Abstract:
Situated in Dehiwla, the Subodharama temple which is also known as "Little
Kelaniya" has a collection of paintings that date back to over 300 years. This
temple is also famous for art, statues and mosaic art and it is beli eved th at in
1780 A.O. during the Kandian period, King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe has sponsored
to build this temple. The most important paintings of this collection are found in
Image-house (Shrine room). The objective of this study was to examine the
musical instruments and dancing figures with special emphasis on style,
European cultural and social influence, Sri Lankan traditional cultural and social
influence. In addition to archeological evidence, data was collected .from field
observations and personal interviews and analysis was based on qualitative
research methodology in order to compare each costumes and figure forms. The
data revealed an influence of Sri Lankan, Tamil, and European cultural
influences where these paintings reveal the history of civilization and the
cultural belonging. Furthermore, it was apparent that the instruments and
classical dance forms revealed through these paintings are associated with the
performance of various rituals and ceremonies which date back to the folk
religion and beliefs some going as far as before the advent and acceptance of
Buddhism in Sri Lanka.
