TRADITIONAL MEDIA.

What is Traditional Media ?

          It is the process of the communication that prevailed for a very long time period  in the rural communities where information, leisure, and entertainment are communicated by using the available environment resources.

• Here, we do not have a define authorships.
• In the early period human communicated by using different types of technical tools are mentioned below.

1. Sounds.
2. Drams.
3. Hooting.
4. Visual signals.

• The traditional media consists of five main aspects. They are

       1. simple structure. 

• They formed as a very simple structures which could be understood by the  ordinary people.
•  We can easily identify the simple structures that  built out by easily founded resources.
• The things that they used for the communication process shows their tradition and the cultural relationships too.
• Ex : using some materials like margosa leaves for the health related things and banana trees for the wedding ceremonies.
  

  

  
  
  2. Thematic content.

• This refers to the preparation of the content to fit the traditional methods of communication.

 Mostly the people engage in this process to protect their  crops, expressing beliefs, entertainment, rest, emotions, and to protect from the diseases.

3. Flexibility.

• The traditional communication methods can suit the needs and requirements of the people by using the fields, thresholds and trees.

4. cultural context.

• According to the relevant culture people have different context such as customs ,taboos, faiths, beliefs, arts, techniques and knowledge.

5. Minimum cost.

• They use available resources which are freely given by the nature.
• Here, the exchange of knowledge and ideas also create the lower costs.
• Example : Working together to arrange a pirith or a thovil, and conduct a Gammaduwa.

Now, let's see about the traditional media methods.

 

         1. Folk songs.   

Songs are best medicine which give the relaxation to the human's mind and its reduce our stress.

• The folk songs have risen based on the folk life style.
• specially the songs are orally transmitted and the author cannot be traced here.
• It communicates the villager's view, their traditional wisdom, knowledge, leisure, rest, joy, ideas, and their sorrows.
• situations where their sang this songs are

1. In the harvesting.
2. Boat songs.
3. To share their love fellings.
4. Children's lullabies.

• We can see some special characteristics in the folk songs they are mention below

1. Based on the oral tradition.
2. use of simple colloquial language.
3. It consists of the inherent features.
4. For a long time it remained as a folklore.
5. Based on the people's experience.

              2. Folk Tales.

• Folk tales are the one which related to an incident that integrated the story that reflect and express the lifestyle, aspiration, sufferings ,and exploration of the  people.
• It contains the different types of folktales such as creative stories, humor stories, magic stories, satirical stories, and fairy tales.
• This is very useful in the children's education purpose because here,  they getting an oppurtunity  to develop their  creative skills. And also the moral of the story shows them what is good and bad.
• From generation to generation the folk tales are sharing by our ancistors.

                    3. Folk Rites and Rituals.

• In Sri Lanka the people strictly follow their  rites and rituals according to their culture.
• Rituals belong to particular community and there are diverse.
• We can identify the rites and rituals in many special  manifestation that are used as a traditional communication in the Sinhala tradition's are mention below.  

1.  Walliyak Mangalaya.
2.  Kadavara Kankariya.
3. Bali Shanthikarama.
4. Khohamba Kankariya.

•  In the Tamil tradition we can see,

1.  Kannooru Kazhiththal.
2.  Nerthip Padayal.
3.  Kaval Kadduthal.

• Shanthikarama is a ritual which is carried out for the success of the Agricultural activities, to get rid of malicious influences and planetary system as well to cure the diseases such as chickenpox and measels, and also to provide entertainment.
• Tamil people perform a variety of rituals like
• Vadamodi, Thenmodi, Kaman Kooththu, and Thrukkuttu.
  

  

  
  
  
  

                 4. Folk Drama.

• Folk drama is a form of art which consists a variety of stories that arises in the people's mind.
• There are some stories like Kolam, Sokari, Pupperty.

•  Specially, Sokari is performed in the up country centered on the Pathini Goddes.
• The Kolam is performed in the low country. 
• Sokari is used for the protection of crops from the pests, and the pathogen diseases.
• In the folk drama the entire story is describe in dramatic form.
• In the Sinhala stories we can see,

1.  Sandakiduru.
2.  Gotaimbara.
3.  Gama katha.

• Mostly the kolam is for the entertainment purpose and for the well being of the pregnant mothers well being.

                Here are  the some importance of the traditional media.  

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1. It can be used to generate instructional messages.
2. Being able to exchange cultural elements.
3. Expression of emotions.
4. Can be use for the entertainment purposes.
5. Providing knowledge and education.