Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Thursday Nov 14, 2024
Saturday, 7 September 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The carts are displayed along a long broad corridor in the spotlessly clean white building, just three weeks old. There is plenty of room for a visitor to go round and have a close look at what was once the only form of passenger transport in Sri Lanka.
Adding colour is a continuous display of photographs right across the wall in sepia tone featuring old street scenes and types of carts of the bygone era. These add life to the whole display of carts.
Unique among the cart collection is the single-seater ‘banakarattaya’ used in the good old days to take a Buddhist monk to preach bana. There were occasions when the monk had to be brought to a house to deliver a sermon. Particularly, when a week passes after a person’s death, a monk is invited to that person’s house to give a sermon. If the house was not close to the temple and the monk had to walk quite a distance, he would be brought in the cart drawn by one or two laymen.
Carts on display are limited to those in which people got about. Carts were also used to transport heavy loads of goods at a time when there were no lorries. The ‘barakarattha’ (heavy carts) as they were called are still in vogue. Generally two well-built bulls were used to draw these. The smaller version – the half size ‘barabaage’ is drawn by a single bull.
Just as much as the ‘barakaratta’ are seen carrying goods even today, so are the ‘tirikkales’ which are still used in the outstations to carry people around.
Looking back, a few decades ago the number of carts in a household was a reflection of the affluence of a family. They varied in size and shape and the more well-to-do families had bigger carts. Certain designs were more elaborate than the others and certain types were restricted to particular areas.
Passenger carts were a varied lot. The range stretched from one-seater to two and four-seaters. The one-seater was essentially the racing type.
They were in fact, commonly called ‘race karattha’ – similar to ‘racing cars’ – the fashionable motor cars which were popular with affluent young men once the cars replaced carts among the wealthy. High speed racing cars are still the fashion of the day among well to do youngsters.
A young bull capable of running fast was always the choice for the ‘race karatthe’. Even today cart racing is a popular event during Sinhala Avurudu celebrations.
The ‘tirikkale’ is a light vehicle which can carry four persons with the driver seated in the front seat. Thus in effect, it is a five-seater. This is the commonest family cart and is drawn by a single bull.
Then there is the ‘bakkikaratte,’ also a travel cart which is more sturdy and stronger than the ‘tirikkale’. It is also more comfortable and is better suited for long trips.
In certain areas there is even a bigger and more comfortable family cart to travel. More leg space is provided so that the passengers can have a comfortable ride. More goods can be stacked too. In the Uva Province, for instance, these travel carts are drawn by two bulls.
Although for the average person, all passenger carts look alike at the first glance, apparently there are subtle differences. According to the Museum’s Assistant Director – Anthropology, Sanoja Kasturiarachchi, the timber used to construct the cart can vary from one to the other. “Some ‘tirikkales’ are quite light while others are heavier. The timber used can differ according to the weight,” she says.
The wheels are a vital feature in a cart. “The way they are designed, their weight and even the way they are fixed differ from one type to the other,” she explains. There are thus differences though looks may be the same. Laksala has constructed the building for the Cart House and gifted it to the Museum.
The Cart House is well worth a visit.
