Historicising the Cosmogony: Naming the Asala Perahara in Buddhist Sri Lanka

This article offers a novel interpretation of Sri Lanka's great ceremonial procession for the Buddha, the Asala Perahara. By conceptualizing the name, ‘Asala’ as a chronotope (Bakhtin 1981), and giving emphasis to its authorisation by Buddhist monks, the interpretation reveals that this ritual commemorates the origins of Buddhism in relation to the island of Sri Lanka, thus constituting it as a unique ‘quality space’ (Fernandez 1986) for its Buddhist inhabitants. The interpretation demonstrates that the distinction between mythic time and everyday time, as espoused by Lévi-Strauss (1972) is not only arbitrary, but spurious in this context. Furthermore, contra Seneviratne (1978), it shows that far from being an anachronism in contemporary society, the Asala Perahara in fact enacts its cosmic premise and is politically powerful precisely because it defines reality in religious terms.     

Identities of two Paragonimus species from Sri Lanka inferred from molecular sequences

Metacercariae of Paragonimus spp. were obtained from field-collected freshwater crabs in Sri Lanka. Genomic DNA was extracted from single metacercariae. Two gene regions (partial mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and the second internal transcribed spacer of the nuclear ribosomal gene repeat (ITS2)) were amplified using the polymerase chain reaction. Two differing sequences were obtained for each of these gene regions. Phylogenetic analyses placed the type 1 sequences as sister to a clade containing P. westermani and P. siamensis whereas the type 2 sequences were close to published sequences of P. siamensis from Thailand. The possible taxonomic status of these two types are discussed. This is the first report of molecular data about Paragonimus from Sri Lanka.     

Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka

Social Scientists’ Association, ETHNICITY AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN SRI LANKA, Karunaratne & Sons, Colombo, 1984, 202 pp., 25 Rs.     

Infant mortality in Sri Lanka

Infant mortality in Sri Lanka declined substantially between 1961 and 1980, the reduction being higher during the post-natal period. 3 distinct phases were identified: 1) a declining trend in the face of several fluctuations; 2) a sharp reversal of the trend and then an increase; and 3) a more consistent decline. Between the periods 1961-65 and 1976-80, deaths from exogenous and endogenous causes were reduced considerably and nearly equally. The probabilities of survival increased in every age group, proportionally more in the 1st week of life. There was no evidence that changes in national income or total food supply were factors, but protein calorie availability appeared to affect the rate. Distribution of free supplementary food, increase in public health personnel, more immunization, and a rise in the number of institutional births appeared to have initiated and sustained the more recent decline in infant mortality. Increasing levels of female education also augmented these developments. Further efforts to improve living conditions, access to safe water and flush or water-seal toilets, and motivating women to deliver in institutions and extend their postnatal stay, would probably result in a further decline, as well as general strategies such as integrating public health and medical services and improving health education programs.     

Enterotoxigenic staphylococci in Sri Lanka

Two hundred and ninety-three strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from clinical specimens were tested for enterotoxigenicity by the Optimum Sensitivity Plate (OSP) method. Thirty-nine per cent produced enterotoxins A, B, C, D or E. Enterotoxin B was detected more often than the others. The OSP technique was found to be satisfactory for the detection of enterotoxigenic staphylococci.     

Manipulating Meaning in Sri Lanka

Exploring Confrontation: Sri Lanka: Politics, Culture and History. Michael Roberts
"Who Is He, What Is He Doing": Religious Rhetoric and Performances in Sri Lanka during R. Premadasa's Presidency (1989-1993).     

The maverick dialogics of religious rivalry in Sri Lanka: inspiration and contestation in a new messianic Buddhist movement

A strand of Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalism that emerged in 2008 offers an unconventional rejoinder to evangelical efforts to intensify conversions. Pentecostals assert that Christ offers instantaneous salvation whereas Theravāda Buddhism demands slow passage through many lifetimes of suffering. In contrast to concomitant political efforts to curb conversions, one maverick Buddhist monk implicitly responded to such competitive theological provocations by enlisting devotees to engage in ritual and moral cultivation to foreshorten the far‐future arrival of the messianic Bodhisatva Maitreya. Neither derivative, nor ‘syncretic’, the maverick's efforts to fortify Buddhism are nevertheless dialogically responsive to multiple sources of religious competition. Following the traffic of aspiration, contestation, and charismatic affinity between Buddhism and rival religiosities, on one side, and within Buddhism, on the other, the ethnography discloses a multi‐religious milieu. Within it, several competing religiosities stir the anxieties of Sinhala Buddhist nationalists. Old and new rivalries pose constraints, even as they provide fodder for religious innovation.     

The Musca domestica complex in Sri Lanka

An account is given of samples of houseflies taken from various natural populations in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to investigate the number of evolutionary forms of housefly that may occur on the island. The results are related to the formal taxonomy of the genus Musca.     

Ephemeroptera of Sri Lanka: Ephemeridae

Abstract Two new species of Ephemera are described, Ephemera supposita Eaton is redescribed, and Rhoenanthus posticus Banks is transferred to Ephemera and redescribed. A key to the imagos of Ephemera from Sri Lanka is included.     

Malaria outbreaks in new foci in Sri Lanka

During its Malaria Eradication Programme (1958-1964) Sri Lanka spectacularly reduced its malaria incidence from around half a million per year to 17. Regrettably, this magnificent achievement could not be maintained, and malaria once again reached epidemic proportions in some areas. Of particular concern however, has been the emergence of new foci of malaria around the hill capital, Kandy, discussed here by Manel Wijesundera. The new outbreaks seem intimately related to hydrological changes brought about by major irrigation and hydroelectric schemes on the Mahaweli river. The priority for such schemes is not, of course, to flush out the pools where mosquito larvae thrive, but to divert water for irrigation and power generation. In parallel, human migration between malaria endemic and non-endemic areas - stimulated by the resettlement required by the dam reservoirs - has contributed to increased malaria transmission. In a sense therefore, this story is a classic of health impact overlooked in favour of agricultural and industrial development. But whereas most documented cases relate to extensive flooding causing an increase in vector breeding sites and so exacerbating disease transmission, this story is just the opposite. Here, it is reduction in water flow that has promoted an increase in vector breeding.     

Environmental and other factors influencing fertility in Sri Lanka

The study utilizes the complete tabulations from the 1971 census and data from the Registrar General's and Meteorological departments for the same year. It applies a multiple regression analysis of the total fertility rate for each district for 1971 on a series of environmental variables. These include the proportion of the rural population by district to the all-island rural population; the district mean annual rainfall and the proportion of the district population employed in the major rural occupations to the total employed. To these 3 environmental variables were added 2 socioeconomic variables: the proportion of the population aged 10+ years and who are literate, and infant mortality. Results indicate that the 5 independent variables are clearly intercorrelated. The multiple regression analysis shows that the 5 variables together account for 76.4% of the total variation in district total fertility rate. It is argued that this and other studies undertaken previously provide useful pointers to the type of variable to be considered in any policy aimed at population control and indicate where major efforts should be directed.     

Compensatory payments and vasectomy acceptance in urban Sri Lanka

The effects of different levels of compensatory payment for vasectomy on sterilization acceptance were examined in 496 vasectomized men in urban Sri Lanka. The results indicate that compensatory payments significantly enhanced the participation of economically poor men in vasectomy programs, especially those who had already achieved a large family size. The proportion of poor acceptors (those with a monthly income of Rs 1000 or less) increased with higher levels of payment; the acceptor's level of education was negatively correlated with the compensation amount, and the mean age of the youngest child was higher among those who received higher payments. 60% of vasectomy acceptors reported using contraception immediately before the vasectomy, suggesting a high level of motivation not to have another child. Respondents cited high effectiveness, no extra expense, and no side effects for their wives as the main reasons for selecting vasectomy over other means of contraception, regardless of the amount of payment received. Only 5% said cash payment was an important reason for choosing vasectomy, and this response did not vary significantly by level of payment. There was no influence of payment level on postoperative complications or satisfaction. While compensatory payments significantly enhanced the participation of poor men in vasectomy programs, they were not effective in attracting poorer men with few children or those whose last child was relatively young. Overall, this study's findings suggest that the decision to provide compensatory payments and how much to provide should be based on economic and political factors, not on the grounds that higher compensatory payments have led to the recruitment of ineligible men or that the promotion of vasectomy has been at the expense of a loss in the quality of services provided.     

Establishing a twin register in Sri Lanka.

Nearly all twin registers are based in developed countries and there is no twin register in the developing world. Our objectives were to initiate the process of establishing a nationwide twin register in Sri Lanka by starting a volunteer register first and working towards a population-based register. Regular newspaper advertisements, feature articles, radio talks, and television programmes were used to publicise a competition for twins, their parents/relatives and friends requesting them to participate by sending in details of twins. The competition ran from 28 March 1997 for a period of 3 months. It offered prizes for three winners selected by drawing lots. Advertisements highlighted the objective of the competition as establishing a twin register for future research and emphasised that informed consent would be obtained for individual research projects. Those who registered comprise 4602 twin pairs (same sex: male--1564, female--1885; different sex--1153), 80 sets of triplets (same sex: male--17, female--31; different sex--42) and two sets of quadruplets (different sex). The oldest twins, triplets, quadruplets are 85, 46, and 5 years old, respectively; 88.0% of twins are less than 30 years old. Although others have previously used media publicity to enrol twins in twin registers, we believe this to be the first time that twins have been enrolled through competition. We have more young twins, and our gender and zygosity proportions after applying Weinburg's rule do not match the proportions expected from a volunteer twin sample. Establishing a twin register for research purposes has proved possible in a developing country.     

Fungi associated with dried fish in Sri Lanka

The mycoflora of dried-salted fish from markets in Kandy, Sri Lanka was studied with emphasis on visibly spoiled dried fish. A total of 61 fungal isolates from 25 dried-fish were isolated and identified. The most prevalent fungus wasAspergillus niger. Species ofAspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. glaucus, A. restrictus, Aureobasidium spp.Basipetospora halophila (a genuinely halophilic fungus)Cladosporium herbarum, Gliomastix, spp.,Penicillium chalybeum andPenicillium expansum were present. The isolated fungi did not grow in synthetic media containing more than 30% sodium chloride.Aureobasidium spp. andGliomastix spp. did not grow on dried-fish under laboratory conditions. The protective exoskeleton appeared to prevent fungal growth on dried shrimp. TheA. flavus strains isolated were not aflatoxigenic.     

Upper pleistocene fossil hominids from Sri Lanka

Between 1978 and 1983 hominid skeletal remains were collected from the cave sites of Batadomba lena and Beli lena Kitulgala in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon). These are the most ancient specimens of anatomically modern Homo sapiens found thus far in South Asia, radiocarbon dates placing them in the Upper Pleistocene. Morphometric analysis of the remains of some 38 individuals from the two sites indicates that these populations were characterized by medium stature, moderate to pronounced cranial and postcranial robusticity, medium-size permanent tooth crown measurements, prognathic alveolar facial proportions, and low incidence of osseous and dental pathological conditions. Comparisons of these ancient Sri Lankans with other prehistoric skeletal series from South Asia and elsewhere support the hypothesis that muscular-skeletal robusticity was a significant physical adaptation of earlier hunting-foraging populations. A trend towards reduction of sexual dimorphism and development of more gracile body form and smaller teeth appears to have accelerated with the socioeconomic transition to food-production strategies involving agriculture and pastoralism and refinement of technologies for food procurement and preparation, as documented by morphometric studies of later prehistoric inhabitants of South Asia.     

Some lignicolous marine fungi from Sri Lanka

Koch, J. 1982. Some lignicolous marine fungi from Sri Lanka. – Nord. J. Bot. 2 : 163–169. Copenhagen. ISSN 0107–055X.
Twenty–seven marine fungi are reported from intertidal wood collected in the Indian Ocean at Sri Lanka. One new genus Nimbospora and two new species Nimbospora effusa and Halosarpheia bentotensis are described. A new combination Savoryella paucispora is proposed. Obervations are presented on some poorly known and interesting species.     

Parasitic infections in freshwater ornamental fish in Sri Lanka

A total of 1520 ornamental fish of 13 species from 26 export farms in Sri Lanka were collected between October 1999 and March 2000 and examined for parasites. Fish species examined were guppy Poecilia reticulata, goldfish Carassius auratus, platy Xiphophorus maculatus, molly Poecilia sphenops, angel Pterophyllum scalare, swordtail Xiphophorus helleri, tetras Hyphessobrycon species, barbs Capeota and Puntius spp., gourami Colisa sp., carp Cyprinus carpio, fighters Betta spelendens and others (Brachydanio and Astronotus spp.). Nine species of monogenean trematodes (Dactylogyrus extensus, Dactylogyrus cf. extensus, D. vastator, Dactylogyrus cf. vastator Dactylogyrus spp., Gyrodactylus turnbulli, G. katherineri, Gyrodactylus cf. katherineri, Gyrodactylus spp.), 7 protozoan species (Trichodina nigra, Trichodina spp., Tetrahymena corlissi, T. pyriformis, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, Ichthyobodo necator, Piscinoodinium spp.), 3 species of copepod arthropods (Lernaea cyprinacea, Ergasilus ceylonensis, Argulus foliaceus), 1 metacercarial stage of a digenean trematode (Centrocestus spp.) and 1 nematode (Capillaria spp.) were identified. Parasites were found in fish from 23 of the 26 farms with an overall prevalence of parasitism in 45.3% of fish. The variation in farm prevalence among different parasites was significant (p < 0.01). Fish infection rates with monogenean trematodes, protozoans, copepod crustaceans, digenean trematodes and nematodes were 28.3, 18.4, 4.8, 0.8 and 0.4%, respectively. In all, 50 out of 590 (50/590) guppies were infected with Tetrahymena, compared with 13/930 for all other species, which is a statistically significant result (p < 0.01). Similarly, 13/44 and 18/44 carp were infected with Argulus foliaceus and Lernaea cyprinacea, compared with 7/1476 and 15/1476, respectively, for all other species combined (p < 0.01). Capillaria spp. was found only in guppies (4/590) and angel fish (3/92) while Centrocestus spp. was found in goldfish (12/153) only.     

Nitrogen fixation in some rice soils in Sri Lanka

Summary In situ measurements of nitrogenase activities in some rice soils, representing three different agroclimatic zones of Sri Lanka, demonstrated that there is a great potential for nitrogen fixation in these paddy soils, provided that they are continuously flooded and that nitrogenous fertilizer levels are relatively low. Under such conditions cyanobacterial (blue-green algal) fixation predominates. In certain areas of the wet zone, with highly organic soils, cyanobacterial fixation could probably meet a great part of the N-fertilizer input recommended. Heterotrophic rhizosphere fixation may also be significant, especially in the dry zone. Low concentrations of fertilizer-N were found to stimulate cyanobacterial numbers and total nitrogen fixation, at one site (dry zone), whereas high levels negatively affected total fixation at all sites investigated. In the absence of N-fertilizers, inoculation as well as additions of Mo, increased cyanobacterial numbers, nitrogen fixation activity and available ammonia levels substantially at the investigated site (dry zone). Rice grain yields did not vary significantly between treatments, because of too large a heterogeneity in the field with respect to water management.

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Resumen Medidas in situ de las actividades nitrogenàsicas de algunos suelos arroceros representativos de tres zonas agroclimáticas distintas de Sri Lanka demostraron que existe un potencial considerable para la fijación de nitrógeno en estos suelos encharacados siempre y cuando permanezcan bajo el agua y la fertilización nitrógenada se mantenga relativamente baja. En estas condiciones la fijación predominante es la realizada por cianobacterias (algas verdeazules). En algunas areas de la zona húmeda con suelos muy orgánicos la fijación mediante cianobacterias podría suministrar una gran parte del aporte en nitrógeno recomendado. La fijación heterotrófa en la rizosfera puede también representar un aporte significativo, especialmente en la zona seca. Bajas concentraciones de fertilizante nitrogenado estimularon el número de cianobacterias y la fijación de nitrógeno total en uno de los suelos estudiados (zona seca) mientras que niveles elevados afectaron negativamente a la fijación en todos los suelos estudiados. En ausencia de fertilizantes nitrógenados la inoculación así como adiciones de Mo incrementaron sustancialmente el número de cianobacterias, la actividad fijadora de nitrógeno y los niveles de amonio disponibles en el suelo estudiado (zona seca). La cosecha de arroz no varió significativamente entre los distintos tratamientos debido a la excesiva heterogeneidad en el uso del agua.

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Resumé Des mesuresin situ d'activité de nitrogénase dans quelques sols de rizière, représentant trois zones agro-climatiques différentes du Sri Lanka, ont démontré qu'il y a une grande potentialité pour la fixation d'azote dans ces sols, pourvu qu'ils soient continuellement inondés et que le niveau de fertilisation azotée soit relativement bas. Dans ces conditions, la fixation par les cyanobactéries (algues bleu-vertes) prédomine. Dans certaines régions de la zone humide, aux sols à forte teneur en matière organique, la fixation par les cyanobactéries puet probablement satisfaire une grande partie du besoin recommandé en fertilisant azoté. La fixation par la rhizosphère hétérotrophe peut, elle aussi, être significative, surtout dans la zone sèche. Des concentrations faibles en fertilisant azoté ont révélé stimuler le nombre de cyanobactéries et la fixation totale d'azote, sur un site (zone sèche), tandis que des teneurs élevées affectaient négativement la fixation totale sur tous les sites étudiés. En absence de fertilisant azoté, l'inoculation ainsi que l'ajout de Mo ont augmenté le nombre de cyanobactéries, l'activité fixatrice d'azote et le niveau d'ammoniaque disponible, de manière substantielle sur le site étudié (zone sèche). Le rendement en graines de riz n'a pas varié de manière significative d'un traitment à l'autre, à cause d'une hétérogénéité trop grande sur le champ en matière de gestion d'eau.