1.
Glossary of vexillology
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Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
2.
Civil flag
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A civil flag is a version of the national flag that is flown by civilians on nongovernmental installations or craft. The use of flags was more common in the past to denote buildings or ships not manned by the military. In some countries, the flag is the same as the war flag or state flag but without the coat of arms, such as in the case of Spain. In others, it is an alteration of the war flag, in Scandinavia, state and war flags can be double and triple-tailed variants of the Nordic Cross flag. Many countries, particularly those with a British heritage, still have distinctive civil flags for use at sea, many based on the Red Ensign
3.
State flag
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There are two separate meanings for the term of state flag in vexillology, the flag of the government of a sovereign state and the flag of an individual subnational state. A state flag is a variant of a national flag specifically designated and restricted by law or custom to use by a government or its agencies. For this reason they are referred to as government flags. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to differentiate them from civil flags. In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by government ships such as guard vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the blue ensign, state flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organisations, these are referred to as war flags and naval ensigns. To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would be more referred to as the flag of the state of X. For this usage, see also, Flags of the Australian states and territories Flags of Brazilian states Flags of the U. S. states Flags of German states Znamierowski, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
4.
Civil ensign
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Civil ensign is the ensign used by civilian vessels to denote nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and its also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag. Some countries have civil ensigns for yachts, and even for specific yacht clubs. Most countries have one national flag and ensign for all purposes. In other countries, a distinction is made between the flag and the civil, state and naval ensigns. The civil ensigns that are different from the flag can be grouped into a number of categories. Several countries use red flags with, in most cases, either the national flag or the Union Flag in the canton. British overseas territories fly the plain Red Ensign or a Red Ensign with the colonial arms in the fly. Saudi Arabia puts its national flag in the canton of an otherwise-green flag, Ghana stopped using its Red Ensign in 2003 with the adoption of a new merchant shipping act, which made the Ghanaian flag the proper national colors for Ghana ships. Similarly, Sri Lanka stopped using its Red Ensign in 1969, several countries have civil ensigns that are very different from the national flag, for instance Malta and Luxembourg. Well-known examples are the Italian civil ensign showing the shield with the arms of the sea republics or the Polish civil ensign with the arms of Poland, most of these emblems were added to distinguish the ensign from similar flags of other countries or from other signal flags. In several countries there are two versions of the flag, a simpler one and a more elaborate one with the national arms. The simpler one is used as ensign, whereas the version with the arms is mainly used by the government. In Spain and Argentina the flag without the arms is only a variant for civil use, in El Salvador, the civil ensign also differs from the national flag in the proportions. France is a case, the overall proportion is the same. Civil and merchant ensigns Civil air ensign
5.
Blue Ensign
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The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain, or defaced with a badge or other emblem, the evolution of the Blue Ensign followed that of the Union Jack. The ensign originated in the 17th century with the St Georges cross in the canton, the Acts of Union 1707 united England and Wales with Scotland in the Kingdom of Great Britain, thus producing a new Blue Ensign with the new Union Flag in the canton. With the Act of Union 1800, Ireland joined the United Kingdom and St Patricks Cross was added to the Union Flag and, accordingly, to the cantons of all British ensigns from 1 January 1801. Prior to the reorganisation of the Royal Navy in 1864, the blue ensign had been the ensign of one of three squadrons of the Royal Navy, the Blue Squadron. The number and rank of such crew members required has varied over the years, as have the conditions required. Royal Research Ships by warrant whether manned by former Royal Navy personnel or Merchant Navy personnel, british-registered Yachts belonging to members of the following yacht clubs, Permission for yachts to wear the blue ensign was suspended during both World War I and World War II. Since 1864, the Blue Ensign is defaced with a badge or emblem, the blue ensign was approved by the British Admiralty in 1868 for use by ships owned by the Canadian government. net
6.
Ensign
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Ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern of the ship, the naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard, the European military rank of ensign, once responsible for bearing a units standard derives from it. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, liwa, derives from the command of a unit or units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is a general officer. In Arab armies, ensign is a title equivalent to a Western brigade. In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance, while this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for commonwealth and European countries, ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag used as an ensign, A civil ensign is worn by merchant. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on boats or ships instead of merchant vessels. A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, a naval ensign is used by a countrys navy. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these flags are those of Australia, New Zealand. It is also likely that the original design from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the East India Company. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in aviation in the first half of the 20th century. These may be divided into air force ensigns and civil air ensigns, in heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms. Distinguishing mark Maritime flag Znamierowski, Alfred, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
7.
Military colours, standards and guidons
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The Roman Empire also made battle standards a part of their vast armies. It was formalized in the armies of Europe in the High Middle Ages, as armies became trained and adopted set formations, each regiments ability to keep its formation was potentially critical to its, and therefore its armys, success. In the chaos of battle, not least due to the amount of dust and smoke on a battlefield, Regimental flags are generally awarded to a regiment by a head-of-State during a ceremony. They were therefore treated with reverence as they represented the honour, Colours may be inscribed with the names of battles or other symbols representing former achievements. Regiments tended to adopt colour guards, composed of experienced or élite soldiers, as a result, the capture of an enemys standard was considered as a great feat of arms. They are never capriciously destroyed – when too old to use they are replaced and then laid-up in museums, religious buildings and other places of significance to their regiment. However, in most modern armies, standing orders now call for the Colours to be destroyed if they are ever in jeopardy of being captured by the enemy. Due to the advent of modern weapons, and subsequent changes in tactics, Colours are no longer carried into battle, but continue to be used at events of formal character. The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republics military Colours of the Argentine Army, Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force are the Flag of Argentina as the National War Colour and the Unit Colour. The National War Colour is a variation of the Argentine national flag made for use, while the Unit Colour differs per service arm. Only the Regiment of Patricians uses company colors, cadet squadron colours are used by the Argentine Air Force Academy. Units of the Brazilian Armed Forces carry a stand of two Colours, differing per service, the standard of the Army measures 80 ×120 cm, white with the Army coat of arms in the centre, trimmed with gold fringe. The name of the service is inscribed in letters on a green scroll beneath the shield. Above the shield is a helmet with red and sky blue mantling. The staff is topped by a nickel-plated lance-head finial,32 cm high, ten red streamers with campaign honours inscribed in sky blue letters are also attached below the lance-head. The staff is 212 cm long, not including the lance-head and it is covered in sky blue velvet with a red spiral strip. The colour belt is 10 cm in width, covered with sky blue velvet with red velvet stripes, the Navys flag uses dark blue colours, the Air Force flag ultramarine blue. Brazilian military units also carry the flag as a National Colour
8.
Emblem of Sri Lanka
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The national emblem of Sri Lanka is used by the State of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan government in connection with the administration and government of the country. The current emblem has been in use since 1972, the emblem features a gold lion passant, holding a sword in its right fore paw in the centre on a maroon background surrounded by golden petals of a Blue Lotus the national flower of the country. This is placed on top of a traditional grain vase that sprouts sheaves of rice grains that circle the border reflecting prosperity, the crest is the Dharmachakra, symbolizing the countrys foremost place for Buddhism and just rule. Traditional Sinhalese heraldic symbols for the sun and the form the supporters. Sun and Moon, and Lion depicting Lord Buddha is given less prominence than cart wheel of English Buddhism, the Portuguese had a coat of arms for their occupied territory in Sri Lanka, around 1505–1658. It has an Elephant in the foreground with palm trees around it and it is not known when the coat of arms for the Dutch occupied territory of Sri Lanka was adopted. The coat of arms is from a manuscript dating from 1717 to 1720, the arms is very similar to the previous Portuguese one with a modified design. It show the geography of the island mountains and palm trees, with an elephant and cinnamon bales. The elephant is used because it is a used for work on the island. In front of the elephant are three bales of cinnamon, used for it was the export product at the time. Before independence, Ceylon used the coat of arms of the United Kingdom as the imperial emblem and this contained a Sri Lankan Elephant and Coconut trees and later a stupa. When Ceylon was granted independence from Britain as a dominion in 1948, a committee was named in order to create a national emblem. According to its recommendation a national emblem was adopted in 1954, the island had been a British Crown Colony since 1802. The emblem was not strictly in the tradition, however was granted by the College of Arms in 1954. It was derived from the Royal Banner of the Kandyan Kingdom and it largely reflected the Buddhist traditions of the Sinhalese people. At its center had a disk with a lion passant holding a sword in its right fore paw. Around it were the golden petals of a lily and topped with the crown ensigning the roundel is called the Ceylon crown. The crown apparently symbolised Queen Elizabeth as Head of State of Ceylon, the present emblem of was created in 1972 with the ideas and guidance of Nissanka Wijeyeratne
9.
Naval ensign
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Naval ensign is the ensign used by Navy vessels to denote nationality. It can be the same or different from the civil ensign and its also known as the war ensign. A large version of the naval ensign which is flown on a warships mast just before going into battle is called a battle ensign, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. Most countries have one national flag and ensign for all purposes. In other countries, a distinction is made between the flag and the civil, state and naval ensigns. Some naval ensign differ in shape from the flag, such as the Nordic naval ensigns which have tongues. Naval ensigns that are different from the ensign and the national flag
10.
Flag
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A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or as decoration. National flags are patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original, flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for other decorative purposes. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin word vexillum, due to the use of flags by military units, flag is also used as the name of some military units. A flag is equivalent to a brigade in Arab countries, and in Spain, in antiquity, field signs or standards were used in warfare that can be categorized as vexilloid or flag-like. During the High Middle Ages flags came to be used primarily as a device in battle. Already during the medieval period, and increasingly during the Late Middle Ages. Regimental flags for individual units became commonplace during the Early Modern period, flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals, see, International maritime signal flags. One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolize a nation or country, some national flags have been particularly inspirational to other nations, countries, or subnational entities in the design of their own flags. Some prominent examples include, The flag of Denmark, the Dannebrog, is attested in 1478, the flag of the Netherlands is the oldest tricolour. Its three colours of red, white and blue go back to Charlemagnes time, the 9th century, the coastal region of what today is the Netherlands was then known for its cloth in these colours. Maps from the early 16th century already put flags in these colours next to this region, a century before that, during the 15th century, the three colours were mentioned as the coastal signals for this area, with the three bands straight or diagonal, single or doubled. As state flag it first appeared around 1572 as the Princes Flag in orange–white–blue, soon the more famous red–white–blue began appearing, becoming the prevalent version from around 1630. Orange made a comeback during the war of the late 18th century. During World War II the pro-Nazi NSB used it, any symbolism has been added later to the three colours, although the orange comes from the House of Orange-Nassau. This use of orange comes from Nassau, which today uses orange-blue, not from Orange, however, the usual way to show the link with the House of Orange-Nassau is the orange pennant above the red-white-blue. It is said that the Dutch Tricolour has inspired many flags but most notably those of Russia, New York City, the national flag of France was designed in 1794. As a forerunner of revolution, Frances tricolour flag style has been adopted by other nations, examples, Italy, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Haiti, Romania and Mexico. The Union Flag of the United Kingdom is the most commonly used, british colonies typically flew a flag based on one of the ensigns based on this flag, and many former colonies have retained the design to acknowledge their cultural history
11.
Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia near south-east India. Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest, Sri Lankas documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II. Sri Lanka was known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon, Sri Lankas recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when the Sri Lankan military defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009. A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, in addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka is a republic and a unitary state governed by a semi-presidential system. The legislative capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, is a suburb of the capital and largest city. Along with the Maldives, Sri Lanka is one of the two countries in South Asia that are rated among high human development on the Human Development Index. In antiquity, Sri Lanka was known to travellers by a variety of names, according to the Mahavamsa, the legendary Prince Vijaya named the land Tambapanni, because his followers hands were reddened by the red soil of the area. In Hindu mythology, such as the Mahabharata, the island was referred to as Lankā, in Tamil, the island is referred to as Eelam. Ancient Greek geographers called it Taprobanā or Taprobanē from the word Tambapanni, as a British crown colony, the island was known as Ceylon, it achieved independence as the Dominion of Ceylon in 1948. The country is known in Sinhalese as Śrī Laṃkā and in Tamil as Ilaṅkai, in 1972, its formal name was changed to Free, Sovereign and Independent Republic of Sri Lanka. Later in 1978 it was changed to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, as the name Ceylon still appears in the names of a number of organisations, the Sri Lankan government announced in 2011 a plan to rename all those over which it has authority. The pre-history of Sri Lanka goes back 125,000 years, the era spans the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and early Iron Ages. Among the Paleolithic human settlements discovered in Sri Lanka, Pahiyangala and it is said that Kubera was overthrown by his demon stepbrother Ravana, the powerful emperor who built a mythical flying machine named Dandu Monara. The modern city of Wariyapola is described as Ravanas airport, early inhabitants of Sri Lanka were probably ancestors of the Vedda people, an indigenous people numbering approximately 2,500 living in modern-day Sri Lanka. According to the Mahāvamsa, a written in Pāḷi, the original inhabitants of Sri Lanka are the Yakshas and Nagas. Ancient cemeteries that were used before 600BC and other signs of advanced civilization has also discovered in Sri Lanka
12.
Sinhalese language
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Sinhalese, known natively as Sinhala, is the native language of the Sinhalese people, who make up the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, numbering about 16 million. Sinhalese is also spoken as a language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. It belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages, Sinhalese has its own writing system, the Sinhalese alphabet, which is one of the Brahmic scripts, a descendant of the ancient Indian Brahmi script closely related to the Kadamba alphabet. Sinhalese is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, Sinhalese, along with Pali, played a major role in the development of Theravada Buddhist literature. The closest relative of Sinhalese is the language of the Maldives and Minicoy Island, Sinhala is a Sanskrit term, the corresponding Middle Indo-Aryan word is Sīhala. The name is a derivation from siṃha, the Sanskrit word for lion Siṃhāla is attested as a Sanskrit name of the island of in the Bhagavata Purana, the name is sometimes glossed as abode of lions, and attributed to a supposed former abundance of lions on the island. According to the chronicle Mahavamsa, written in Pali, Prince Vijaya, in the following centuries, there was substantial immigration from Eastern India which led to an admixture of features of Eastern Prakrits. An example of an Eastern feature is the ending -e for masculine nominative singular in Sinhalese Prakrit. There are several cases of vocabulary doublets, e. g. the words mässā and mäkkā, some of the differences can be explained by the substrate influence of the parent stock of the Vedda language. Sinhalese has many words that are found in Sinhalese, or shared between Sinhalese and Vedda and not etymologically derivable from Middle or Old Indo-Aryan. Common examples are kola for leaf in Sinhala and Vedda, dola for pig in Vedda, Other common words are rera for wild duck, and gala for stones. The author of the oldest Sinhalese grammar, Sidatsangarava, written in the 13th century CE, the grammar lists naramba and kolamba as belonging to an indigenous source. Kolamba is the source of the name of the commercial capital Colombo, however, formal Sinhalese is more similar to Pali and medieval Sinhalese. g. I do not know whether it is new, as a result of centuries of colonial rule, modern Sinhalese contains some Portuguese, Dutch and English loanwords. It is now spoken by a few families in Macau and in the Macanese diaspora, Sinhalese shares many features common to other Indo-European languages. For native speakers all dialects are mutually intelligible, and they might not even realise that the differences are significant, the language of the Vedda people resembles Sinhala to a great extent, although it has a large number of words which cannot be traced to another language. The Rodiya use another dialect of Sinhalese, Rodiya used to be a caste in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka no longer recognizes castes, in Sinhalese there is distinctive diglossia, as in many languages of South Asia
13.
Tamil language
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Tamil is a Dravidian language predominantly spoken by the Tamil people of India and Sri Lanka, and also by the Tamil diaspora, Sri Lankan Moors, Burghers, Douglas, and Chindians. Tamil is a language of two countries, Singapore and Sri Lanka. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and it is also used as one of the languages of education in Malaysia, along with English, Malay and Mandarin. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in the four other South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and it is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. Tamil is one of the classical languages in the world. Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions from 500 BC have been found on Adichanallur and 2 and it has been described as the only language of contemporary India which is recognizably continuous with a classical past. The variety and quality of classical Tamil literature has led to it being described as one of the classical traditions. A recorded Tamil literature has been documented for over 2000 years, the earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, is dated from ca.300 BC – AD300. It has the oldest extant literature among other Dravidian languages, the earliest epigraphic records found on rock edicts and hero stones date from around the 3rd century BC. More than 55% of the inscriptions found by the Archaeological Survey of India are in the Tamil language. Tamil language inscriptions written in Brahmi script have been discovered in Sri Lanka, the two earliest manuscripts from India, acknowledged and registered by the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 1997 and 2005, were written in Tamil. In 1578, Portuguese Christian missionaries published a Tamil prayer book in old Tamil script named Thambiraan Vanakkam, the Tamil Lexicon, published by the University of Madras, was one of the earliest dictionaries published in the Indian languages. According to a 2001 survey, there were 1,863 newspapers published in Tamil, Tamil belongs to the southern branch of the Dravidian languages, a family of around 26 languages native to the Indian subcontinent. It is also classified as being part of a Tamil language family, the closest major relative of Tamil is Malayalam, the two began diverging around the 9th century CE. According to linguists like Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, Tamil, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian, linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the third millennium BC, possibly in the region around the lower Godavari river basin in peninsular India. The material evidence suggests that the speakers of Proto-Dravidian were of the associated with the Neolithic complexes of South India. The next phase in the reconstructed proto-history of Tamil is Proto-South Dravidian, the linguistic evidence suggests that Proto-South Dravidian was spoken around the middle of the second millennium BC, and that proto-Tamil emerged around the 3rd century BC. The earliest epigraphic attestations of Tamil are generally taken to have been shortly thereafter
14.
Kastane
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Kastane is a short traditional ceremonial/decorative single-edged sword of Sri Lanka. The scabbard is occasionally seen with a beasts head at the chape also emitting an icon or cloud pattern. Sometimes a small human face decorates the hand-guard which is a half human/half crocodile monster, the main aspect of Kastane Hilts shows the central monster accompanied by supporting minor iconic forms and the peculiar guard arrangement incorporating Buddhist style Vajra quillons. The National Museum of Colombo displays the oldest surviving makara-guard adorning a pre-kastane sword from the early Kotte kingdom, the cross and hand guards are further embellished with lavish decoration often spilling over onto the blades throat. And since artist and artisan may well have applied a broad ranging interpretation of the form, the Sendai City Museum displays the oldest surviving kastane Lion hilt which belonged to Daimyo Hasekura Tsunenaga dating from circa 1600 AD, albeit on a hybrid blade. It is likely that this is a home grown weapon though perhaps inspired by European swords brought by the Portuguese period in Ceylon or in fact imported by Muslim sea traders. The basic form being lavishly adorned so much so that it is almost impossible to designate a base pattern, though, a 16th century South Indian dagger hilt depicts what may be the basic hilt form. The blade comes in a variety of sizes and it can be straight or slightly curved. The single part of the sword that shares the characteristics is the hilt. It has two or four quillons, in the 4-quillon version the smaller two quillons are swept downwards toward the tip of the blade. In fact it is arguable if these are Quillons since they are images of the Vajra projections on the Buddhist religious axe. The pommel and the quillons are very beautiful as each of ends with a carved Iconic finial. The hilts are often encrusted with gemstones as in the eyes of Ruby stones, the scabbards of the Kastane swords are made of wood or Rhino horn and are decorated with brass, silver and/or gold. It is a testament to the skill of the traditional craftsmen operating in Sri Lankas ancient Royal Sword Workshops
15.
Maroon
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Maroon is a dark brownish red color which takes its name from the French word marron, or chestnut. The Oxford English Dictionary describes it as a crimson or claret color. In the RGB model used to create colors on computer screens and televisions, Maroon is derived from French marron, itself from the Italian marrone, from the medieval Greek maraon. The first recorded use of maroon as a name in English was in 1789. Displayed on the right is the tone of maroon that was designated as maroon in Crayola crayons beginning in 1949. It is a medium shade of maroon halfway between brown and rose. The color halfway between brown and rose is crimson, so color is also a tone of crimson. Displayed on the right is the color maroon, i. e. maroon as defined in the X11 color names. See the chart Color name clashes in the X11 color names article to see those colors which are different in HTML/CSS, displayed on the right is the web color dark red. Books In The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris, the serial killer Dr Hannibal Lecter has eyes that are described as being maroon brown, Maroon is frequently associated with Ron Weasley, a character in J. K. Rowlings Harry Potter series, though Ron tells Harry that he dislikes the color, business Maroon is the main color of the Hollister Co. logo. Maroon was the livery applied to coaching stock of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, Maroon is the signature color of the Japanese private rail company, Hankyu Railway, decided by a vote of women customers in 1923. In the 1990s, Hankyu planned an alternative color as it was developing new vehicles and that plan was called off following opposition by local residents. Government Maroon is the color associated with the historic County of Midlothian. While the declared shade of maroon is RGB 115/24/44, Queenslanders display the spirit of the state by wearing all shades of maroon at sporting, Maroon is the official color of the Socialist Party of America. Military The distinctive maroon beret has been worn by airborne forces around the world since 1942, Maroon 5 is a pop rock band. Religion Vajrayana Buddhist monks, such as the Dalai Lama, wear maroon robes, Maroon, along with golden yellow, is worn in the Philippines by Catholic devotees of the Black Nazarene, especially during its procession on 9 January. School colors Many universities, colleges, high schools and other institutions have maroon as one of their school colors
16.
Ficus religiosa
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Ficus religiosa or sacred fig is a species of fig native to the Indian subcontinent, and Indochina. It belongs to the Moraceae, the fig or mulberry family and it is also known as the bodhi tree, pippala tree, peepul tree, peepal tree or ashwattha tree. Ficus religiosa is a large dry season-deciduous or semi-evergreen tree up to 30 metres tall, the leaves are cordate in shape with a distinctive extended drip tip, they are 10–17 cm long and 8–12 cm broad, with a 6–10 cm petiole. The fruits are small figs 1–1.5 cm in diameter, the leaves of this tree move continuously even when the air around is still and no perceptible wind is blowing. This phenomenon can be explained due to the leaf stalk. However, religious minded people in Hindu/Buddhist religion attribute this movement of the leaves to the fact that devas or gods reside on these leaves, the Ficus religiosa tree is considered sacred by the followers of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, I am the Peepal tree among the trees, Narada among the sages, Chitraaratha among the Gandharvas, Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment while meditating underneath a Ficus religiosa. The site is in present-day Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India, the original tree was destroyed, and has been replaced several times. A branch of the tree was rooted in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka in 288 BCE and is known as Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. In Theravada Buddhist Southeast Asia, the massive trunk is often the site of Buddhist or animist shrines. Not all Ficus religiosa can be called a Bodhi Tree, a Bodhi Tree must be able to trace its parent to another Bodhi Tree and the line goes on until the first Bodhi Tree under which Gautama is said to have gained enlightenment. Sadhus still meditate beneath sacred fig trees, and Hindus do pradakshina around the fig tree as a mark of worship. Usually seven pradakshinas are done around the tree in the morning time chanting vriksha rajaya namah and it claimed that the 27 stars constituting 12 houses and 9 planets are specifically represented precisely by 27 trees—one for each star. The Bodhi Tree is said to represent Pushya, Plaksa is a possible Sanskrit term for Ficus religiosa. However, according to Macdonell and Keith, it denotes the wavy-leaved fig tree instead, in Hindu texts, the Plaksa tree is associated with the source of the Sarasvati River. The Skanda Purana states that the Sarasvati originates from the pot of Brahma flows from Plaksa on the Himalayas. According to Vamana Purana 32. 1-4, the Sarasvati was rising from the Plaksa tree, Plaksa Pra-sravana denotes the place where the Sarasvati appears. In the Rigveda Sutras, Plaksa Pra-sravana refers to the source of the Sarasvati. e, ashwath, পিপুল, i. e. Peepal trees are native to India and thrive in hot, humid weather
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Green
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Green is the color between blue and yellow on the spectrum of visible light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength of roughly 495–570 nm, the modern English word green comes from the Middle English and Anglo-Saxon word grene, from the same Germanic root as the words grass and grow. It is the color of living grass and leaves and as a result is the color most associated with springtime, growth, by far the largest contributor to green in nature is chlorophyll, the chemical by which plants photosynthesize and convert sunlight into chemical energy. Many creatures have adapted to their environments by taking on a green hue themselves as camouflage. Several minerals have a color, including the emerald, which is colored green by its chromium content. In surveys made in Europe and the United States, green is the color most commonly associated with nature, life, health, youth, spring, hope and envy. In Europe and the U. S. green is associated with death, sickness, or the devil. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, when the color of clothing showed the social status, green was worn by merchants, bankers. The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci wears green, showing she is not from a noble family, Green is also the traditional color of safety and permission, a green light means go ahead, a green card permits permanent residence in the United States. It is the most important color in Islam and it was the color of the banner of Muhammad, and is found in the flags of nearly all Islamic countries, and represents the lush vegetation of Paradise. It is also associated with the culture of Gaelic Ireland. Because of its association with nature, it is the color of the environmental movement, political groups advocating environmental protection and social justice describe themselves as part of the Green movement, some naming themselves Green parties. This has led to campaigns in advertising, as companies have sold green, or environmentally friendly. The word green comes from the Middle English and Old English word grene, which, like the German word grün, has the same root as the words grass and grow. It is from a Common Germanic *gronja-, which is reflected in Old Norse grænn, Old High German gruoni, ultimately from a PIE root *ghre- to grow. The first recorded use of the word as a term in Old English dates to ca. Latin with viridis also has a genuine and widely used term for green, related to virere to grow and ver spring, it gave rise to words in several Romance languages, French vert, Italian verde. Likewise the Slavic languages with zelenъ, Ancient Greek also had a term for yellowish, pale green – χλωρός, chloros, cognate with χλοερός verdant and χλόη the green of new growth
18.
Saffron (color)
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Saffron is a colour that is a tone of golden yellow resembling the colour of the tip of the saffron crocus thread, from which the spice saffron is derived. The first recorded use of saffron as a name in English was in 1200. Displayed at right is the color rajah, rajah is a bright deep tone of saffron. The National Flag of India is officially described in the Flag Code of India as follows, The colour of the top panel shall be India saffron and that of the bottom panel shall be India green. The middle panel shall be white, bearing at its centre the design of Ashoka Chakra in navy blue colour with 24 equally spaced spokes, deep saffron approximates the color of India saffron. India saffron, white and what is now called India green were chosen for the three bands, representing courage and sacrifice, peace and truth, and faith and chivalry respectively. Birds The saffron finch is a tanager from South America and is common in open and semi-open areas in lowlands outside the Amazon basin. Art The Gates is an art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The artists installed 7,503 metal gates along 23 miles of pathways in Central Park in New York City, from each gate hung a flag-shaped piece of deep saffron-colored nylon fabric. The exhibit ran from February 12,2005 through February 27,2005, ethnography Saffron-colored cloth had a history of use among the Gaelic-Irish. A saffron kilt is worn by the pipers of certain Irish regiments in the British Army, the latter garment is also worn by some Irish and Irish-American men as an item of national costume. Its color varies from a true saffron orange to a range of dull mustard, the Antrim GAA teams are nicknamed The Saffrons because of the saffron-colored kit which they play in. The Old Irish word for saffron, cróc, derives directly from the Latin Crocus sativus, in Ireland between the 14th and 17th centuries, men wore léine, a saffron-colored loose shirt that reached down to mid-thigh or the knee. Virgils Aeneid, Aurora now had left her bed, And beams of early light the heavns oerspread, When, from a towr. Music The lyrics of Donovans 1966 song, Mellow Yellow repeat the line, in India, the terms Saffronisation and Saffron Brigade are used to refer to the Hindu nationalists. The Saffron Swastika is a 2001 book by Koenraad Elst that argues against the idea that the Hindu nationalists are fascists in the Western sense of the word, religion In Sanatan Dharma, the deep saffron color is associated with sacrifice, religious abstinence, quest for light and salvation. Saffron or bhagwa is the most sacred color for the Hindus and is worn by sanyasis who have left their home in search of the ultimate truth. Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes, the Maratha Confederacy used Jari Patka as their flag
19.
Sinhalese people
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The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They constitute 75% of the Sri Lankan population and a greater than 15 million. The Sinhalese identity is based on language, historical heritage and religion, the Sinhalese people speak the Sinhalese language, an Indo-Aryan language, and are predominantly Theravada Buddhists, although a small percentage of Sinhalese follow branches of Christianity. The Sinhalese are mostly found in North central, Central, South, from the Sanskrit word Simhala, meaning literally of lions. Other Sanskrit meaning is Sinha + la, the Mahavamsa records the origin of the Sinhalese people and related historical events. It traces the origin of the Sinhalese people back to the first king of Sri Lanka, Vijaya, who is the grandson of Sinhabahu (Sanskrit meaning Sinha + bahu. King Vijaya, lineage of Sinhabahu, according to the Mahavamsa and other sources, arrived to the island of Tambapanni. The story of the arrival of Prince Vijaya to Sri Lanka, the folklore of the Sinhalese people also speaks of many royal dynasties prior to the Sinhala royal dynasties, Manu, Tharaka, Ravana Mahabalietc. Early recorded history of the Sinhalese is chronicled in two documents, the Mahavamsa, written in Pāli around the 4th century CE, and the much later Culavamsa. These are ancient sources which cover the histories of the powerful ancient Sinhalese kingdoms of Anuradhapura, the Mahavamsa describes the existence of fields of rice and reservoirs, indicating a well-developed agrarian society. Prince Vijaya and his 700 followers left Suppāraka, landed on the island at a site believed to be in the district of Chilaw, near modern-day Mannar and it is recorded the Vijaya made his landing on the day of Buddhas death. Vijaya claimed Tambapanni his capital and soon the whole island come under this name, Tambapanni was originally inhabited and governed by Yakkhas, having their capital at Sirīsavatthu and their queen Kuveni. According to the Samyutta Commentary, Tambapanni was one hundred leagues in extent, after landing in Tambapanni Vijaya met Kuveni the queen of the Yakkhas, who was disguised as a beautiful woman but was really a yakkini named Sesapathi. At the end of his reign, Vijaya, having trouble choosing a successor, sent a letter to the city of his ancestors, Sinhapura, in order to invite his brother Sumitta to take over the throne. After his coronation, which was held in the Kingdom of Tambapanni, he left it, building another one, while he was king, Upatissa established the new capital Upatissa, in which the kingdom was moved to from the Kingdom of Tambapanni. When Vijayas letter arrived, Sumitta had already succeeded his father as king of his country, Upatissa Nuwara was seven or eight miles further north of the Kingdom of Tambapanni. It was named after the regent king Upatissa, who was the minister of Vijaya, and was founded in 505 BC after the death of Vijaya. In 377 BC, King Pandukabhaya moved the capital to Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura was named after the minister who first established the village and after a grandfather of Pandukabhaya who lived there
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Sri Lankan Tamils
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Sri Lankan Tamils or Ceylon Tamils, also known as Eelam Tamils in Tamil, are members of the Tamil ethnic group native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. According to anthropological and archaeological evidence, Sri Lankan Tamils have a long history in Sri Lanka and have lived on the island since at least around the 2nd century BCE. Most modern Sri Lankan Tamils claim descent from residents of Jaffna Kingdom and they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Province, and are in the minority throughout the rest of the country. 70% of Sri Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka live in the Northern and Eastern provinces, although Sri Lankan Tamils are culturally and linguistically distinct, genetic studies indicate that they are closely related to Sinhalese ethnic group in the island. The Sri Lankan Tamils are mostly Hindus with a significant Christian population, Sri Lankan Tamil literature on topics including religion and the sciences flourished during the medieval period in the court of the Jaffna Kingdom. Since the beginning of the Sri Lankan Civil War in the 1980s, Sri Lankan Tamil dialects are noted for their archaism and retention of words not in everyday use in the Tamil Nadu state in India. Since Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain in 1948, relations between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil communities have been strained. Rising ethnic and political tensions, along with ethnic riots in 1956,1958,1977,1981 and 1983, led to the formation, the ensuing civil war resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 people and the forced disappearance of thousands of others. The civil war ended in 2009 but there are continuing allegations of atrocities being committed by the Sri Lankan Military, a United Nations panel found that as many as 40,000 civilians may have been killed in the final months of the civil war. The end of the war has not improved conditions in Sri Lanka, with press freedom not being restored. One-third of Sri Lankan Tamils now live outside Sri Lanka, there is little scholarly consensus over the presence of the Sri Lankan Tamil people in Sri Lanka, also known as Eelam in Sangam literature. Theories about Tamil peoples presence in Sri Lanka feed into the cycle of ethnic conflict, another theory states that the Sri Lankan Tamils are descendant of the Nagas, who started to assimilate to Tamil culture and language around 3rd BCE. The indigenous Veddhas are physically related to people in South India and it is not possible to ascertain what languages that they originally spoke as Vedda language is considered diverged from its original source. Tamil Brahmi and Tamil-Prakrit scripts were used to write the Tamil language during this period on the island, bearing a remarkable resemblance to burials in the Early Pandyan Kingdom, these sites were established between the 5th century BCE and 2nd century CE. Excavated ceramic sequences similar to that of Arikamedu were found in Kandarodai on the north coast, cultural similarities in burial practices in South India and Sri Lanka were dated by archaeologists to 10th century BCE. However, Indian history and archaeology have pushed the back to 15th century BCE. In Sri Lanka, there is evidence from Anuradhapura that the non-Brahmi symbol-bearing black. The skeletal remains of an Early Iron Age chief were excavated in Anaikoddai, the name Ko Veta is engraved in Brahmi script on a seal buried with the skeleton and is assigned by the excavators to the 3rd century BCE
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Muslim
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A Muslim is someone who follows or practices Islam, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion. Muslims consider the Quran, their book, to be the verbatim word of God as revealed to the Islamic prophet. They also follow the teachings and practices of Muhammad as recorded in traditional accounts, Muslim is an Arabic word meaning one who submits. Most Muslims will accept anyone who has publicly pronounced Shahadah as a Muslim, the shahadah states, There is no god but the God and Muhammad is the last messenger of the God. The testimony authorized by God in the Quran that can found in Surah 3,18 states, There is no god except God, which in Arabic, is the exact testimony which God Himself utters, as well as the angels and those who possess knowledge utter. The word muslim is the active participle of the verb of which islām is a verbal noun, based on the triliteral S-L-M to be whole. A female adherent is a muslima, the plural form in Arabic is muslimūn or muslimīn, and its feminine equivalent is muslimāt. The Arabic form muslimun is the stem IV participle of the triliteral S-L-M, the ordinary word in English is Muslim. It is sometimes transliterated as Moslem, which is an older spelling, the word Mosalman is a common equivalent for Muslim used in Central Asia. Until at least the mid-1960s, many English-language writers used the term Mohammedans or Mahometans, although such terms were not necessarily intended to be pejorative, Muslims argue that the terms are offensive because they allegedly imply that Muslims worship Muhammad rather than God. Other obsolete terms include Muslimite and Muslimist, musulmán/Mosalmán is a synonym for Muslim and is modified from Arabic. In English it was sometimes spelled Mussulman and has become archaic in usage, the Muslim philosopher Ibn Arabi said, A Muslim is a person who has dedicated his worship exclusively to God. Islam means making ones religion and faith Gods alone. The Quran states that men were Muslims because they submitted to God, preached His message and upheld His values. Thus, in Surah 3,52 of the Quran, Jesus disciples tell him, We believe in God, and you be our witness that we are Muslims. In Muslim belief, before the Quran, God had given the Tawrat to Moses, the Zabur to David and the Injil to Jesus, who are all considered important Muslim prophets. The most populous Muslim-majority country is Indonesia, home to 12. 7% of the worlds Muslims, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Egypt. About 20% of the worlds Muslims lives in the Middle East and North Africa, Sizable minorities are found in India, China, Russia, Ethiopia. The country with the highest proportion of self-described Muslims as a proportion of its population is Morocco
22.
D. S. Senanayake
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Don Stephen Senanayake, PC was the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He emerged as the leader of the Sri Lankan independence movement that led to the establishment of self-rule in Sri Lanka and he served as Prime Minister from the formation of an independent nation in 1948 until he died in office in 1952. He is considered as the Father of the Nation and he was born in the village of Botale. He was the son of Mudaliyar Don Spater Senanayake and Dona Catherina Elizabeth Perera Gunasekera Senanayake and he had two brothers, Don Charles D. C. Senanayake and Fredric Richard F. R. Senanayake, and one sister, brought up in a devout Buddhist family, he entered the prestigious Anglican school S. Thomas College, Mutwal. After completing schooling, he worked as a clerk in the Surveyor Generals Department, the three Senanayake brothers were involved in the temperance movement formed in 1912. When World War I broke out in 1914 they joined the Colombo Town Guard, the brothers were imprisoned without charges during the 1915 riots and faced the prospect of execution since the British Governor Sir Robert Chalmers considered the temperance movement as seditious. Brutal suppression of the riots by the British initiated the independence movement led by the educated middle class. Don Stephen and Don Charles were prominent members of the political party Lanka Mahajana Sabha, Fredrick Richard and Don Charles were committed supporters of the Young Mens Buddhist Association. D. S. Senanayake played a role in the independence movement. In 1924 Senanayake was elected unopposed to the Legislative Council of Ceylon from Negombo, Fredrick Richard died on a pilgrimage to Buddha Gaya in 1925 and Don Stephen assumed his leadership of the independence movement. In 1931 he was elected to the newly formed State Council of Ceylon representing the Ceylon National Congress and he effectively combated Ceylons agricultural problems and established the Land Development Ordinance, an agricultural policy to counter Ceylons rice problems. This policy earned him respect, and he continued to be a minister for fifteen years and he also enforced a productivity programme of Agricultural Modernisation. At the onset of World War II in the far east, D. S. Senanayake, as Minister of Agriculture and Lands and a member of the Ceylon war cabinet took an active role in food supply and control. A close relationship developed between Senanayake and the deputy commissioner Dr Ivor Jennings, principal of the Ceylon University College, Jennings, an expert on constitutional law, subsequently became D. Ss adviser on constitutional reforms aimed at gaining independence for the island. In December 1942, Senanayake became the Leader of the House and Vice Chairman of the Board of Ministers in the State Council, upon the retirement of Sir Baron Jayatilaka, Minister of Home Affairs. On 26 May 1943, the British Government made the Whitehall Declaration of 1943 on Ceylon constitutional change and this bypassed the Governor, who called for a commission from the colonial office to halt the activities of the ministers. In 1944, the Soulbury Commission was formed, in 1945, following Labours win in the 1945 general election, he proceeded to London and met the newly appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, George Hall
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Prince Vijaya
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Prince Vijaya was a legendary king of Sri Lanka, mentioned in the Pali chronicles, including Mahavamsa. He is the first recorded King of Sri Lanka and his reign is traditionally dated to 543–505 BCE. According to the legends, he and several hundred of his followers came to Lanka after being expelled from an Indian kingdom, in Lanka, they displaced the islands original inhabitants, established a kingdom and became ancestors of the modern Sinhalese people. Broadly, there are four versions of the legend that explains the origin of Sinhalese people. In all the versions, a prince comes to the island of Lanka, the Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa name the prince as Vijaya, while the other two legends have different names for the prince. Mahavamsa version In this version, Vijayas grandmother is a princess and she bears two children with Sinha, who keeps them in captivity in a forest. After the princess and her two children escape from the captivity, her son Sinhabahu kills Sinha, prince Vijaya is the son of the lion-killer Sinhabahu, who is the founder of a new kingdom called Sinhapura. Vijaya becomes the prince-regent of Sinhapura, but is exiled with 700 of his followers to Lanka, the Mahavamsa version of the legend contains a contradiction, it states that during an earlier visit to Lanka, the Buddha expelled all the Yakkhas of Lanka to another island called Giridipa. However, it states that Vijaya encountered Yakkhas when he landed in Lanka. Kuveni helps Vijaya destroy the Yakkha city of Sirisavatthu, and has two children with him, however, Vijaya has to marry a Kshatriya princess to be a legitimate ruler. Therefore, he marries the daughter of a Pandu king, who also sends other women as brides for Vijayas followers, Kuveni and her two children leave for the Yakkha city of Lankapura, where she is killed by the Yakkhas for betraying them. Panduvasudeva, the son of his twin brother Sumitta, arrives from India, the community established by Vijaya gives rise to the Sinhalese race. Dipavamsa version This version predates the Mahavamsa version and it is similar to the Mahavamsa version, but doesnt mention Kuveni or the South Indian princess. Xuanzangs account In Xuanzangs account, the princess abducted by the Sinha comes from South India, there is no mention of Vanga, Kalinga or Lala. She and her two children escape from Sinhas captivity to their kingdom in South India. Her son Chih-sse-tseu later kills his father Sinha and he is given a reward, but also expelled and put on a ship, for the act of parricide. He lands on Ratnadeepa, and settles there and he starts attacking naval merchants, who come to the island looking for gems. He captures the children of merchants, and spares their lives
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Dutugamunu
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Dutugamunu, also known as Dutthagamani duṭṭhagāmaṇī and Gāmaṇī Abhaya, was a Sinhalese king of Sri Lanka who reigned from 161 BC to 137 BC. He is renowned for defeating and overthrowing Elara, the usurping Tamil prince from the Chola Kingdom, Dutugamunu also expanded and beautified the city of Anuradhapura and projected the power of his native Rajarata region across the island of Sri Lanka. Due to his significance as one of the most potent symbols of Sinhalese historical power, Dutugemunus story is swathed in myth and legend. However, many aspects of the accounts of his life have been verified by inscriptions. Dutugemunus given name was Gamini or Gamani as the first name, a traditional Buddhist name still popular in Sri Lanka today, the prince stated that If father were a man he would not speak thus and sent him a piece of womens jewellery. The resulting fury of the king caused many of his friends to flee to Malaya region, after his death, he was referred to as Dharma Gamini, but it is as Duttha Gamini or Dutugemunu that he is known to posterity. The Mahavamsa constitutes the source on Dutugemunus reign and dedicates some six chapters to his tale. In chapter 22 he is described as being descended from the ancient royal family of Rajarata through Devanampiyatissas brother Mahanaga, Kavantissa is portrayed in the Mahamvamsa as devoutly believing in the three gems, he provided the brotherhood continually with. needful things. Dutugemunus mother was Viharamahadevi, daughter of Tissa, king of Kalyani, legend has it that as punishment for Tissa slaying a Buddhist monk, Kalyani had been subject to a series of deluges from the sea. To placate it Tissa placed his daughter Devi in a boat with the words A Kings Daughter written on the side. Miraculously the princess washed ashore, alive and well, in Ruhuna, during her pregnancy with Dutugemunu, Viharamahadevi had a series of peculiar cravings, including the urge to sleep on a pillow made of honeycombs. Viharamahadevi gave birth to a son named Gamani Abhaya some time later, and after that to another child, around the time of Gamanis birth, an elephant of the six-tusked race brought his young one thither and left him here and went his way. Named Kandula, he went on to become Gamanis mount and accompanied him through much of the princes adventures, Dutugemunus sister Recent archaeological studies have found evidence proving that King Kavantissa had a daughter who was a sister to King Dutu Gemunu. New evidence to this appeared in The Island of March 27,2017, by the age of 16 Gamani was vigorous, renowned, intelligent and a hero in majesty and might, if a little wayward. Determined to expel the king of Rajarata, Gamani levied an army from around Rohana. Kavantissa is known as a brilliant strategist who recognized early that he needed to make his kingdom powerful before waging a war against the invaders. He assembled armies and gave made his kingdom prosperous in rice, the legendary ten great giants - men who had great strength - are brought into the army at this time. Kavantissa repeatedly makes Dutugemunu and Tissa swear that they would never fight one another and he also makes the ten giants swear never to pick sides in a war between the brothers
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Ellalan
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Ellalan, was a member of the Chola dynasty, who upon capturing the throne became king of the Anuradhapura Kingdom, in present day Sri Lanka, from 205-161 BCE. Ellāḷaṉ is traditionally presented as being a just king even by the Sinhalese, Ellāḷaṉ is a peculiar figure in the history of Sri Lanka and one with particular resonance given the ongoing ethnic strife in the country. Although he was an invader, he is regarded as one of Sri Lankas wisest and most just monarchs, as highlighted in the ancient Sinhalese pali chronicle. According to the chronicle, even Ellāḷaṉs nemesis Dutugamunu had a respect for him. Often referred to as the Just King, the Tamil name Ellāḷaṉ means the one who rules the boundary. Ellāḷaṉ is described in the Mahavamsa as being A Tamila of noble descent. from the Chola-country and he has been mentioned in the Silappatikaram and Periya Puranam. His name has since then used as a metaphor for fairness. Despite Ellāḷaṉs famously even-handed rule, resistance to him coalesced around the figure of Dutugamunu, towards the end of Ellāḷaṉs reign, Dutugamunu had strengthened his position in the south by defeating his own brother, Tissa, who challenged him. Confrontation between the two monarchs was inevitable and the last years of Ellāḷaṉs reign were consumed by the war between the two, the Mahavamsa contains a fairly detailed account of sieges and battles that took place during the conflict. Particularly interesting is the use of war elephants and of flaming pitch in the battles. Ellāḷaṉs own war elephant is said to have been Maha Pambata, or Big Rock, the climactic battle is said to have occurred as Dutugamunu drew close to Anuradhapura. On the night before, both King Ellāḷaṉ and prince Dutugamunu are said to have conferred with their counsellors, the next day both kings rode forwards on war elephants, Ellāḷaṉ in full armour. with chariots, soldiers and beasts for riders. Dutugamunus forces are said to have routed those of Ellāḷaṉ and that the water in the tank there was dyed red with the blood of the slain, following his death, Dutugamunu ordered that Ellāḷaṉ be cremated where he had fallen, and had a monument constructed over the place. The Mahavamsa mentions that even to this day the princes of Lanka, unfortunately this monument has not been found - the stupa which was earlier considered as Ellāḷaṉ Sohona is today identified as the stupa, Dakkhina Stupa. The identification and reclassification is considered controversial, the Mahavamsa contains numerous references to the loyal troops of the Chola empire and portrays them as a powerful force. They held various positions including taking custody of temples during the period of Parakramabahu I, there were instances when the Sinhalese kings tried to employ them as mercenaries by renaming a section of the most hardcore fighters as Mahatantra. According to historian Burton Stein, when troops were directed against the Chola empire. But they continued to exist in a state by taking up various jobs for livelihood
26.
Kandyan Convention
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The Kandyan Convention was an agreement signed on 10 March 1815 between the British and the Chiefs of the Kandyan Kingdom, in Sri Lanka for the deposition of rule King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The king who was of South Indian ancestry faced powerful opposition from the Sinhalese chieftains who sought to reduce his power, a successful coup was organized by the Sinhala chieftains in which they accepted the British crown as their new king. This ended the line of the Kingdom of Kandy and King Rajasinha was taken as a prisoner, by 2 March 1815 the islands sovereignty was under that of the British Empire. This unique treaty was not signed by the deposed King but by members of his court, because the king was hiding from the British, later he was captured and banished to Vellore in south India. Before the signing of the convention, a British soldier took down the Kandyan flag, wariyapola Sri Sumangala Thero, saw what had happened and quickly replaced the British flag with the Kandyan one. The soldier got angry but before he could do anything, Sir John DOyly who was nearby, robert Brownrigg - Quartermaster-General and in 1813 Governor of Ceylon John DOyly - Chief Translator to the Government Jas. The king is declared fallen and deposed and the claim of his dynasty. All his male relatives are banished from the island, the religion of Buddhism is declared inviolable and its rights to be maintained and protected. All forms of torture and mutilations are abolished. The governor alone can sentence a person to death and all capital publishments to take place in the presence of accredited agents of the government, other non-Kandyans position to remain according to British law. The proclamation annexing the Three and Four Korales and Sabaragamuwa is repealed, the dues and revenues to be collected for the King of England as well as for the maintenance of internal establishments in the island. The Governor alone can facilitate trade and commerce, herath The 1815 Kandyan Convention at the Audience Hall The signing of the Kandyan Convention Kandyan Convention of 1815 Kandyan Convention of 1815 by Dr. K. D. G
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Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy
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Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was the last of four Kings, to rule the last Sinhalese monarchy of the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka. The Nayak Kings were Telugu nominal Buddhists who practiced Hinduism and spoke Tamil, the King was eventually deposed by the British under the terms of the Kandyan Convention, in 1815, ending over 2300 years of Sinhalese monarchy on the island. The island was incorporated into the British Empire, and Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was succeeded by George III, prior to his coronation in 1798, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was known as Prince Kannasamy. He was a member of the Madurai royal family and the nephew of Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha and he succeed his uncle as the King of Kandy in 1798 at the age of eighteen. There was a claimant to succeed Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha, the brother of Queen Upendrama. However, Pilimatalauwa, the first Adigar chose Prince Kannasamy, reportedly with deep seated plans to usurp the throne to set up a dynasty of his own. Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was faced with numerous conspiracies to overthrow him, during his time, the British who had succeeded the Dutch in the Maritime Provinces had not interfered in the politics of the Kandy. But Pilimatalauwa, the first Adigar of the King, started operations with the British to provoke the King into acts of aggression. The Adigar manipulated the King into beginning a conflict with the British. War was declared and on March 22,1803 the British entered Kandy with no resistance, the adigar massacred the British garrison in Kandy in June and restored the King to the throne. Pilimitalava plotted to overthrow the King and seize the crown for himself, but his plot was discovered, the disgraced adigar was replaced by his nephew, Ehelepola, who soon came under suspicion of following his uncle in plotting the overthrow of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. A rebellion instigated by Ehalepola was suppressed, after which he fled to Colombo. After failing to surrender, the exasperated King dismissed Ehelepola, confiscated his lands, a propagandised account of the execution was widely circulated by sympathisers. Ehelepola fled to British-controlled territory, where he persuaded the British that Sri Vikrama Rajasinhas tyranny deserved a military intervention, the pretext was provided by the seizure of a number of British merchants, who were detained on suspicion of spying and were tortured, killing several of them. An invasion was mounted and advanced to Kandy without resistance. On March 2, the Kingdom was ceded to the British under a treaty called the Kandyan Convention. It might be fair to regard him as a weak tool in the hands of designing chiefs than as the monster of cruelty. He did a lot to beautify his capital, the lake and the Octagon in Kandy have always been considered the work of the King
28.
Kingdom of Kandy
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Kingdom of Kandy was an independent monarchy of the island of Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century, the kingdom was absorbed into the British Empire as a protectorate following the Kandyan Convention of 1815, and definitively lost its autonomy following the Uva Rebellion of 1817. Over the years, the Kingdom of Kandy has been known by many names, routes to the city were kept secret, and spreading information concerning them could often result in death. Many routes into the country became impassable during the annual monsoon. Though the kingdom had intermittent access to the port of Batticaloa it had no forces and could not prevent the Portuguese. The city of Senkadagalapura may have been founded as early as the century during the reign of Vikramabahu III of Gampola. Following the Spoiling of Vijayabahu in 1521, the kingdom of Kotte split into three competing states – Sitawaka, Raigama, and Bhuvanekabahu VIIs kingdom of Kotte, of these Sitawaka, under the dynamic leadership of Mayadunne, posed the greatest threat to the autonomy of the other states. In 1522, the Kandyans secured Portuguese protection against Sitawaka, but any potential for alliance ended in 1546 when Portuguese, Kandy subsequently lent aid to the Jaffna Kingdom against the Portuguese in 1560. Kandy territory was invaded twice in the 1570s and 1580s, first in 1574, both eventually fell under Portuguese warship, converted to Christianity, and adopted the names Dona Catherina and Don Phillip respectively. In the meanwhile the Portuguese also laid claim to the Kandyan realm, Wirasundara Mudiyanse, Rajasinhas viceroy in the area, rebelled soon after the initial conquest, though his uprising was crushed another occurred in 1588. Resistance eventually coalesced around Konnappu Bandara, son of Wirasundara, who had fled to Portuguese lands following his fathers murder by agents of Rajasinha, between 1591 and 1594, he returned to the area, seized the Kandyan throne under the name Vimaladharmasuriya I and married Dona Catherina. Victories over the Sitawakans and the Portuguese secured his position, the strategic situation in Sri Lanka changed dramatically during Vimaladharmasuryas rise to power. To the north, the Portuguese deposed the king Puviraja Pandaram of the Jaffna Kingdom in 1591, in 1594, Rajasinha I died and the kingdom of Sitawaka disintegrated. Kandy remained the sole native polity outside of European dominance, hostilities between the Portuguese and the Kandyans continued throughout the rest of Vimaladharmasuryas reign. The Kandyans lent aid to a rebellion led by Domingos Correa and later Simao Correa, Sinhala subjects of Dharmapala, a Portuguese incursion in 1604 saw them capture Balane, but dissent amongst their Lascarin troops forced a withdrawal back to the coast. Relations between the Dutch Republic and the Kandyans were initiated on the 2 June 1602 when Dutch explorer Joris van Spilbergen arrived at Santhamuruthu on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. Later that year the Dutch East India Company despatched Sebald de Weert to Kandy in an attempt to negotiate a treaty. The visit ended in disaster when the visitors offended their Kandyan hosts with their behaviour and in the ensuing fracas de Weert and a several of his entourage were killed
29.
Union Jack
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The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. Further, it is used as a flag in some of the smaller British overseas territories. The Union Jack also appears in the canton of the flags of several nations, the claim that the term Union Jack properly refers only to naval usage has been disputed, following historical investigations by the Flag Institute in 2013. The origins of the flag of Great Britain date back to 1606. King James also began to refer to a Kingdom of Great Britaine, the present design of the Union Flag dates from a Royal proclamation following the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Notably, the country of Wales is not represented separately in the Union Jack, being only indirectly represented through the cross of St George. The terms Union Jack and Union Flag are both historically correct for describing the de facto flag of the United Kingdom. Whether the term Union Jack applies only when used as a flag on a ship is a modern matter of debate. According to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Until the early 17th century England and Scotland were two independent kingdoms. This changed dramatically in 1603 on the death of Elizabeth I of England, because the Queen died unmarried and childless, the English crown passed to the next available heir, her cousin James VI, King of Scotland. England and Scotland now shared the same monarch under what was known as a union of the crowns, in 1606, James VI gave orders for a British flag to be created which bore the combined crosses of St. George and of St. Andrew. The result was the Union Jack, Jack being a shortening of Jacobus, the institute also notes, it is often stated that the Union Flag should only be described as the Union Jack when flown in the bows of a warship, but this is a relatively recent idea. In 1908, a government minister stated, in response to a parliamentary question, notwithstanding Their Lordships circular of 1902, by 1913 the Admiralty described the Union Flag and added in a foot note that A Jack is a Flag to be flown only on the Jack Staff. However, the authoritative A Complete Guide to Heraldry published in 1909 by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies uses the term Union Jack, the term Union Flag is used in King Charles Is 1634 proclamation. Andrew and St. Patrick Quarterly per Saltire, counterchanged Argent and Gules, when the first flag representing Britain was introduced on the proclamation of King James I in 1606, it became known simply as the British flag or the flag of Britain. The royal proclamation gave no name to the new flag. The word jack was in use before 1600 to describe the maritime bow flag, by 1627 a small Union Jack was commonly flown in this position. Reinforcing the distinction the Kings proclamation of the day concerning the arms
30.
British Ceylon
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British Ceylon, known contemporaneously as Ceylon, was a British Crown colony between 1802 and 1948. The island attracted the attention of the newly formed Dutch Republic when they were invited by the Sinhalese King to fight the Portuguese, Dutch rule over much of the island was soon imposed. In the late 18th century the Dutch, weakened by their wars against Great Britain, were conquered by Napoleonic France, and their leaders became refugees in London. No longer able to govern their part of the island effectively, although the previous Dutch administration had not been powerful enough to threaten the reign of the Kandyan Kings, the British were much more powerful. The Kandyan refusal to accept a protectorate led eventually to war, the rule of the king Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was not favoured by his chieftains. The king, who was of South Indian ancestry, faced powerful chieftains, a successful coup was organised by the Sinhala chiefs in which they accepted the British Crown as their new sovereign. This ended the line of the kingdom of Kandy and King Rajasinhe was taken as a prisoner, the Kandyan treaty which was signed in 1815 was called the Kandyan Convention and stated the terms under which the Kandyans would live as a British protectorate. The Buddhist religion was to be given protection by the Crown, the Kandyan Convention is an important legal document because it specifies the conditions which the British promised for the Kandyan territory. It took the ruling families of Kandy less than two years to realise that the authority of the British government was a different one to that of the Nayakkar dynasty. Soon the Kandyans rebelled against the British and waged a guerrilla war, müller, the British rulers killed everyone from the Uva-Wellassa region. The main cause of the rebellion was the British authorities failure to protect and uphold the customary Buddhist traditions, Sivasundaram argues that the British used geographical knowledge to defeat the Kandyan holdouts in the mountainous and jungle areas in the center of Ceylon. They used local informants and British surveyors to map the island and this made possible export production of plantation agriculture, as well as tighter military control. The laying of the railway was carried out during the Governorship of Sir Henry Ward, unlike the previous rulers, the British embarked on a plantation programme which initially brought coffee plantations to the island. These were later wiped out by coffee rust, Coffee plants were replaced by tea and rubber plantations. This made Ceylon one of the richest countries in Asia, the British also brought a million Tamils from British India and made them indentured labourers in the Hill Country. This was in addition to the hundred thousand Tamils already living in the Maritime provinces. Thus the seed of discord was sown in the British era. The linguistically bipolar island needed a link language and English became universal in Ceylon, Censuses in Ceylon began in 1871 and continued every ten years
31.
Royal Hospital Chelsea
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The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. It is a 66-acre site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea and it is an independent charity and relies partly upon donations to cover day-to-day running costs to provide care and accommodation for veterans. They must not, however, have any dependent spouse or family, King Charles II founded the Royal Hospital in 1682 as a retreat for veterans. The provision of a rather than the payment of pensions was inspired by Les Invalides in Paris. The site for the Royal Hospital was an area of Chelsea which held an incomplete building Chelsey College, the Royal Hospital opened its doors to the Chelsea Pensioners in 1692 for the relief and succour of veterans. Some of the first soldiers admitted included those injured at the Battle of Sedgemoor, Wren expanded his original design to add two additional quadrangles to the east and west of the central court, these were known respectively as the Light Horse Court and the College Court. Due to mismanagement by Lord Ranelagh, the Hospital Treasurer, the building was not completed until 1692 and it was replaced by a modern infirmary which was located to the east of the main building and opened by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1961. The 1960s infirmary was demolished to make way for the Margaret Thatcher Infirmary which was designed by Sir Quinlan Terry and was completed in 2008, the Mace was designed by Charles Webb and Aubrey Bowden and was made by Master Goldsmith Norman Bassant. The bowl of the Mace is decorated with acorns and is surmounted by the St Edwards Crown, in March 2009, the first women in the Hospitals 317-year history were admitted as In-Pensioners. Winifred Phillips and Dorothy Hughes were the first, Phillips trained as a nurse and later joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service in 1948 before enlisting in the Womens Royal Army Corps in 1949 while serving in Egypt. After 22 years service she retired with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2, Hughes had joined the British Army in 1941 aged 18, later working as part of 450 Heavy Anti Aircraft Battery in the London Division. In 1945 the Battery was deployed near Dover to defend against V1 flying bomb attacks and she retired with the rank of Sergeant. Chelsea Pensioners are entitled to come and go from the Royal Hospital as they please, however, within the hospital, and in the surrounding area, pensioners are encouraged to wear a blue uniform. If they travel farther from the Royal Hospital they should wear the distinctive scarlet coats instead of the blue uniform, the scarlet coats are also worn for ceremonial occasions, accompanied by tricorne hats. In uniform, the pensioners wear their ribbons and the insignia of rank they reached while serving in the military. They may also wear other insignia they earned during their service and many now wear parachute jump wings. The Royal Hospital Founders Day takes place close to 29 May each year – the birthday of Charles II, on Founders Day, in-pensioners of the Royal Hospital are reviewed by a member of the British Royal Family. The 76 statue of King Charles II which stands in the court of the Hospital was cast in copper alloy by Grinling Gibbons
32.
E. W. Perera
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Edward Walter Perera was a Ceylonese barrister, politician and freedom fighter. He was known as the Lion of Kotte and was a prominent figure in the Sri Lankan independence movement, born on 11 December 1875 at Unawatuna, Galle to Edward Francis Perera, Proctor of Colombo. Raised as a devoted Christian, Perera was educated at Royal College and he served as a sub-editor of the newspaper, Examiner until he was called to the Bar in May 1900. Having gone to England for further studies, he became a Barrister in 1909, Perera was a member of the first Reform Deputation in 1910. During World War I, in 1915 commercial-ethnic rivalry erupted into a riot in Colombo against the Muslims, a memorandum was drafted at a secret meeting held at the residence of E. W. Perera, initiated by Sir James Peiris and presided over by Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan. Before presenting it to his majesties government, the support of the British members of parliament, sea voyage was dangerous due to the presence of German submarines, which attacked ships and destroyed them. Abandoning a promising career at the Bar, E. W. Perera undertook the task of going over to England by obtaining permission saying he was going to do research in the British museum. To his advantage, the British treated him as a scholarly Christian Barrister rather than a national patriot and he was accompanied by George E. de Silva. In England, he was joined by Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan and later by Sir D, the British government ordered the release of the leaders who were in detention. A new Governor, Sir John Anderson was sent to replace Sir Robert Chalmers with instructions to inquire, E. W. Pereras effort was greatly appreciated and he was thereafter referred to as the Lion of Kotte. It was also E. W. Perera who with the help of D. R, the recovered banner became a focal point in the independence movement and it became the flag of the Dominion of Ceylon upon its independence in 1948. He was a member of the Legislative Council – first as member from Western Province BH Division, as President of the Ceylon National Congress, he led its delegation before the Donoughmore Commission in 1926/27. Sincere to his convictions, he opposed the granting of adult suffrage. He agitated for full freedom and formed the All-Ceylon Liberal Association with Sir James Peiris, however, he was elected Member of the State Council for the Horana seat by a majority of 12,432 votes. He was a scholar and wrote several books and he died on 15 February 1953 at the age of 79. National Heroes of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan independence movement Sri Lankan independence activist Legislative Council of Ceylon Those who led the struggle Lion of Kotte http, //bandaragama. wordpress. com/
33.
D. R. Wijewardena
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Don Richard Wijewardena was a Sri Lankan press baron who was a leader in the Sri Lankan independence movement. A successful entrepreneur, he established Lake House newspapers and played a role in the independence movement. D. R. Wijewardena was born as the male child of seven sons. He lost his father at a young age and was raised by his mother. Wijewardena received his education at the Sedavatta school after which like all his brothers. He then went on to study at Peterhouse, Cambridge, there he developed his interest in politics and met famous personalities such as future leaders of India like Lala Lajpat Rai, Bepin Chandra Pal, Surendranath Banerji and Gopal Krishna Gokhale. After graduating he became a Barrister at the Inner Temple, returning to Ceylon in 1912, he took oaths as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Ceylon and started his practice at Hulftsdorp. He did not practice law for long, turning towards business activities instead, during World War I, he briefly served as a Lieutenant in the Ceylon Light Infantry resigning in 1917 on grounds of principle. In 1914, he acquired the Sinhala language daily Dinamina in 1914 together with his brother D. C and he thereafter took over the English language daily The Ceylonese renaming it the Ceylon Daily News in 1918 and bought its primary competition Ceylon Independent. This was followed by the publication of a Tamil language daily Thinakaran, ANCL was a subsidiary of the Lake House Group owned by Wijewardena which brought together his different publications which included the Fergusons Ceylon Directory. D. R. Wijewardena and E. W, the recovered banner became a focal point in the independence movement and it became the flag of the Dominion of Ceylon upon its independence in 1948. Wijewardena was in touch with events and organised the first deputation to the Secretary of State for the Colonies with Mr. H. J. C. Pereira along with E. W. Perera, as a result of lobbying benefits Ceylonese were given another concession of a seat in the British dominated legislative council. To this seat majority of the Ceylonese elected Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan against Sir Marcus Fernando and he would later organise a second deputation too. He was also instrumental in starting the Temperance movement and the Amadyapa Sabha and he married Alice Gertrude Ruby Meedeniya in 1916, she was the daughter of Meedeniya Adigar. They had two sons and three daughters, his grandson Ranil Wickremasinghe would later become Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and his brother-in-law was Sir Francis Molamure, the first speaker of the State Council and his nephew was J. R. Jayewardene, President of Sri Lanka
34.
Dinamina
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Dinamina is a Sinhala language daily newspaper in Sri Lanka. It is published by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, a government-owned corporation, the newspaper commenced publishing in 1909. It was founded by the Sinhalese scholar H. S. Perera who acted as both owner and editor-in-chief of the paper at the outset, upon Pereras death in December 1914, D. R. Wijewardena bought out the company. It is now owned by the government of Sri Lanka, the newspapers offices were located initially at First Cross Street, Colombo, and was printed at the Lankabhimanava Vishrutha press. Despite the plethora of other newspapers based in the building, it known as the Dinamina Kantoruva in Sinhala. The price of a copy was three cents in Ceylonese rupees at the time it first began circulation, the newspaper is written as a broadsheet, with photographs printed both in color and black and white. Weekday printings include the section, containing news on national affairs, international affairs, business, political analysis, sports, editorials. Separate sections contain classifieds, and, depending on the city it is distributed in, the current editor-in-chief of the daily is Pushpa Rowel. Pushpa Rowel is the first woman to rise to the rank of the Chief Editor of a Sinhala national newspaper, list of newspapers in Sri Lanka Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Dinamina official website Official Blog
35.
Batticaloa
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Batticaloa is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka and is a commercial city. It is on the east coast,69 miles south of Trincomalee, Pasikudah is popular tourist destinations situated 35 km northwest with beaches and flat year-round warm-water shallow-lagoons. The original name of the region being the Tamil Matakkalappu, according to Mattakallappu Manmiyam the word Mattakkallpu consists Tamil words Mattu Matta-derived from Mattam means flat and geographical name KaLappu. Mukkuwa named this place as KaLappu-Mattam or boundary of lagoon later it became Matta-Kallappu or Flat Lagoon, also, Batticaloa has a nickname, Land of the singing fish due to musical sounds that related to fish or aquatic creature in the Batticaloa Lagoon near the Kallady Bridge. BBC Radio 4 able to recorded the sound in Batticaloa Lagoon. The sound was broadcast by Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation in 1960s with the help of Rev. Fr, Batticaloa is in the eastern coast of Sri Lanka on a flat coastal plain boarded by the Indian Ocean in the east occupies a central part of the eastern Sri Lanka. Its average elevation is around 5 meters, Batticaloa district has three lagoons such as Batticaloa Lagoon, Valaichchenai Lagoon, and Vakari Lagoon. Among these lagoon, Batticaloa Lagoon is the largest lagoon and has 56 km long 162 square km area, extending from Pankudaweli in North, there are several islands within the Batticaloa Lagoon such as Puliayantheevu, Buffaloa Island and Bone Island. Many bridges are built across the lagoon connecting the landmasses and the islands, the Puliayantheevu is the metropolitan place of the city. The biggest bridge of all is Lady Manning bridge located at Kallady and this bridge is also famous for Singing fishes which were considered as musical sounds heard in the Kallady lagoon on a full moon day. They include Kallady beach, Pasikudah and Kalkudah, Pasikudah is a bay protected from the ocean, with a flat and sandy bed extending 150 to 200 meters from the shore. Batticaloa has a wet and dry climate under the Köppen climate classification. Batticaloas climate is temperate throughout the year, from March to May, the warmest time of the year, the maximum temperature averages around 32 degrees Celsius. During the monsoon season from November to February heavy rains are recorded, average annual rainfall in Batticaloa is 1,650.9 mm. Ancient map drawn by Egyptian cartographer Ptolemy shows the Eastern Province and Batticaloa as Nagadiba. Thus the people of the Eastern Province were called Nagas, there were several Naga kings and princes who ruled Sri Lanka and Nagadeepa who were called by various Naga names. These names are listed references in Mahawamsa, mannar was the first capital established by Prince Vijaya around 500 BC
36.
Nissanka Wijeyeratne
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Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne, known as Nissanka Wijeyeratne, was a Sri Lankan politician, civil servant, diplomat and poet. He was also the Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, at the time of death he was serving as the Chairman of The Law and Society Trust in Sri Lanka. Nissanka Wijeyeratne was born 14 June 1924 to a family from Sabaragamuwa in Sri Lanka. He was the son of Sir Edwin and Lady Leela Wijeyeratne, of Buddenipola Walauwa. Sir Edwin Wijeyeratne was a former Cabinet Minister of Home Affairs, Nissanka Wijeyeratne also had one younger brother, Dr Cuda Wijeyeratne who is a consultant psychiatrist. Wijeyeratne completed his primary and secondary education at the Royal College and he then pursued further studies at the University of Ceylon where he earned a BA Honours in History. He also had a scholarly interest in Sri Lankan Sociology, as well as in Religious Philosophy, Nissanka Wijeyeratne entered the Ceylon Civil Service after leaving university. He had also served for a brief period Ceylon Artillery Volunteers as a Second Lieutenant and he was also the Chairman of the Anuradhapura Preservation Board. Wijeyeratne retired from the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in 1973, Wijeyeratne served as member of the Executive Board of UNESCO from 1987 to 1989. The present national emblem of Sri Lanka was created in 1972 under the ideas, at the time, he was Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and Chairman of the National Emblem and Flag Design Committee. The designer of the emblem was Venerable Mapalagama Wipulasara Maha Thera, during the same year, four leaves of the Bo tree were added to the four corners of the Sri Lankan National flag under the direction of Nissanka Wijeyeratne. Prior to 1972, the corners of the flag were occupied by symbols depicting spearheads, the four Bo Leaves added by Wijeyeratne reflect the core principles of Mettha, Karuna, Upeksha and Muditha. Wijeyeratne was a long-standing a member of the United National Party, in 1976 appointed as chief organizer for the Dedigama electorate, which he won in the 1977 parliamentary elections. He subsequently served as Cabinet Minister of Education, Higher Education & Justice in President JR Jayawardenes government, as Cabinet Minister of Education and Higher Education, Wijeyeratne introduced the Universities Act No 16 of 1978 to Parliament. The University of Ceylon was the university in Ceylon from 1942 until 1978. He also proposed the establishment of the University of Ruhuna and the Open University of Sri Lanka, the right for school children of ethnic minorities to wear a uniform that depicts the tradition and the ethnic identity to minority ethnicities and religions had been granted by Wijeyeratne in 1980. The new superior court complex in Colombo was established by Wijeyeratne with Chinese Government aid during his tenure as the Cabinet Minister of Justice, one of his major personal achievements was the enactment of the Mediation Board Act No.72 of 1988. Wijeyeratne also set up the Sacred City of Anuradhapura shifted the city to the newly created Anuradhapura town and is responsible for the establishment of Anuradhapura Airport
37.
Dominion of Ceylon
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In 1948, the British Colony of Ceylon was granted independence as Ceylon. In 1972, the became a republic within the Commonwealth. It is a country in South Asia, located about 31 kilometres off the southern coast of India. The country was a centre of the Buddhist religion and culture from ancient times as well as having a strong Hindu presence, during World War II, Ceylon served as an important base for the Allied forces in the fight against the Japanese Empire. Following World War II, public pressure for independence increased, the British Colony of Ceylon achieved independence on 4 February 1948, with an amended constitution taking effect on the same date. Independence was granted under the Ceylon Independence Act 1947, military treaties with the United Kingdom preserved intact British air and sea bases in the country, British officers also continued to fill most of the upper ranks of the Army. Don Senanayake became the first Prime Minister of Ceylon, later in 1948, when Ceylon applied for United Nations membership, the Soviet Union vetoed the application. In 1949, with the concurrence of the leaders of the Sri Lankan Tamils, in 1950, Ceylon became one of the original members of the Colombo Plan, and remains a member as Sri Lanka. Don Senanayake died in 1952 after a stroke and he was succeeded by his son Dudley, however, in 1953 – following a massive general strike or Hartal by the leftist parties against the UNP – Dudley Senanayake resigned. He was followed by John Kotelawala, a politician and an uncle of Dudley. Kotelawala did not have the prestige or the political acumen of D. S. Senanayake. He brought to the fore the issue of national languages that D. S. Senanayake had suspended, the Queen of Ceylon, Elizabeth II, toured the island in 1954 from 10–21 April. Bandaranaike was a politician who had fostered the Sinhala nationalist lobby since the 1930s and he replaced English with Sinhalese as the official language. He was the chief Sinhalese spokesmen who attempted to counter the communal politics unleashed by G. G. Ponnambalam, the bill was known as the Sinhala Only Bill, and also made Sinhalese the language taught in schools and universities. This caused Tamil riots, as they spoke the Tamil language and these riots culminated in the assassination of the prime minister, Bandaranaike. His widow, Sirimavo, succeeded her husband as leader of the SLFP and was elected as the worlds first female prime minister, in 1957 British bases were removed and Sri Lanka officially became a non-aligned country. The Paddy Lands Act, the brainchild of Philip Gunawardena, was passed, elections in July saw Sirimavo Bandaranaike become the worlds first elected female head of government. Her government avoided further confrontations with the Tamils, but the anti-communist policies of the United States Government led to a cut-off of United States aid and a growing economic crisis
38.
Noble Eightfold Path
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The Noble Eightfold Path is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices, right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, in the earliest Buddhism these practices started with insight, culminating in dhyana/samadhi as the core soteriological practice. In later Buddhism insight became the central instrument, leading to a different concept. The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the teachings of Theravada Buddhism. In the Theravada tradition, this path is also summarized as sila, samadhi, in Mahayana Buddhism it is contrasted with the Bodhisattva path, which culminates in full Buddhahood. In Buddhist symbolism, the Noble Eightfold Path is often represented by means of the dharma wheel, the Pali terms ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo is typically translated in English as Noble Eightfold Path. This translation is a convention started by the translators of Buddhist texts into English. However, the phrase does not mean the path is noble, the term maggo means path, while aṭṭhaṅgiko means eightfold. An alternate rendering of ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo is eightfold path of the noble ones, all eight elements of the Path begin with the word samyañc or sammā which means right, proper, as it ought to be, best. The Buddhist texts contrast samma with its opposite miccha, according to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term the middle way. In time, this description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path. Vetter and Bucknell both note that descriptions of the path can be found, which can be condensed into the eightfold path. Such an environment aids contemplation of impermanence, suffering, and non-Self, Right samadhi, practicing four stages of meditation culminating into unification of the mind. That is the ancient path, the ancient road, traveled by the Rightly Self-awakened Ones of former times, following it, I came to direct knowledge of birth. Consciousness, direct knowledge of the origination of consciousness, direct knowledge of the cessation of consciousness, yet, Majjhima Nikaya 117, Mahācattārīsaka Sutta, describes the first seven practices as requisites for right samadhi. According to Vetter, this may have been the original practice in early Buddhism. Moral virtues group consists of three paths, right speech, right action and right livelihood, the meditation group of the path progresses from moral restraints to training the mind. These two factors fall under the category of wisdom, the Noble Eightfold Path, in the Buddhist traditions, is the direct means to nirvana and brings a release from the cycle of life and death in the realms of samsara
39.
Islam in Sri Lanka
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Islam is the 3rd Major religion of Sri Lanka. 9. 7% of Sri Lankan Population Practices Islam,1,967,227 persons adhering Islam as per the census of 2012. With the arrival of Arab traders in the 7th century A. D. Islam began to flourish in Sri Lanka, the first people to profess the Islamic faith were Arab merchants and their native wives, whom they married after having them converted to Islam. Arab traders had controlled much of the trade on the Indian Ocean, many of them settled down on the island in large numbers, encouraging the spread of Islam. The Portuguese colonists attacked, persecuted and destroyed the Sri Lankan Moor settlements, warehouses, many defeated Moors refugees escaped from the persecution to the interior in central Sri Lanka. The population of Sri Lankan Moors significantly declined during the Portuguese colonial rule due to the pogroms against the Moors, the Sinhalese ruler King Senarat of Kandy gave refuge to some of the Muslims in the central highlands and Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. During 18th and 19th centuries, Javanese and Malaysian Muslims bought over by the Dutch and their descendants, now the Sri Lankan Malays, adapted several Sri Lankan Moor Islamic traditions while also contributing their unique cultural Islamic practices to other Muslim groups on the Island. The arrival of Muslims from India during the 19th and 20th centuries has also contributed to the growth of Islam in Sri Lanka, Muslims generally follow Sunni Sufi traditions like Mawlid, Tawassul and Dhikr. Ummu zavaya at M. J. M. Laffir mawatha stands as the headquarters of Fassiyatush Shazuliya Sufi order which is practiced all over the country. Sufi Dawat-e-Islami and Deobandi Tablighi Jamaat too have centers in Colombo, Sunni scholar Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqi built Hanafi Masjid in Colombo for Sri Lankan Muslims. In 2012, Sri Lankan government ordered 161 foreign Tablighi Jamaat preachers to leave the country for flouting visa regulations, local Muslims had complained that the visitors were not teaching a moderate form of Islam. Muslims of Sri Lanka, mostly from the Moor and Malay ethnic communities on the island with smaller numbers of converts from other ethnicities, such as the Tamils. The Sri Lankan Civil War was a 26-year conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka between government and separatist militant organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In this civil war Sri Lankan Muslim were targeted by LTTE, LTTE tried to make northern Sri Lanka into a Tamil country called Tamil Eelam. The expulsion of the Muslims from the Northern province was an act of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Tamil militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organization in October 1990, the pogram and expulsion by LTTE still carries bitter memories amongst the Sri Lankas Muslims. In 2002, the LTTE militant leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran formally apologized for the pogram, there has been a stream of Muslims travelling to and from Jaffna since the ceasefire. Some families have returned and the re-opened the Osmania College now has 60 students enrolled, Osmania College was once a prominent educational institution for the citys Muslim community. According to a Jaffna Muslim source, there is a population of about 2,000 Muslims in Jaffna
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Sri Lankan Moors
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Sri Lankan Moors are the third largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka, comprising 9. 23% of the countrys total population. They are native speakers of the Tamil language and predominantly followers of Islam, the Tamil term for Muslims in Sri Lanka is சோனகர், சோனர் or சோனி probably derived from Sunni. Moors today use Tamil as their language, with influence from Arabic. Those in the Southern, Western and Central regions of the country are also fluent in Sinhalese, the population of Moors are the highest in the Ampara, Colombo, Kandy and Trincomalee districts. Throughout history, the Tamils of Sri Lanka have tried to classify the Sri Lankan Moors as belonging to the Tamil ethnic group and their view holds that the Sri Lankan Moors were simply Tamil converts to Islam. The claim that the Moors were the progeny of the original Arab settlers, might hold good for a few families but not for the entire bulk of the community. This is evidenced by the fact that, the Moorss Islamic Cultural Home, Colombo were unsuccessful in digging up the history of Muslim families with Arab descent. Abdul Azeez seemed to have accepted the idea, when he observed that, It may be argued that. Another theory claims, Sri Lankan Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people, the Portuguese named the Muslims in India and Sri Lanka after the Muslim Moors they met in Iberia. Moreover, the term Moor referred to only their religion and was no reflection on their origin, another view suggests that the Arab traders, however, adopted the Tamil language only after settling in Sri Lanka. This version claims that the features of Sri Lankan Moors as different from that of Tamils, they commonly have lighter skin tone, the cultural practices of the Moors also vary significantly from the other communities on the island. Thus, most scholars classify the Sri Lankan Moors and Tamils as two distinct groups, who speak the same language. This view is held by the Sinhalese favoring section of the Moors as well as the Sri Lankan government which lists the Moors as a separate ethnic community. However, a study on genetic variation indicates, an only below average genetic relationship between Arabs and the Moors, the Sri Lankan Moors have been strongly shaped by Islamic culture, with many customs and practices according to Islamic law. While preserving many of their customs, the Moors have also adopted several South Asian practices. Tamil is stated to be the mother tongue of more than 99% of the community, moorish Tamil bears the influence of Arabic. Furthermore, the Moors like their counterparts in Tamil Nadu, use the Arwi which is a register of the Tamil language with the use of the Arabic alphabet. The Arwi alphabet is unique to the Muslims of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, religious sermons are delivered in Tamil even in regions where Tamil is not the majority language
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Flags of the World
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Flags of the World is an Internet-based vexillological association and resource. Its principal project is the Internets largest website devoted to vexillology, containing information about all kinds of flags. The mailing list began as a group in about September 1993, while the website was founded by Giuseppe Bottasini in late 1994. FotW became the 56th member of the FIAV in 2001, both the website and the mailing list operate in the English language, though there are members from around the world and as such information from many languages is translated and included. The mailing list is monitored by the FOTW Listmaster, while work on the website is coordinated by the FOTW Editorial Director, the website is updated once a week with fresh material, some mirrors update monthly. Due to the amount of material there is an editing backlog. There are also some mirrors that have not been updated for varying periods of time, the source for material on the FOTW website are contributions to the FOTW mailing list, which has over 1000 members, of which some 100 are active contributors. The mailing list has notable minorities of Portuguese, French, Dutch, a staff of three unpaid volunteers manages and moderates the list. An affiliated Flags of the World Facebook group has established, inaugurated by Edward Mooney. As of November 2016 the group is run and moderated by a team of ten administrators, FOTW displays standardized flag images in GIF format, usually at a height of 216 pixels. While the GIF file format is capable of displaying 256 colours, the organizations flag is a design by Mark Sensen, which was selected over 10 challengers in a poll of FOTW mailing list members and was adopted 8 March 1996. Since then, March 8 has been regarded as FOTWs Flag day, Sensen described its symbolism, White on the hoist stands for peace, blue on the fly for progress. The six colours of the stars are the colours used in flags. The stars help to make one bigger symbol, the way the stars are all connected to each other represents the Internet. The flag is used as a rare representation of the Internet on a flag. List of flags List of flags by country Gallery of country flags Flags of the World Dictionary of Vexillology Flag Days Of The World FOTW mailing list
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National flag
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A national flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country, historically, flags originate as military standards, used as field signs. The practice of flying flags indicating the country of origin outside of the context of warfare became common with the flag, introduced during the age of sail. Most countries of Europe adopted a flag in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The specifications of the flag of Denmark were codified in 1748, the flag of Switzerland was introduced in 1889, also based on medieval war flags. The Netherlands introduced two national flags in 1813, the Ottoman flag was adopted in 1844. Other non-European powers followed the trend in the late 19th century, the flag of Japan being introduced in 1870, the Flag of the United States is not defined in the constitution but rather in a separate Flag Resolution passed in 1777. Minor design changes of national flags are passed on a legislative or executive level. A change in national flag is due to a change of regime. In such cases, the origins of the national flag. In such cases national flags acquire the status of a political symbol, the flag of Germany, for instance, was a tricolour of black-white-red under the German Empire, inherited from the North German Confederation. The Weimar Republic that followed adopted a black-red-gold tricolour, nazi Germany went back to black-white-red in 1933, and black-red-gold was reinstituted by the two successor states, West Germany and East Germany following World War II. Similarly the flag of Libya introduced with the creation of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951 was abandoned in 1969 with the coup led by Muammar Gaddafi. It was used again by National Transitional Council and by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan Civil War in 2011 and officially adopted by the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration. There are three types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, though many countries use identical designs for several of these types of flag. On land, there is a distinction between civil flags, state flags, and war or military flags, state flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone regardless of whether they are linked to government. War flags are used by organisations such as Armies, Marine Corps. In practice, many countries have identical flags for these three purposes, national flag is used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag
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National coat of arms
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National coat of arms is a symbol which denotes an independent state in the form of a heraldic achievement. The royal arms of a monarchy, which sometimes is identical to the arms, is sometimes described as arms of dominion or arms of sovereignty. An important use for national coats of arms is as the symbol on the cover of passports. For a symbol to be called national coat of arms, it should follow the rules of heraldry, if it does not, it is not formally a coat of arms but still a national emblem. However, many unheraldic national emblems are colloquially called national coats of arms anyway because they are used for the same purposes as national coats of arms. The original national coats of arms are heraldic arms, which has a shield with symbols upon it and often symbols like a crown on top of the shield, supporters etc. In the real sense of the word, these coats of arms are the only ones which should be called coats of arms. Heraldry originated in Western Europe and has now spread to all parts of the world, the heraldic coat of arms also have differences in between themselves. Up until the 20th century most independent nations in the world were monarchies. This style is illustrated below by the Swedish greater coat of arms, characteristic for this style of coat of arms is the crown on top of the ermine mantling with the coat of arms of both the kingdom and the Monarch within. In Swedens case the inner coat of arms is upheld by two lions and encircled by the chain of the Order of the Seraphim and this is an often used style by the European kingdoms. Lions is used in all coat of arms of the European kingdoms, the lion is a symbol of power and sovereignty but also a symbol of Jesus as the Lion of Judah. The style of the coat of arms of the European republics are diverse, many republics have chosen to use the same, or a modified version, of coat of arms as they used as monarchies or as part of monarchies. Finland uses the coat of arms that before the independence where used as coat of arms of the Grand-duke of Finland, russia uses the same coat of arms as the former Russian Empire, but without the ermine mantling and crown. Many of the former European colonies have chosen to use a coat of arms. Australia and Jamaica are examples of countries that have created a coat of arms. These two nations also have not to use a crown in their coat of arms although they formally are monarchies. The coat of arms of Uganda below is an example of an African coat of arms
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