It is in this, the first segment of this site, that I bring together the more important ways in which I tried to de-mystify the subjects of Sri Lankan ships and watercraft. To those who are unfamiliar with these three words, let me try to explain:
ORU is the Sinhala word for the single outrigger canoe, commonly and incorrectly referred to as “catamaran;
PARU are the twin dugout hulled barges used on inland waters and for beach-seine laying off-shore and;
YATHRA are the last of the single-outrigger sailing seagoing cargo ships that lasted till the 1930s. More information will be found in the other materials
below.
I have left out almost all my earlier writings as what is important is refined and included in my later work, below. I have grouped the papers into two: the deeper studies that reflect my research [i.e.published in Journals and Books] and more reader-friendly pieces that have appeared in newspapers and magazines. The first group is called RESEARCH and the other READ. If you are new to this subject, start with READ. If you are a serious student, go on to RESEARCH – but you will find interesting bits in READ, too.
Just click on any title to access it. The lists are open-ended and will be added to.
Two persons whose work in this field have been considerable need to be recognized - Vini Vitharana and Gerhard Kapitan for their seminal works on the ORU - as also others whose in-depth analyses of specific areas: Eric Kentley, Tom Vosmer and Gerald Grainge. I hope to pay them due tribute in this section.
| 1 | The Lost Ships of Lanka | The Oru of Sri Lanka | A | |
| 2 | Sri Lankan Nautical Culture and Technology…# | Vernacular Watercraft in Transition: a case study… | B | |
| 3 | The Humble Oruwa. | Ships and ship-building in Sri Lanka | C | |
| 4 | In Search of Arab Ships and Sailors | Sailing on a String and a Prayer | D | |
| 5 | Sailing Ships on Temple Walls | Pre Modern Sri Lankan Ships | E | |
| 6 | The Lost Sips Trilogy: | # Pre Modern Sri Lankan Watercraft: the twin-hulled logboats | F | |
| 6.1 | Westward Ho! | Evolution through Intraction… | G | |
| 6.2 | Mansions of the Sea | Mariners, Merchants, Monks: Sri Lanka & the Eastern Seas | H | |
| 6.3 | Sailing Past Sailan | Remains of Riverine Craft… | J | |
| 7 | “Paruve gamana” * | Kapitän: Records of Traditional Watercraft from… | K | |
| 8 | Wrecks on the river bed * | Vitharana: The Oru and the Yathra | L | |
| 9 | Ships through the Artist’s eye * | Grainge: Sailing a Sinhalese Outrigger Logboat | M | |
| * Kentley: The madel paruwa of Sri Lanka | N | |||
| * Vosmer: Boat ethnography: the yathra dhoni of Sri Lanka | O | |||
| Book Review: Boats of South Asia | P | |||
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