Periclean Scholars Class of 2023 organized the Sri Lankan New Year to bring awareness among the students about the diverse culture of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is a country that is dazzling in its beauty, history, and cultural complexity. The two main ethnic groups on the island (the Sinhalese and the Tamils) each maintain unique linguistic and cultural traditions that exist nowhere else in the world. These two groups also share many commonalities, including the New Year’s holiday, which is widely celebrated by both the Sinhalese and Tamil people.
To bring awareness about this diverse culture, Periclean Scholars Class of 2023 organized two days event at Elon University. A food truck was set up with typical Sri Lankan food items on April 12 and 13, with a cultural show also taking place on April 13.
The celebration started with food and games and went into typical Sinhalese Traditional dances by Elon Students Sitare Sadedhi and Tara Venkataraman (video below). finally, Tamil traditional Parai Music, and Tamil traditional martial arts techniques called Silambam and Kalari Adimurai were displayed by teams from Carolina Tamil Kalaikoodam and Academy of Kalari Adimurai (video below).
This program was well attended by students and staff who showed interest in learning about Sri Lankan culture and tasting Sri Lankan traditional food.