Article Review Reg.

No: 712164623

Social Change and the Deities:

Rise of the Kataragama Cult in Modern Sri Lanka

GananathObeyesekere
University of California, San Diego

Abstract
This article was written by Mr. Gananath Obeyesekere on the topic of the Social Change and
the Deities, especially on the rise of the Kataragama Cult in modern Sri Lanka in the
journal called Man,New Series,Vol:12(pp.377-396) published in 1977. The main subject
explained in this paper is that there is a greater and not lesser commitment and belief in the
spirit cult, due to the greater development, education and the knowledge of Buddhist
principle. Furthermore the article deals with the rise and fall of the deities in the Sinhala -
Buddhist pantheon through historical time, with the ups and downs in the socio-economic and
political fields. The author has done several researches and reference line surveys in order to
come to the final findings and conclusion.

Introduction
This research paper has been numbered with seven different subheadings. They are:
1. Introduction
2. The four deities of Kandy
3. Skanda in Sri Lankan History
4. The rise and fall of the deities
5. Deities and the division of labour
6. Skanda: emergent national deity
7. The future of the Skanda cult

First of all the author has explained about the four devales in the temple of the tooth in
Kandy. This is the most sacred place for the Buddhist since it is the palladium of the
Buddha’s tooth relic. There are four devales here which belong to the 2 since it is the
palladium of the Buddha’s tooth relic. There are four devales here which belong to the
foremost four deities, such as Natha, Vishnu, Skanda and Pattini. These four deities are
believed to be a protection to the tooth relic. The author has done some research and
observations and come to some conclusions such as there are most people visiting the
Skandashrine that the Vishnu and Pattini shrines. And also there is very little devotees
visiting the Natha shrines.

The author has also clearly explained the categories of people visiting the different shrines
such as ladies and newlywed couples are visiting the Pattini shrines and mostly businessmen
are visiting the Skanda shrine. In addition to this the author has also explained that this is
only the situation at the temple of tooth in Knady and there are different major shrines for
each deity around the country which has different findings.

However, in order to make these findings more strong and comparable the author has done a
reference line survey. This baseline information clearly explains about the rise and fall of the
four deities. Furthermore it is identified that gods have clear and definite identities and
mytho-biographies that clearly differentiate one from another.

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In addition to this they have special attributes and roles to play that distinguish one from
another. And also when some of these roles and attributes are no longer relevant or applicable
the deity tends to go out of favour. In this article it is clearly explained that there is a
diminishing in the deities of Natha, Vishnu and Pattini. However there is evidence that the
Skanda has an increase on the number of devotees visiting the shrine. However this is only
the situation at the temple of the tooth in Kandy. The writer has in detailed explained why the
04 shrines where introduced, what is the importance of each deity, what is there position in
the festival procession and also why the number of devotees have diminished nowadays.

In the next part of the article, the writer has clearly explained about the history of Skanda in
Sri Lanka. Who is Skanda, what his purpose is, what is his vehicle and more details about
Skanda being the god of wars are also explained in this article. The stages and progress of the
Skanda in each century is clearly explained here. The importance of the Skanda deity in the
Kandiyan kingdom is also clearly explained. Furthermore in this article the writer has
explained about how the number of devotees to the Kataragama shrine has increased
overtime and also about the change of individual devotion method from the group devotion
method. He has also given reference from various sources such as the government agent’s
reports.

In the next part of the article the writer is seeking to say that modern dominance of Skanda as
a consequence of social change, specifically of four features of the situation as it prevails in
Sri Lanka. Further the writer reveals that the social change such as the improved educational
level, social, political and economic development of the country has played a great impact on
the method of devotion and number of devotees especially in the Kataragama region. Formal
education has not trained individuals to cope with the complexities of the political order. The
writer has also clearly explained about the deities and the division of labour. The writer also
states that with the increasing urbanization a social change people will resort to
supernaturalism to achieve desired goals. The writer has also clearly explained with examples
the feature of the skanda cult. It is clear that the number of devotees is more during the
festival season than compared in the off season.

Article Structure:

When we consider about the article, it is structured in a well-organized quite lengthy

paragraph based. The author has separately mentioned the headings which are used in the
article for the main discussion.
The author does not clearly define any terms. Very high range of vocabulary has been used
by the author who makes the audience a bit hesitant. He neither has used tables to illustrate
his discussion points.
The structure of the article shows the uniqueness and the identity of the writer. Surprisingly,
this paper does not consist of conventional elements that a research paper should possess
from introduction to the findings and recommendations. At the same time, this article
contains an adequate number of references that have been mentioned in the Bibliography.

Accuracy: - The author has shown references from which he got some information of
arguments and facts. It seems like a broad study and it is accurate according to the references
attached with.

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Currency: - This article seems very old and cannot be considered to a latest one and current
because the author has acquired knowledge and ideas on particular study mostly from the
oldest references. The list shows the period prior to 1972.

Relevance: - This study is not for an entertainment purpose. It can be utilized for developing
discourse patterns and its properties that can be used in the field of Anthropology.

Objectivity: - The information has been objectively developed. It has been well supported
with some new research base and evidence. The references are shown.

Stability: - The article and its source can be considered a stable and as a resource for future
learners who study Sociology as a subject.