Authored by Suriya Jayalath Perera
Reviewed by Nandasiri (Nandi) Jasentuliyana, Former Deputy Director-General of the United Nations.
LOS ANGELES, 24 April 2023 (IDN) — The launch of an important new book took place during the opening ceremony of the ‘Sri Lanka in Focus’ Photographic Exhibition at the Art Gallery of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), on 22 April 2023.
The exhibition was arranged to commemorate Earth Day 2023 and the 75th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the United States.
The book on the Kingdom of Ruhuna, the Home of the Yala National Park is indeed an impressive piece of work, that has been attractively published as a coffee table book.
The author’s collection of photography is rare with some hitherto unseen and together they form a tapestry that is both pleasing to the eye and reaches for technical perfection.
The Finest Island in the World: That’s how Marco Polo, the famous explorer, described the Island on his travel accounts in 1292 AD and was one of the many famous travelers who visited the country that was called ‘The Pearl of the Indian Ocean’—now known as Sri Lanka.
The book began as a journey of exploration to seek and to record Sri Lanka’s rich and diverse fauna and flora and the rich heritage surrounding the Ruhuna (Yala) National Park and its environs.
The Author’s arduous journey over two and half years took him to sites across the region, some public and well known, others, hidden treasures from the time of the glorious days of the Ruhuna Kingdom.
During his long journey, Suriya Jayalath Perera, the Author, was able to gather evidence to piece together a realistic image of the royalty, cities, villages, and roads, most of which have given way to the ravages of time, and also the lifestyles of the populace of the Kingdom of Ruhuna.
He has vividly illustrated this glimpse into history both through the lens of his camera and the descriptive text in this publication.
In this initially written text in Sinhala for a master’s theses at the University of Kelaniya, the author has brought the reader the history and serenity of the Ruhuna Kingdom in a unique style as seen through his creative eyes as an award-winning photographer, who took a painstaking journey of discovery through an area rich in archaeological sites, some of which are rarely visited and barely known even to historians.
In doing so, he has depended on countless number of folklores within which the entire history and the geography of the region emerges. The reader will find a treasure trove of legendary stories in the author’s scholarly narration of the life and times of the Ruhuna Kingdom, the home of the Yala National Park.
The book recounts that though Sri Lanka is an Island famed from antiquity as it was referred to about 4000 years ago in the Hindu epic, the Ramayana, as the kingdom of the demon King Ravana, the national importance of the Ruhuna region began to make itself felt in 205 (BCE) when Chola invaders, led by King Elara, conquered Anuradhapura.
King Dutugamunu hailing from the Southern Kingdom of Ruhuna eventually defeated the invaders and became the greatest warrior king. His ancestors, who ruled the Ruhuna Kingdom, had established religious and royal complexes in Ruhuna resembling those of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, the historic mega cities established between the 3rd century B.C. to the 13th century C.E. The author has explored all such historical sites in his publication.
The Ruhuna National Park is said to overlie the ancient boundaries of the Kingdom of Ruhuna and is also famed in the Sinhalese historical imagination as a place of sanctity where Arahants have taken refuge in meditation.
Indeed, venturing into the area today, it is difficult not to experience a sense of sanctity and tranquility and a feeling that one has stepped into a sacred place, rich in history, as recorded by Suriya in his publication.
In addition to its historical associations, however, the Yala region was and remains home to an abundance of varied wildlife, including leopards, elephants, deer, monkeys, water buffalo, and a host of rare birds as illustrated by the stunning photography of Suriya. Yala National Park is home to the highest density population of leopards in the world.
The author illustrates how the Ruhuna Kingdom is very rich in ruins of ancient temples, caves, meditation chambers, cloisters, pulpits, stone umbrellas, inscriptions, Buddha statues, moonstones, stone pillars, dagobas and preaching halls that are scattered throughout particularly Yala and its environs.
For example, he points out that there are many caves, dagobas, stone fences and inscriptions around an area known as Akasa Chaitiya (stupa), also so known as Aligala, which belongs to the first sector of Yala as described in detail and equally well illustrated in the book you are about to see.
The irrigation civilization of Yala region signifies the creativity of the ancestors. Buthuwa Wewa and Athuru Mithuru Wewa, the tanks built to assist irrigated agricultural areas, are also locations radiating the nature’s immense beauty of the region as depicted in this publication.
It also describes how small and large lakes and tanks located around Manik Ganga and Kumbukkan Oya, and huge mountains such as Gal Kanda, which is formed in the shape of a human, add lustre to the beauty of Yala, while the ancient ruins such as the Akasa Chaitya enhances its unique charm.
The Patanangala beach, though was affected by the Tsunami, its beauty remained intact. You will see in this publication how the valley of Suduwelimulla and the fishermen’s huts along with the communities in the surrounding agricultural lands enhance the diversity of Yala.
It illustrates how the temples located around the sanctuaries of Katharagama, Nimalawa, Kudumbigala; the magnificent paintings of caves around Yala; are monuments to the richness of the civilization of the Kingdom of Ruhuna.
The tranquil environment with a high level of biodiversity adds to its richness attracting many local and foreign visitors, which bestows a responsibility on the environmentalists, so that these unique attractions can be shared with the rest of the world in years to come.
The Yala National Park, an integral part of the Kingdom of Ruhuna, also has a population with an interesting ancestry. An ancient community of Nittaewo (hairy bodied people) and Mukkarawarun (short and dagger clawed people) is said to have inhabited the area.
An account of these communities is narrated in the final pages of Suriya’s publication.
Folklore forms the basis of such accounts as much of the history and geography of the area. This publication, I believe, will serve to help preserve the ancient lore for future generations, instead of being buried under the sand with the passage of time.
The main objective of this publication however is to engage in a broad discussion about the Yala National Park, which has been designated as a World Heritage site.
The author expresses the hope that it will encourage all concerned to make every effort towards conserving those unique national treasures, with a commitment towards conserving the ancient heritage established by his ancestors and ensure that we protect it for future generations as well as thousands of local and foreign visitors that makes Yala a must destination for education and pleasure. [IDN-InDepthNews]
Image source: University of Ruhana
Visit us on Facebook and Twitter.
IDN is the flagship agency of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate.
We believe in the free flow of information. Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, except for republished articles with permission.