Tag: tradition

Hewisi Pooja, Temple of the Tooth, Kandy #4

David BlackerLeave a comment
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A thammettama drummer plays during a musical ceremony on the lower floor of the temple’s main shrine. The twin thammettama are traditional Sri Lankan drums, played with curved sticks called kadippuwa, in Sinhalese. Hewisi is a form of religious music once reserved for use by Kandyan royal decree. Today, hewisi is still used almost exclusively in Buddhist ceremonies, and is seen as an offering in itself. Shot on assignment for The New York Times in December 2018.

• 105mm • f/4 • 1/30 • ISO1000 •

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Rice Kolam

David BlackerLeave a comment
Colourful patterns of a traditional Tamil ‘kolam’ celebrates the Hindu harvest festival of Thai Pongal. Common throughout South India and Sri Lanka, these designs are usually formed from coloured rice flour, chalk and, sometimes, powdered spices, amongst other things. This one, on the concrete floor at the entrance to a suburban supermarket, has been created out of coloured rice. Colombo, Sri Lanka. January 2021.

Devil Dancer, Mt Lavinia Beach #3

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A dancer wears a 'Naga Raksha' or Cobra Demon mask used in traditional Sri Lankan 'Raksha Kolam'.
A dancer wears a ‘Naga Raksha’ or Cobra Demon mask used in traditional Sri Lankan ‘Raksha Kolam’ (a sort of demonic satire set to dance). Shot in August 2020, for Canon Sri Lanka.

Drummers in the Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo

David BlackerLeave a comment
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Tabla and Daula drums announce the beginning of the evening pooja in the shrine room of the Gangaramaya Temple. Sri Lanka. December, 2017.
Continue reading “Drummers in the Gangaramaya Temple, Colombo” →

Station Master, Demodara, Sri Lanka #2

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The Station Master, Demodara, Sri Lanka by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
Cutting a lonely figure, a station master patrols his outpost on the now-famous Colombo-Badulla rail route. Shot in January 2016.
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Green Face

David BlackerLeave a comment
Mask #1 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
A traditional Sri Lankan mask used in plays and rituals, hangs in the Colombo National Museum. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the online magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story on this historic building and its exhibits, “Katu Ge“, ran in the October 2017 issue.
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Rhythmic Work #2

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Sri Lankan Drum Makers, Battaramulla by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
In his workshop in Battaramulla, close to Colombo, Nimal Wickramasiri, a master drum maker, works on a traditional Sri Lankan Yak bera, its body a section of hollowed out coconut tree. Shot on assignment for Serendib, the inflight magazine of Sri Lankan Airlines. My photo story, “A Beat of the Ages“, ran in the December 2016 issue.
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The Train Finally Arrives

David BlackerLeave a comment
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The engine driver of the train from Kandy leans out to grab the traditional tablet* as he rolls into Ella, almost two hours late. Shot on assignment for The New York Times, specifically for award-winning travel journalist Lucas Peterson’s piece, “An Island Nation that is Best Savored Slowly“, which ran in the Frugal Traveler column on 30th January 2019.
Continue reading “The Train Finally Arrives” →

Hewisi Pooja, Temple of the Tooth, Kandy #3

David BlackerLeave a comment
Hewisi Puja, Temple of the Tooth, Kandy #3 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
A thammettama drummer plays during a musical ceremony on the lower floor of the temple’s main shrine. The twin thammettama are traditional Sri Lankan drums, played with curved sticks called kadippuwa in Sinhalese. Hewisi is a form of religious music once reserved for use by Kandyan royal decree. Today, hewisi is still used almost exclusively in Buddhist ceremonies, and is seen as an offering in itself. Shot on assignment for The New York Times; specifically for Lucas Peterson’s travel piece, “An Island Nation that is Best Savored Slowly“, which ran in the Frugal Traveler column on 30th January 2019.

Drummer, Alawala, Sri Lanka #4

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Drummer, Alawala, Sri Lanka #4 by Son of the Morning Light on 500px.com
A drummer — and drum-maker — tests a freshly made geta bera, a traditional Sri Lankan drum made of wood and animal hide. Next to him stands his own, well-used geta bera, a dawula, and the unfinished bodies of several tablas. Shot for my photostory, “A Beat of the Ages”, which appeared in the December 2016 issue of Serendib magazine.