National Customs

Customs and Habits

You know that Sri Lanka is an island that has bee conquered many times by Europeans (by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English). This had manifest influences on the population. Nevertheless (and maybe because of this) they are a very independent and also proud folk that has not easily pulled the wool over their heads. Through the many years of occupation they have learned to analyse the "Whites" (called "sudhus" by them) perfectly in detail so that these had happily the wool pulled over their heads. This sometimes leads to disappointments among guests as they fully trust their local "friend". To this please read section "Surroundings" and also chapter "Beachboys".

Things that are unaccustomed:

To say "Yes":

In some Asian countries one shakes ones head to say "Yes". These also include Sri Lanka. So if your are e.g. ask : "Do you know the Lotus-Villa" at your arrival and they shake their heads then this means Yes and not No. This often leads to tricky situations when you ask a waiter if they serve tea and he shakes this head. By the way it is not the same shaking of the head as it is done in the West rather the head is moved in a way that reminds of a laying figure of 8.

Greeting:

Sometimes one has the feeling of being greeted rather unfriendly: the reason is that the person with the "higher rang" has to signal the person with a "lower rang" that he is even allowed to greet one. The signal is often a simple smile or nod that we would not even notice. It is uncommon to shake hands but it is practised by people who already know each other and those who work in the tourist industry. It is a symbol of politeness and a signal that "you know each other". It is uncommon to shake hands with monks and Muslim women. Monks should only be given a possible donation of money by a man.

Eating with the fingers:

In Sri Lanka it is common to eat with your hands. It is even practised among people of a "higher rang". We on the other hand have learned that touching our food is unsavoury, so it is possible that some people may feel offended by this behaviour. There are also certain rules in place that lay down how one should eat using only ones fingers. We are delighted to show how to eat "correctly using only your fingers". Those people who only eat using their finger mentioned two main reasons mentioned as being positive:

1. You definitely wash your hands before eating and

2. You never burn your lips.

At the Lotus-Villa all members of staff  " including the managers and physicians " eat using their fingers only.

(to be continued)