Abstract:
The horanawa is the Sri Lankan version of the double-reed instrument, which can be
found in other cultures with similar shapes and playing techniques under different
names. The horanawa has been important especially to Sinhala Buddhists since it
symbolizes “spiritualty” and “locality”. Kulathillaka1 writes, referring to previous
musicologists, that the horanawa has its origins in Western Asia, and that it
migrated later to Sri Lanka. To him, Sri Lankan drums reveal their history through
the etymological features in Sinhala, unlike the term horanawa, which implies a
foreign origin. He finds alternative terms used for horanawa in history as “oththu
thanthiri” and “pata thanthiri”. The horanawa falls under the category “sushira” of
the vernacular musical instrument classification system called “panchaturya”. The
highly regarded royal and religious events and Sinhala popular plays such as sokari,
kolam, and nadagam were musically accompanied by panchaturya instruments,
where the horanawa was equally important to drums. Buddhist murals in the
temples of the southern coast depicting musicians playing musical instruments
reveal that such events were very well perceived all over Sri Lanka, as various
historical sources provide evidence for. However, after the nineteenth century, in
addition to these local musical instruments, the murals included the colonizers’
musical instruments, such as wind instruments made of brass, snare drums, harps,
and the violin, documenting the impact of colonial culture on social changes in Sri
Lanka. This research includes information gathered through interviewing musicians,
scholars, and reviewing previous literature which is mostly unknown to the
academic world outside Sri Lanka.
