🌿 National Repository for Sri Lankan Intangible Cultural Heritage🌿 Sri Lanka Intangible Cultural Heritage•Art · Crafts · Brassware · Masks · Ayurveda · Landscapes · Festivals
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National Repository for Living Traditions

Centuries of Living Heritage:Preserved for Tomorrow

Explore the sacred continuum of Sri Lanka’s cultural knowledge. Discover ancient palm-leaf pharmacopeia, ceremonial brass casting, sacred temple frescoes, and vibrant mask theatre curated directly from hereditary living masters across seven cultural sanctuaries.

Discover 2,500 years of living traditions — sacred temple arts, brass casting, ritual masks, and ancestral healing systems.

Explore Digital MuseumLiving Cultural Events
2,500+
Years of Heritage
Living island cultural lineages
7 Domains
Main Categories
Crafts, masks, ayurveda & arts
1,200+
Documented Traditions
Sacred texts & living rituals
350+
Conserved Artifacts
Traditional lamps, tools & masks

Explore Our Living Heritage

Seven Main Heritage Categories

Discover the profound cultural tapestry of Sri Lanka across visual arts, master craft traditions, sacred metallurgy, ritual masks, holistic healing, sacred topography, and festive spectacles.

Ayurveda
🌿Ayurveda

Ayurveda

Hela Wedakama, indigenous medicine, herbal remedies, sacred Thel Thulāva vessels, and healing texts.

Heritage Landscapes
🏞️Heritage Landscapes

Heritage Landscapes

Historical cultural landscapes, sacred forest sanctuaries, ancient water gardens, and living topography.

Perahera & Festivals
🥁Perahera & Festivals

Perahera & Festivals

Kandy Esala Perahera, traditional processions, ritual drumming, Vesak celebrations, and folk festivals.

Core Focus Areas

Domains of Intangible Heritage

Safeguarding the sacred implements, living artisanal knowledge, and cultural expressions passed down through generations.

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Art

Traditional Sri Lankan temple paintings, Sigiriya frescoes, rock murals, and classical Buddhist visual arts.

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Crafts

Hereditary handicrafts, Dumbara reed mat weaving, handloom textiles, wood carving, and traditional pottery.

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Brassware

Kandyan brass casting, standing ceremonial oil lamps (Pahana), ritual offering vessels, and lost-wax metallurgy.

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Masks

Ambalangoda folk masks, Raksha guardian masks, traditional Kolam theatre, and therapeutic Sanni Yakuma masks.

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Ayurveda

Ancient Hela Wedakama indigenous medicine, royal hospital ruins, palm-leaf medical texts, and medicated herbal oils.

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Heritage Landscapes

Ancient hydraulic systems, Sigiriya water gardens, Ritigala forest monasteries, and sacred mountain ecosystems.

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Perahera & Festivals

The historic Kandy Esala Perahera, sacred tooth relic processions, ritual Ves dance, drumming, and folk festivals.

Living Traditions & Wisdom

Custodians of Sri Lanka’s Intangible Wealth

Sri Lanka possesses an extraordinary depth of cultural memory. Alongside our profound indigenous healing system, Hela Wedakama, pioneered by royal physicians like King Buddhadasa, the island preserves ancient rock murals, hereditary metalcraft guilds, sacred mask performances, and living ecological water landscapes.

From antique ceremonial implements like the Thel Thulāva to hand-turned brass lamps, Ambalangoda masks, and ancient medical treatises written on cured palm leaves (Puskola Poth), our mission is to record, conserve, and celebrate every thread of Sri Lankan living heritage.

Traditional Sri Lankan heritage documentation and living wisdom
Authentic Cultural Heritage Preservation

Virtual Museum & Gallery

Featured Cultural & Sacred Artifacts

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Thel Thulāva (තෙල් තුලාව) — Antique Brass Oil Pourer
Ayurveda

Thel Thulāva (තෙල් තුලාව) — Antique Brass Oil Pourer

An authentic antique Sri Lankan brass Thel Thulāva, an exquisite ceremonial and medicinal oil dispensing vessel. Historically used by royal…

Hela Weda Apothecary & Herbarium
Ayurveda

Hela Weda Apothecary & Herbarium

A traditional Sri Lankan Hela Wedakama apothecary room, featuring indigenous herbal drying racks, clay fermentation pots, stone grinding mortars (Wangedi),…

Beheth Oruwa (බෙහෙත් ඔරුව) — Ancient Medicinal Canoe
Ayurveda

Beheth Oruwa (බෙහෙත් ඔරුව) — Ancient Medicinal Canoe

Carved from monolithic stone or hardwood, the Beheth Oruwa (medicinal canoe) was the centrepiece of ancient Sri Lankan monastery hospitals…

Puskola Poth (පුස්කොළ පොත්) — Medical Palm-Leaf Manuscripts
Ayurveda

Puskola Poth (පුස්කොළ පොත්) — Medical Palm-Leaf Manuscripts

Ancient palm-leaf treatises containing sacred medical formulations, written in classical Sinhala script using an iron stylus (Panhinda). Includes copies of…

Thel Sindima & Traditional Medicated Oils (තෛල)
Ayurveda

Thel Sindima & Traditional Medicated Oils (තෛල)

The complex ritual and biochemical preparation of classical Sri Lankan medicated oils (Thailaya), including Pinda, Maha Narayana, and Nilyadi. Extracted…

Maha Kola Sanniya & Healing Ritual Masks
Ayurveda

Maha Kola Sanniya & Healing Ritual Masks

The 18 Sanni healing masks used in traditional Sri Lankan ritual psychotherapy and exorcism (Sanni Yakuma). Each mask represents a…

Classical Temple Murals & Frescoes
Art

Classical Temple Murals & Frescoes

Masterpieces of sacred Sri Lankan visual art depicting Jataka tales, Buddhist cosmology, and celestial deities. Painted using natural plant saps,…

Dumbara Handloom & Traditional Batik Tapestry
Crafts

Dumbara Handloom & Traditional Batik Tapestry

Intricate handloom reed and textile craftsmanship originating from the hereditary craft guilds of the Dumbara valley and coastal batik masters.…

Education & Programs

Upcoming Heritage Programs & Events

All Events & Workshops
Thel Sindima: Ancient Medicated Oil Formulation Masterclass
Ayurveda

Thel Sindima: Ancient Medicated Oil Formulation Masterclass

20 November 2026📍 National Institute of Traditional Medicine, Nawinna, Maharagama

A comprehensive practical masterclass demonstrating the ancient art of Thel Sindima (herbal oil brewing). Master physicians demonstrate decoction boiling, herbal…

Puskola Poth Workshop: Conserving Medical Ola Leaf Manuscripts
Ayurveda

Puskola Poth Workshop: Conserving Medical Ola Leaf Manuscripts

5 December 2026📍 BMICH Committee Lounge, Colombo 07

Hands-on workshop on palm-leaf preservation, text transliteration, and traditional ink formulation using dummala oil and charcoal. Led by chief conservators…

Symposium on Ancient Hospital Architecture: Mihintale & Polonnaruwa
Ayurveda

Symposium on Ancient Hospital Architecture: Mihintale & Polonnaruwa

15 February 2027📍 Faculty of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo, Rajagiriya

International academic symposium presenting archaeological excavations of ancient Sri Lankan monastic hospitals, medicinal baths (Beheth Oru), and surgical instruments dating…

Scientific & Cultural Research

Latest Heritage Publications

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AyurvedaThel SindimaThel ThulavaHela Wedakama

The Art and Alchemy of Thel Sindima: Chemical and Ritual Principles in Ancient Sri Lankan Medicated Oils

Prof. Ariyasena Wickramarachchi & Dr. Sumedha Jayakody · 12 August 2024

The preparation of medicated oils (Thel Sindima) in traditional Sri Lankan Hela Wedakama constitutes one of the most sophisticated bio-extraction techniques of antiquity. This paper explores the thermal…

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BrasswareThel ThulavaMetallurgyMedical Implements

Thel Thulāva (තෙල් තුලාව): Metallurgy, Ritual Geometry, and Dispensing Utility in Ancient Sri Lankan Medicine

Dr. Manel Hettiarachchi · 20 March 2024

Archaeological analysis of antique Sri Lankan brass and bronze oil pourers (Thel Thulāva) demonstrates a unique integration of sacred metallurgy, artistic symbolism, and precise fluid dynamics. Originating in…

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AyurvedaBeheth OruwaMihintaleBuddhadasa

King Buddhadasa and the Golden Age of Sri Lankan Monastic Hospitals: Archaeological Findings at Mihintale & Polonnaruwa

Prof. K. N. O. Dharmadasa & Dr. Lalith Senarath · 15 November 2023

Sri Lanka possesses the world's oldest scientifically structured hospital ruins. Attributed to the vision of royal physician King Buddhadasa (4th Century CE) and subsequent monastic orders, sites at…

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Safeguarding Sri Lanka’s Living Cultural Heritage

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