(Documentary Film by Colombo Institute in Association with heritage as Placemaking project)
Time: 19 minutes / Language: English
Conceptualization and Research
Sasanka Perera and Pooja Kalita
Field Photography and Videography
Sasanka Perera and Pooja Kalita
This documentary focuses on the Katina Cheewara uja. It is one of the most important rituals in the Sri Lankan Buddhist ritual calendar. Katina marks the end of the rainy retreat of Buddhist monks. During the retreat, the monks are expected to be indoors in their temples and read and contemplate on the Dhamma. Once the rains are over, they are expected to emerge into public religious life and obligations again. The Katina Cheewara Puja and the alms offered during the ritual marks this reemergence. Rooted in Theravada Buddhist traditions, this ritual is a cornerstone of Sinhala Buddhist practice in Sri Lanka. However, the events covered in the documentary take place in Lumbini, Nepal, the birthplace of Lord Buddha even though the temple spearheading the ritual is a Sri Lankan temple, called Sri Lanka Maha Vihara established by the Government o Sri Lanka within the Theravada Zone of the Lumbini development Area. The film explores how a ritual rooted in a specific place with its own cultural literacy might reinvent itself in a vastly different cultural location. Click here to view the documentary: https://youtu.be/AIIrVvU3vf4