A Sinhala-language study by Dr. Gayani Deepika Maddumage, published in Colombo by Godage International Publishers. The whole of the text is in Sinhala, with no English translation, so a reader will need to be comfortable in the language before ordering.
The subject is the dewala culture of Balangoda. A dewala is a shrine dedicated to a deity, distinct from a Buddhist temple though often standing alongside one, and each has its own custodians, offerings, rituals and calendar of observances. Balangoda sits in the Ratnapura district of Sabaragamuwa, inland and upcountry, a region with its own devotional practices and local traditions.
Work of this kind is usually written from a mix of fieldwork, oral testimony from those attached to the shrines, and whatever documentary record survives — the sort of material that is rarely gathered anywhere else.
It will suit readers with an interest in Sri Lankan folk religion, ritual and regional anthropology, students working on Sabaragamuwa or on devala practice, and anyone with family or scholarly ties to the Balangoda area. Buyers abroad who read Sinhala will find this a title that seldom turns up outside Sri Lanka.
- Author: Dr.Gayani Deepika Maddumage
- Publisher: Godage International Publishers
- Language: Sinhala
- Pages: 240
- ISBN: 9789553099136
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