Scenic Series - Ceylon 6

A clear cool morning in the valley, everywhere eyes can see, lush, green, vegetation, birds singing their heart out --- perhaps Tchaikovsky spent a night here before writing his famous symphony. In Sri Lanka we have a special branch of poetry, "pal kavi" (poems of a cottage), inspired by scenes like these. These poems keep the farmers, who spend the night at temporary huts like these to protect the crop from marauding animals, awake and entertained. It is not uncommon to hear "poetry contests" that sometimes run all night, between farmers in adjoining farms.

These huts have a bamboo frame, covered with woven coconut fronds. This allows for good air circulation to beat the mid day heat, yet provide ample protection from the monsoon rain that keep the vegetation lush and green. These huts also are used during the growing season, for resting between bouts of work, and serve as a convenient place to enjoy the meals brought to the field by the women folk of the village.

Photo: Tom Tidball