Sri Lanka Local Customs

  Kandyan dance
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  • Kandyan dance
      Kandyan dance
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  • Buddist Temple - Colombo
      Buddist Temple - Colombo
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  • Mini Monks
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  • Lion beer & Benson Hedges
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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

The Ubiquitous Coconut Tree - Food of the Gods?

by Hmmmm

My favourite Tree in the world is the Coconut tree. Its beautiful - Curved and delicate, yet strong as an ox. Its supple, and tropical. I maintain, and always will - that the tropics would not be the Tropics without this beautiful tree that decorates tropical beaches with a sense of the sublime. Now all you tropical beach lover's out there know I am right! However the Anthropologist in me, whats to look harder at the aesthetic Cocos nucifera. Yes, and ask Questions? Why is it everywhere? Is it also regarded as beautiful to Sri Lankans? Or is it more?So here are some of the answers.Sri Lanka is the world’s fourth largest producer of coconuts. Cocnuts produce coconut cream, milk and powder, vinegar and toddy. Sri Lanka was, in fact, the birth place of the desiccated coconut industry, nearly a century ago. And they are still committed to ensuring we still have it for our Lamingtons and...

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HINDU TEMPLES

by mtncorg

Both in Colombo and in the Tamil areas of the country, you can find elaborate Hindu temples scattered about. Hinduism is a very complex religious system that is very simple at its core, but gets extremely complicated fast. Similar to Catholicism, Hinduism’s success can be attributed to how it can be morphed into encompassing the local belief system. This has led to the existence of many gods - though technically, they are all one and the same. There seem to be as many subgroups within Hinduism as there are gods. Some do not acknowledge Hinduism as a religion, but more as a way of life in the similar fashion of Buddhism. The temples themselves are very dramatically represented and painted. Even the smallest local temples take on a surreal appearance to the non-initiated.

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Meal to GO--Wrapped in BANANA LEAF

by ViajesdelMundo

'LAMPREIS' (also spelled 'Lampries') The name is originally Dutch, and is a labor-intensive meal usually of a mixed-meat curry, plus spices, over a short grain rice and steamed in the banana leaf, tightly wrapped; most often used for a large group, or as a meal that can be taken away on a special occasion, so that no one has to do the cooking on site........good, too, as a local picnic meal.All my friends seem to thoroughly enjoy it! seen here at a family gathering after church, picked up en route. You will see signs where they are available at food concessions, or can be ordered at restaurants ahead of time.

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Religious Diversity

by PierreZA

Buddhism is the most commonly practised religion in Sri Lanka, followed by Hinduism. Christians and Muslims make up the rest of the religious diversity. It is quite common to find a church, Buddhist Temple, Hindu Temple and a Mosque all in close proximity. I have met and had great conversations with Buddhists, Roman Catholics, Muslims and Hindus on my trip. `Remember to dress appropriately when visiting places of worship!

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Sri Lankan friendliness

by PierreZA

The smiles of the Sri Lankan people is most probably the thing I ‘ll remember most of my visit to this country.The people are very friendly and do like to talk. The fact that South Africa is a cricketing nation, made conversations much easier – as the Sri Lankans love cricket. I also found the people I met to be very well educated and informed. English is widely spoken.

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Sweets/Deserts

by PierreZA

There are many sweet shops in Sri Lanka. I was the most impressed with wattalappam. It has a consistency similar to crème caramel, but coconut, jaggery and cardamom gives it its distinct taste. The other very nice sweet I had is called kitul hakuru – which is almost like a fudge – but much nicer!

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Rice and Curry with . . . .

by PierreZA

You have to have Rice and curry when in Sri Lanka. It is an elaborate meal with quite a variety of dishes (sambals, chutney etc).The curry tend to be very spicy and hot – but has a great taste to it. Although many different varieties of rice are on sale in the markets, it seems that the short grain variety is most popular. You can buy Sri Lankan Curry mix in supermarkets like Keells and Cargills.

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Local Beer

by PierreZA

Lion Lager and Three Coins are some of the local beers you will find in Sri Lanka. The Lion lager also comes in a “Strong” which has more than 8% alcohol. The local beers are not expensive at all.You can also get Carlsberg and other international beers.I got the idea that arrack (?refined toddy) is more popular with the locals than beer.

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Who Lives Where?

by Maxus

You can hazard a guess at who lives in a village by the livestock you see around the place, if it’s just chickens it’s probably a Buddhist community, if there’s goats it may mean Muslim people but if its pigs it’s likely to be Christians.

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Religious Diversity in Sri Lanka

by Maxus

Diversity is the name of the game in Sri Lanka and this is certainly true with regards to faith. Take the small town of Rakwana for example, in addition to the Buddhist and Hindu Temples there is a Mosque and two Churches (one Anglican and one Roman Catholic). Approximately 69 percent of the Sri Lankan population is Buddhist, 15 percent Hindu, 8 percent Christian, and 8 percent Muslim.Buddhists tend to live in the west and south of the island and the Hindus in the north. Other areas are often mixed but individual villages or neighbourhoods tend to be one religion or another, for example, Negombo is predominantly Christian, Beruwala Muslim and Bentota Buddhist. People do mix, a Buddhist friend of mine recently became engaged to a Christian boy, they are both Sinhalese (other matches are not so common) for the most part there is a symbiotic relationship between faith and cultural identity...

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Local traditions and culture in Sri Lanka

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Local Customs: Cities in Sri Lanka
  1. Colombo Local Customs
  2. Kandy Local Customs
  3. Negombo Local Customs
  4. Nuwara Eliya Local Customs
  5. Galle Local Customs
  6. Unawatuna Local Customs
  7. Anuradhapura Local Customs
  8. Sri Lanka Local Customs
  9. Polonnaruwa Local Customs
  10. Sigiriya Local Customs
  11. Dambulla Local Customs
  12. Beruwala Local Customs
  13. Wadduwa Local Customs
  14. Kataragama Local Customs
  15. Induruwa Local Customs

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Popular Regions in Sri Lanka

Western Province Local Customs  Southern Province Local Customs  Central Province Local Customs  North Central Province Local Customs  North Eastern Province Local Customs  Province of Uva Local Customs  Province of Sabaragamuwa Local Customs  North Western Province Local Customs 

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  Thinking of traveling to Sri Lanka in the end of March for 3 weeks. I will go with my 6 yr old. Will take Medical precoushns bu... 

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A: Any special reasons why you want to stay in Colombo for 3 days. Everywhere in Sri Lanka is child friendly, but as you want to end up in Trinco (and spend part of your... 

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