sri-lanka-13-full-pdf-ebook.pdf

Language

GLOSSARY

naga – snake; also applies to

snake deities and spirits

nirvana – ultimate aim of

Buddhists, final release from

the cycle of existence

nuwara – city

ola – leaves of the talipot

palm; used in manuscripts

and traditional books

oruva – outrigger canoe

oya – stream or small river

Pali – the language in which

the Buddhist scriptures

were originally recorded

palmyra – tall palm tree

found in the dry northern

region

perahera – procession, usu-

ally with dancers, drummers

and elephants

pirivena – centre of learning

attached to monastery

poya – full-moon day; always

a holiday

puja – ‘respect’, offering or

prayers

rajakariya – ‘workers for the

king’, the tradition of feudal

service

Ramayana – ancient story

of Rama and Sita and their

conflict with Rawana

Rawana – ‘demon king of

Lanka’ who abducts Rama’s

beautiful wife Sita in the

Hindu epic the Ramayana

relic chamber – chamber in

a dagoba housing a relic of

the Buddha or a saint and

representing the Buddhist

concept of the cosmos

Ruhunu – ancient south-

ern centre of Sinhalese

power near Tissamaha-

rama that survived even

when Anuradhapura and

Polonnaruwa fell to Indian

invaders

samudra – large tank or

inland sea

Sangamitta – sister of

Mahinda; she brought the

sacred bodhi tree sapling

from Bodhgaya in India

sangha – the community of

Buddhist monks and nuns;

in Sri Lanka, an influential

group divided into several

nikayas (orders)

Sanskrit – ancient Indian

language, the oldest known

member of the family of

Indo-European languages

sari – traditional garment

worn by women

Sinhala – language of the

Sinhalese people

Sinhalese – majority

population of Sri Lanka;

principally Sinhala-speaking

Buddhists

Skanda – see Murugan

stupa – see dagoba

Tamils – a people of South

Indian origin, comprising the

largest minority population

in Sri Lanka; principally

Tamil-speaking Hindus

tank – artificial water-

storage lake or reservoir;

many of the tanks in Sri

Lanka are very large and

ancient

Theravada – orthodox form

of Buddhism practised in Sri

Lanka and Southeast Asia,

which is characterised by its

adherence to the Pali canon

unavakam – Tamil name

for a streetside hut; called

kadé or boutiques by the

Sinhalese

vahalkada – solid panel of

sculpture

vatadage – circular relic

house consisting of a small

central dagoba flanked by

Buddha images and encir-

cled by columns

Veddahs – original inhabit-

ants of Sri Lanka prior to the

arrival of the Sinhalese from

India; also called the Wanni-

yala-aetto

vel – trident; the god

Murugan is often depicted

carrying a vel

vihara, viharaya – Buddhist

complex, including a shrine

containing a statue of the

Buddha, a congregational

hall and a monks’ house

Wanniyala-aetto – see

Veddahs

wewa – see tank

Yala – southwest monsoon

season