Hello Sri Lanka

My love affair with Sri Lanka started in late 2015 when I was planning a family vacation. At the time, my parents were in Taiwan, my brother in Canada, and my husband Derek and I were in Hong Kong. It was my job to pick a destination for us to gather and spend 10 days together. A good friend suggested that I reached out to his contact in Colombo. At the time, Sri Lanka was not on my radar—I Googled 'Sri Lanka' and was presented with stunning beaches and lush jungles, historical sites and cultural activities. After showing the images to my family, who all agreed that Sri Lanka looked like paradise on earth, I booked a trip. In the spring of 2016, I arrived in Sri Lanka with my family. We hiked up to see the Sigiriya Fortress in flip flops, took pictures of the orphaned baby elephants frolicking in the water, and swam in the shimmering turquoise Indian ocean. Derek and I thoroughly enjoyed the country but didn't think we would come back to Sri Lanka again.

Sri Lanka, known as Ceylon before its independence in 1948, is a small island in the Indian ocean, nicknamed “the teardrop of India.” Throughout history, this gem of an island abundant in natural resources has been visited by many traders and had been given many names: Taprobana by the ancient Greeks, Serendipib by the Arabs, Ceilão by the Portuguese, and Ceylon by the English. As its many names suggest, Sri Lanka played a vital part in the maritime silk road, where merchants converged from across the globe, trading goods from east to west and north and east.

Many people may not be able to identify Sri Lanka on a map, but most would be familiar with its most famous export, tea. One of the world’s most renowned tea brand, Lipton, purchased its first tea farms in the upcountry of Ceylon in 1890. Other than tea, Sri Lanka is also a significant exporter of spices, known for its high quality cinnamon, pepper, and cloves. My favourite things that come out of Sri Lanka are its gemstones. Sapphires, tourmalines, and other semi-precious stones are found in the mines of Ratnapura, in south-central Sri Lanka. Before Derek had proposed, he had asked what I wanted for my engagement ring. I asked for a blue stone that would match the colour of his eyes. He gave me a stunning Ceylonese sapphire—I had worn a piece of the island on my ring finger for over a year before stepping a foot into the country.

Due to its rich resources and tropical climate, Sri Lanka has attracted many visitors and conquerors. Since the early 16th century, Europeans had been building forts on the coastal cities of Sri Lanka in their quest to gain economic advantages in the Indian Ocean. First, the Portuguese ruled Sri Lanka (1508-1658), followed by the Dutch (1658-1796). The Portuguese and Dutch controlled the coastal cities of island, but could not conquer the mountainous jungles at the heart of the island. The British took control of the island from the Dutch in 1796, and by 1815, it had overpowered the ancient kingdom of Kandy and colonized the whole island.

To this day, Sri Lanka’s rich history as a trading post is reflected in its diverse cultures, politics, and religions. The Sinhala-speaking Buddhists are the majority though some have been converted to Christianity during colonial rule. The Tamils, from northern Sri Lanka, are the largest minority group. Most practice Hinduism though many have also been converted to Christianity by the missionaries based in Jaffna. There are also Tamils in the upcountry of Sri Lanka, who are the descendants of the Indian Tamils the British brought to Sri Lanka to work in the tea estates. The Muslims, known as the Moors and the Malays, are known to be business savvy and are Arab and Malaysian traders' descendants. The Burghers are the decedents of their European colonizers, who are predominantly Christians. Some ethnic groups are disappearing, such as the Veddas, the ancient inhabitants of Sri Lanka, and the Kaffirs, decedents of the African slaves brought to Sri Lanka by the Arab traders. The country has many ethnic groups living under harmony for majority of its existence. When the nation became independent from the British in 1948, the conflicts between political entities identified by their ethnic groups started to flare up. This led to the tragic civil war between the Sri Lankan Army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), that raged from 1983 to 2009. The war ravaged the northern part of Sri Lanka as well as the capital, Colombo. Many people, mostly Tamil civilians have been killed, or have gone missing. Many are still unaccounted for to this day.

Sri Lanka is a beautiful yet complex country filled with stories. As I imagine the people who might have owned the intricate necklaces, bangles, and brooches, I hope to unravel the fascinating and at times, mystifying, facets of Sri Lanka culture through different times.