Traditional Knowledge and Intangible Cultural Heritage for national unity initiated in north

Participants at the event with the Governor

A North-South exchange to facilitate an authentic link between the South and the North through the representation of traditional knowledge was held last weekend at the Northern Governor Secretariat in Jaffna under the special direction and participation of Governor for the Northern Province Jeevan Thiagarajah.

The program runs parallel with the formal initiative taken by Governor Thiagarajah to set up a platform to record, preserve and promote all forms of traditional knowledge of the Northern Province and will thereby be used to link with other parts of the country for reviving and using such knowledge innovatively for creating local solutions for national concerns.

The North-South exchange highlighting traditional knowledge was supported by the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR), initiated by Governor Thiagarajah and facilitated by the Northern Governor Secretariat. The program was conceptualised and coordinated by writer Frances Bulathsinghala who promotes the policy mainstreaming of traditional knowledge and natural and intangible heritage for a holistic peacebuilding and economic development model.

The 26 to 27 February event is to be the first step of a long-term plan to create a traditional knowledge and intangible cultural heritage focused national peacebuilding model for Sri Lanka that will prioritise country-based concerns. The South team of the North-South exchange program comprised of; the young physician (trained in both Western science and traditional medicine) who has handled pandemic time crisis Kalutharage Sampath Wedamahattaya, Aruna newspaper Editor of the magazine section Anupama Galkadawela, Southern Theatre practitioner and producer of popular Sinhala Drama ‘Suddek Oba Amathai’ Udayasiri Wickramarathna, young dramatist of the South who won the highest number of awards at last year’s drama awards festival H.P. Nilanka Nisalangal Dharmadasa, one of the few Sinhalese writing poetry in Tamil (self-taught in the language) G. Wijesekera, Hishantha Daminda Peiris who combines traditional medicine and hoteliering and Open University Mass Communication student Choolani Nawarathna who being equally proficient in Sinhala and Tamil was the translator for the event.

The North representatives included; S. Pathmanathan (Sopa), daughter of North’s legend artist Asiah Rasiah Gayathri Rasiah Sreetharan, former Director of the North Cultural Department Sujeewa Sivadas, current Director of the North Cultural Department Sivasundarasharma Rajamalikai, Provincial Ministry of Local Government, Northern Province Secretary L. Illangowan and retired former Education Secretary – North and East S. Divakalala along with writers and artists of the North. The visual recording of the event was facilitated by the Jaffna University under the direction of the Vice Chancellor Prof. Sivakolundu Srisatkunarajah and Head of the Media Studies, Dr. S. Raguram.

A key focus of the 26 February event was the introduction of the most renowned and senior most artistes of Jaffna and their works to the South, through the Sinhala representatives who took part in the exchange program. These senior writers knew Sri Lanka at a different time frame, dating back to when Sri Lanka did not know strife of the kind that the nation witnessed for 30 years, ending in 2009.

Thus, the North South Exchange marked its highlight in hosting the launch of the latest poetry book by Jaffna’s poetic icon, S. Pathmanathan (better known as Sopa) and the launch of the book version of the drama ‘Heaven with Hell’ by still living 91-year-old Jaffna based legend of Northern theatre, Kulanthai Shanmugalingam. The book ‘Vhimbam’, on the art and life of Jaffna’s foremost artist genius, Asai Rasiah was re-launched posthumously alongside an exhibition of his paintings. The art exhibition and discussion, held at the Art Gallery of the Centre for Performing Arts in Jaffna, was an emotional moment for all who knew the art dedicated to the life of Asai Rasiah.

The book by Sopa (82 years) that was launched was titled ‘Down Memory Lane’, recollecting narratives from childhood that speak of both Tamil culture and individual experiences of childhood within the North and Sri Lankan context. The drama ‘Heaven with Hell’ that was released in book form by Kulandai Shanmugalingam speaks of aspects such as migration and social mobility within Tamil society and combines philosophical aspects such as attachment and detachment and spirituality with worldly components such as family responsibility.

While the earlier mentioned books are in English, the book ‘Vhimbham’ on the life and work of Asai Rasaih is in Tamil and captures photographs painted over five decades that are of varying styles and colour and denoting the very psyche of the North, especially as he captures in portrait form almost every intellectual, scholar and artist of Jaffna. The art exhibition of Asai Rasaiah held at the Art Gallery of the Centre for Performing Arts was one of the first such exposures organised in Jaffna of a scale that included Southern visitors.

27 February marked an interaction with rural North small scale female entrepreneurs. The next follow up event is to be organised at the end of March.