religion – Son of the Morning Light

Thelme Dancers

May 11, 2023May 10, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/img_2336.jpg — Navam Mawatha, Colombo. Vesak Poya, May 2023.*

^{• 50mm • f/2.8 • 1/125 • ISO26500 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Thelme Dancer

May 8, 2023May 7, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/05/img_2340.jpg — *Navam Mawatha, Colombo. Vesak Poya, May 2023.*

^{• 50mm • f/2.8 • 1/125 • ISO20000 • Canon R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Special Feature – IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOUNTAIN OF A GOD: a Visit to the Temples of Saman

April 24, 2023April 24, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

The legends disagree on the exact method in which Sumana Saman became a god, but what is clear is that Adam’s Peak, or Siripada, is believed to be his earthly home, and the centre of his influence and protection.”

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/img_8839.jpg — *The Mountain of Saman, Sumanakuta, also known as Siripada and Adam’s Peak, as seen across the Kuru Ganga Valley, close to Ratnapura.*

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Blind Faith

April 9, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/1u9a3858.jpg — A blind woman prays at the main altar of St Lucia’s Cathedral, Kotahena. 21st April 2021. Lucia of Syracuse, venerated by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Eastern Orthodox churches as St Lucy, is the patron saint of the blind. In medieval accounts, Lucia’s eyes were gouged out before her execution during the 4th century Diocletianic Persecution, but that they were seen to be miraculously restored before her burial. Probably the best known of the Virgin Martyrs, she is one of only eight women commemorated in the Roman Catholic Canon of the Mass. St Lucia’s Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Colombo, and is said to be Sri Lanka’s oldest and largest parish cathedral. Construction began in 1872, but work was halted or delayed periodically for lack of funds and, though the cathedral began serving mass in 1881, it wasn’t until 1902 that the building was declared complete.

^{• 16mm • f/2.8 • 1/160 • ISO1600 • 5DMkIV & EF16-35/2.8L courtesy Canon/Metropolitan}

Maghrib

April 7, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/img_1424.jpg — *Sri Lankan Muslims pray at sunset, waiting for the announcement that it is time for* ifthar, the evening meal that breaks the daily fast the faithful of Islam are expected to endure at Ramazan. On Sunday, thousands of Muslims, and well-wishers from other faiths, gathered to eat together at Independence Square, in Colombo, in a show of unity that has come under some strain in recent years as chauvinistic Buddhist elements and a nationalist government conducted a hate campaign against the minority Muslim community that led to outbreaks of violence between 2014 and 2019.

Can We Eat Now?

April 6, 2023April 5, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/img_1467.jpg — *Sri Lankan Muslim women take* ifthar at Independence Square, in Colombo. April 2023. Ifthar is the ritual evening meal that ends the sunrise to sunset fast that all Muslims are expected to undertake during the month of Ramazan. On Sunday, thousands of Muslims, and well-wishers from other faiths, gathered to eat together, in a show of unity that has come under some strain in recent years as chauvinistic Buddhist elements and a nationalist government conducted a hate campaign against the minority Muslim community that led to outbreaks of violence between 2014 and 2019.

^{• 70mm • f/2.8 • 1/125 • ISO5000 • R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

Je Suis Muslim

April 3, 2023April 3, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/img_1460.jpg — Islam in the land of the Buddha. Under an arrogantly fluttering Buddhist flag, against the backdrop of the Independence Memorial Hall, thousands of Sri Lankan Muslims, and well-wishers from other faiths, gather for ifthar, the evening meal that ends the daily fast of Ramazan. *As a muezzin chants the* azaan of the Maghrib Prayer from the top of the hall’s steps, Muslims take a first bite of food or a sip of water. Palm Sunday, April 2023.

^{• 24mm • f/2.8 • 1/125 • ISO5000 • R6 & RF24-70/2.8L •}

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Special Feature — MOUNT EDEN: a Visit to the Daham Sevana Seminary in Kalutara

April 2, 2023April 1, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

I have always had mixed views of the ideological seclusion of the young, be it for political or religious reasons. I have never been convinced that taking young boys and men out of their everyday lives and focusing them to a single purpose is the moral thing to do. Having served in the military, I understood its effectiveness, and its appeal, which made me consider its morality even more.”

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/img_6300.jpg — *Daham Sevana sits in beautiful peace and seclusion, its chapel built, in the 1950’s, by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.*

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Special Feature — THE FORGOTTEN TEMPLE: Dakkinagiriya & the Other Kaludiya Pokuna

March 27, 2023March 26, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

A thousand-year-old ‘mountain monastery’, lost in the Kaludiya Pokuna Forest, east of Dambulla; forgotten by the tour guides, and seemingly by time itself. For the visitor seeking something literally off the beaten track, the Dakkinagiri Viharaya is an intriguing but serene detour away from the well-trodden sites of Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle.”

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/03/img_2819.jpg — *The stupa of the 9th century Dakkinagiri Viharaya, with Erawalgala behind it.*

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Prayer Time in Pettah

January 20, 2023January 20, 2023 David BlackerLeave a comment

https://sonofthemorninglight.files.wordpress.com/2023/01/img_0665.jpg — *Muslim men remove their footwear and enter the Memon Hanafi Mosque on 3rd Cross Street, for Friday evening prayers. Colombo, January 2023.*

^{• 35mm • f/4 • 1/10 • ISO400 • R6 & RF14-35/4L •}