Did You Know

Interesting Facts about Sri Lanka

Trivia, oddities, and curious tidbits about Sri Lanka.

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Did You Know?

14 curious facts about Sri Lanka.

When a child loses a tooth they close their eyes and say “Squirrel, squirrel, take this tooth and give me a new one.” Then they throw it on the roof and run into the house without looking.
Sri Lanka has the world's highest rate of suicide with 47 per 1,000 people.
The oldest Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was 78 years old when he was elected.
Elephants are an important part of Sri Lankan culture. They are decorated for religious processions called peraheras, and their images appear in temples and palaces. Some elephants are still used for work. Others are in danger of extinction due to uncontrolled expansion of agriculture and development.

In 1960, Sirimavo Bandaranaike became the world's first female prime minister in Sri Lanka.
Buddhist weddings are held on a square platform called a poruwa. After rings are exchanged, the couple feed each other kiri bath (rice cooked in milk) or rice milk. When the couple descends from the poruwa a coconut is broken to wish them happiness and prosperity.
Growing tea is a laborious process. The bushes must be regularly pruned, and the leaves and buds picked by hand. The tea is then dried on hessian mats or troughs, crushed, and fermented. Tea was first brought to Sri Lanka in 1867 when coffee plantations were destroyed by disease.
Sri Lankan kites can be enormous, up to nine square metres. People must use smaller kites to bear the larger ones aloft, plus 60 to 90 metres of string.
Coriander coffee and ginger tea are excellent home remedies for colds and flu. Samahan, a herbal product for colds, is now available in Canada.
Religion is a compulsory subject in Sri Lankan schools, and university entrance exams include sections on religion.