Sri Lankan Tamil art forms, is a notable art form in that category. Even though this art form is found in Batticaloa and Jaffna areas, they have differences between each other. This study focuses on the songs of Vasanthan Kooththu performed in the Katuthavalai area of ​​Batticaloa. This type of Kooththu is an art form of tapping and dancing with two sticks in the hands; however, these sticks are also used to express the function of the meaning of the song with dance. Even though this type of Kooththu is a dance form, the greatness of the songs used in this Kooththu is significant. There are 62 types of Vasanthan poems have been in use in the Art Form performances. These have been compiled around the year 1940. These 62 genres of songs are divided into six genres and compiled, namely 'Kattiyam', 'Thoththiram', 'Sariththiram', 'Tholil', 'Vedikkai', 'Vilaiyaattu' and are still in the practice during Kooththu performance. As mentioned earlier, these Kooththu song systems emphasize the art expression of the culture of a community. The songs related to the professions or job involved in these Kooththu songs express the whole series of activities of the agricultural industry. The reason that these Kooththu songs to aim to explore only a specific industry is to be explored. It is vital to discover this factor; and this article explores about how these Kooththu songs are still in operation today as a popular form of folk music performance to describe a particular social professional life, beyond globalization trends, imposition and blends of colonization thinking. This article also explores the significance of these Kooththu songs hold, the importance they have gained in the life of people as well as the value that these Kooththu songs have even today.

Literatures have been studied orally before taking written form. History makes it clear that such songs were written during the Sanskrit period. These oral literatures shed light on the life and history of a country and its flaws and serve as a mirror that reveals the cultures, customs, and ancient thoughts of the people. Although the study of folk songs on the world stage has been in vogue for a long time, it came into practice in Tamil Nadu in the 19th century and then came into the study. However, it has not been advanced as a separate discipline in the University of Sri Lanka to date. Instead, the study of folk songs is being carried out in collaboration with the Tamil Department.In the case of Batticaloa Tamil Nadu, the close connection between India and Sri Lanka due to migration, migration and migration from ancient times can be seen from the identification of Tamils as the first and last king of Sri Lanka.Therefore, it is possible to realize that folk songs are widespread among the people of Batticaloa as there was not only Tamil Nadu connection but also Indian national connection. The songs are arranged in the form of Ritual, Rain and Famine, Lullaby, Game, love, Marriage, Family, Community, Relationship and Career, Obpari, Swing, Satire, Mother Songs.These songs explore love songs, present the feeling of love found in them, show how they fit in with the general characteristics found in the literature of Sangala Agathi and reveal aspects of the Batticaloa socio-cultural hierarchy. The gist of the song is not to give a direct meaning, but to explain its essence. They are classified as motherly songs, Fatherly songs, Leader songs, Leader songs, Friend songs, and General songs.

The purpose of the present research was to provide ideas for positive stress management in the orchestra world to help achieve high-level performances. The author developed the Orchestral Performance and Stress Survey and distributed it to 230 musicians of three orchestras that comprised full-time and part-time professional as well as community orchestra musicians. The survey sought to identify stress-causing and performance-enhancing factors in the orchestra environment. Questions on the musicians' background allowed for comparisons to identify groups with particular needs. Results show that musical training often does not include stress management training. Playing-related injuries are common. Two-thirds of full-time musicians who responded have suffered injuries that forced them to stop playing for more than one week. On average, musicians reported that stress neither detracts from, nor enhances performances. The most stressful concert types were classical concerts. Highly critical audiences are the most stressful.
School of Music

This thesis provides an in-depth account of the Low-Country, ritual, drumming tradition of Sri Lanka. Low-Country drumming is characterized by its expressive and illusive sense of timing which makes it appear to be free of beat, pulse and metre. This makes it special in respect to other drumming cultures of the world. However, the drumming of the Low-Country is marginalized, unaccepted and unexposed. Drawing on original fieldwork from the Western province of Sri Lanka, this study analyses the drumming of three distinct rituals: devol maḍuva, Kalu Kumāra samayama and graha pūjāva of Raigama, the dominant sub-tradition of the Low-Country. The thesis reveals key features of the drumming tradition, some of which are hidden. These features include the musical structure that is beneath the surface of the drumming, timing, embellishment, improvisation and performance practice. It also documents the Low-Country drum, the yak beraya, its construction and relationship to the musician. The thesis addresses some of the changes that are occurring in the contemporary ritual and argues the need for the drumming to be brought out of its ritual context, for its survival in the future. It also documents a collaborative performance between Low-Country ritual performers and musicians from New Zealand.

This research presents the role and characteristics of vocal improvisation in Sinhala folk music, the music of Sri Lanka. This study examines the vocal nuances and expressions of Sinhala folk and identifies the idiosyncratic nature of vocal improvisation and how it is applied in Sinhala folk music. Considered a dying art form by practitioners, scholars, nationals and expats interviewed during this research, Sinhala folk music is scarcely practiced yet holds the key to the nation's musical identity. This study investigates the philosophical and social influences on Sinhala folk music in a historical sense and observes its purposes and practices. The research presents an analysis of a traditional folk song Nelum Gee with respect to specific vocal improvisation and expressive techniques. The introduction gives an account of my Sri Lankan and Western cultural heritages by detailing my ancestry, migration and educational experiences which continue to inform the music making practices I am currently exploring and engaging in. Chapter 1 highlights various definitions of improvisation in several styles of music including Sinhala folk and the diverse applications of vocal improvisation that include but are not limited to ornamentation of melodies, rhythmic displacement and phrasing, scats singing and free improvisation. Chapter 2 travels through the influence of Theravada Buddhism on Sinhala folk music and its conservative outlook on the arts, the acceptance and application of drumming in various contexts and accompanying instrumentation used in Sinhala folk. Chapter 3 observes the disbanded social ranking of the Sinhalese caste system with a particular focus on the Berava caste from which traditional dancers and singers originated from. Chapter 4 addresses specific vocal nuances observed in Sinhala folk music in reference to improvisation techniques, vocal delivery styles and intonation. It also looks at Buddhist chanting styles and the application of chanting styles to contemporary music. Comparisons are drawn between Hindustani, Canartic and Sinhalese singing styles. Chapter 5 presents an overview of Sinhala folk music singing styles and contains personally transcribed and analysed examples of each category. Chapter 6 provides an in depth analysis of two transcribed excerpts from two recordings of traditional Sinhala folk song Nelum Gee. One is a studio recording and the other is a personally recorded live version of the same song, both interpreted by Sinhala folk music artist Chandrakanthi Shilpadhipathi. The excerpts have been personally transcribed and critically analysed in relation to significant contemporary vocal improvisation techniques such as rhythmic placement, melodic ornamentation, expression techniques and syllabic ornamentation techniques. The findings have been documented in music notation and various tables. The conclusion addresses the reasons Sinhala folk music is considered a dying art and the current attempts at preservation. The conclusion also presents the successes and difficulties experienced in fusing elements of Sinhala folk into Western compositions.

A presente dissertação centra-se nas relações entre música, pertença e património produzidas em torno da kaffrinha, um género de música e dança que os Burghers da Província Oriental consideram como seu património cultural. A partir de uma etnografia realizada entre as comunidades burgher de Trincomalee e Batticaloa (Província Oriental), procura situar a produção de práticas culturais, sobretudo de música e dança, nos seus principais lugares de performance e de pertença, nomeadamente em casamentos. Numa perspetiva histórica, examina algumas das implicações do colonialismo português no Sri Lanka na formação do grupo burgher e das suas expressões culturais crioulas – especialmente visível no domínio linguístico, musical, religioso e ritual – e discute o processo de caracterização do termo “burgher”, durante o período colonial holandês e britânico. Argumenta que a kaffrinha constituiu um dos principais recursos de sobrevivência da população burgher da Província Oriental, quer durante o período de governação colonial, quer após a Independência Nacional, desempenhando um papel central nas suas estratégias de reprodução cultural e social.
“The Kaffrinha of the Burghers of the Eastern Province: An Ethnography in Sri Lanka”, focuses on the relationship between music, belonging and heritage produced around kaffrinha, a genre of music and dance which the Burghers of the Eastern Province consider as their cultural heritage. Based on an ethnography carried out between the Burgher communities of Trincomalee and Batticaloa (Eastern Province), it seeks to locate the production of cultural practices, especially music and dance, in their main places of performance and belonging, namely in weddings. From a historical perspective, it examines some of the implications of Portuguese colonialism in Sri Lanka for the formation of the burgher group and its creole cultural expressions – especially visible in the linguistic, musical, religious and ritual domains – and discusses the process of characterization of the term “burgher”, during the Dutch and British colonial period. It argues that the kaffrinha articulated one of the main survival resources of the Burgher population of the Eastern Province, both during the colonial period and after National Independence, playing a central role in their strategies of cultural and social reproduction.

As indicated by archeological and literary sources, the pot drum has been a membranaphone of popular use since the Anuradhapura kingdom. It has been seen in various forms as Kumbha beraya, kala beraya, bummadiya or bimbisaka. This drum, being made out of clay in the shape of a gourd with an elongated neck or in that of a clay pot had a stretched skin of goat hide, monitor lizard hide or monkey hide. The use of these raw materials and how it brings harmony between the pottery industry and villagers in the processes of making the bummadiya is of importance. Through this research, understanding the Sri Lankan pot drum as a primary musical instrument and studying its historical and cultural aspects served as a foundation. After which, the objectives of identifying the role the pot-drum plays in sustainability were discussed. Finally, an investigation into an evolutionary stage of the pot drum in modern times, the thunpata beraya, was investigated. While this is a qualitative research, literary and archeological sources were used to collect data through discussions and field visits. The cultural texts and articles written throughout the ages on the Sri Lankan pot drum were used as secondary sources. Judgment sampling was the background behind the selection of data sources. Audio-visual methods were also used in collecting data. The human activity of using a material such as clay to express creativity in the form of music is of significance here.

This research explores how instrumental music has been used as ambient music in selected popular tourist places in Sri Lanka. The domain of the study is confined within the coastal areas in Western Province where tourism is active at present. The places of catering, fast food, and various eateries and drinks have facilitated certain ambient music which is mostly chosen purposefully to attract and to entertain the guests. There must be a certain joint feature of opinions among food entertainers on matching food taste with instrumental music. The main purpose of this study is to explore how Sri Lankan food entertainers facilitate instrumental music to attract and to entertain their guests while consuming food and other attractions. Under the given circumstances of fading large scale tourist business, local business is still flourishing. The choice of entertainment might have been changed. Also, many online possibilities were created by using ambient music. All these current changes need to be considered while analysing collected material. This short-term research is seeking answers to the following questions: How are tourist demands assessed? Who is involved in decision-making about the repertoire, presentation, and arrangement? How is quality output controlled? Which kind of feedback from various participants (audience/ musicians/ organizers) may lead to corrections? The main method is interviewing and surveying. The surveys have to be carefully created and they have to include basic elements about formal and informal music education, peer behavior, and expectations of supervising companies or institutions.

When working with Pamalka Manjitha Karunanayake in 2018, the two of us ended up recording in Cult Studios (Colombo, Sri Lanka). There, I audio-recorded Pamalka's rendering of some marvelous samples all of which showcasing his deep understanding of the raga charukeshi. Charukeshi is a highly ambivalent raga. As a result, the performance of a skilled player will always convey joy as well as grief, and oscillate between emotional qualities. On this December 4th 2018 none of us had any clue about the catastrophes that were in store. Nevertheless, I had field-recorded impressive sounds of some demolition machinery, tearing down an old building that had been used as an arts centre in Fulda, central-Germany. That was meant to gentrify the neighbourhood. I brought these somehow eerie recordings to my longtime colleague Bernie Rothauer in Salzburg to see what could be done with them in his Ôbaxé studio. Bernie loves to work with weird soundscapes. My then working title was "Making a Trance." This contribution comes as a post-workshop interview about how that music came into being.