Sri Lankan Passion Plays

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Sri Lankan PassionPlays are the more than 300-year-old Sri Lankan tradition of presenting Passion Plays on stage. [1] [2] Negombo is the main city preserving this form of traditional drama. [3] [ unreliable source? ] There is another tradition, known as 'Wasapuwa', which involves performing Saint Sebastian's life story. It is very popular among both Christians and non-Christians in Sri Lanka; however, its roots can not be found in the island.

Contents

Passion Play in Duwa Negombo

The Duwa Passion Play has a full-day programme on Good Friday. [4] It could be the oldest and the best-known Catholic pageant in Sri Lanka, coming down from generation to generation with well-preserved traditions. [5] The Duwa Passion Play, with a history of around 400 years, carries a legend, too. It is also a fact that the Duwa Passion Play is the oldest or the second oldest Passion Play still performed in the world after Oberammergau Passion Play.[ citation needed ] The astonishing miraculous statue of Christ formed the centerpiece of the Passion of Christ in Duwa during the last 150 to 175 years. [1]

In the original form, the play was enacted with statues alone and it was based on the script by Fr Jacome Gonzalvez. In 1948 when Kalasoori Fr. Merciline Jayakody became the parish priest, the Church of Our Lady of Good Voyage, Duwa, he introduced a new script and humans, instead of statues, for most of the cast. At that time the colourful Duwa Passion Play had over 250 actors, all drawn from the island hamlet of Duwa, and was considered the greatest passion show in Asia. [6]

Music

Merceline Jayakody was a composer of several Passion Plays, and his tunes were very popular among Christians in Sri Lanka. [7] Musician J.K.S. Perera was another composer of Passion Plays; he has created music for the Nainamadama Passion Play and collaborated with the Boralasssa Passion Play. Lesly Rafayel has composed music for the Yagaya Passion Play done by Kadnawala parish.

Composer Dinesh Subasinghe contributed to the Passion Play music of Sri Lanka by combining world music styles (such as Gregorian chants, western classical music, and Portuguese sounds) with Sri Lankan folk pasun tunes. Dinesh has done scores for 16 Passion Plays up to 2013. Dinesh re-orchestrated the music of Duwa's historical Passion Play in 2009. He also composed music for Katu Otunna re modification: It is a popular stage drama based on the story of Jesus which was directed by Clement Fernadao, a student of Prof. Edhiriweera Sarathchandra. The main folk tunes of this play were sung by Sri Lankan vocalist Nanda Malini. [8] [9]

Tharakayano: The first ballet-style Passion Play

For the first time in 400 years of world Passion Play history, [10] the people in Negombo (Sri Lanka), mostly Catholics, witnessed an change concerning the biblical content and the form of the Passion Play tradition with the dramatic presentation of a performance in ballet style titled Tharakayano on 29 April 2016 at Kadolkele grounds Negombo. Tharakayano is the Sinhala name given to Jesus Christ. [11]

Nearly 250 boys and girls performed characters in Tharakayano. Namal Weveldeniya was the choreographer. Dr. Prabath Aloka was the director and music composer. Ranil Fernando, a sculptor of Christian statues, was the stage director and costume designer. Wijith Rohan, a senior lecturer with the department of Christian Culture of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Kelaniya, scripted Tharakayano.

In keeping with the age-old Passion Play tradition, Tharakayano begins with the creation story and the fall of Adam and Eve as depicted in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Much emphasis is given to the story of Exodus which is the real passion story of the Bible. It is Jesus, the new Moses, who liberates the oppressed people of the world as God brought freedom to the slaves of Israel through Moses by releasing them from the fetters of the oppressor, the Egyptian king, Pharaoh. The ‘Crossing of the Red Sea’ is the Passover from slavery to freedom, Tharakayano ends with the scene on the ‘Road to Emmaus’ which depicts the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Early Days of Passion Plays in Sri lanka - Duwa Historical Passion Play". Passionplay.lankasites.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  2. ↑ W. T. A. Leslie Fernando. "Traditional Passion shows in Sri Lanka". Archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  3. ↑ "Sri Lanka. The Easter Passion Play in Negombo. - Images - threeblindmen photography". Threeblindmen.photoshelter.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Time to revive Duwa Passion Play". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "UNIQUE PASSION PLAY TRADITION OF SRI LANKA" . Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "Home - Duwa Historical Passion Play". Passionplay.lankasites.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Passion Play of Duwa". Lankanewspapers.com. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  8. ↑ "Ravana Nada goes big time". Archives.dailynews.lk. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Ceylon Today - A musical missionary". Ceylontaoday.lk. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  10. ↑ "Passion play in Ballet form". Sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  11. ↑ For this see the passion play script written by the erudite scholar, Sri Charles De Silva in pure ‘Hela’ Sinhala, ‘Parama Puda’ or Supreme Sacrifice.
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