Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c30.s1: I. Kinnaraya’s Song

Mediaeval Sinhalese Art c30.s1

Language: English

I. Kinnaraya’s Song

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1. Early in the morning, when the wife has cooked and given food, set out to pluck *niyanda*; scrape and wash it, and from that *niyanda* take three handfuls.

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2. To make *niyanda* red take leaves of *korakaha*, *pataṅgi* and alum; to make it yellow use *venivel*; to make it black use *araḷu* and *buḷu*.

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3. Take a little combed *niyanda* and for spinning thread, a spindle; wind the thread upon the spindle, fasten the beam, lay the warp.

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4. Take slips of bamboo for the reed, and talipot slips for the outside of the heddles, make the *pannam-baṭe* smooth, in the *heḍa-liya* cut the holes.

5. Between the aforesaid (rods) let there be another, called the *uttara paṭa*, as the custom is; from the tripod (*tunpa kolle*) let the *valuvaḍu* (hanks of fibre) be suspended; little by little drawing through different spaces (weave the mat).

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6. Sing all the time a *kavi-paḍa*, a meet song for the world, weaving as best you can, to make a good mat for to-morrow.

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7. Weave *pannam* at the beginning, *toran-peṭṭa* next to that, in black and white; weave *depoṭa-lanuva*, *del-geṭa-lanuva*, parrots and doves into the mat.

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8. Weave two rows of *tāraka-peṭṭa*, put in whatever sort of work you can, singing withal a *kavi-paḍa* telling to the world whatso you know.

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9. Weave in the mat *ratvat-alaṅkaraya*, stretch out the hands to weave, ever keep an eye upon the work on either hand; this is our right from ancient days.

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10. The *tanivel iruva* has its name of old; therewithal ’tis the custom to sing *kavi-paḍa*; in thick darkness one cannot well fare to and fro: give not if a lower price is offered.

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11. Parrots and doves I weave into the mat, parrots, *maliti*, *sēḷa-lihiṇi*; knots I tie around the edges of the mat: I will make a mat for Aunt to see.

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12. From the beginning in the time of *Maha Sammata*, thenceforward are the eighteen separate castes: *siv-paḍa* song (quatrains) was then composed: weaving was also invented then.

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13. Who was then married to that king? Queen Meṇik Pala was married there: our Kinnaraya’s beginning, too, was in the time of Mahā Sammata; for that king had servants even then. song
14. Who gave to that king the woven mats? what did he give to the man who wove and gave the mats? who gave the kavi-pada, banishing ill-fortune? Lord Buddha gave the kavi-pada, banishing ill-fortune.
15. Kakusanda, Koṇagama, by those Munis’ help, by help of Kaśyapa, Gautama, by help of Makkama, Samaṇala and Śrī Pāda, by their help no ill-fortune attends these songs.