Mage Kuday Glossary
Dhamma - Many meanings - the truth, teaching, law or duty, as preached by the Buddha.
Kuday - Umbrella in Sinhala.
Crimson spit - Created from chewing areca nut, betel leaf, and lime paste, which also provides a small buzz Extremely common in S. Asia.
Sanchi relief - One of the earliest Buddhist monuments, the reliefs decorating the gateways at Sanchi do not use a human figure to depict the Buddha, but various symbols such as wheels, seats, parasols, etc.
Holy parasol - Parasols have traditionally been used in S. Asia to indicate temporal or spiritual royalty, and still do in processions.When it rains, Sri Lankans put anything on their head to keep from getting wet.
Temple of the Tooth, Kandyan Maligawa - Various epithets for the temple which holds Sri Lanka's most sacred relic of the Buddha, a tooth brought over from India not long after the Buddha was cremated.A site all Sri Lankan Buddhists attempt to visit, the Maligawa was incorporated into the Kandyan kings palace, and became associated with the Kandyan holdout from British colonization. In 1998, the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), with whom the government has waged Civil War since 1983, drove large loads of explosives into the front of the building.
Monsoon roof - The typical Kandyan roof designed to shed rain, and looks a bit like the Pizza Hut roof. These roofs are also found at sites like Embekke.
Thupa-Rama - The oldest stupa (dome shaped Buddhist relic shrine) in Sri Lanka, often used for tourist posters because of its picturesque antiquity.
Tilak - The “third eye” or holy spot of red powder Hindus wear on their foreheads during and after puja (worship).
Green Elephant Dignitaries - Our classroom was formerly used as a meeting place by the previous owner of the house, assassinated United National Party politico Gamini Dissanayake. The green elephant is the party's symbol.
“the problem race” - Tamils... crosses for the Christians, tilaks for the Hindus.