Culture & Heritage

Information on the weights and measures used in ancient and medieval Sri Lanka are found in Abhidhanappadipika, Navanamavaliya and the stone inscriptions. Nagalavava village in Sigiriya-Dambulla region, surveyed in the 1990s, was using measures that could be traced back to earlier times. Its system of measuring grain and medicine was common to other purana settlements and also certain urban areas. …

Little is it known that Sri Lanka’s Muslims have made a big contribution to Sri Lanka’s cultural life. They significantly influenced local culture in matters of food, dress, jewellery and pastimes, testifying to the close relations that existed between Muslims and other communities of the island, especially the Sinhalese and Tamils. Sri Lankan Moors, descendants of Arab merchants who espoused …

Maximus Jayantha Anandappa (MJA) has marshalled compelling inferential evidence which leaves little doubt that Sunil Santha (SS) was the Creator of "Hela Sangeethaya" or genuine Sinhala Music (The Island 1st June). Sunil Santha’s senior contemporary Ananda Samarakoon (AS) might be regarded as the forerunner of the "Hela" musical tradition, but the flavor of his music was more Bengali than "Hela". …

In its millennia of history, the inhabitants and rulers of the city of Jerusalem have changed countless times, from ancient pagans to Biblical Israelites to Byzantine Christians to Ottoman Muslims. The Ottoman Turks took control of the city in 1517, absorbing it into their empire, which stretched across swaths of North Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Walls built …

Archaeologists working in southern France have identified three graves that are believed to represent the oldest Muslim burials ever found in Europe, dating to the eighth century. The skeletons at medieval site at Nîmes were found facing Mecca, and a genetic analysis showed their paternal lineage was North African, said the study in the journal Plos One. Furthermore, radiocarbon dating …