Kohomba Kankariya

Dr Sarath Amunugama’s latest book turns the searchlight on the fascinating journey of one of the two mega rituals of the Sinhala people of Sri Lanka, the Kohomba Kankariya, from its origin in a rural agricultural community’s collective rite for the achievement of fertility and prosperity to high art on the metropolitan stage, both national and international. In the course of this journey, one of its components, the Ves dance, has become a proud political symbol of an assertive and sovereign nation keen to parade its art and culture on the world stage. In true anthropological fashion, this is understood not in isolation but is contextualised within the broad structure of Sinhala ritual that prominently features the other mega ritual of the system the Gammaduva ritual of the Goddess Pattini, performed for the same purpose of achieving fertility and prosperity. The book consists of three Essays the first a detailed description and analysis of a Kohomba Kankariya ritual performed at the premises of the renowned Tittapajjala family of dancers, and second, a narrative of the evolution of Kandyan dance from collective community ritual to stage performance. Both subjects are dealt with brilliantly, with the second marshalling a particularly impressive body of data that illustrate the sources that converged to constitute the consummation. The reader is provided with a feast of details hitherto little known, if at all. The third Essay presents crisp sketches of the five key contributors to the dance Chitrasena. Sn Jayana, W.B. Makuloluwa, Tittapajjala Suramba, and Nittawela Gunaya. A 15-page gallery of photographs of the dance includes some rare old pictures.

Available at Vijitha Yapa Bookshop