Conserving Sinhalese Heritage: Role of Piyadasa Sirisena

By Dr. B. G .A. Vidyatilake

(The 75th death anniversary of Piyadasa Sirisena, author, poet and patriot, falls on 22 May)

In 1956, the majority of Sinhalese people in the country elected to power, a party which promised to make Sinhalese the official language in 24 hrs! They were patriotic and determined and had waited for many years to see this glorious moment of their national heritage. Their emotions were so high that they did not bother to find out whether it was possible or not even!

Little more than half a century ago, these very same people were in deep slumber as regards to their language and culture. 450 years of foreign rule had crushed their national feelings. In fact, a large number of Sinhalese had changed their names, dress, habits and spoken language and even the traditional religion to find a place among the so-called ‘civilized people’ the white rulers. A sub group of Anglicized people had emerged. They were a ridiculous lot. Their behaviour did not fit them to be included among either the Sinhalese or English. They were simply misfits. Later they were called ‘tuppahi’ by Piyadasa Sirisena.

Patriots were concerned that something had to be done to stop this trend, and it was the great patriot Anagarika Dharmapala who emerged and started his clarion call ‘Wake up Sinhalese’. He travelled throughout the country waking up Sinhalese people and instilling fear into his opponents. People thronged in thousands to listen to him and get enlightened.

Soon, one of his ardent supports, Piyadasa Sirisena started to work in parallel to the great sage. He had great writing abilities and an eloquent tongue. He wrote novels, published a newspaper ‘Sinhala Jathiya’ and made speeches going from town to town. His first novel, ‘Jayatissa and Roseline’ became so popular and 25,000 copies were sold in 10 years. In all his efforts, his aim was to instill patriotism into the Sinhalese people. He recognized the areas to improve in order to boost the Sinhalese heritage.

He encouraged the Sinhalese people to discard their foreign names and adopt Aryan names. He opened a special column in his newspaper to give publicity to such converts. The success of this movement is proved by the fact that today, there is hardly a Sinhalese without an indigenous name. Even Christian parents give Sinhalese names to their children now. Dress was the second area of his interest. He ridiculed the funny dresses worn by both males and females during that era in his third book, ‘Maha Viyavula’ (The Great Confusion). He advocated a cheap and simple dress suitable to our climate to males in 1914. When Mr. P.D.S.Kularatne, principal of Ananda College started his ‘Cloth and Banian’ campaign in 1921, he gave tremendous support to it. The triumphant moment came in 1956 when all the members of Mr.S.W.R.D.Bandaranayake’s Cabinet were wearing the national dress in swearing ceremony, ushering the era of the common man.

The ridiculous nature of the female dress also came under his severe criticism. He promoted ‘Osoriya’ – a form of Saree for them. Now that most females are happy to attend important functions in this dress is a tribute to his effort.

Third area of his interest in our heritage was the language. Sinhalese was the ‘kitchen language’ at the time he embarked on his writing career. People in high places were reluctant, to speak in Sinhalese in public. Students in English schools were fined for speaking in Sinhalese. Theme was, ‘English, Good English, Better English’ ordinary people sold their property to educate their children in English. Piyadasa Sirisena gave bitter medicine to this English mania. He emphasized the beauty of the Sinhala language and encouraged them to read classical Sinhalese literature and history. The patriotism and love for Sinhalese language thus created largely contributed to the Cultural Revolution in 1956.

Traditional Sinhalese customs was the fourth area of his interest in boosting up the Sinhalese heritage. Under foreign domination, they were deteriorating. Some people were giving them up, to become ‘civilized’. He was a severe opponent of the alcoholism promoted by the foreigner. Parents and children drinking together, wasteful marriage customs, bottle feeding, ballroom dancing, cast problems, etc were severely criticized by him. Today we remember him as a national hero.

In one of his famous poems, he emphasised the way to achieve progress.

‘In the mornings and evenings after worshipping the Lord Buddha,

Recollect the names of Parakum and Dutugemunu who were shining like the moon,

Discard the evils of the foreigner

Until then Sinhalese race would not prosper’