Sri Lanka - Indonesia : Two Camaraderies for Centuries
- Ms. Aulia Asri
- Aug 6, 2020
- 5 min read
On August 6th, 1952 was the first opening bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and Indonesia. According to the diplomatic relations, Sri Lanka and Indonesia celebrate their 68 years of relationship. In fact, the two countries have intertwined the camaraderie since centuries ago. It means that both countries located in the Indian ocean geographically are very close more than we have thought before. Unfortunately, recently the camaraderies of both country often biased. Since in Indonesia, people sometimes mistakenly thinking that Sri Lanka is part of India, although both countries are located in South Asia, nevertheless Sri Lanka has a lot of similarities with Indonesia in the scope of history, language, culinary, and many more.
Sri Lanka or used to known as Ceylon had built since in the medieval era. According to research conducted by Veronique Degroot in 2006, there is a correlation between Ratu Boko temple in Jogjakarta, Indonesia, and Abhyagiri Temple in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. In short, the research said that from the 8th to 10th century the region around Mounts Merapi and Sumbing in Central Java was the center of the powerful Indianised kingdom. One such site, Ratu Boko was transformed into a Javanese replica of the Abhayagiri vihara, a well-known Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka. Shortly afterward, the Sinhalese influence showed element of Hindu and Vajrayana traditions revealing from civilization and history.
Former ambassador of Sri Lanka to Indonesia, H.E Mr. Dharshana Perera (in May 2018) and the former of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, H.E Tilak Marapana (in Oct 2018) offered the cooperation on research to explore more about the relationship on these archeological sites to the Governor of the Province of Jogjakarta, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X during their visit to Jogjakarta. They also said that Sri Lanka would offer the scholarship for those who want to study in History and Archeology.
The interaction of Ceylon and Indonesia became intense in from 17th to 18th centuries. The first arrival of Indonesian descents (or the Sri Lanka native used to call as melayu) had been predicted when the Dutch colonialism era happened. The Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC) often abandoned many Indonesian people overseas and they chose Ceylon as one of the abandonment areas. The interesting history told that Pandan Bali was one of the first influencer who introduced Islam in Ceylon. This man was blamed by Dutch colonialism and he had been abandoned to Ceylon. In Ceylon, he built a mosque named Wakanda Pandan Bali as the first commence of Islamic history in the pearl of the Indian ocean.
In 1972, Ceylon changed the name to Sri Lanka like what we have known until nowadays. However, before 1972, the political relationship between Sri Lanka and Indonesia were getting closer. Both countries were the initiator of Asia-Africa conferences. Ceylon sent Sir John Kotelawala who was the Prime Minister as a representative to the Bandung Conference in 1955. Moreover, both countries also participated to join on Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) in 1961 and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) in 1995.
To maintain the bilateral relationship, Sri Lankan president, H.E Mr. Maithripala Sirisena did state visit to Indonesia after 41 years in March 2017 to attend IORA Summit in Jakarta. A year later, Indonesian president, H.E. Mr. Joko Widodo did state visit in earlier 2018. It was a historical visit to commemorate 66th years of diplomatic relations both countries as well as the first time Indonesian president came after 39 years. The state visit discussed on trade cooperation of both countries.
Those backgrounds bring us many similarities we have. Let us take on the language side since both of Indonesia and Sri Lanka was colonialized by the Dutch and Portuguese. It means both countries have the same words, and let me explain to you just a few comparisons both Sinhala language and bahasa Indonesia for example :
1. The doll (බෝනික්කා (bōnikkā) x boneka)
2. The religion (ආගම (āgama) x agama)
3. The iron (ඉස්තිරික්කය (istirikkaya) x setrika)
4. The office (කන්තෝරුව (kantōruva) x kantor)
5. The card (කාර්තුව (kārtuva) x kartu)
6. The glue (ලැයින් (läin) x lem)
7. The fork (ගෑරප්පුව (gääruppuva) x garpu)
8. The cheese (කේජු (kēju)x keju)
9. The butter (මන්තේග (mantēga) x mentega)
10. The wheel (රෝදය (rōdaya) x roda)
For the similarity in the culinary scope, both Sri Lankan and Indonesian cuisines have the same characteristics particularly the spiciness and using coconut milk. In Sri Lanka, nasi goreng and dodol are common and not strange for Sri Lankan people. Some dishes in Sri Lanka got influenced by Indonesian culture. Sri Lankan curries more likely similar to Sumatran curry. Moreover, some foods are very resembled for example :
1. Kiribath vs Nasi Uduk
Kiribath (milk rice) is made from rice, coconut milk, and salt. Usually, it is eaten as a celebration of important occasions like wedding, birthday, and religious festivals. Same as nasi uduk (Indonesian coconut rice), kiribath is also often eaten as breakfast menu. The common way to enjoy kiribath is with lunu miris. It is a Sri Lankan traditional chili sambal made by chili, red onion, curry leaves, lemon juice, and sometimes with maldive fishes.
2. Pol Sambol vs urap
As the tropical countries that abundant with coconut, both countries have a contribution to use coconut as their culinary part. Both of country have their own coconut relish menu. In Indonesia, we often call as urap meanwhile in Sri Lanka, we call as pol sambol. Pol sambol is made grated coconut, red onions, dried whole chilies or chili powder, lime juice, salt and Maldive fish (if available).
3. Hopper vs Surabi
Hopper is a Sri Lankan pancake and usually filled by egg inside. Normally eaten as a breakfast or side dish with lunu miris. This is similar with surabi because the main ingredients for the batter are coconut milk and rice flour. However, the texture is much different. Hopper is much thinner than Surabi.
4. Pittu vs Putu
Pittu and putu are both made by rice flour and coconut. Both foods are cooked in the steamed-cylinders. The difference between pittu in Sri Lanka and Putu in Indonesia is in the flavor. Pittu in Sri Lanka is a typically savory food and usually accompanied with any curry sauce. Meanwhile in Indonesia, putu is a dessert and filled with brown sugar.
5. Lamprais vs nasi bakar
Lamprais and nasi bakar are two rice package dishes wrapped with banana leaves and similar ingredients but different cooking technic. Lamprais is steamed meanwhile nasi bakar is grilled. Lamprais itself is a combination of meat, rice, and others Sri Lankan spices wrapped in banana leaves. It had been influenced by Dutch Cultures so that the meat is usually prepared with sweet spices like clove and cinnamon, recreating the favor by Dutch Burgher community in Sri Lanka.
Batik and sarong culture also can be found in Sri Lanka. Batik is a common fashion to wear, although the technique and the pattern are not as complex as in Indonesia. They use bigger canting (the tool to paint the batik). Meanwhile, sarong is often worn as daily wear in Sri Lanka for men.
Sri Lanka or as known as the pearl of the Indian ocean and the teardrop of India is worth visiting. Not only because the similarity and the closeness of both Indonesia and Sri Lanka have but also the fact that Sri Lanka has obtained many tourism awards in 2019 such as: the best destination according to the Lonely Planet, the best safari destination outside Africa according to Forbes, and the best warm-weather destination by USA Today. Even in the same year, Sri Lankan Airlines has became an "Asia Leading Airlines to the Indian Ocean 2019" at World Travel Awards for 3rd consecutive years.
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