Some Observations on Agrarian Life and Performing Arts in Today’s Sri Lanka

Abstract

The main objective of the article is to present some observations on the singing styles that have been used in relation to Agrarian Life in Sri Lanka. They were sung until the late 1990s by people who were employed in agriculture or who were peasants themselves. Today’s commercial entertainment singers, in the 21st century, are performing these poems with great enthusiasm using audio-visual media. It is questionable whether they are well aware of the environment related to those songs. The agricultural society that promoted these songs has been widely transformed through changed working processes and demographic shifts. Therefore, the modern society is in a position where stage performers cannot have a real experience of these past times. This study is to observe and investigate the specific musical features of those songs that have been transmitted over the centuries. These observations may help to increase a conscious dealing with musical traditions in the context of Sri Lankan agrarian life and their future representation.