Pre-Historic Art in Sri Lanka
Pre-Historic Art in Sri Lanka
We do not
know when or how the art of Sri Lanka originated. But such people used it as a
means of communication when living in caves. There is a tradition of painting
or crusting of natural stones and rock formations located in different parts of
Sri Lanka. These are known as rock art. These paintings belong to both
prehistoric and recovery art. Fifty-four such paintings have been discovered in
Sri Lanka. Most of them are found in Ampara and Moneragala. Apart from this,
paintings of this category are found in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Ratnapura,
Hambantota and Kegalle districts. The paintings have been used to create
natural stone caves with no wall plastering. The rough outline of a piece of
coat made from the tip of a finger is drawn outward. Some paintings have used
white and yellow colors to fill in the color scheme. A special feature is that
the line has paintings centered.
These
paintings are Tantirimale, Billewa, Andiyagala, Dimbulagala, Kaduru Pokuna,
Arankoda Galge, Rajagala Kanda, Gonagolla, Dorawaka, Pihillegoda, Alugalge,
Budu Galge, Kudumbigala Lihiniyagala, Magul Maha Viharaya, Hakbelikanda, Vettambugaluwan
Piyama.
Techniques used to draw paintings
Line drawings/color paintings
This type includes paintings painted with the help of a finger or a piece of crushed sticks.We can find those paintings Thanthirimale and Billawe.
Paintings / sculptures that exploited the stone wall
One of the most common methods used in cave painting is the art of removing scratches on the rock wall with the help of strong stone blocks or horns. Art can be seen at Dorawaka Kanda and Urakanda.
Signature signs sealed
Thanthirimale
First cave
Seven animal figures and seven human figures and many geometric shapes on the inner walls. The human face behind the animal is unique, with both hands on it and the face to the left.
The gray line draws a picture of a deer painted in the center red color.
A human figure with a running posture drew from the white line, a left-handed human figure with a bow, an animal-drawn from the gray line, and a human figure with two behind
Billewa
John Steele identified this cave
in the Mahawilachchiya area in Anuradhapura District in 1910. According to this
image, two people in a cave, two lone human figures, an image of a sack, a
peacock, and an unidentified symbol are found among these paintings.
Some of these images are painted,
for example, the image of the bull is painted white.
Dorawaka
This cave is
located in the Dorawaka village of Beligal Korale in the Kegalle District.
Discovered by Browning in 1919, the
one-hundred-and-150-foot-tall rock features the geometric shapes and
animal figures found on the walls. There are about 57 geometric
figures and a stylized form of a human figure.
The elephant and the calf is the most common type of painting.
Wetambugala
Located in the
village of Kiwule Yaya in the Siyambalanduwa area in Ampara District, this cave
is a 40-meter long elephant cave.
All the images
are painted in white, gray, yellow and reddish yellow with the same color
thicknesses.
Two ivory
figures painted in purple and yellow are depicted in detail in an elephant's
feet. Among the geometric figures, there is a special way
of drawing water. It appears to have been painted with the use of gray dots to
symbolize water, with the aim of communicating with wildlife living groups
naturally, with fingers and thick wooden planks.
Only the bow
and arrow is painted white and the horns of a deer are depicted by a pair of
horns.
References
-Sri Lankan art history,Solaman Premananda
-Teachers guide-Education department of Sri lanka
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