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Culture
Elegantly
thatched farm houses
…home gardens
with multi storeyed
vegetation…
stone barricades…exotic
arecanut groves
…fascinating
rice terraces …
excellent
Toddy , juggery
and treacle…smiling
villagers…ancient
customs, traditions
and folklore…a
true bio-cultural
landscape .
The
villages in and
around knuckles
forest region form
a unique bio- cultural
landscape About
80 villagers are
located around the
buffer zone of Knuckles.
Traditional villages
such as Meemure,
Kaikawala and Galamuduna
are true models
of harmonious co-existence
of man and nature.
Until recently,
most of these remote
villages in Knuckles
remained hidden
in the forest ,due
to poor access.
This may have been
the very reason
for these villagers
to exist as true
traditional villages,
sustaining their
cultural heritage
for several centuries,
in this unique landscape
locally referred
to as ‘Dumbara
mitiyawatha ’
(Misty Valley) .
The Meemure traditional
Sinhalese village
is located in a
valley between the
two mountains of
Kalupahana and Kehelpathdoruwa
.The general village
landscape consists
of home gardens
with multi –layered
vegetation, farm-houses,
terraced rice fields
and /or chenaland,
and irrigation canals.
Several vantage
points in Knuckles
offer a breath-taking
picturesque view
of these Bio-culture
landscapes. The
traditional architecture
in these villages
depicts a unique
blend of natural
and cultural recourse.
The home gardens
in villages such
as Meemure are surrounded
by a wall of laboriously
arranged layers
of stone, forming
a barrier that is
3-4 feet in height.
The intention of
these barriers is
to protect the crops
grown in home gardens
from animals such
as wild boar, deer,
sambar, cattle and
buffalo. Narrow
lanes bordered with
neatly arranged
rock walls separate
the thatched farmhouses.
Some traditional
houses contain a
central indoor garden.
An oval-shaped Granary
built with mud and
covered with rice
straw is located
closer to the farm
house, to store
paddy. A cattle
shed is another
common structure
close to the farmhouse.
Bundles of firewood
collected from the
forest are stacked
neatly against the
wall of the farmhouse.
The mountain slopes
have been tamed
into beautifully
terraced rice fields,
which receive water
from irrigation
cannels connected
to streams. The
rice fields and
traditional home
gardens are separated
by arecanut palm
groves.
A water well could
be found at the
border of the rice
fields and home
gardens. The traditional
home gardens have
been planted
with all items of
vegetation that
is beneficial for
the house holds,
spices, medicinal
herbs, edible yams,
vegetables, fruit
trees, timber trees,
fodder plants and
ornamental plants.
In some home gardens,
pepper is cultivated
on a commercial
scale. These home
gardens depict a
natural ‘botanic
garden’, that
blends well with
the surrounding
natural forest.
The high species
richness of birds
and butterflies
in home gardens
bares direct testimony
to the latter aspect.
The general lifestyle
of villagers is
very simple. Most
of them are subsistence
farmers, involved
in the cultivation
of paddy, supplemented
with chena cultivation.
Some of them are
also involved in
plucking cardamom,
planted inside the
forest. Farming
practices are bound
with auspicious
times determined
by village astrologers.
Traditional folksongs
are an essential
element of paddy
cultivation, sung
by women during
seedling transplanting,
manual weeding and
crop harvest. Buddhism
plays a major role
in the day-to-day
lives of traditional
household in Knuckles,
which has enabled
them to appreciate,
value and pre serve
the natural heritage
of Knuckles regions
for centuries.
The villagers are
extremely
hospitable in nature,
who are always ready
to treat a visitor
with a cup of tea,
a herbal drink with
juggery, or a mug
of toddy –
an excellent local
brew made out from
the sap of the flower
of ‘Kitul’
Palm (Caryota urens).
They rely on cattle
for transporting
goods between villages
and sub-urban areas,
and this practice
is referried to
as a ‘thawalama’
(Pack Ox). In the
event of illness,
the villagers rely
on traditional ayurvedic
physicians in their
village. These ayurvedic
physicians are true
ethno –botanist,
who process a good
knowledge on plants
and their ayurvedic
properties, passed
down to them by
their predecessors.
The House-wives
of the village are
culinary experts,
who are able to
prepare several
types of traditional
sweet meats and
curry dishes. The
sweet meats are
made using three
major ingredients
– rice flour,
coconut and ‘Kitul’
Honey and such sweet
form an essential
item of festive
occasions in the
village.
On such festive
occasions, traditional
dance troupes entertain
the villagers with
a splendid performance.
The elders in the
isolated villages
have ensured the
preservations of
ancient customs
/rituals, traditions,
folksongs and folklore
past on to them
by their ancestors.
The trashing grounds
of the rice fields,
commonly referred
to as the ‘kamatha’
is the common meeting
place of the villages
who gather around
to discuss important
matters pertaining
to their village.
It is also a place
where ancient customs/rituals
related to rice
cultivation is performed
annually.
The traditional
villages in Knuckles
depict the rich
cultural diversity
associated with
the unique natural
landscape of Knuckles
. being isolated
from the relatively
well-developed sub-urban
and urban areas,
the rich cultural
heritage passed
down through generations
have been well preserved
in these remote
villages. With the
resent development
initiates such as
access road targeted
towards improving
the livelihoods
of local communities
in the area, sustenance
of the cultural
diversity for future
generations is a
matter of concern
for villagers who
have inhabited this
rich bio-cultural
landscape. Therefore,
those who visit
Knuckles should
not only contribute
to conserve the
rich biological
diversity of the
area, but also contribute
to sustain a rich
cultural diversity
that has been preserved
by the local communities
for centuries.
Diagrmmatic
sketch of the Knuckles
Massif showing the
main ranges and
peaks (heights in
feet) Map>>
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