Music of Sri Lanka

 In this blog, I will be discussing the music of Sri Lanka. This music is heavily influenced by ancient folk rites, Buddhist religion traditions, legacy of European colonization, and some historical influences by Bollywood. The first type of music regarding Sri Lanka is their folk music. This type of music kind of came about similar to the Ghana Postal Workers song. During a day's work, the employees would sing with one another to help the time pass by quicker. As years have passed on, this type of music is not as popular in everyday life. Although, it is still important when discussing Sri Lanka's cultural background. There are still some musicians that only preform the folk music and sometimes these musicians sing in competition with one another. Below is attached one example of what the folk songs sound like. 


While researching the Sri Lanka music, I also learned more about the instruments. The first instrument I would like to share is the Rabana. This instrument is a membranophon or just a round drum with a flat end. It comes in various sizes and when played the largest is usually placed on the floor and the rest of the drums around the largest rabana. The unique fact that I learned is that women usually are the ones playing this instrument. This stood out to me because in most of the other cultures we have learned about, the women never play the drums. Usually, the men are the only ones allowed to touch the drums. They will play this instrument at ceremonies as when a large boom is created from the drum it is meant to represent joy. Below is an example of the Rabana music. 


The second type of instrument I would like to share is the Yak-Bera. This instrument is unique regarding its meaning. The Yak-Bera is a drum and it is used to protect everyone from the demons. It is used in the lowland part of Sri Lanka. The performers with the drum usually wear masks and crazy outfits and preform the devil's dances. This is very advanced due to the meaning, the costumes, and the dances preformed. It kind of reminds me of some of the songs that the Native Americans would preform. Attached below is an example of the music. 


Music of Sri Lanka. Lankarus. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2021, from https://lankarus.lk/about-sri-lanka/362-music-of-sri-lanka.html. 



Comments

  1. Anna BlairNovember 14, 2021 at 3:34 PM

    It is really cool to finally see a culture where the women play the drum! I do agree with your last statement about the Yak-Bera seeming similar to the Native American music and dances that they would preform. It definitely has a lot of similarities, and yet a lot of differences. That is cool to find these similarities within different cultures.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BekkaNovember 16, 2021 at 10:58 AM

    Hi Alyssa ! I'm so glad you finally found a culture where the women play the drums instead of the men. I found the Yak-Bera instrument very fascinating, and how it protects everyone from demons. Also I liked how you connected the Ghana postal workers with the Sir Lanka people when it comes to their work space. Good blog !

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousNovember 20, 2021 at 4:54 PM

    Wow, I really liked listening to the singer at the 2 minute mark step in and do his section as it sounded very nice and energetic. And it is very surprising to see the opposite of the Native American drum culture as the women play it in Sri Lanka.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 20, 2021 at 7:51 PM

    Learning about Sir Lanka music is really cool. Its unique to learn about music thats not where we are. The instrument is something I've never seen anybody play before, like a sideways drum pretty cool. I like how you added things about Bollywood because I actually wanted to learn more about it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Karsyn LucyNovember 21, 2021 at 5:20 PM

    I like the sound of the folk song, so it is sad that it is not very common anymore. It is interesting the connection of the Yak-Beta being said to protect against demons.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rylei PowellNovember 25, 2021 at 8:00 AM

    Like everyone else, I was happy to see a drums played by women! Very interesting culture all around.

    ReplyDelete

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