Sri Lanka It's Happening

May 17, 2006

Followers of four major religions live in Sri Lanka. All four teach that you should share what you have with the less fortunate. For 364 days of the year Sri Lankans forget it but do remember at times of festivals.

Wesak isn't a festival but it has been made into one, a highly commercialized one at that. On wesak day, Dan Sal dot the country side. These are stalls where food and drinks are served to all and sundry free of charge.

Dan Sal organizors begin their work about a month or so before wesak. The organizors are usually people who have nothing better to do and usually unemployed. They go from house to house and shop to shop to raise funds. Some of this money is actually used to buy food the rest is used to buy a few beers after a hard day of walking from house to house.

Once the cooking (done without much thought to hygiene) is complete, the Dan Sala is declared open usually by an influential small businessman or shopkeeper. The person who does that is expected to make a 'donation' along with everyone else who partakes in the first meal. Some of this money is used to buy food for next years event, most of it used to buy booze. Because the taverns are closed by government decree most of this money ends up in the hands of moonshine vendors.

After the 'vips' leave, people are literally dragged off the streets so that they may enjoy the hospitality of the Dan Sala. The goons who run the show obstruct traffic and virtually force drinks down the throat of any motorist that they manage to stop.

Posted by raditha at May 17, 2006 6:38 AM