Sinhala New Year Customs & Games

Everything is done at an auspicious time!!!!

                  15-04-2012

Applying oil "Hisa Thel Gama"

Daynews (2005)

This is a very special day for all Sinhalese and Tamils where their main objective is to get more life as the statement called "120 ta 220 k Aubo Wewa!!". It is advisable to anoint the juice of nuga leaves on the head at 7.08A.M. on 15th of April 2012 while standing on karanda leaves, with nuga leaves hanging over one's head. The person being annointed with oil should be facing the East, while the recommended colour of dress is in gold color. 

This very valuable activity is mostly doing in Buddhist Temples like Kaluthara Bodhi, Bellanvila, Dalada Maligawa and others where there is small village temples by a thera. The above places are famous for applying oil. If not in villages the oldest person is applying oil to the head of all who are coming at that time as figure represent in the right side. Author went to the village temple for this enviable task.

14-04-2012

Games Associated with Sinhala & Tamil New Year

The sinhala & tamil new year is looking forward about the happy and participation while sharing the expressions with each other but specially with the children because of the fun and games associated with their life. There are many traditional games people play during the festive season and more often than not they start before the dawn of the new year and continues till long after. 

The sound of crackers,nila,ahasgundu as well as the raban and joyous laughter , especially of children mingles with the melodious call of the koel during the season.

Like all the age-old rituals connected with the New Year there are also traditional games played at the "Avurudu Ulela". Some of them are very different than the games we play at other times  and at this season Sinhalese are saying good bye to cricket, netball, football. Pancha keliya, onchili pedeema, kalagedi sellama, olinda keliya and porapol geheema, mallawa pora, ali pora, gon pora, lanupora addima, rilapeti pedima, dadu gasimaare some of the games played during the New Year. These games bring fun and joy to our lives and at the same time, teach us a valuable lesson about team spirit too. 

1. Pancha Keiya

This is a very popular game among Sinhaleese. Pancha is played with five small seashells, a coconut shell, and a chart. Players are divided into two groups. 

Associationklz.sitew (2012)

Daynews (2005)

2. Onchili pedeema

Author (2007)

This is famous among the the women/ girls where the swing is tied on a strong branch of a tree in the garden. Sometimes when swinging, there are two on the swing and one on the ground pushing the swing and they sing special verses known as onchili waram, which are known as ‘varang kavi .

According to Infolanka (2012), the kathru onchilla (great wheel) was introduced by the foreigners. This wheel like structure was put into motion going round and round by a person who actually walked in step inside the wheel to turn it round anti clockwise. This  can be see in villages. But some get frightened to go in this kathru onchillava.

3. Kanamutti bideema

Author (2012)

This can be seen in the Avrudu Ulela. The person who hits to the pot is closing the eyes by a cloth and there are few pots hanging on a rob. In one pot there is special something like flowers, colour water etc. If the participant hit to the correct pot he/she will be the winner.

4. Puting the eye to the elephant

This is a very joyful activity where small ones like to put the eye on a image of an elephant. Most of them are putting it on the tail or stomach but at last a one will be able to put the eye at the correct place. 

Author (2012)

  

5. Olida Keliya "Olinda thibenne koi koi dese, Olinda thibennebangali dese....... Genth handanne koi koi dese, Genth handanne sinhala dese..."  Sundaytimes (2011) Olinda Keliya is know as Mancala game uses a wooden board (olinda kolombuwa/poruwa) which has several holes. Normally played by 2 players where 9 holes are placed 4 beads each.Olinda seed's sting behind bright red and black.Players shift the beads from a hole to the other and collect seeds found in the hole quickly after an empty one. When the most seeds collected person becomes the winner of this game. 16-04-2012 Author (2010) 6. Climbing the greased pole This can be done after having a Nestomolte/ Laogi tea as this is very interesting and hard activity. But at the end there will be a winner who picks the flag from that grased pole. Some avrudu ulelas are doing this individually/ grouply.  7. Beating the rabana "Dontha babakkata denna deyakna Pettagamak uda thutu dekak atha" The bench rabana which is used for raban playing is a large one, which is supported on 4 wooden legs about a foot in height. The players, mainly woman, about 4 in number, sit around the rabana and play in unison, using their hands, as well as the head etc to make interest among the audience. Very often the players sing raban pada which indicate the beat that has to be played.This is taken place in each and every raban competition. There are   men too who take part in this by playing the drums. The drum is heated before the session begins,so that it will give a melodious tone when beaten.There were women and men who have been taken part in this activity in the 2012 Sooryamangalya in Kaluthara. And also the small children are willing to play the rabana to different raban pada.

8. Balloon

Author (2008)

This is common to the children age between 8- 12 years. This is bringing interest to the audience and in the noon this is bring the winners easily.




9. Bun
The bun are hanging on a thread where the participants have to eat them without touching from there hands. Its little bit danger with the teeth too. 

Author (2008)

10. Bicycle

This is held for both parties female and male which is mostly sponsored by DSI for the sooryamangalya with the bicycles/ Tyre. And partisipants are given a particular millage where they have to cover the area by riding the bicycle. 

Author (2011)

11.Porapol geheema

This involves two teams, each taking turns to throw a coconut until all the nuts on one side are broken. The winning nut will be kept in the temple. This game is very famous in the southern part of the country, especially in Matara and Devundara. During ancient times, only king coconuts were used, but nowadays with the demand and price of the king coconuts,the coconuts are used. The popular belief is that the origin of this game dates beyond the advent as a gift from the Buddhism.

Sundayobserver (2011)

Hook Tagging (Angkeliya) and Coconut Striking (Pora Pol) are two games that have religious overtones. These are starting with the blessings of Goddess Pattini and usually held when infectious diseases are around or when there is a longer drought in the area. The village is divided into two sections along a water way/some natural boundary and naming the 2 teams as ‘Yati Pila’ and ‘Udu Pila’. In Pora Pol two types of coconuts are needed one in the shape of a Rugger ball and having a very hard shell, the other a normal round one. A coconut is thrown at a contestant in the opposite side. The ultimate winning side is the one that has least number of chipped nuts.

Ang Keliya is ritualistic game to invoke the blessings of Goddess Pattini. The origin of this was a tussle between Pattini and Palanga, when they were plucking Sapu flowers. The two hooks got entangled and when they tugged, Palanga’s hook gave way and Pattini won.

Gudu Keliya is another game played mostly by the smaller children. A propelling stick about two and a half feet long and a smaller one about six inches in length called the kuttiya are used.These games go on for 7 days at the end of which there is a Gam Maduwa (a ritual dance performance) and an alms giving on the next day which the whole village partakes, without any sort of class or creed distinction. In the evening there is further dancing and sometimes even fire walking.

Many new items such as Beauty Queen Contests, Fancy dress competitions, pillow fighting, various kinds of races such as bicycle, lime and spoon, sack, three legged etc are included. To give the festivities a national flavor and also to attract adults, competitions in coconut scraping, weaving of coconut fronds, reciting verses etc. have also been added.

According to author, throughout the Sinhala and Tamil New Year when the performance of various activities connected with auspicious times have been successfully concluded, it is time for festivities and games. What is special here is that very frequently, the whole family joins in. Under normal conditions, during the year, the parents have no time to join their children, playing games. The father is at job, so is the mother, if not outside the house, at least within it, attending to the various household responsibilities. But New Year changes this pattern.

And so, most of the Sinhalese and Tamils must be eagerly counting the days to the dawn of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year as it is one of the many festivals which brings fun for everybody to enjoy themselves by playing the  games while tasting the mouth with traditional sweet meats. 

                                                SWEET wishes 
                                         for a SWEET person 
                                                  from a SWEET living being.....
                                         for a SWEET motive
                                                   at a SWEET instance
                                         on a SWEET day 
                                                   in a SWEET year........
                                  Have a SWEET Sinhala and Tamil new year...................