Abstract

In this paper, I propose to examine the power and impact of the so-called ‘water image’ in the shaping of Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism in Ceylon-Sri Lanka The early kingdoms of Lanka were based in the North Central part of the island, a region with little rain, where water is a scarce resource. It was an agrarian society, and water was that decisive element which ensured survival and prosperity. Ancient Sinhalese monarchs were thus highly concerned about the conservation of water. They built huge man-made tanks (popularly called weva in Sinhalese, the common term for ‘lake’) to collect water during the monsoon season and use the stock during the rest of the year. The ancient irrigation system thus bore its fruit, and in times of internal peace, agriculture would flourish, making the island a self-sufficient, prosperous society.

Such prosperity had a strongly positive effect on Buddhism, as the material strength of the State was wholeheartedly deployed to the construction of Buddhist shrines, amazing structures such as sky-scraping pagodas.. Every man-made tank would be followed by a pagoda, which began to symbolise the socio-economic and cultural revival, creating the ‘Lake-Pagoda’ concept (Wevai dagebai). Hard work and just methods for success constitute a major Buddhist principle that lies behind the development of the ancient Sinhala Buddhist Civilisation in the island. Sinhala folklore is full of stories of Sinhala rulers who were strongly attached to these principles, and fought hard to protect them, especially against invading South Asian armies, which are supposed to have been predominantly ‘Dravidian’ or… Tamil.

The prosperity of a system generated by water thus leads to a deeply-felt sense of patriotism among Sri Lanka’s majority ethnic group. A mere reference to a lake or shrine in North-Central Lanka is full of connotations of patriotism and an accompanying ‘nationalist’ sentiment. The ‘water-image’ is thus extremelypowerful in the Sinhala national conscience.

I wish to highlight that it has had a remarkable impact in shaping the course of ethnic relations in the island’s recent history. The ideology of water-based prosperity transformed into ‘water-based nationalism’, having a highly detrimental impact on ethnic relations in the island.

In post-independence Ceylon and then Sri Lanka, the entire nationalist discourse was based on the water- generated prosperity and Buddhist revival. Independence fighters promised to bring back such an age. The very first Prime Minister of independent Ceylon initiated the Gal-Oya Project, which included the construction of a huge tank in North-eastern Ceylon to facilitate agriculture and ‘colonize’ that part of the island with Sinhala (and predominantly Buddhist) settlers from other parts of the island. The idea of water-based patriotism was closely linked to Sinhala nationalism, and the accompanying willingness give the Sinhalese the fair share in public life in post-1948 Ceylon. Buddhism was thus to become the State Religion in a multi-religious land. Sinhalese was made the sole national language in 1956, in a quintessentially multilingual society. This same ideology led a nationalist-motivated government to take Ceylon off the Commonwealth Realms, end her Dominion Status and make her the ‘Republic of Sri Lanka’ in 1972. The then Head of State vowed in her Republic Day Speech to make Sri Lanka the ‘prosperous nation’ that it was under ancient monarchs.