Of gods and demons

By D.C. Ranatunga

In the distant horizonsof antiquity, Sri Lanka was an island kissed by nature, blessed by gods, haunted by demons, gripped by mysteries and ruled by the occult. There could not have been any other people so preoccupied than Sri Lankans in the bewildering world of sorcery, cult practices, occult art, magic, necromancy, theurgy, thaumaturgy, demonolgy, bedevilment, witchcraft, exorcism, enchantment, possession, mysticism, clairvoyance, spiritualism, spirit-rapping, table-turning, thought reading, light reading, charms, spells, spirit manifestation, capuism and grahaism."

That's how Mihindukulasuriya Susantha Fernando starts his book 'Rituals, Folk Beliefs & Magical Arts of Sri Lanka'. Much research has gone into this work and the writer quotes from various sources notably the Mahavamsa and other early writings to illustrate his points.

The writer says there are self-declared practitioners of magic in many parts of Sri Lanka. He uses the word 'magic' to indicate activities like sorcery, common superstitions, astronomical systems for determining propitious and unlucky days, healing, wedding customs, divination and witchcraft.

The writer also discusses the numerous ritualistic dance ceremonials which are performed for obtaining general immunity from evil influence such as those which might cause droughts, sickness and other untold human misery.

Discussing auspicious times, the writer points out how people are accustomed to leaving the home at an auspicious time. If it is a simple visit, there are at least three important calculations: the 'horava' (calculated from sunrise), the 'rahu kalaya' and the direction of Maru. Tuesday, Friday and Saturday are considered unlucky days. Bathing on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday is banned. A person bathing on Friday or Sunday will never be blessed with a son!

He also refers to the age-old traditions which are strictly followed in the jewellery trade. The jewel is set as a horoscopic square of which the ruby, symbolic of the sun, occupies the centre. To the east is Venus (the diamond), to the south-east the full moon (a pearl), to the south is Mars (the coral), to the south-west a waxing moon (the jacinth), to the west is Saturn (a sapphire), to the north-west is Mercury (the emerald), to the north a waning moon (cat's eye) and to the north-east Jupiter (topaz).

In the chapter on gods, deities and saints, he classifies gods and deities into several categories: benefactors in cultivation, protectors of people from plagues and diseases, carriers of diseases (Maha Kalu Devathava and Vihara Deviyo), governor of the world (Ishwara Deviyo), manipulators of demons, guardians of women, protector of children (Kiriamma Devivaru), grantor of goodwill and harmony (Siriya Devi) and so on.

Linking research with the end user

By Tharuka Dissanaike

Lanka's agro-technology crisis - Part II

Time and time again this has been proven true. Given resources, simple training and a market, farmers (or more appropriately, agri-businessmen) take quite easily to biotechnology.

In a laboratory in Hambantota, young women with just school education turn out masses of tissue cultured banana, papaya and sweet orange plants for farmers in the area. They have been trained by scientists of the University of Colombo, working together with a number of government agencies to promote better agricultural practices in the arid south.

"It is an effort to link researchers with the end user," said K. Hirimburegama, Associate professor of Botany, University of Colombo.

"At the moment banana cultivations in the south are mostly old- being low in yeild and more disease prone. Farmers are used to buying suckers ad hoc from any place and this has affected the quality of plant stock."

The centre, supported by Mahaweli Authority, also experiments food-processing techniques and has come up with banana flour- a highly nutritious form of powdered banana.

In a separate attempt to bridge the gap between know-how and application, the University of Ruhuna is working with ITDG (Intermediate Technology Development Group) an NGO, to perfect farmer-friendly hydroponics. Hydroponics is a system of soil-less agriculture where plants are grown in a nutrient-rich liquid medium.

"Existing hydroponics systems are too expensive for the small-scale farmer," said Dr. Susil Liyanarachchi of ITDG. "We are looking at developing a technology appropriate for the local farmers- ways of making this sophisticated technique more farmer friendly."

The University and ITDG has launched a participatory project with farmers in Deniyaya to popularise the concept of soil-less growing.

"With pressure on land resources and declining fertility, these new technologies become essential for cultivation," Dr. Liyanarachchi said.

ITDG also works together with the Agriculture Department to seek out new markets for dehydrated vegetables, produced using a locally turned-out, low-cost dryer.

"Technologies like micro propagation and drip irrigation systems must go out to farmers. To compete in the global market, to produce crops of good, uniform quality one has to adopt proven technologies," Prof. Hirimburegama said.

Commercial floriculture is another of the rare success stories in agriculture. According to Prof. Ranjith Pathirana of the University of Ruhuna the commercial scale tissue culture of orchids, anthuriums etc. is an example of private sector enthusiasm for technology. "it is one area where technology has been successfully transferred to the end user."

But such success stories are often clouded by the many failures in technology transfer. On the other hand there are instances where technology is taken to the farmer but fails due to market issues- as happened to the multi-million rupee tissue culture lab that was established by the DOA (Department of Agriculture) in Bandarawela to service potato farmers. Due to cheap imports, the demand for planting material crashed. Today the lab has moved to Sita Eliya and is producing strawberry plants.

"Even in countries like Nepal, tissue culture techniques are being used to produce good planting material," said Dr. Kumudu Fernando of the Plant Genetic Resource Centre at Peradeniya. "They produce plants in a small kitchenette area, using home-grown techniques of sterilisation. It is quite successful."

Dr. Fernando, with 25 years at the DOA and having pioneered much local research in micro propagation, said that there must be an intermediary organization that links farmers with researchers.

"There is also no co-ordination between research organization. Even within the DOA often research is repeated, wasting precious funds," Dr. Fernando said.

In an effort to collaborate research institutions and the DOA and agri-businessmen (and women) the Post Graduate Institute of Agriculture (PGIA) at Peradeniya has launched a programme to develop links and promote coordination.

"In most countries agricultural research goes hand in hand with ground realities, needs and issues. Even in India links between the field and lab are vastly developed. But so far in Sri Lanka, there has been only informal links between the many faculties of agriculture, the state departments of agriculture and export agriculture," said Prof. Gunasena, Director of PGIA.

"Today's farmers are not traditional. Many are young and they like to experiment. Modern technologies and systems are welcomed. This is the group of people to whom technology must be transferred," Prof. Gunasena said.

"With an increasing population and decreasing land availability we must perfect efficient, systematic means of securing food," he said. "A country just should not depend on other people's food."

Prof. Gunasena has received Cabinet Approval for a national steering committee on agriculture and animal science. This will link university research with farmers via field officers of the DOA.

"We will use the wide experience of scientists and field workers in the DOA to make university education in agriculture more meaningful. Regional faculties of agriculture can co-ordinate with Regional Agriculture Research Centres to look at specific issues and needs of that area," Prof. Gunasena said.

The whole aim is to make agricultural education at university and post-graduate levels more meaningful and relevant to national needs.

"This is a start. Where there was no official link, now we are in the process of building relations and co-ordinating our work. It is going on quite well at the moment," he said.

"Universities must give priority to participatory research," Prof. Hirimburegama said. "Research has to be undertaken by a core group of scientists, sociologists, economists and farmers. All aspects have to be addressed, not just technology. The market is also a huge impediment to agricultural development. A comprehensive study will cover all these aspects."

"Research must not end in a document and promotion. Technologies must be appropriate and easily transferable," she said.

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