Beliefs and Rituals of the Sinhalese Associated with Rain and Drought

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that ever since the founding of the Sinhalese civilization, whose members to this day form the bulk of the island population, the main occupation of survival has been agriculture. Buddhism, the religion of plurality, was ushered into the island in 3rd century B.C. and has endured as the faith of the people shepherding their corporeal and incorporeal being and has additionally contributed remarkably towards the unique culture known as the Sinhala Buddhist culture. After the introduction of Buddhism the agrarian life of the island gained new life. People’s beliefs about nature are an amalgamation of the primitive cults and the newly introduced denomination. Based on the theme of Sinhalese Buddhist beliefs about rain and drought, this study attempts to analyze the data from the historical chronicles as well as folklore to gain insights into the gradual evolution of the belief system.