Practices of Ceremonial Rituals Related to Death in Sri Lanka: Ancient Times Up to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Death is the only certainty in an uncertain world equally applicable for all living things irrespective of their orientation in the world. Mankind has no exception when dealing with this natural occurrence despite the reluctance to accept it. The notion of funeral offerings in terms of burial and non-burial has been interlinked since the prehistoric era as a way to respect the lives of the fallen and with expectations to achieve a better rebirth. Death is often interlinked with death rituals accustomed to the cultures of the perished. Practice of ceremonial rituals on death dates back to the period of Neanderthal and has undergone changes gradually to become sophisticated over the time. Ancient Sri Lankan sources depict ancient funeral practices of the state and with time, the rituals on death adapted a culture-centric approach. The Coronavirus Pandemic which affected the entire world strongly demonstrated the uncertainty of life as millions of people perished after battling with the invisible enemy in the technologically and medically advanced twenty first century. The pandemic left an uncertainty regarding the funeral proceeding of the victims of Covid-19. Sri Lanka as a country in which different ethnicities follow their own ethnical funeral proceedings in particular, had to face certain challenges regarding the conduct of funeral rites of Covid related deaths. Thus, the research expects to highlight the salient changes in ceremonial rites practiced since the ancient times in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) up to present, a comparison between the funeral rituals of the four major ethnicities in the state while portraying the pandemics impact on performing funeral rites. The pandemic has depicted the commonality of death across cultures, as all the Covid-related deaths were cremated or buried without having the usual funeral proceedings. The research is conducted using both primary and secondary data available.