The first time I went to Sri Lanka, I didn't know a thing about its music. When there, I heard a particular type of song called, Baila. I wondered why it sounded a little bit Spanish to me. Now I'm wiser.Wikipedia has an entry briefly describing the emergence of Baila. Many people tend to erroneously believe that cultural exchange is a new phenomenon resulting from immigration. Actually, the whole sweep of civilization is pretty much defined by trade and the influence of human exchange. For example last night, I happened upon a TV program describing the discovery of an ancient crypt of a Roman girl who was buried wearing silk. That proved a rather suprisingly strong connection between the Roman Empire and the Far East.
Regardless, I wanted to let you hear this type of music but have had a little trouble picking one. I decided on a rather over developed recording of Ojayee by the Gypsies. You can also read about the group on Wikipedia.
I've included the song as today's topCast.
There are some references and even words from the aboriginal peoples of Sri Lanka as mentioned in yesterday's podcast and shown here in my eJournal and images in 2004.
