Misconceptions about Demons & Witchcraft in Sri Lanka | An Explainer

Sri Lanka is strange. For one, three persistent sub-religions are practiced by most Sri Lankans, although they may not be aware of it. These are Demonism, Capuism, and Grahaism. Anthropologists have widely documented all three. Europeans recorded these religions under the terms of Witchcraft and Demonology. I don't blame them. How could they possibly understand? Even modern Sri Lankans are unaware of why or how these three sub-religions have become so deeply embedded in the culture.

Chapters:

• An overview of historical relations between Sinhala and Tamil people, contributing to the growth of these sub-religions.
• Colonial misinterpretations & how sub-religions persist alongside Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.
• Demonology as a means of maintaining wellness.
• Capuism to broker a relationship with vengeful deities.
• Grahaism, to neutralize planetary influence.

For more on this episode, https://www.dmdealwis.com/009-misconceptions-of-sri-lankan-demon-worship/

This episode focuses on Maha Kola Sanni Yaksha, often described as the chief of the eighteen disease demons in Sri Lankan folklore. Drawing on an 1866 journal entry from the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, we explore accounts of his origin and how he and his Yaksha retinue came to be associated with specific illnesses.

We look at how the Sanni Yakuma ritual serves as both a cultural performance and a form of healing, blending satire, community, and sensory immersion. What happens when illness is anthropomorphized? And how do ritual, belief, and medicine intersect?

Topics in this episode:

• Origin stories for the Maha Kola Sanni Yaksha
• The 18 Sanni Yaksha and their disease associations
• Changes in the yaksha list over time
• The Sanni Yakuma ritual as a healing practice
• How Christian colonialism confused our perception of “demon” and “spirit”

If the podcast resonates with you, consider following the show and sharing it with others who are interested in folklore, history, and belief systems that are shaped outside the Western canon.

For more about this podcast and its narrator, visit https://dmdealwis.com/about/.

Show notes can be found here: https://www.dmdealwis.com/008-the-yaksha-maha-kola-sanni/

What do you do when half a dozen monkeys steal all of the hats you sell? Here is the story of the hat seller. This is a Sri Lankan story often told to young children at bedtime. The moral of the story is to keep your cool and observe the situation before taking the time to outsmart your adversary.

To find out more about me and why this podcast at https://www.dmdealwis.com/.

Intro and exit music clip is from Cinder and Smoke by Music for Makers.