Hybridization of indigenous knowledge and documentation of intangible cultural heritage of Batticaloa District of Sri Lanka

Modern technology is believed to be the panacea for all issues; nevertheless, it has both merits and demerits. Many aspects of technology of today have not been time-tested nor known for their adverse effects on the natural environment. On contrary, local knowledge had been timetested and eco-friendly, though it is slow to exert in terms of mass industrial outcome. With the growing concern for environmental protection, there needs to be hybridization of traditional knowledge with modern technologies to sustain natural resources. Having a long historical track, the eastern coastal area of Sri Lanka has unique array of cultural heritage in all its aspects, such as literature, religion, art, farming and irrigation, and food. Eastern Province showcase is enriched with many of such unique cultural heritage apart from the rest of the Island. However, these pockets of indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage were subject to threats and loss, due to man-made reasons and adverse environmental conditions. Therefore, it has been a need to discover the materials that possess cultural heritage of Batticaloa, and to document in appropriate media to take them to the posterity. The importance of gathering and documenting the body of local knowledge is not only to preserve uniqueness of society but to revive those economically and culturally valuable assets to support modern science and technology. The objectives of the survey include discovery of resources possessing heritage values, increasing the awareness of preserving indigenous knowledge and cultural entities in the district, and developing a digital repository to preserve indigenous knowledge and cultural values of local communities. Moreover, elements of cultural tourism, which is an indivisible component of eco-tourism, will be enhanced and made visible through exhibiting heritage items on digital repository. This paper elaborates on works carried out to survey the evidence for local cultural heritage, in the light of developing an electronic repository at Eastern University, Sri Lanka, to document and preserve district’s distinctive identity in terms of cultural heritage.