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Sri Lanka "Beyond the War" Jay Dunn 30 images Created 30 Mar 2008

Sri Lanka, 2006. "Beyond the War" --

It began with a gateway through which the dead would pass, marked by white strips of cloth flapping gently in the wind. A long path muddy from the morning rain, a family welcoming despite their grief, some words in honor, a last look before the procession, firecrackers thrown ahead of us to scare off the ghosts.

Beyond the war, and after the tsunami, these were moments to remember of Sri Lanka, too, persevering and proud, the reality of life continuing as well as that of death inopportune. On this beautiful island, a jewel alone in a sea of foreign influences, an identity of her own, whole and full and alive.
-- More at www.jaydunn.org --
Humanitarian Issues & Cultural Tradition Worldwide
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  • Sri Lanka, Polunnaruwa, 2006. In the graceful stone hand of a Buddha, a frangipani blossom rests. The majority Sinhalese are Theravada Buddhists.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.01.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Beruwala, 2006. With nothing but his strength, a young fisherman climbs a coconut tree near sunset on the beach at Beruwala.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.02.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2006. Hundreds of devoted Buddhists fill their vessels with water from beneath a bodhi tree at Kelaniya Vihara in Colombo. The classic stupa shape echoes that of a bodhi leaf.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.03.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2006. The Duruthu Perahera, or procession, a spectacular display of dancers and drummers, flame-throwers, fire-eaters and splendidly caparisoned elephants.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.04.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2006. A replica of Buddha's tooth is placed by monks atop the most stately of Sri Lanka's temple elephants. It will take pride of place in the annual Duruthu perahera, or procession.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.05.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Kurunegala, 2006. A daughter lets go, her mother dead now at fifty. With two brothers to help, and a father passed away, the children must now fend for themselves.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.06.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Kurunegala, 2006. Three children say goodbye to their mother, dead at fifty. Family members then carried the casket nearly a mile.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.07.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Kurunegala, 2006. Family members bear their mother's coffin down a spirit path marked with white cloth. Firecerackers were thrown to scare ghosts before the burial.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.08.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Dambulla, 2006. Hindus believe that through its stem, the lotus is connected to the center of the earth. An astonishing palette of colors can be found at the local markets.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.09.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Kandy, 2006. A lesson in lamp lighting at Sri Dada Maligawa, the Temple of the Tooth. Spiritual center for the Sinhalese, Kandy was the last Sri Lankan city to fall to European colonizers.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.10.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2006. Night lights at the Kelaniya Vihara Buddhist temple, the largest in Colombo. The classic stupa shape echoes that of a bodhi leaf.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.11.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Beruwala, 2006. Before setting out at dusk with a catamaran crew of six, fishermen eat well and take time to rest - life is harder two years after the 2004 tsunami.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.12.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Dalhousie, 2006. Holy to Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians, this mysterious mountain has been attracting pilgrims for thousands of years.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.13.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Dalhousie, 2006. Pilgrims often ascend Adam's Peak at night, timing their arrival at the summit to catch the first rays of morning sun.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.14.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Dalhousie, 2006. Sri Pada, or the "sacred footprint," glows in the unearthly light of dawn.To many it is the first place Adam set foot on Earth, or the last place Buddha touched before entering Paradise.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.15.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Dalhousie, 2006. At twilight, the pilgrim trail to the 2,243 meter summit of Sri Pada, or the "sacred footprint," is clearly visible from Dalhousie.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.16.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Dalhousie, 2006. The shrine housing Sri Pada or the "sacred footprint" glitters in dawn's first light. Adam's Peak is holy to Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.17.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Kegalla, 2006. An elephant couple rest in the river after a thorough mud roll on the opposite bank.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.18.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Kegalla, 2006. A "mahout" or driver, cares for one of the protected elephants at the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage. Sri Lanka's elephant population is in need of stability.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.19.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Polonnaruwa, 2006. Early morning tranquility at Polonnaruwa, a thousand years old now, and once the royal capital of the Sinhalese kingdom.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.20.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Udu Walawe, 2006. Sunrise at Udu Walawe, one of Sri Lanka?s many national parks. Featuring a huge reservoir and thousands of acres of open savannah, wildlife is well-protected here.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.21.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Sigiriya, 2006. The view from a palace wall high atop Sigiriya Fortress, built as an impregnable defense atop a sheer 200 meter high rock.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.22.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Maskeliya, 2006. Schoolgirls smile shyly at a roadside curve in the high hills near Maskeliya. Tea estates abound in this ideal climate.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.23.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Maskeliya, 2006. A lone tea picker tends a hillside crop near Hatton. Tea requires constant pruning and picking during high season.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.24.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Beruwala, 2006. The 2004 tsunami rearranged traditional fishing grounds. Local fishermen have adapted their hard-won knowledge, but often come home empty-handed.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.25.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Beruwala, 2006. Enthusiasm for cricket in Sri Lanka has long since eclipsed that of the British. Children play anywhere, anytime, with little more than bamboo and tennis balls.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.26.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Tangalla, 2006. A grim reminder of the 2004 tsunami rests on a private beach west of Tangalla. Many shoreline businesses were never rebuilt.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.27.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2006. Alone with her conscience, an older woman finds the peace of prayer in a quiet corner of Colombo?s Kelaniya Vihara.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.28.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Polunnaruwa, 2006. At Polonnaruwa's Gal Vihara, or temple, representation of the impossible in stone: Buddha's serenity of being.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.29.war.jpg
  • Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2006. A dancer holds coals aloft at the Duruthu Perahera, or procession, at Kelaniya Vihara in Colombo.
    Sri Lanka.JDUNN.30.war.jpg