February 2023
A second collaborative field trip (consisting of interviews, site visits, and participant observation in heritage tours) to Sri Lanka took place in February 2023. This time research concentrated on the politics of heritage in eastern parts of the island.
The itinerary consisted of:
February 10th - 21st
Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Batticaloa , Kattankudy, Trincomalee, Kanniya
Participants: Hasini (Colombo), Mark, Daniel, Lasni and Neluni (Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Batticaloa , Kattankudy, Trincomalee, Kanniya)
Colombo
11 February – documentation of Bandaranaike Memorial Museum
12 February – project meeting
Kandy
13 February – Mark and Neluni visited Hatton and interviewed Tamil artist Hanusha Somasundaram; Lasni and Daniel visited local schools and interviewed teachers
14 February – Temple of the Tooth Relic visit and documented memorials to bomb attack, whole team visit to Ceylon Tea Worker’s Museum
Batticaloa
15-16 February – Mark and Neluni interviewed Catholic priest; Daniel and Lasni interviewed local history teachers; whole team visited Kattakundy Mosque and documented Memorial to Mosque Attack, as well as documented the Aranthalawa Memorial to the Massacre and interviewed a Buddhist high priest
Trincomalee and Kanniya Hot Springs
17 February – project meetings
18 February – documentation of Kanniya Springs pilgrimage site and visit to Orrs Hill Army Museum
19 February – visit to Koneswaram Temple and interviews with Catholic priests in Trincomalee
Further to this, Nirmal and Darshi commenced their work in Sri Lanka focusing on the memory and memorialisation of the late-80s and early-90s JVP-related political violence.
