| Description |
Element relates to the traditional craftsmanship of making a type of mat used as wall-hangings, tapestries or cushion-covers, ornamented with culturally defined motifs and designs using the fibre of Hana plant (Agave vera). This fibre is a substitute for the traditionally used fibre of Niyanda plant (Sansevieria zeylanica) that became scarce in the area by early 20th century. Fibre is separated by pressing the leaf against a log with a sharp-edged wooden splinter to scrape away the fleshy parts. Washed, sun-dried, and combed fibres of ivory-white colour are bundled as skeins.
Warp-yarn is spun using a wooden spindle. The spinner wraps a fibre bundle around the chest over the left shoulder and spins by pulling fibre strands from the bundle. Unspun fibre strands are used as weft elements. Yarns and unspun fibre are dyed in red, yellow, and black using traditional herbal dyes made of natural materials from Dumbara valley.
Motifs and designs are created using a flat narrow wooden lath with an 'eye' at one end. The weaver, squatting over the loom, passes the lath's eye-end through the warp-yarns from right to left selectively depending on the intended motif. Strands of fibre pulled from the heddles that suspend from a tripod placed over the loom are inserted into the lath's eye that is pulled back through the yarns to create the desired motif. After weaving, ends of fibre at the two narrow ends are tied together using a thread drawn through to which the fibre ends are knotted.
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| Social and cultural significance |
The craft brings a strong sense of self-esteem to the community as descendants of traditional artisans who supplied Dumbara ratā kalāla to the Royal Palace and aristocratic families centuries ago. The sense of self-pride that links them to the royals and the ruling elite classes of the ancient times, as epitomized in the claim of the present-day practitioners that (tr.) "it was our ancestors who supplied kalāla to the ancient King(s) of Kandy", inspires the self-gratifying feeling of community identity that keeps all practitioners bound together. Such feelings have helped them maintain self-dignity and equal social status within contemporary Sri Lankan society that has a history of social stratification based on trade guilds and craft-vocations.
The feelings of self-pride and socio-cultural equality are further enhanced at present by the recognition of the element by Sri Lankan society for their high-quality workmanship, creative genius embedded in the designs, and overall refinement of the products. This recognition has led to social cohesion disregarding long-established vocation-based differences.
The practice of the craft reinforces family and extended family bonding and allows women to feel as equal players in the production process.
The craftsperson's social role as a conveyer of religious sentiments to the user of the mats through the motifs is also significant. Motifs that have derived from Hindu and Buddhist mythological sources, while reminding the viewer the associated spiritual messages, serve as a thread that keeps the society bound together.
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| Transmission method |
Traditionally, the knowledge and skills of the craft of Dumbara ratā kalāla are transmitted from parents to children within the family. Children learn the skills through observation and helping parents. A folk song with 15 stanzas, belonging to an unknown date, containing instructions on the preparation of fibres including dying, spinning of yarns, and weaving with different motifs is a good example of a traditional instructional method that was used for the transmission of knowledge and skills of the craft to the next generation.
The National Crafts Council (NCC) and the National Design Centre (NDC) initiated a program in 1985 with government funding to teach Dumbara ratā kalāla making skills to unemployed youth at the NCC's Regional Craft Training Centres. The program employed community elders as instructors who consented to teach young people outside of the Kinnara community.
It is common that knowledge is shared informally between community members of the two villages during family gatherings, weddings, craft exhibitions, and fairs.
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| Community |
The 'Unit of Practice' is the family or the extended family with no hired labour. Both men and women partake in the process, though gender preferences are seen for certain functions depending on labour intensiveness. Harvesting and transportation of Hana leaves are often men's jobs, while both men and women do the separation of fibre from the leaves. Washing, sun-drying, combing, and dyeing of fibre are frequently done by women while being assisted by men as necessary. |
| Type of UNESCO List |
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity |
| Incribed year in UNESCO List |
2021 |
