Sri Lanka: A tale of warriors and freedom

By Vimukthi Weeratunga

Since time immemorial, Sri Lanka has seduced travellers from afar. Marco Polo, Sinbad, Fa Hsien and Ibn Batuta, as well as names more akin to myths and legends have explored the island nestled in the Indian Ocean, pulled by its siren call. 

The chronicles of Sinhalese history, the ‘Mahawamsa’, records Lord Buddha having travelled to Sri Lanka thrice and a sapling of the ‘bo’ tree, under which he attained enlightenment, thrives on sacred grounds on the island with the blessings of millions of Sri Lankans. Ruins of ancient palaces and living complexes are only souvenirs of brick and mortar that were once architectural and engineering marvels that sustained a vibrant civilisation for twelve centuries.

History reveals Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to be an island of perseverance and bold heroism as it battled invasions from three powerful European nations – Portuguese, Dutch and English – for more than four centuries; the deep battle scars left from their occupation visible to date through the social and economic implications. Though the damage done to the lush natural habitats of the country was in the name of development, it led to commercialised plantations such as coffee, tea and rubber and ultimately, tremendous efforts to record and document the natural spectacles of the land. 

No longer a land of simply rugged landscape with eccentric islanders, the occupying British were soon charmed and curious about the country’s lush vegetation and wildlife, which soon drove them in search of new species that were recorded meticulously in their worn out journals. 

Obsessed beyond the point of ostracising the islanders’ so-called uncivilised ways, the British soon accumulated a wealth of unparalleled knowledge of life hidden beneath the forest ceiling. By the turn of the century, most of Sri Lanka’s flora and fauna had been studied and documented; setting the foundation for extensive biological exploration to compensate for the gaps in research, for science and nature constantly evolve.

Sri Lanka, as part of the ancient supercontinent Gondwanaland, was located adjacent to the present African continent. Around 160 million years ago, the Deccan plate, comprising India and Sri Lanka, broke away drifting northwards, completing its journey 50 million years ago, joining Eurasia. 

About 20 million years later, Sri Lanka was separated from India with the submersion of the land bridge – the legendary Adam’s bridge (Weerakoon D. 2012). These zoogeographic, climatic, topographic, and edaphic factors have shaped the faunal and floral assemblage seen in Sri Lanka. Human interference during the last two to three millennia has been a catalyst to large scale habitat changes bearing negative and positive implications to the island’s plant and animal life. 

Sri Lanka is a tropical jewel of 65,000 square kilometres; a lush haven to the explorer, a place for a traveller’s soul to get lost in. Dramatic mountains and boundless valleys tinged with hints of cinnamon, cardamom and other exotic spices that once pulled travellers from all corners of the world to its fold. 

The island’s multifaceted landscape embraces dense lowland jungles, coastal plains, beaches of white sands and unspoiled reefs teeming with life. The natural yet enigmatic beauty of the island pulls those that thirst for nature in its purest form. The land features central mountains rising 2,500m above sea level, the northern plains, bustling city life in the west, beaches in the south, to the eastern lands jealously guarded by its wild inhabitants – elephants, leopards and legendary cobras that are endemic to the land. 

From the harsh chain of islands that make up Adam’s Bridge with its flocks of nesting sea birds to the parched land in the dry zone, with elephants struggling to survive; the island is a mass of contradictions. The azure waters of the surrounding Indian Ocean is home to the blue whales; largest animal that ever lived on the planet. Living among the vibrant reefs and ancient shipwrecks, this mammoth creature is a thing of the forgotten past, a mystery lurking in the shallows of a colourful island.

Despite its size, Sri Lanka carries a rich and dramatic history and remarkable endowment from nature. Its landscape is a rich mosaic of forests, wetlands, agricultural land, and coastal and marine ecosystems. The first national park was established in 1938 as an effort to offer legal protection to the rich natural world, that includes 10% of the world’s Asian elephants co-existing with 21 million people within a mere 65,000 square kilometres of land. 

History dictates the role played by religion to strengthen such co-existential living. As time dissolved with age, religion still plays an undisputed role in this scenario in a technology – infused world. Major religions, Buddhism and Hinduism, practiced in Sri Lanka, believe in the protection of the natural world.

The elephant in fact is closely associated with Sri Lankan cultural and religious ceremonies; traditions that have survived for centuries. Also portrayed in ancient art, the elephants are a prominent feature in stone and wood carvings; fine specimens found in ancient cities of Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura and Kandy as well as contemporary places of worship. A symbol of all elements in life, its emblem of wealth and power is considered as auspicious especially during the ‘Aesala Perehera’, a procession of blazing fires and incredible colour celebrating the tooth relic of Lord Buddha. It is a majestic demonstration of more than a hundred elephants that parade in their glittering finery among dancers performing stunning traditional dances to the pulsating rhythm of beating drums. 

The man-beast inter-relationship stretches to the devotees of the Hindu god Ganesh (god of the poor) for the past millennia. All these religious and cultural beliefs with animals are still attached to the lives of many Sri Lankans who celebrate their co-existence through festivals, and prayers and do their best to protect them. The deep-set culture and traditions are nurtured by the biodiversity, adding immeasurable value to it. 

With a recorded history exceeding 2,500 years and a pre-history of several millennia, a treasure of wisdom has been accumulated in managing and conserving her natural beauty and rich diversity. Twenty-eight percent of the total land area is managed for conservation; one of the highest in Asia. These areas are reserved and administered by either the Forest Department or Department of Wildlife Conservation: 16% and 12% respectively. This is a glimmer of hope amidst looming uncertainty in wildlife preservation as they remain a spectacular vision, an Eden in a dying world (MoE 2011).

The dense rainforest cover of the country is the lynchpin of its treasures. The hydrological catchment of 103 major river basins covering 90% of the island makes up the lifeline of the country’s agriculture and hydroelectricity. Geographic isolation has given a rise to numerous endemic flora and fauna. 

Truly the home of the wild elephant, the island is home to 3,000-4,000 elephants that roam freely. Other species of wildlife such as leopards, sloth bears, and four species of deer, three species of monkey, wild boar, jackals, squirrels, mongooses, otters, and hundreds of bird species form the kingdom Animalia in the island. 

Sri Lanka has recorded high diversity of mammals (125), resident birds (240), reptiles (211), amphibians (119), and fresh water fish species (91), many of which are endemic to the island (Weerakoon D. 2012 & Wickramasinghe 2013). Twenty-six national parks and 61 sanctuaries are solely for conserving the habitats of these species while attracting thousands of tourists annually. 

The diversity of the island’s tropical plants has fed Ayurveda – the ancient art of healing – particularly in rural regions where weathered ancestors guard a treasure of ancient knowledge on priceless herbs. Out of a total of about 4000 species of flowering plants in the island, nearly a thousand are used for treating various ailments in traditional medicine, mostly collected from dense jungles by the locals. At least 930 species of these flowering plants are endemic to the island.

Famed for its coastal and marine biodiversity, the shimmering waters surrounding the island are home to nearly 200 species of coral and 500 species of coral reef associated fish. Our marine waters contain about 29 species of cetaceans, including dolphin, sperm whales and blue whales, as well as the elusive dugong (Ilangakoon 2006). Five species of marine turtles come ashore for nesting. Sri Lanka also boasts world famous whale-watching destinations located in the coastal areas of Kalpitiya, Mirissa and Trincomalee.

Plentiful and varied wildlife, interconnected via a well-established network of highways, the country has a sense of romance and purpose which is fast eroding under the tainted influence of man. Blessed beyond measure to capture this immeasurable beauty within the confinement of a camera lens for the past four decades, each photograph captured, is an essence of knowledge on habitats, seasonal variations, wildlife behaviour and taxonomy of species. Each page that you turn from this point onwards is a revelation and a discovery of a tantalising secret, hidden beneath a leafy canopy for centuries past. So prepare to be bewitched.

(This article first appeared in ‘Living Free’, a 196-page book of wildlife photographs by two of the country’s best-known shutterbugs Chitral Jayatilake and Vimukthi Weeratunga.)