Papers by Jagath Weerasinghe
Sigiriya Managing Heritage with Community, 2024
The history of archaeology at Sigiriya, in its antiquarian manifestation that worked with the not... more The history of archaeology at Sigiriya, in its antiquarian manifestation that worked with the notions of discovery and adventure, began in the mid-19 th century with the adventures of European explorers. The published travelogues of Major Jonathan Forbes on the island 1 are an early example of this. A century later, by the mid-decades of the 20 th century, Sigiriya had begun to permeate and play a vital role in the shaping of the historical consciousness of modern Sri Lankans. The migration of the idea of Sigiriya, and other similar sites that the adventurous colonial explorers first brought into the discourse of discovery from ruined wild places, and then to the discourse of archaeology and heritage, over time, registered the notions of the ancient glory of the Sinhalese, with nationalist rhetoric that fueled anti-colonial sentiments. The colonial discourse of "discovery", bolstered by authoritative English-language publications on Sigiriya and other such sites, ensured this migration and persisted throughout the 20 th century, first by colonial archaeologists and then by their brown descendants as an integral component of the discipline of archaeology 2 .
Sigiriya Managing Heritage with Community, 2024
The conditions that affect the heritage management of archaeological sites in Sri Lanka arise fro... more The conditions that affect the heritage management of archaeological sites in Sri Lanka arise from two interrelated but distinct histories. One has its roots in the colonial legacy of Sri Lankan archaeology, and the other in the populist-nationalist politics that draw rhetorical strength from archaeology and history. In this setting, "heritage" 1 means religion and ethnic identity. In a word, ethnonationalist. Since its inception in the late 19th century and its engagement in Anuradhapura, the Archaeological Survey Department of Ceylon (now the Department of Archaeology) had to negotiate the idea of heritage and "sacred site." The demands by Buddhist devotees, led by Walisinha Harishchandra in the early 1900s, that confronted the Archaeological Survey Department in the historic city of Anuradhapura was a struggle between colonial archaeology and the idea of heritage. Buddhists urged that the living characteristics of historic Buddhist sites be taken into account in their preservation 2. These early-twentieth-century clashes with colonial archaeology had long-lasting consequences for the country's post-colonial politics. The ancient city of Anuradhapura, thus acquiring a wealth of historical truths through colonial archaeology, and having been co-opted in a nationalist discourse, pitched by Harishchandra, that showed a particular kind of anti-colonial sentiments 3 , became the treasured historical center for Sinhala-Buddhists in Sri Lanka. Anuradhapura became the ethnonationalist symbol of the ancient grandeur and political authority of modern Buddhist rulers 4. These two mutually inclusive histories effectively keep archaeology from becoming a critical social practice. For a significant majority of Sri Lankan archaeologists, archaeology remains a project to construct culture-historical narratives about the country's past, using a loosely positivist-empiricist and commonsense approach of knowledge production entangled in locating essences and origins in ethnic, geographical, and chronological categories in Sri Lanka's past 5. Finding such
Archaeologies of Listening
This chapter critically discusses the current heritage management processes deployed at the Sigir... more This chapter critically discusses the current heritage management processes deployed at the Sigiriya World Heritage site in Sri Lanka, a significant tourist attraction. We examine the current condition of the site and the lack of involvement of the associated communities in its management. Through a series of inquiries among healers, artisans, and irrigation managers, new insights are gained into indigenous heritage values and meanings that are separated from heritage values assigned to Sigiriya. These insights compel an argument for the necessity to incorporate the ideas and opinions of the traditional knowledge keepers of the ancient villages in the vast forest land around Sigiriya. We end with suggesting a template arising out of local analyses for changing the management protocols at Sigiriya.
Performance art is a genre of art that has its roots in early 1950s in New York, where artists co... more Performance art is a genre of art that has its roots in early 1950s in New York, where artists combined elements of theatre, music, dance and visual arts. Beginning of Performance art has close affinities with another art form called 'happening'. A happening is an art form with a high degree of entertainment where an artist plans an event combining elements of theatre and visual art with sufficient space for spontaneity.
Cultures and Globalization: Heritage, …, Jan 1, 2011
Art and Social Change: Contemporary Art in Asia and …, Jan 1, 2005
colomboinstitute.org
Each generati on must out of relati ve obscurity discover its mission, fulfi ll it, or betray it ... more Each generati on must out of relati ve obscurity discover its mission, fulfi ll it, or betray it (Fanon1991).
Books by Jagath Weerasinghe
‘The Cultures and Globalization Series 4, Heritage, Memory and Identity’, Helmut Anheier and Yudhisthir Raj Isar (eds.) (, London: Sage Publications, 2011) pp. 139-147., 2011
This essay argues that the key concept of authenticity needs to be reexamined and adjusted in the... more This essay argues that the key concept of authenticity needs to be reexamined and adjusted in the era of globalization, particularly in relation to the category of living sacred heritage. Local cultural contexts are no longer isolated islands of thought and tradition, they are in fact "globalized contexts" inhabited by communities and individuals interacting with globalized social media, and conscious of their rights who may well resist the interventions of heritage professionals who are solely guided by the authorized heritage discourse. The heritage can no longer be seen as a static entity belonging in the past. It is not a "thing" but a cultural process the author argues and as such preservation procedures and the role of the expert need to be redefined.
Uploads
Papers by Jagath Weerasinghe
Books by Jagath Weerasinghe