The Sinhabahu Metaphor
Sinhabahu on the flag
The grandfather of the Sinhala race was generously called a lion but could more accurately be called a kidnapper, rapist and thug. He kidnapped a princess, kept her walled into a cave and impregnated her, Josef Fritzl style. When her son got old, however, he rolled back the rock and eventually killed his father. That seems to be what is happening in North Africa. Dictators like Mubarak and Ben Ali kidnapped and walled in a generation of people, but their children grew up, pushed back the rock of fear and tossed them out. It’s an interesting metaphor, the creative destruction of the young.
The downside of the metaphor is the Sinhabahu, our youthful progenitor, married his sister and gave birth to Vijaya, a Malaka Silva type spoiled brat thug who in turn landed in Sri Lanka. His son and daughter then married each other. So, revolutions can go awry with incest and eventually became the establishment themselves. But I digress.
Today on the 
Janith has updated 
This is highly dubious. Miss Travel is a travel/social networking site that connects ‘Generous’ and ‘Attractive’ travelers. To, like, travel together, I guess. It all seems a bit like arranged prostitution and trafficking. This is part of a broader online trend to connect rich men to younger, attractive women. Sites like 
Sri Lankan domestics never say anything, they just stop coming. My maid just stopped coming and when I finally pressed her she said I needed to get a washing machine. I was hoping to ride this one out, but I’ve run out of underwear and I have no choice. I finally caved and bought a washing machine, from 
Wait, wait wait according to Genetics a Brother and Sister can’t reproduce without the offspring having some deformity. How could this have happened :S
Now for fairness’ sake, how about writing a similar insulting rant about Christianity’s incestuous beginnings as in the Bible, and insulting Prophet Mohamed for being a pedophile who bedded 9 year olds, and you can take your pick of any number of stories from Hindu mythology. But you won’t would you, you only love to insult and degrade anything Sinhala and Buddhist. I mean, reading some of your old posts, it’s hilarious how you apologize and preamble for half a blog post before making the slightest criticism about Muslims or Islam, and even after your lengthy preamble that you love Islam and you are not really criticizing it, blah, blah, blah, Muslim commentors threatened you and caused a racket anyway. It seems you are a self-hating coward that responds positively to threats of violence and negatively to tolerance. Self-hating because you are ever ready to bash Buddhism and Sinhalese, and I don’t mean based on just this post, while always excessively understanding to a fault and soft on every other race and religion in Lanka. A coward because you feel emboldened to say anything you please about Buddhism and Sinhalese because they won’t issue a fatwa on your head. You denounce violence but your actions show that you actually laugh in the face of tolerance of the Sinhalese Buddhists, while bowing down to a level of grovelling to the threats and potential threats of Muslims. You seem to think it’s fashionable and ‘evolved’ if you constantly criticized and attacked your own race and religion, while showing how brainwashed you are by the Tamil propaganda, for instance. If you did independent research you would know that Sinhalese Buddhists have been tolerant of, and good to the minorities to a level that cannot be found in any country in the West. Go back and read you own posts of the past and see if I am wrong. Oh yeah, didn’t you forget to end you post with “inshahallah.” When have you ever heard a Muslim borrow anything from Buddhism even as they live in a majority Buddhist country? Respecting other religions doesn’t have to encompass acting like a person with a lost religious identity. Oh btw, inshahallah means God willing, and if you knew your own religion you would know that there is no God or Creator. So whether you call it God or Allah or whatever else, as a Buddhist, you are deluded to refer to an almighty god, and such a god’s will.
I am curious. How did a myth written in a book called the Mahavamsa become part and parcel of Buddhism? Since when did the Mahavamsa become part of the Tripitaka?
As Indi stated It’s not sure how it’s insulting, it’s pretty much the story. I agree that most of the Buddhist are tolerant but this does not mean there isn’t any problem for other religions. You speak about Muslims. There are plenty of anti-Islamic works and writings in the country Insulting Muslims and giving wrong interpretations. But no “Fatwas” issued against them. Even internationally the same story. What I can remember is one or two Iran’s fatwas. But Us and Israel issue more fatwas against Muslims than “Mullas”!
Well in Sri Lanka some Muslims prefer to kill each other over sectarian differences despite the fact that they are already a minority. There is so much intolerance WITHIN the Sri Lankan Muslim community itself. The Sufis and and more ‘traditional’ sects are the targets of attacks by Islamic fundamentalists led by the Wahabi/Salafists. we’ve had machete attacks, bomb attacks, gun attacks, graves dug up and cyber wars by these peeps.
And please, Sri Lankan Muslims have been producing a heck of a lot of anti-Buddhist, anti-Hindu and anti-Christian literature in Sri Lanka itself; look at how many ‘Dawah’ organisations there are proclaiming Islam to be the only true religion – they are starting to turn into proselytizing Christian fundos and that’s sad.
Just an addit:
Kattankudy, four km south of the Eastern Sri Lankan town of Batticaloa, is unique. It is the only all-Muslim town in the island. Non-Muslims cannot (and will not) reside, buy property or run businesses there. With 65 mosques, this heavily built up and cramped town of 50,000 people spread over just 1 sq km, boasts of having the largest number of mosques per square kilometre outside the Muslim world.
A prosperous market town, it stands out in the war-ravaged Batticaloa district – a source of inspiration for other Muslims, and an object of envy for the impoverished Tamils, who are the majority community in the district.
But above all, Kattankudy is the nerve centre of Islamic fundamentalism, an ideology which is being spread among Sri Lankan Muslims not just by intense social pressure, but by gun-wielding radical youths with a background of Wahabi religious education from the universities of the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Islamic-fundamentalism-grips-Sri-Lankan-town/Article1-217948.aspx
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Indi Samarajiva, Chavie. Chavie said: RT @indica: New blog post: The Sinhabahu Metaphor http://indi.ca/2011/02/the-sinhabahu-metaphor/ | This one's gold! :D [...]
@Commenter
I’m not sure how it’s insulting, it’s pretty much the story. What I find interesting is the creative destruction, that Sinhabahu was able to roll back the stone.
My faith is my own. I am inspired by the Buddha’s teachings more than anyone and try to meditate everyday. I’m actually going to a seven day meditation retreat tomorrow, so won’t be posting much. I will get through it without going insane, inshallah.
i don’t think allah is the type of god that takes kindly to people who believe in anything other than islam. Your meditation retreat might come at the cost of eternal damnation.
you think the prophet didn’t meditate?
Didn’t the prophet claim to be just a conduit? No room for meditation there.
I’m pretty certain the prophet did mediate. You couldn’t become a conduit without a similar clarity of mind. He certainly fasted and spent time in isolation.
The prophet also married a six year old girl and had sex with her.
I’m sure the prophet meditated on something, but i don’t think islam takes kindly to buddhist meditation considering buddhism is fundamentally opposed to the idea of a sky daddy.
Non Muslims = kuffar/kaffir
@welcome to boredom
They aren’t always deformed. The probability is higher. But it’s not 100%.
@commentor
Sinhalese Buddhists have been incestuous since before Jesus was born. I mean marriage between cousins (evessa naana-massina weddings) has been happening since the day God first realised that he exists, with the aid of a mirror I made.
It’s just pretty f*cked up. The idea of such incestuous marriages was to stop some stranger inherit your property. This way, everything that was yours remained within the family. Good idea, isn’t it?
@indi.
Be careful. You might suddenly get enlightened, realise you neither exist nor doesn’t exist, become arahat and stop the samsara, which also neither exist nor doesn’t exist.
@Dodo
Yeah. Allah’s like jealous wife.
TOP 6 INCESTUOUS RELATIONSHIPS IN THE BIBLE
http://listverse.com/2008/05/26/top-6-incestuous-relationships-in-the-bible/
Why is incest looked down upon? If it’s between two consenting adults, what’s the problem?
ah! we have a real progressive here.
be careful though. you might regret it afterwards
http://www.untoldentertainment.com/blog/img/2009_03_05/inbred.jpg
Your point being? If a brother and sister consent to having sex and they are adults, why is that looked down upon?
If sex between two consenting males or two consenting females is fine, then why balk at sex between a male and a female? Having the same parents should bar them from consensual sex? Exactly why?
there is no reason to bar incest, but keep in mind the consequences of inbreeding.
So what of the consequences… we don’t bar folks with genetically transmitted diseases from marrying each other and increasing the chances of their offspring carrying that disease do we? Think Cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia etc. It’s pretty hypocritical of people to be OK with gay sex and gay rights but throwing a fit over a brother and a sister having consensual sex.
eh!
Firstly, i don’t think too many people on this forum said incest should be made illegal. people are saying that it’s a bad idea considering the consequences. Just like smoking.
Secondly, the homosexual analogy falls apart considering homosexual sex doesn’t inherently carry the higher risk of birthing kids with genetic disorders.
so i don’t really care if you fuck your sister, just wear a raincoat. ;)
You might as well argue that homosexuality is a “bad idea” considering the “consequences” – the spread of HIV. Same diff. If people want to have sex with their siblings then they should be allowed to and there should be no social stigma attached to it – just as there should be no social stigma attached to homosexuality. You’re just a prejudiced asshole, conditioned by society to look down upon incest – admit it.
lol!
saying the spread of HIV is a consequence of being homosexual is as absurd as saying a consequence of being african american is ending up a criminal. both of those have more to do with socio economic factors than anything else, and can be remedied with life style choices. Incest on the other hand has to do with genetics, no matter how much you try every time you decide to have kid with your sister you run a significantly higher risk of passing on a genetic defect onto that kid. Saying i’m prejudiced against that is no different from saying i’m prejudiced against people taking crack while being pregnant. so yeah, in that sense i’m a prejudiced arsehole.
I really have no issues with incestuous relationships. it’s when such people decide to raise kids that i take issue. Because that’s just a stupid thing to do.
Like I said, if you have a problem with “genetic defects” getting “passed on” then you should have a problem with non siblings with genetic problems getting together and having babies. Then what about kids with Down syndrome? These days you can tell how likely a foetus is to have trisomy 21 through pre-natal tests and women are free to give birth to Down babies and bring them up. And society takes an A-Okay view on that, so why not on incest that may or may not produce a retarded child?
Just admit it – you’re only against incest because currently society does not accept it. ie prejudiced.
Sex between two consenting adults should be legal and without stigma – whether that is between men, women or brother and sister.
Erm…
i never said not aborting fetus that’s likely to give birth to a down baby is a good idea. Infact, i think it’s a stupid idea. There, does that make you happy.
I for one am not ashamed to say that I’m prejudiced against incest, and am glad it’s not socially acceptable. Yuk, imagine not being sure what your own brother was thinking, or your sister or parent for that matter.
Ruki, I refuse to believe that you really think differently either, whatever you may say here. Were you just trying to sabotage poor Indi’s attempts at meditation?
i have nothing against incest. it’s a little yuk yuk, but so are a lot of other things. but these couples having kids is just a bad idea.
I know Dodo, you could never think of incest as anything but yuk.
Your feeling of “yuck” is just a value judgement. Just like how people think homosexual sex is “yuck”. Once upon a time people also thought that interracial sex was “yuck.” Some people think that polygamy is “yuck.” So you see what society thinks is acceptable changes with time and from age to age. Incest is no different. The only reason it is taboo and looked down upon is because current society has made a value judgement on it. In reality it is simply a man having sex with a women –> penis goes into vagina. The fact that the male and female involved in the sexual act have the same parents should have no bearing whatsoever. As long as the sex is consensual then society should accept it and get over their silly prejudices. It is ridiculous to harp on about gay rights and gay marriage but balk in horror at incest.
Look machang. just because someone finds something unappealing and says it’s ‘yuk’ doesn’t imply bigotry. for example i find maramite ‘yuk’. i think you’re trying too hard to play hero here. i doubt many people on this forum, including myself, are against legalization of incest but the prospect of getting it on with my cousin will always be ‘yuk’
In the case of incest, it is basically being prejudiced…just like prejudice against homosexuality. There is no need to ‘play hero.’ A careful consideration of the facts by any right thinking person would see my arguments vindicated.
ok, let’s say for arguments sake that it is prejudice find incest ‘yukky’. is it the same type of prejudice as saying we should make tamil use separate bathrooms from Sinhalese and make their vote count 2/3rd of that of a sinhalese?
You can split hairs however much you like, but when it comes down to it, prejudice is prejudice. Try and be a better person and get rid of it :)
That just a silly thing to say. all ‘prejudice’, even as you define it, is not the same.
in any case i’m going to stick with ‘prejudice’ and say incest is ‘yukky’ and having kids with your sister is a dumb thing to do.
Watevs Dodo… anyway, you’re free to play along with society’s petty prejudices and moral bankruptcy…
it’s ok….
i don’t believe in morals.
Ruki, I was trying to imagine a situation where incest was legal, and amorous feelings towards one’s sibling or child were acceptable. Then, when would it be the acceptable time for these feelings to be expressed? In all decency one would have to wait until this child reached adulthood.
Then, in the absence of a taboo on such an attraction, would a parent or sibling always have sufficient self control to defer their advances until the object of their attraction came of age?
Even if such a desire were not declared to an immature family member, could one hide or control such an attraction once it was felt. How long would a child remain unaware that an older sibling, parent or grandparent was harbouring covetous feelings towards them? What would that do to a child’s feeling of security?
If you believe child molestation is wrong, you cant possibly think of legalising incest. There would be no way a family could provide the protection a growing child needs, because human feelings cant be controlled with laws. Knowing the vagaries of human nature, I’m sure there must be many people who may sometimes experience sexual attraction towards a close relative. But the taboo that society has placed on such feelings will cause them to instantly dispel any idea of taking the next step.
I think our children have enough to deal with at present without burdening them with the feeling that they have to learn to run faster than their bother, sister, mommy or daddy.
Depends what your sister looks like. In your case, I hear it might involve bestiality.
Don’t talk about your mother like that Marc.
@Bonchi Baba
First off how many siblings in the same family do you know that want to have SEX with each other in these modern times????????
Also do you think that people who actually committed incest did it by choice?
Yes being gay/lesbian goes against all of nature but then again so does massacring each other in the name of fictional omnipotent beings who reside in the dark side of the moon. BUT there’s a upside for having a homosexual community, all the orphaned children who are treated like shit in orphanages will get families?
What’s the upside for INCEST (especially since it’s forced) ???? :)
I do not know any myself – but perhaps it is because it is so looked down upon? Kinda like how in the past many people hid their homosexuality because of society’s negative attitude towards that sexual orientation? And how do you know that all incest is “forced”? Is that like how people “know” that homosexuality is a “sin” and that only “fucked up” people are into it? And what’s to stop an incestuous couple from raising orphaned kids?
If an adult male and an adult female want to have consensual sex — and they happen to be siblings… what’s wrong with that? I mean really?
This is the first time I’ve seen anyone make any sense on indi.ca. Nice work Bonchi Baba. You are absolutely logical and correct. In fact, I’ve always thought incest shouldn’t be illegal, just like I think homosexuality shouldn’t be illegal either. But that is only on principle. As I’ve said earlier, my head isn’t where my heart and ass are. Ergo I’m prejudiced against both incest, and to a lesser digree homosexuality. Dodo might never admit it, but he’s prejudiced against both incest and homosexuality, just as much as I am.
However Bonchi Baba, I don’t know whether you are prejudiced or not, no matter what you say. So I’m going to find out what kind of a person you are; whether you are prejudiced against incest and homosexuality, or not.
If you aren’t prejudiced against homosexuality, you wouldn’t mind if I call you gay, would you? Maybe you aren’t gay. But you wouldn’t mind me saying so, would you? And since you aren’t prejudiced against incest either, you wouldn’t mind me calling you a motherfucker, now would you? I’m certain you aren’t a motherfucker. Your writing is certainly more fatherfuckerish than motherfukerish. There’s a sense of urgency in your writing, as if you’re trying to blow your father before his gay and incestuous brother, your uncle finds out. Certainly there’s a certain gay-ness in your ideas. A certain girly feeling to everything you utter. But you wouldn’t mind, even though you are not, if I call you a motherfucker, would you?
So from hereon, I call you Bonchi Baba the Gay Motherfucker. I invite all other fellow commentors to call him that – Bonchi Baba the Gay Motherfucker. For convenience, let’s just call him THE GAY MOTHERFUCKER.
In doing so, I implore my fellow commentors not to use it as an insult. We are simply honouring him, knowing full well that he is Rome to our Gaul, that he is Athens to our Sparta – progressive, sophisticated, and brilliant.
So never call him “you bloody gay motherfucker”, or “you dung eating, sisterfucking, gay motherfucker,” which is an abuse with no meaning. Instead, it should go as follows.
“As THE GAY MOTHERFUCKER has pointed out…”
“THE GAY MOTHERFUCKER is absolutely right when he says…”
“As wiser people than me, such as THE GAY MOTHERFUCKER, have pointed out…”
just like most people, i’m not prejudiced against dogs. but many of us would not find it amusing if someone we didn’t really like called us ‘dog’. a phrase often becomes insulting depending on the person using it
@dodo
You are pathetic. I mean really…man.
eh!
@shammi
Would you please call him THE GAY MOTHERFUCKER, like I’ve asked you guys to do.
Dont be silly Lef, he’s an abosolute sweetheart.
Dodo,
Sometimes, when you know something is wrong, and can’t defend it in a logical conversation, just admit you are prejudiced. Any attempt to justify your prejudice with logic results in terrible solecisms (is that the word?) and embarrassing yourself in front of your intellectual sweetheart. Call this “Lefroy’s Law on Prejudice.”
if you say so lefroy.
@dodo
I’m prejudiced against dogs too. They stink.
Can you think of a better example? Because even if I’m not prejudiced against dogs, calling me dog is an insult. It has nothing to do with my prejudice. Usually it is used to insult someone’s not-so-good-qualities.
In any case Dodo, I was counting on your ability to identify an insult when you see one, and keep your mouth shut about it since it is obvious what my intentions are. Aw Maaaaan.
God I always forget this. Whose pride and whose prejudice was it? Was it Elizabeth’s pride and Darcy’s prejudice, or Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice?
Hey Lefroy, aren’t you supposed to be the author’s boyfriend?
@THE GAY MOTHERFUCKER
Why does it have to be consensual sex? When my dog have sex with your sister (I assume you don’t have any prejudice against bestiality, since it too is only about a penis going into a vagina), the dog doesn’t have any goddamn idea whether it wants to do it or not. But in some countries, this kind of bestiality is okay even now.
@Dodo
Oh, please just stop this nonsense and admit that you are prejudiced. You are just embarrassing yourself and it’s painful to watch.
@Dodo
After this, not only you wouldn’t believe in morals, but also in your capacity to procreate.
Even before this, on another forum, Dodo had claimed that he was devoid of morals, but I dont believe him.
@shammi.
I actually believe he’s devoid of morals. I am, on the other hand, is the second most moral man alive, the first being Noam Chomsky. Or is he dead now?
…..
Aren’t you supposed to be my girlfriend after she dumped me for the greater good of my own family?