Dance and the Sri Lankan Tamils

Dance is the aesthetic representation of culture through movement. As one of the earliest forms of storytelling, the enduring art form embodies and immortalizes the history and traditions of its creators. Apart from Koothu, which is more of a form of drama than a form of dance, no Tamil dance form has been developed in …

Music and the Sri Lankan Tamils

Legend has it that Jaffna or Yaalpanam (யாழ்ப்பாணம்) earned its name after a blind yaal player was gifted the land by the King who was deeply impressed by his musical abilities. While the city might have been home to musical genius once upon a time, it can no longer make the same claims as the culture …

Culture and the Sri Lankan Tamils – An introduction

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, culture is: The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively. Although culture can seem ambiguous and abstract, creative and ingenious representations through the arts aid in the embodiment and personification of it. While culture can be a notoriously tricky word to define, the culture of the …

First steps

As a child of the island that is Sri Lanka, I have been on an introspective journey that has made me question the very essence of what it means to be "Sri Lankan Tamil". What is the distinctive culture of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka? What is the unique identity of the Sri Lankan …