Book Review

• Jataka tales and getting to know the workings of the mind
• Sinhalese, Sinhala and Singrisi, it's all there

Jataka tales and getting to know the workings of the mind

Psychiatric aspects of Jataka Stories-by D.V.J. Harischandra. Reviewed by Roshan Peiris

Dr. Harischandra has remarkable understanding of this difficult subject and shows that the Jataka Stories give a wonderful and revealing view on the subject.

Dr. D.N. Atukorala in his foreword says the Jataka Stories were the Aesop's fables of his childhood.

Today mental health is the commonest cause of human suffering. Dr. Harischandra shows clearly and succinctly how Jataka Stories have helped in the study, prevention and treatment of mental ill-health from ancient times, Dr. Atukorala adds.

This book deals at length with this form of human suffering. It is both educative and admirably instructive.

Be it suicidal thoughts, jealousy, mental depression or even mental retardation, they are dealt with in the context of Jataka Stories by Dr. Harischandra. 

Believe it or not, transsexualism, and paedophilia spoken of now were found in detail, says the doctor, in Jataka Stories.

Dr. Harischandra being a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry at the Faculty of Medicine, Ruhuna University, Galle has adroitly used Jataka Stories as a therapeutic means for the cure of disorders of the mind and the distortion of the human mind.

Psychiatry, says Dr.Harischandra is a branch which deals with "the study, prevention and treatment of all types and degrees of mental ill-health, however caused."

In a moving statement Dr. Harischandra says his first wish if reborn is to become a psychiatrist and the second is "that none of you will ever have the need to consult me."

Jataka Stories are also the best bedtime stories, says the author.

He says the influence of Jataka Stories even today is so great that it would indeed be rare for a bhikku to deliver a sermon without referring to a Jataka Story. He also talks of the belief in demons referring to a Jataka Story. He says: " I have evolved the psychotherapeutic method which I have termed hypoexorcism to treat the range of dissociative conversion disorders formerly termed hysteria."

This even now, as then is mistakenly attributed to demons. He says the Black Prince demon is supposed to be responsible for psychiatric disorders affecting young women.

Among the psychological diseases mentioned in the Jataka Stories is psychological jealousy. The Ummagga Jatakaya mentions how a psychotic disorder recurs on a particular day in the lunar calendar when the person howls like a rabid dog. The pundit, the boy's father believed it was due to a demon called Naradeva. He also illustrates the depression caused by unrequited love, relating a Jataka Story to show how it affects one's work and duties.

In Mattakundali Jatakaya he speaks of how a bereaved father goes on crying and visits the grave of his 15- year old son dialy.

There are many such mental disorders highlighted by the author. The effect of alcohol on a tiny beetle in Guthpana Jatakaya reads like one of Aesop's fables. We leave it to the reader to find out by reading the book.

There is, he says, the therapeutic use of Jataka Stories where Jataka Stories are used in a variety of psychological treatments. There is an illuminating discussion of the therapeutic use of Jataka Stories in chapters seven and eight. Dr. Harischandra describes how at the Teaching Hospital in Galle on Saturday mornings a group of young people get together to enact scenes from the Jataka stories.

The Handiyamaruga Jatakaya, he says, enumerates ten royal qualities taught by Nandiya the Bodhisatta. Among these qualities are generosity, patience, constitutional authority and honesty. 

Dr. Harischandra is a Senior Lecturer in Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine University of Ruhuna, Galle, and Consultant Psychiatrist, Teaching Hospital, Galle.

Sinhalese, Sinhala and Singrisi, it's all there

Today Sri Lanka is fac- ing one of the gravest crises in her history. The so called 'ethnic crisis'. I used the word 'so called' because the label 'ethnic crisis' itself has become a bone of contention. For some, it's merely a 'terrorist problem', which has its origins in the struggle for political power. 

Whether one calls this crisis an 'ethnic crisis' or not, two facts of importance emerge: first, the fact that there is a crisis that needs a solution; and second, the undeniable fact that there is a crucial 'ethnic' element in it.

The terrorist problem that has led to a civil war in the North may be viewed as a problem originating from an ethnic bias, which involves, in the main, the two major ethnic groups in the island: the Sinhalese and the Tamils, who have coexisted in the island for generations.

In the preface to his latest book, Understanding the Sinhalese, Professor J. B. Disanayaka explains in a readable manner how the Sinhalese grew over so many centuries and built up an identity of their own. A fascinating account of their names, social units, castes, language, customs and traditions are presented in a way that anyone can appreciate how the Sinhalese think, speak and act.

"An ethnic group, of whatever origin or colour, proudly maintains an identity of its own and wishes to attain its own hopes and aspirations," he says. "This invariably creates tensions and issues in a multi-ethnic culture such as that of Sri Lanka." Quite rightly he points out the need to enlighten members of one ethnic group to appreciate and tolerate the difference of others.

Professor Disanayaka starts by 'decoding Sinhala culture' and takes up the basic question that Professor S. J. Tambiah raises in the controversial book Buddhism Betrayed – "if Buddhism preaches non-violence why is there so much political violence in Sri Lanka today?" He gives the simple answer – there has always been and is a difference between precept and practice – and points out how over the centuries people have transformed religions of their founders into various other movements. 

J. B. (as the writer is best known) questions as to whether the Sinhalese are really racist, as Tambiah insists. He lets another Sri Lankan Tamil, Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar give the answer. He quotes the latter's address at the UN General Assembly in September 1994: "Let it never be said if it could ever have been said that the Sinhala people are racists. They are not. They are absolutely not and I think this election has demonstrated that so handsomely that particular argument can be laid to rest for ever." Raising the question as to why there is a difference of opinion between Professor Tambiah and Minister Kadirgamar, he says it's perhaps because the former lives at Harvard with a few other expatriates and the latter lives in Colombo among the Sinhalese.

The narrative in Under standing the Sinhalese is colourful and interesting. The inclusion of so many words and terms commonly used by the Sinhalese makes it meaningful. J. B. explains how and why those terms are used and the meanings they convey in the context of the daily life of the people. To give an example of how meaningful the explanations are: "If a Sinhalese were to ask a friend who called on him unexpectedly, 'What brought you here?', he would immediately snap 'I just came' (Nikam Ava) implying there was no particular reason. That answer, however, does not mislead the Sinhalese, for being Sinhalese, he knows his friend has come with some specific objective in mind. He will beat about the bush for a while before he gets to the point. A European would think he was simply wasting his time but the Sinhalese would not think so. After all, the background must be prepared before the message is conveyed and the message may be something that you least expected." 

Pointing out that culture tells its members how to think, how to say and how to do things, J. B. says unless a non-Sinhalese grasps the art of knowing how a Sinhalese behaves, he will never understand the Sinhalese and their apparently 'strange' and 'exotic' ways.

The fact that the Sinhalese are basically villagers in the way they think and behave, and can claim some village as their own 'gama' often makes one's 'nama' (name) to have distinct affiliations to that village. Thus when one is asked for his 'nama gama', the basic information about him is gathered. Many examples of how names of villages come in compounds, with two or three words put together as one, with the last word as 'gama', 'deniya' (valley), 'gala' (rock), 'galla/golla' (cluster), 'goda' (land) 'kumbura' (paddy field) or 'mulla' (corner) are given. The derivation of 'Ge' names leading on to the customs followed in naming a child is also explained in detail. 

Traditions of the village are described vividly from the birth of a child to a death. Many of these which we had accepted without really knowing how they have come down over the years gather a meaning once we read the book. For example, the rites and customs which make the 'vivaha mangalle' (wedding) one of the most elaborate and colourful ceremonies in Sinhala culture. The couple spends a period of transition from being a 'tanikadaya' (bachelor) and a 'lamissi' (young woman) to a 'svami purushaya' (husband) and a 'bharyava' (wife) in the process becoming a 'manamalaya' and a 'manamali' on the 'poruva' where certain rites are performed at auspicious times intended to protect the couple. Why and how these customs (they vary from region to region) are followed makes interesting reading.

Five chapters on caste ('kule') help to get an insight into a subject which most people prefer not to talk about, at least publicly. The writer says the topic is avoided because it can hurt people and thereby damage personal relationships. 

J. B. refers to Sinhala (he prefers to use the term 'Sinhala' for language and 'Sinhalese' to refer to the people), as a living language trying to cope with new challenges of a changing world. Like all living languages, Sinhala has grown into a powerful medium of communication, borrowing from other languages, adapting itself to changing times and thereby making itself more and more unique. Contemporary developments in technology and mass media have brought about a number of controversial issues that are being debated. Basically several issues have been identified – the need to narrow the gap between 'Spoken Sinhala' and 'Written Sinhala'; reform the Sinhala alphabet by the removal of some letters such as the cerebral 'n' and cerebral 'l'; Romanize Sinhala writing; and even to keep Sinhala grammar in its pristine glory. 

The chapter titled 'Singirisi, the speech of the bilinguals' makes interesting reading. A typical conversation in 'Singirisi' (mixture of English & Sinhala) in the senior common room of a University campus is worth quoting. "Campus eke strike-eka hinda vacation-eka extend karamu kiyala vice chancellor science faculty-eke professor-kenek ekka kivvalu. Namut samahara tutors-la kiva lectures cancel karala practical vitarak karamu kiyala. Dean kenek kiva fresherslata rag karana seniorsla suspend karana tek exam-eka postpone-karamu kiyala. Lectures cut-karana undergradsla kavadat fail-venava". 

Renowned cartoonist W. R. Wijesoma's line drawings add colour to the book. J. B. admits it was a dream to get a man of Wijesoma's calibre to draw a few sketches for his book and thanks him for his generosity and understanding in making that dream a reality.

More Plus *Now Anagiratne gives us 'Dracula's Guest' in Sinhala

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