Virtual Reality as an Applied Safeguarding Tool for Sri Lankan Traditional Music Heritage

Abstract

In Sri Lanka, traditional musical practices embedded in agricultural, ritual, and occupational contexts are rapidly declining due to modernization, generational discontinuity, and the erosion of performance environments. Existing safeguarding initiatives largely emphasize documentation and archiving, often failing to engage younger generations or to communicate the experiential and contextual dimensions of musical traditions. Addressing this gap, this study explores how emerging technologies particularly Virtual Reality (VR) can be effectively integrated into efforts to sustain and promote Sri Lankan traditional music heritage. Grounded in applied ethnomusicology and UNESCO’s safeguarding principles, the research combines ethnographic fieldwork, archival research, and digital application development. Audio recordings from early ethnomusicologists such as Arnold Bake, W. B. Makulloluwa, and C. de S. Kulatillake, alongside contemporary field recordings, informed the creation of a multi domain VR application. The application focuses on endangered musical forms including bullock-cart songs, boatman songs, Kamath gee, and watch hut songs, reconstructing their original cultural and environmental contexts through immersive 3D environments. Developed using Agile methodology, Unity, and Blender, the application was piloted with university students to evaluate usability, engagement, and learning outcomes. The findings demonstrate that VR offers a powerful tool for safeguarding by enabling participatory, multisensory, and context-rich encounters with traditional music. Rather than functioning solely as an archival medium, the VR application supports social sustainability, intergenerational transmission, and cultural agency. The study argues that safeguarding must move beyond preservation toward experiential and community-centered models that recognize traditional music as a living and evolving practice within contemporary Sri Lankan society.