As I attended the ceremonies and cultural events I couldn't help but to notice how involved the youth are. As I wrote in my journal ".... There are children with instruments. There are children practicing their choreography. There is a child mimicking her mother's gestures as she talks in her native tongue. All whom which are preparing for a parade. A celebration of their country". I really think that the whole aspect of community and passing on their traditions is something that needs to be shared about this culture. As one member of the organization Sri Lanka American Association of Southern California -SLAASC- said in the interview "Our goal is to foster the spirit of fellowship through the enrichment of cultural heritage for the Sri Lankan community. We pride ourselves for bringing Sri Lankans closer in the community". Not only does this organization bring the community closer, it also allows the community to show the public their culture. Giving them a glimpse of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan community feel that it is important to continue their traditions. It is important to carry on their pride for their country and their beliefs. As Shanalie, a 14 year old girl told me "I like coming to events and being apart with everyone. Everyone here is family. We share the love for our country. We're not going to hide it just because we're not in Sri Lanka. I like learning the traditions. It makes me happy"
I really wanted to show how much this culture value their traditions and most importantly how the traditions are being passed on to their youth. My selection of photos starts off with two men holding a banner of an organization, “Sri Lanka American Association of Southern California”. The third to last photo show a group of teenagers holding a banner, “Sri Lanka Youth Organization”. In between it all I incorporated photos of cultural events and performances showcasing Sri Lankan food, dancers, musicians, etc. Meaning that these traditions are all being passed from the adults (first photo), on to the youth (third to last photo). I tried to incorporate a follow up photo of children doing somewhat of the same thing. Like this for example.
By doing so, it will help (I hope) the viewer understand the aspect that I’m trying show.
Given that these traditions come from Sri Lanka, I also incorporated photos that are set in Sri Lanka, showing its origin and how it is also practiced in the motherland. For example:
The photo on the left is a Thai Pongal being done by my relatives in Sri Lanka.
The photo on the right takes place at a temple in Los Angeles. My aim, with this back and forth idea, was to also give the viewer a feel, or glimpse, of Sri Lanka. Just like the photos of the elephants. This also appears with the foundation stone ceremony photo, the follow up photo shows my grandparents standing in front of the pit where they did the same ceremony, right before building their home.
Throughout these photos it is very visible to see how involved this community is. There is a photo of my grandfather in his funeral and right before that is a photo of my father, 3 months old, and aunty , 3 years old. Now, my aim with involving those photos was to explain how from birth to death they will carry on their (the community) ways through the next generation (a photo of two little girls on a boat is then showed), guiding the way (the photo with the little boy holding the Sri Lanka flag). I ended the sequence with a photo of the whole community. Signifying the unity in this culture.
I showed this presentation to a group from the community. They really loved how I incorporated daily activities (like the gardening, and going to the market) photos from Sri Lanka and how I involved the youth as well. They worried that the class might not know as much to know what I’m trying to show. They mentioned that I’m doing too much ‘in between the lines’ type of thing. My decision of not putting any subtitles was supported by them. We think it would be interesting how the class will interpret the presentation.
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