This artist, Billy Fernando, has a whole album based on raban pada, which was great to come across.Bolan podi nangi tikak hitapan / Bulath vita kanna tikak hitapan.Please do check out the linked sources to get a sense of the rhythm! Below are some fun verses and other interesting things I found online. Watching this video today, I got interested in raban pada and decided to broaden my knowledge a tiny bit. I’ve only seen a live playing of the banku rabanaya once or twice in my life, at annual awurudu celebrations in Toronto – but I think this playful spirit has a life beyond the instrument as well, carried along in the versification/prosody and style of engagement. Typically played by older women who will also teach the rhythms to children, the drum, its silly verses, and the manner of playing which sometimes imitates games of pattycake, all make me think of playfulness and community. The banku rabanaya is a fixture of traditional/folk Sinhalese New Year celebrations.
