The Origin of Folk Poems

The Origin of Folk Poems......

📷 courtesy- exploresrilanka.lk

The rural life of the villagers during the past was very simple but the tasks that they had to do due to their occupations were not easy. Most of the villagers had to put much effort to fulfill the tasks and to get benefits from them. The farmers, the cartmen, the gem miners, the potters, the sailors etc work hard daily for a meager salary. They had to earn daily to to cover their daily expenses while some had to wait until a particular period of time. Farmers are among them. They plant the seeds, plough the paddy fields and after a lengthy process waiting for a bigger harvest. 

During the period they work, they tried to avoid the negative thoughts arouse in their mind. The difficult experiences that they go through while doing their occupations were expressed in poems in a very positive way. They sang them in  a tune that suits their experiences. Therefore folk poems are considered the melody of the true life experiences. 

Pal Kavi.....

Farmers expressed their feelings when they are spending nights at chena. During the period that plants grow, farmers used to protect the plants chasing away elephants, pigs and other wild animals at night. They stay in a hut made on trees to be safe from wild animals and sing "Pel kavi" to cope up with loneliness, to express  the hardships that they have to go through. When a farmer in one place sings inside the hut loud the one listens to it in another hut sings a reply poem louder. So, it built up coordination and bond between them. There are so many types of poems in Sri Lankan folklore which represent the reality of rural life.