Ruhunu and Sabaragamu netum

By KAMALIKA PIERIS

The three styles of traditional dance in existence today are Udarata natum (Kandyan dance), Pahata rata natum (Ruhunu dance) and Sabaragamuwa natum. W.B.Makuloluwa considered the Ruhunu style to be the second dance style in Sri Lanka. The ‘pahata rata’ had developed its own rituals for the gods (madu), the demons (thovil) and the planets (Bali).A unique dance style evolved within the madu and thovil rituals. This dance style is today known as ‘Ruhunu natum’. Ruhuna deserves praise for preserving its dance. It was under European rule for nearly 450 years. Ruhunu dance was included into the dance syllabus of the Government College of Fine Arts in 1962.

The Ruhunu style is best seen in the Devol Madu dances, which include the thelme dance for god Dolaha and in the Maha Sohon samayama, Sanni yakuma and Gara yakuma of the thovil rituals, where masks are used.The seven Samayam netum are performed only in Ruhunu dance. There is a great deal of dance in Gara yakuma, with its 12 Gara yakas, but performances are very rare now, says Mudiyanse Dissanayake. There are also 32 Sindu vannam which later developed into dance.The Vadiga patuna dance, which is a humorous interlude in the Suniyam kepima ritual, is also in the Ruhunu style.

Ruhunu dances are performed in a specially constructed hut and a lot of it seems to be danced in a circle. There are three schools of Ruhunu dance. The Bentara tradition at Bentara, Raigam tradition at Weligama, Matara tradition at Matara and Tangalle. The Sanni yakuma is danced in Bentara, Galle, Matara and Tangalle. Mahasohon Samayama is danced mainly in Hambantota and Matara. The Ruhunu dancer receives a rigorous training.The training differs for each ritual.

Ruhunu dance is quite different to that of Udarata. Ruhunu dance has five beats. Dom ta ga di kita. The Ruhunu yak bere is also very different in shape and sound to the Udarata geta bera. The swinging hand movements, wide, angular foot work, the distinctive drum rhythms and costumes are some of the distinguishing qualities of the Ruhunu dance, observed Makuloluwa. Ruhunu dancing looks jerky and ungainly to a person seeing it for the first time. The costumes, especially in ‘thelme,' are colourful and elaborate with much decoration and embroidery. The Vadiga patuna costume is specially arresting.

Sauris Silva(1898- 1992) was the dancer most responsible for bringing Ruhunu dance before the public. Sauris, a school principal, had danced in his father Suwanda Hennedige Konnehamy’s Thovil troupe. Sauris later added ‘Silva’ to his name. Sauris did programmes on low country dancing on Radio Ceylon, published the first book on pahata rata natum in 1965 and taught Ruhunu dance at the Government College of Fine Arts . He wrote the first syllabus for the College. He presented a performance of Ruhuna dance when the Queen visited in 1952. According to Sauris’s son, Suwanda, Pani Bharatha and Sauris Silva had formed the first ever dance troupe to tour India.Pani Bharatha wrote the ‘Sauris Silva saudama’ in 1976. Sauris Silva’s dance costumes, masks, books, yantra mantra manuscripts and Bali paintings were obtained by the Colombo Museum in 1976.(Suwanda H.J. Sugunasiri. Sunday Island. 14.10.12 p 12).

Sauris taught Ruhunu dance to his nephew, the lawyer, Chandrasena Daluwatte, who performed it whenever possible. Kalinga Obeywansa (b. 1925) had a Ruhuna dance troupe. It toured several countries such as Austria, Czechoslovakia, England, Germany, India, Korea and Russia. He had a dancing school in Colombo, where he taught various forms of Ruhunu dance to a large number of students. He published Ruhunu netum siddanta sameekshanaya in 1996.

The third dance style emerging in Sri Lanka today is the Sabaragamuwa dance. This dance style is associated with the Saman Devale, Ratnapura and the Gam madu Pattini rituals in the Sabaragamuwa region. The Sabaragamuwa tradition has two divisions, Ratnapura and Kegalle. The Ratnapura tradition is located in Bulatgama, Dodampe, Elapata, Galukagama, Galelupita, Gonagala, Hunuwela, Kalawana, Koskolawatta, Kawuduwava, Matuwagala, Palikada, Panukerapitiya, Pussella, Ratkagala and Udugala. The Kegalle tradition can be found in Alapalawela,Boyagama, Dehimaduwa, Halagiriya, Kivulpane, Kobbawela, Molagodadeevala, Matiyagane, Urapola, Werake andWekoladeniya. (Pani Bharatha charitapadanaya p 5, 10.)

Sabaragamuwa dance has movements,which are ‘distinctive to Sabaragamuwa dance only’. They are seen at their best in the Pahan maduwa. In Sabaragamuwa dance the hands are never raised above the head, instead the arm is extended backwards at an angle to the body. In the mandiya position too, the hands do not rise above chest height. Ear lobe, shoulder, elbow, knee and big toe should be in a straight line in mandiya. There is a training system which moves the pupil from easy to difficult steps.

Sabaragamuwa tradition has its own distinctive costumes,songs, drum beats and drum styles. There are 32 vannam, 32 tala and at least 27 nada mala. In ancient times, the drum used was the ‘patawa’ drum, today, it is the daula. Sabaragamuwa daula is larger than other daulas.The Udarata daula gives two separate sounds from the two sides. The Sabaragamuwa daula gives out the same sound from both ends.

Supporters of this dance style say Sabaragamu dance is the oldest of the three dancing systems in Sri Lanka. They say Kandyan dance has borrowed from Sabaragamu, not the other way round. In Sabaragamu vansa katawa ,G.V.Abeyratne says Sabaragamuwa had dances which are not found in the Udarata or pahata rata dances. When the Dalada was at Delgamuwa vihara, the perahera consisted of Sabaragamu dance. During the time of Rajasinha I Sabaragamu dance had over 200 dances in its repertoire.

The astrologer for Rajasinha I was ‘Dodampe Ganitha, he added.

The Delgoda sannas nindagama and Kukulegama Hapugoda sannas nindagama are mentioned. The author also refers to dance and drum parampara, such as Kokkowita, Nivitigala, Elapata, Kalawana parampara and those connected with the Kukulegama Ganegoda devale.But under British rule, In 1926 Sabaragamu dance was confined to the Saman devale perahera in Ratnapura. The dancing families were allowed to perform only in the Sabaragamuwa provinces, while Udarata got state recognition.

The revival of Sabaragamuwa dance seems to have started in the 1930s. Batugedera Basnayake, Gunasekera Rate Mahatmaya and E.A Delgoda had wanted the dancers to establish a Sabaragamuwa dance school . This was probably after the Udarata dancers started their schools in the 1930s. S. L. B. Kapukotuwa, Education officerfor dance and musicrecognized the 18 Sabaragamu vannam in 1934. They were written up by Ven. Kiriella Gnanavimala in 1936., Abeyratne also says that in 1936, Udarata dancers including Sederaman and Malagoda Hendrick met Sabaragamu dancers , Kavuduwave Guru, Kalawane Mudalihami and Ritivida Bandulahamiat Hirimadagama Walauwwa and together they developed new beats and rhythms.The book Sabaragamu vamsa katawa hasa photo of this group indance costume.

When the MEP government was established in 1956, Sabaragamuwa dancersmet the Minister for culture, Jayaweera Kuruppu.The Minister instructed N.Q Dias, Director, Cultural affairs to look into the position of Sabaragamuwa dance. Dias created a commission under E.A. Delgoda, President, Lanka Gandharva Sabha. The commission summoned 51 dancing families of Sabaragamuwa and issued a three part set of guidelines on Sabaragamu dance. The dancers did not like the guidelines. In 1978, when Sabaragamuwa dance became a subject in the Institute of Aesthetic Studies,a decision as to what was the authentic Sabaragamuwa tradition had to be made.They firstused the‘Delgoda guidelines’ then moved to asyllabus drawn up by Ven. Henpitagedara Gnanaseeha and Henpitagedara Gnanavasa. (Pani Bharathacharitapadanaya p 61)

W.B. Makuloluwa writing in the 1970s said he did not regard Sabaragamuwa dance as a separate dance style. He said it was a mix of Udarata and Ruhunu dance. Given its position between Udarata and Pahata rata , Sabaragamuwa had absorbed influences from both and created ‘an appealing style of dancing which is now identified as Sabaragamuwa dance’, he said.

Makuloluwa said Sabaragamuwa dance is confined to Ratnapura, he dismissed any Kegalle tradition of Sabaragamuwa dance. Iwish to make an observation as well.Sabaragamuwa was a ‘sulu disawani’ in the Udarata kingdom, not a Maha disawani. Sabaragamuwa was considered a troublesome disawani and the position of disava of Sabaragamuwa was always given to an ‘outsider’, not someone connected to the disavani. I do not think Sabaragamuwa was in a position to create an original dance style.

Udarata influences could be seen in the vannam and sawdam, said Makuloluwa. Some items are in the original form, some are variants. Ruhunu influence could be seen in the hand and foot gestures and some of the jumps in Sabaragamuwa dance.Heen talam pada, mudun talam pada, kumara pada, kalasam pada, kala paliya and sindu matraya have been taken from Ruhunu, but the execution is different. Makuloluwa ended by saying Sabaragamuwa dress is also a blend of Udarata and Ruhunu styles.

Udarata, Sabaragamuwa and Ruhunudance styles were developed in localities which were geographically adjacent to each other and shared common boundaries. The dances were therefore able to borrow from each other, very easily. Some dance sequences, such as ‘savudam hata’are found in all three styles. The Devol madu yagaya is also found in Udarata and Sabaragamuwa. Pandam, Salu, Kendi, Kalas and Kukulu Pali are danced in both Udarata and Ruhunu.Udarata and Ruhunu use the same dance terms such as ‘sat padaya, salu paliya’and the same names for ornaments, ‘silambu,gejji, narupata.’ But the Ruhunu term for the Udarata ‘pa saramba’ and ‘goda saramba’ is ‘ilangam saramba. ’Mudiyanse Dissanayake said that Sabaragamuwa dance terms were similar to those in Devol madu.

To the onlooker, the three dance forms are utterly different. The movements and costumes of the three dance styles differ. The drums are also different and so are the sounds. Udarata has geta bere, Sabaragamuwa, the daula and Ruhunu, the yak bere. "There are less obvious differences too. The basic positions of the three dances are very different. As a result, the centre of gravity and the distribution of weight when dancing is also not the same.This is summed up very neatly in the Sinhala phrase ‘pagana vidhiya venas’.

Source: www.island.lk (24/08/2016)

Hermes Saga

The first purpose built British aircraft carrier, HMS Hermes, lies on the continental shelf off Batticaloa. It was sunk by Japanese air attack during the World War II.

The ship was sailing defenselessly, having left all her aeroplanes ashore at Trincomalee when she met with the tragedy. The ten-minute attack, which sealed her fate, was spearheaded by Japanese dive-bombers flying under the command of Admiral Nagumo of the Japanese Imperial Navy. The attack ended HMS Hermes’ nearly twenty year service in the British Navy on 09^th April 1942.

The incidents that led to the ship’s sinking were regarded by then Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill as the most dangerous moment of the Second World War.

God Hermes

HMS Hermes was the ninth Royal Navy ship to be named after the Greek messenger of the gods, Hermes. The ship was laid down at Elswick and built by Armstrong-Whitworth.

Hermes had a displacement of 10,950 tons with standard load and 12,900 tons with full load. Her overall length was 598 feet. It had a beam of 70 feet at water level and 90 feet over the flight deck. Her draught was 18 feet 9 inches.

The ship was powered by Parsons geared turbines giving it a speed of 25 knots. It was built to carry 15 to 20 aircraft. The transporter cranes were fitted aft and the hangar was on the flight deck with electronic lift fitted fore and aft.

The ship’s armament consisted of six 5.5 inch guns on the main deck, four inch anti-aircraft guns and nine 2 pounder anti-aircraft guns. She was also fitted with anti-torpedo protection bulges to the hull.

The ship’s complement was to be 551 to 664.

Commissioned in 1924, Hermes served with the Atlantic Fleet as well as the Mediterranean Fleet and the China Station. She returned home in 1937 and became a training ship in 1938.

With the break of the World War II, the ship was assigned to the Home Fleet in 1939 to conduct anti-submarine patrols in the Western Approaches. She was transferred to Dakar in October to hunt down German commerce raiders and blockade runners. She also conducted patrols for Axis shipping in the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.

In February 1941, the ship supported Commonwealth forces in Italian Somaliland during the East African Campaign and in the Persian Gulf during the Anglo-Iraqi War. Hermes spent the rest of the year patrolling the Indian Ocean. After refit in South Africa between November 1941 and February 1942, she joined the Eastern Fleet in Ceylon.

With the fall of Singapore, Ceylon became a front-line British base. The Royal Navy's East Indies Station was moved to Colombo and then to Trincomalee. Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton was appointed Commander-in-Chief in Ceylon with Admiral Sir James Somerville as Commander of the British Eastern Fleet.

During March 1942 Japanese Admiral Nugumo’s Fleet prepared for a concerted attack on British shipping in the area. If Ceylon, a key British Naval Base, were to fall the Indian continent would be open to the Japanese.

In response the British made rapid plans to defend Colombo and Trincomalee, their major bases in Ceylon. Having realized the lack of equivalent power to resist, Admiral Somerville kept most of the fleet away from the Colombo and Trincomalee bases. Instead he operated from a secret base at Addu Atoll in the Maldives 600 miles from Ceylon.

The Japanese Fleet commanded by Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo consisted of the carriers Akagi, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku, and Zuikaku, the battleships Kongo, Haruna, Kirishima, and Hiei, the heavy cruisers Chikuma and Tone, a light cruiser, and eight destroyers. It was a well-trained and powerful force, with more than 300 modern combat aircraft embarked, including considerable numbers of the superb Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.

The British Eastern Fleet consisted of the modern fleet carriers Indomitable and Formidable, the small carrier Hermes, the battleships Warspite, Resolution, Ramillies, Royal Sovereign, and Revenge, the heavy cruisers Dorsetshire and Cornwall, five light cruisers, and 14 destroyers.

Acting on the intelligence received Admiral Somerville ordered his fleet to the south of Ceylon to attack the Japanese fleet when it appeared. Since there was no sign of them he decided to refuel the fleet at Addu Atoll and to send Dorestshire to Colombo for a refit and Cornwall to escort an Australian troop convoy. Hermes was dispatched to Trincomalee to form part of the planned assault on Madagascar.

Prior to Easter Sunday attack on Ceylon, Hermes was sent out from Trincomalee for safety. At 8 a.m. on Easter Day, 5^th April 1942, the raid took place on Colombo. Admiral Nagumo’s aircraft sank Dorestbire and Cornwall which were attempting to reach Admiral Somerville. For the next two days Admiral Nagumo searched for Somerville’s force which moved from south-west to north-east and evaded his patrols.

Once again Trincomalee was cleared of shipping with Hermes, the Australian destroyer Vampire and several merchantmen and auxiliary vessels moving southwards down the coast of Ceylon.

A reconnaissance plane from Haruna sighted Hermes and Vampire.  This report was intercepted at Colombo Hermes was instructed to reverse course and steam for Trincomalee where she could expect air cover. Hermes had one unusable aircraft aboard and very little anti-aircraft armament at the time of attack.

Admiral Nagumo dispatched a force of 85 bombers and nine fighters. They reached Hermes and Vampire as they were off Batticaloa beacon and, fortuitously, were about to meet the hospital ship Vita, coincidentally steaming south.

The Japanese concentrated their attention on Hermes first and dive-bombers secured forty direct hits in the space of ten minutes and the carrier sank to the bottom. Then they attacked Vampire and a direct hit broke the ship in two, sinking both parts separately.                 

The wreak of HMS Hermes now lies 3.9 nautical miles off Batticaloa at a depth ranging from 45 to 58 meters. The ship rests on her port side to the ground in an approximate South-North direction. Half of the deck is in the ground pointing the prominent starboard bilge keel upward.

The iconic Hermes, the star attraction of the dive sites in Sri Lankan waters, is one of the only two aircraft carrier wrecks in the world available for recreational diving by professionals as well as amateur divers under proper technical guidance. The ship, sprawling majestically on the sea floor off Batticaloa, is waiting in anticipation to be explored for her wealth of war history and fascinating marine life that inhabits within.