Children of the Sun:

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23618, 30 March 1940, Page 3 (Supplement)

Children of the Sun:

THEY are the children of the Sun —the dusky boys and girls of this island paradise. Born beneath tropic skies they seem but fragments of sun-kissed humanity. The children of Ceylon (or Lauka, as the island is more often called) are the favoured children of sunshine and light. They have light brown complexions; the eyes are dark, and large, and luminous; and the hair is very often wavy and glossy. Happy and contented, midst the verdant beauty of island palm trees, mountains, and a monotony of Nature's loveliness, the dark-eyed, dark-haired children of Lauka grow up into men and women of to-morrow. Karly in life the little Sinhalese children (for so the youth of Ceylon are called) are brought up to love Nature and Mother Earth, and pay

careful heed to all her creatures living under the sun. When old enough they go through secondary school, are taught the sciences, then leave —some to enter the universities, the rest to go "back to the land." Even while at school the boys have been taught gardening and carpentry and the rudiments of rural science. Once they have completed their secondary education, the farmers of the future enter agricultural colleges and

farm schools to further their knowledge. Here the boys are taught to plough the land, driving the oxen over the sunlit fields; to sow paddy 011 the beautiful mountain terraces, and to harvest the golden grain when it brings a blaze of beauty to the eyes. They are taught dairy farming, poultry and pig farming as some of the secondary subjects included, it is a wonderful training these youths undergo. At all times they are in touch with Nature and her vast and inmost,

secrets, at all times in the midst of treasures more beautiful than the rubies and gems unearthed from the deep recesses of Ratnapura (which means the Land of Gems). On the other hand, the Sinhalese girls, although most of them enter the universities, are taught to look after the home once their education is completed. They seldom go out to earn a living. They are taught how to cook and are keenly interested in needlework and embroidery. The fine arts

By Sumana Cooray (19), Ceylon

find a place somehow or other in the curriculum of a girl's life. They are taught to play the violin and piano and most of the Oriental instruments, and are keen on painting and drawing. Indian dancing and singing appeal to the average Sinhalese girl and she is taught to conduct herself with grace and quietness. The national costume consists of a jacket and sari, the latter being a very attractive draping of silk with the end thrown over one shoulder. But when one dark-eyed damsel In simple sari clad. Saw? with such deep emotion, Sans: in a tone so sad, Sanfj of a buried Rlory, Sanpr of a land now wild, J stood entranced and listened. For R h e was Lanka's child. The above verse will describe to you a Sinhalese girl more fully than I can do. The wind moans in the branches of the ironwood trees; the sun shines in fitful gleams through the clustering leaves so tenderly pink; there is beauty in the sunshine and a wistful sadness in the winds's song—therein lies the breath that is Ceylon, the breath that lives in its dusky youth.