12 Friday 15th February, 2008 Sitavaka Abimana: Exhibiting Regional History in Present-Day Sri Lanka n a hot Saturday morning in history, fauna and flora—even the Fig. 1 The Entrance to the Sitavaka Abimana Exhibition January, amidst the many secu- famous Saman Devale had its own (Sunanda Premasiri, Kegalle Sannas, and daughters of this region: the kingdom. The Sitavaka Hatana,the Ority checks on the streets of stall. Yet if the goal of the exhibition p33). Once when the king was travel- award-winning film director and first war poem in Sinhala literature, Colombo, we set off to Avissawella in was to instill a sense of pride among ing along the Kelani river his boat got actress, Sumithra Pieris; the famous which describes the great warrior hopes of viewing Sitavaka Abimana: the people of Sitavaka about their stuck for no apparent reason. Seeing archaeologist Deraniyagala; and Rajasinha in battle against the An Educational and Archaeological place in history this message seemed an old Pattini devale nearby, he offered Philip Gunawardena, famed for his Portuguese, was also written in this Exhibition. It had been organized by to get lost amidst the many displays. a lamp and promised to renovate the paddy lands act, who worked hard for period. the Ministry of Urban Development Possibly, the exhibition could have temple. Immediately, the boat came social justice. All were given much So, how does one create a regional and Sacred Area Development with been arranged in a more thematic free and the king happily went on his prominence through an installation of exhibition that can attract an audi- the collaboration of the Department of fashion to convey a concise narrative. way (Sabaragamuva Vamsakatha, Vol. photographs. And who ever knew that ence from beyond that region? There Archaeology, universities, and other Nevertheless, my experience at the 2, p576). At the exhibition, the Pattini the great orator and scholar is no easy answer. Narrowing the institutions. This was the first time first stall perhaps captured the expec- halamba—the ornament of the Sooriyapperuma and our very own focus of the show to a few salient that such an exhibition had been tations of the organizers. deity—the most sacred object at this Olympic medalist Susanthika points that holds the exhibition organized on the Sitavaka kingdom The first stall in the main exhibi- devale, was on display in a small glass Jayasinghe hailed from this region together—such as the birth of the (1521-1593), which at one time was the tion hall consisted of a model of the vitrine. Nearby was the Tuwakkuwa, too! colonial struggle with Rajasinghe in largest polity in Southwestern Sri center of Sitavaka, and it was interest- a small cannon, which is shot at the For the bibliophile, regional exhi- the past and the continuation of it by Lanka, extending from Mathota in the ing to see how the audience reacted. beginning of the devale’s annual pere- bitions are also a great place to add to Philip Gunawardena in the modern north and beyond Weligama in the Two little children—brother and sis- hara. Exhibitions are about seeing the one’s collection. An interesting dis- period—-could be of interest to the south. The story of the Sitavaka king- ter—were thrilled to see their town real object and I commend the organ- covery was the visual guide to the larger community. The offer of an dom begins with Mayadunne and con- reduced to a scale model. Perhaps it is izer of that stall for educating the pub- Maduwanwala Walauwa, which was authentic experience through object tinues with the unrelenting fight or site-based learning can draw mounted by his youngest son, Tikiri crowds too. Of course, to create Bandara Rajasinha, against the blockbuster shows one needs funding Portuguese to prevent the country and partnerships to tap into various from succumbing to colonial servi- audiences. Certainly, choosing a tude. (For a detailed account of this World Heritage site can promise a period, see Professor Risimon great turnout, as we saw with anoth- Amarasinghe’s The Rise and Decline of er January cultural event—the Galle the Kingdom of Sitawaka, 1998). Sadly, today even the name “Sitavaka” Literary Festival—which was at the itself is erased from daily usage, as other end of the spectrum with its the present-day town is called exorbitant prices and expatriate Avissawella. crowds. Yes, it is important to cele- When we arrived at the venue, two brate Sri Lankan English or Sri hours later, I was amazed to see the Lankan authors who write in long line of people, which wound its English, but isn’t it just as important way through the sprawling garden of to celebrate the local history and lit- the town hall out onto the streets of erature of the varied regions of Sri Avissawella. I must confess that I was Lanka? In contrast to an interna- one of the more fortunate visitors to tional literary festival, could we not the exhibition, having procured a spe- offer a literary walk with Kavi cial invitation that enabled me—some- Maduwas along the way, perhaps what to my embarrassment—to whiz based on the Savul Sandesa,which past the hundreds of people who were traces the path of the cock from patiently awaiting their turn to see The Tuwakkuwa from the Madagoda Pattini Devale The Pattini Halamba from the Madagoda Pattini Devale Sitavaka to the abode of god Sumana and learn about their local history. in Saparapura? This was a three-day exhibition Unlike in Tokyo, Chicago, or San lic about the few treasures left behind built in 1700, and is a must see for any- Francisco, what sadly strikes me running from January 10 to 12 for easier for one to relate to one’s geo- from this important period. one interested in the history of this which admission was free, and I had graphical location in a toy-like form when I walk into such regional exhi- The general notion about the region. I also stumbled across the 2nd bitions, and cultural events in the happened to come on the last day—a and to understand it from a bird’s eye- artistic production of the Sitavaka edition of Sitavaka Urumaya by style of the Galle Literary Festival, is Saturday—that probably explained the view. They were quite excited to see period is that there is “virtually no Philip Gunawardena. Initially pub- the class-based nature of the audi- huge turnout. The flags leading up to familiar features such as an old kos survival from which a judgment could lished in 1973, it was probably the first ence. Is there not a way to bring the the venue that had greeted us indicat- tree that is believed to exist from the be made” (C.R. de Silva “The Rise and time that an attempt was made to two audiences—the ordinary Sri ed that a politician had graced it with time of Sitavaka Rajasinha. All those Fall of the Kingdom of Sitavaka 1521- rehabilitate the image of the much- Lankan and the Colombo 7 elite—to his presence. In fact, the Prime who stopped at this stall, irrespective 1593” in University of Peradeniya maligned monarch Sitavaka the same informal educational space? Minister himself had opened the of age, were also glued to the short but History of Sri Lanka, vol. 2, p103). Rajasinha, and stress the importance Or is that a figment of the imagina- exhibition. As I found out later interesting video, produced by the True enough, very little art survives of Sitavaka as the centre of colonial tion? For a start, an exhibition at the though, the main attraction to ministry, which showed the archaeo- from this period due to the Portuguese resistance against the Portuguese. A Colombo National Museum on the Sitavaka Abimana lay in the multi- logical sites around their hometown. policy of plunder and proselytism. small guide to the Sitavaka Abimana history of Colombo would have the media display inside the partially con- By holding the exhibition on the The sad state of the Berendi kovil, exhibition would have been appreciat- structed two-story concrete building of weekend, the organizers seem to have patronized by both Mayadunne and ed, but lacking one, Sitavaka potential to attract both audiences. the town hall. aimed it at families so that school- Sitavaka Rajasinha, speaks to this Ranabima by Sitavaka Channa Kusal, Perhaps another project for the Inside the narrow hall were children and parents could view their tragedy. Displayed at this stall was a which describes all the ancient sites Ministry of Urban Development? around fifty stalls featuring exhibits history together. In many modern day scale model of the Berendi kovil, related to the kingdom of Sitavaka, Two hours later, I walked away ranging from the history of the museums in the US, that are an inte- which hopefully will encourage those and which I could not have easily from the Sitavaka Abimana exhibi- Sitavaka kingdom to that of the police gral part of their local community, who came to the exhibition to visit the located in a Colombo bookstore, filled tion, exhausted but excited about the bomb squad. Heads were bobbing exhibitions are carefully structured to nearby ruins of this temple to this function. In recent years, there highly commendable efforts of the about everywhere, and at times it was capture the attention of all ages, Bhairava. has been a great boom in books on the organizers and the appreciation of impossible to see past the crowd in including very young children, and Another interesting stall consisted history, archaeology, and literature of the crowds.