{"id":134132,"date":"2023-05-02T15:51:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T22:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=134132"},"modified":"2023-05-02T15:51:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T22:51:04","slug":"wetness-is-not-the-preserve-of-the-wet-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2023\/05\/02\/wetness-is-not-the-preserve-of-the-wet-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Wetness’ is not the preserve of the Wet Zone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malinda Seneviratne<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t know when the terms viyali kalaapaya<\/em> (dry zone) and theth kalaapaya<\/em> (wet zone) were first used in relation to this island. I don\u2019t know when the term mosam sulang<\/em> (monsoon winds) was first used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge doesn\u2019t follow naming. People obviously knew the difference between wet and dry. They could tell which parts of the country got more rain. They knew when the rains could be expected. They planned cultivation accordingly. They probably knew that the climate has changed long before they were told about \u2018climate change,\u2019 because climate and cultivation and indeed climate and life are interconnected.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost forty years ago, the loku hamuduruwo<\/em> of the Kathnoruwa Rajamaha Viharaya, spoke about such things. First of all he questioned the relevance of the term \u2018environment,\u2019 insisting that svabhava dharmaya<\/em> (translatable as \u2018natural order\u2019 or the logic of natural processes) is more appropriate. Then he pointed out that the Rajarata is hardly dry although large swathes of it are located in what\u2019s called the \u2018Dry Zone.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even before large dams were designed, built and commissioned along the Mahaweli, the Dry Zone was considerably wet thanks to the innumerable water conservation and planned irrigation initiatives over several millennia. \u2018Dry\u2019 has connotations of chronic water scarcity. That\u2019s not true of the so-called Dry Zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are droughts, sure. There are dry periods. There are pockets that get meager amounts of rainfall. And yet, for the most part, there\u2019s cultivation. People may have to walk a kilometer or more, but even in dry spells they find the time and energy to bathe in a nearby reservoir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it is relative and the relativity is understood. Heat leaves marks on the landscape, on skin and settles like fine dust in the minds. When the rains fail, in certain parts of the country, people don\u2019t die of thirst, but the fact that they are forced to purchase rice irks them no end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The rain, when it does arrive, does not descend on dust-brown landscapes and trees bereft of leaves, but it still re-colours everything, including the complexion of faces and the width of a smile. It adds that much more variety to the palette of the earth.      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It happens when there hasn\u2019t been rain for a long time. It also happens when it has been raining almost everyday. Rain re-blushes the world de-blushed by the sun. The greens of the moment-ago are replaced by during-rain and post-green hues. It\u2019s a part of the endless magic of the \u2018dry\u2019 zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word for dry in Sinhala is viyali<\/em>. Wet would be theth. Thethamanaya<\/em> could be translated as wetness, but the Sinhala word has an additional meaning which may have been first inspired by seasonality associated with rain. It\u2019s about a heart that is moved to be empathetic, to be kind and generous. Such hearts are not zone-bound or country-bound, but in an area designated as \u2018dry\u2019 and to a visitor who is swayed by names and assumes the accuracy of labels, a heart, a person, a family or community clearly empowered by this quality would appear to be quite exceptionally magical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s how people are, for the most part. In all parts of the country. They don\u2019t have to be taught how to smile. They don\u2019t say \u2018hi\u2019 or \u2018what\u2019s up\u2019 out of learned courtesy. They may nod their heads, acknowledge presence, reciprocate similar greetings and if you ask a question will take the trouble to answer. Ask for directions and they will tell you. If they don\u2019t know, they will ask someone who does. They will make sure you don\u2019t leave without an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this country there\u2019s that kind of greenery, that kind of thethamanaya<\/em>. It is not seasonal. The colours are not always vibrant but there\u2019s always the promise that vibrancy there will be. Perhaps it has become part of the svabhava dharmaya <\/em>but even if it is not its traces are unmistakable. Always there, just around the next bend or wrapped in a word or in the contours of a smile. We are an island that is a theth kalaapaya<\/em> in and of itself. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Malinda Seneviratne I don\u2019t know when the terms viyali kalaapaya (dry zone) and theth kalaapaya (wet zone) were first used in relation to this island. I don\u2019t know when the term mosam sulang (monsoon winds) was first used. Knowledge doesn\u2019t follow naming. People obviously knew the difference between wet and dry. They could tell which parts of the country got more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-134132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-malinda-seneviratne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134132\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}