Modern Sinhala Poetry
Liyanage Amarakeerthi writes about the shaping of modern Sinhala poetry and its many influences - feminist, literary, socio-political.
Modern Sinhala poetry, expressing new sensibilities, came into being when it moved away from courtly traditions and monastic influences. Siyabaslakara, the 12th century treatise on poetics, ordains that the primary subject matter of Sinhala poetry ought to be the life of the Buddha. Nearly all poets obeyed this dictum until the 19th century.The origins of contemporary Sinhala poetry may be traced to poets who moved away from the dictum. Gajaman Noona (1758-1814), a major woman poet, was instrumental in establishing that modern poetry is about the poet’s own experience. With her work, the ‘personal point of view on individual experience’ became the subject matter of Sinhala poetry. She did not shy away from expressing her own sexual desire (this was unprecedented in Sinhala poetry). When asked by her husband to be faithful while he is away, Noona says in a famous verse,
„I will wait patiently for you, but can I be so sure of the workings of the god of love?“
In another, she says,
„I offered my beautiful young body to the reverend monk Sitinamaluwe.“
(Quoted in Diwaman Gajaman. Parakrama Kodithuwakku, 2012)
It was a shocking testimony to the arrival of a certain poetic newness. She wrote openly of the monk’s sexual advances towards her – a sacrilegious theme indeed.
Noona’s work introduced contemporariness and inspired many ordinary men and women to enter the world of Sinhala poetry that was previously dominated by monks. From the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, some Sinhala poets set aside the aesthetics of poetry for the politics of the Independence struggle. S. Mahinda, a Buddhist monk and a major poet of the time, says,
„In other countries, even the hair on people’s heads stand up for fighting for noble freedom, but you, Sinhalese, don’t give any thoughts to it; have your eye balls been struck by lightning?“
(Mahinda Prabandha. Ed. Sunil Ariyarathne, 1987)
The 1950s laid the foundation for contemporary Sinhala poetry with the influence of European literary modernism. The idea of free verse entered the scene where traditional prosody and meter had once been considered essential. Siri Gunasinghe (1929-), educated at Sorbonne and inspired by modernists like Elliot, Pound and the French symbolist poets, wrote an entirely new kind of poetry. He critically examined ‘tradition’ and wrote against religious dogmatism, parochialism and nostalgia. He says in a poem,
„No matter how long we wait for a king only beggars keep coming.“
(Abinikmana, 1958)
His statement was resonant in a conservative politico-intellectual scene. In contrast, Gunadasa Amarasekara (1929-), another major poet, adhered to ‘tradition’ and became an ideologue of contemporary Sinhala nationalism.
By the seventies, Sri Lanka was in political chaos. A youth uprising took place in the Sinhala dominated south in 1971, and numerous Tamil militant groups mushroomed in the north. Poetry reflected this socio-political turmoil. Parakrama Kodithuwakku (1943-), a key poet of the decade, announced the nature of this new poetry: “Let me rise like a penis 1”, he wrote. Although a patriarchal metaphor, it signified that a radical new form of poetry had arrived. Another famous line by the same poet reminds misogynists that women are an essential part of the new struggle for liberation: “Woman is not just a hole.“ 2 Women like Monica Ruwanpathirana joined this new poetic struggle and shared the poetic sensibilities of this era.
After the seventies, ‘socially sensitive’ poetry or ‘protest poetry’continued to express the desire for a just society by criticising the caste system, class divisions, racial discrimination against ethnic minorities, oppression of women, youth unrest and so on. In these poems, one finds not only a reflection of Sri Lankan society but also insights into how poetic minds reacted to these social issues. Rathnashri Wijesinghe was one such poet known for his social sensitivity through the eighties and the nineties.
The trends that came into being after the fifties, coexist in Sinhala poetry today. Meanwhile, four poets have further expanded the formal and thematic diversity of Sinhala poetry. The poetry of Eric Ilayaparacchi, Ariyawansa Ranaweera, Nandana Weerasinghe and Lal Hegoda is a mode of deep philosophical reflection while dealing with socially significant themes. With them, poetry became structurally refined, thematically complex and aesthetically pleasing. In addition, it required the imaginative and meditative participation of the reader. They have been vocal supporters of a variety of poetry whose socio-political meaning is secondary to its aesthetic appeal. In other words, they do not enslave beauty to politics. But consider these lines taken from a poem by Ilayapracchi about the bronze statue of the former Prime Minister Bandaranaike:
Our legacy is these statues
Who remain unmoved with their bronze minds
Looking at the
Great dangers
coming to their mother land.
By the seventies, Sri Lanka was in political chaos. A youth uprising took place in the Sinhala dominated south in 1971, and numerous Tamil militant groups mushroomed in the north. Poetry reflected this socio-political turmoil. Parakrama Kodithuwakku (1943-), a key poet of the decade, announced the nature of this new poetry: “Let me rise like a penis 1”, he wrote. Although a patriarchal metaphor, it signified that a radical new form of poetry had arrived. Another famous line by the same poet reminds misogynists that women are an essential part of the new struggle for liberation: “Woman is not just a hole.“ 2 Women like Monica Ruwanpathirana joined this new poetic struggle and shared the poetic sensibilities of this era.
After the seventies, ‘socially sensitive’ poetry or ‘protest poetry’continued to express the desire for a just society by criticising the caste system, class divisions, racial discrimination against ethnic minorities, oppression of women, youth unrest and so on. In these poems, one finds not only a reflection of Sri Lankan society but also insights into how poetic minds reacted to these social issues. Rathnashri Wijesinghe was one such poet known for his social sensitivity through the eighties and the nineties.
The trends that came into being after the fifties, coexist in Sinhala poetry today. Meanwhile, four poets have further expanded the formal and thematic diversity of Sinhala poetry. The poetry of Eric Ilayaparacchi, Ariyawansa Ranaweera, Nandana Weerasinghe and Lal Hegoda is a mode of deep philosophical reflection while dealing with socially significant themes. With them, poetry became structurally refined, thematically complex and aesthetically pleasing. In addition, it required the imaginative and meditative participation of the reader. They have been vocal supporters of a variety of poetry whose socio-political meaning is secondary to its aesthetic appeal. In other words, they do not enslave beauty to politics. But consider these lines taken from a poem by Ilayapracchi about the bronze statue of the former Prime Minister Bandaranaike:
Our legacy is these statues
Who remain unmoved with their bronze minds
Looking at the
Great dangers
coming to their mother land.
References
- Akikaru Putrayekuge Lokaya. 1974.
- Aluth Minihek avith. 1975.
Liyanage Amarakeerthi
teaches at University of Peradeniya. He is a fiction writer and critic.
teaches at University of Peradeniya. He is a fiction writer and critic.
