Traditional Dances of Sri Lanka

 Traditional Dances of Sri Lanka

There are thee main styles of Sri Lankan classical dance.The kandyan dancers of the hill country know as Udarata netum,the low country dance of the southern part of Sri Lanka,known as low country dance and sabaragamuwa dances,or sabaragamuwa netum.

The three classical dance practices vary in their styles of movements and motions,in the outfits worn by the performers,and in the nature of drums used to provide rhythmic sound to the dance.

The drum used in kandyan dancing is known as the "Geta Beraya",the drum low country dancing as the "Yak Beraya",and drum in sabaragamuwa dancing the "Daul Beraya".

Kandyan Dance - Geta Beraya

Low country dance - Yak Beraya

Sabaragamuwa dance - Dawl beraya

The main feature that differentiates low country dance from kandyan and sabaragamu dancing,is that only low country dancers wear masks and some low country dance styles look more bold than other two graceful dance styles, to a person seeing it for the first time 

• Kandyan Dance 

The kandyan dance is traditionally performed to drum beating only.The most common drum is the Geta Beraya,which is only used in  kandyan dance. To assist the dancer to keep rhythm a small pair of cymbals knows as the "Thalampata" is also used. The Vannam's however have lyrics that are sung in tune with the movements of the dancer. These lyrics sing about the virtues of the animal that the Vannama is depicting. This from the period of kandyan kings and today is regarded as the national dance of Sri Lanka. The costumes of kandyan dancers are striking.

• Low-Country Dance

Dancesin low country are highly ritualistic. This from of dance is performed to appease evil spirits which cause sickness and is thus called "Devil Dance".The dancers wear masks depicting many characters varied in forms of bird,demons,reptiles,etc. There are 18 main dances related to pahatharata style known as the Daha Ata Sanniya held to exorcise 18 types of diseases from the human body. The low country dances of the southern plains mostly spread in coastal areas such as Galle,Mathara,Hambanthota etc. It has two contents of Devil dance and Deity dance. Dances in low country are highly ritualistic. This from of dance is performed to appease evil spirits which causes sickness and is thus called "Devil Dance ".

• Sabaragamuwa Dance 

As Punchinilame noted,the manner in which the Sabaragamuwa dancers position the msevlves and move when thes dances are performed is a distinct factor of this dance from. The dancers never raise their hands above their heads,instead,their arms are extended backward at an angle to their bodies. On the other hand,the mandiya is a commonly used position in this dance from,like in the Kandyan and low country dances. The Sabaragamuwa tradition has its own distinctive costumes,songs,chants,drums and rhythms. In the ancient times,the drum used in accompaniment of these dances was the "Parawa Drum". These days, the dawula or dawul beraya is used. While the kandyan dancers also use the dawula in accompaniment, the dawula of the sabaragamuwa region is slightly larger than the udarata geta beraya.