Lesson video

Hello there.

My name is Mr. Robertson.

I love RE and I'm delighted to be with you today.

We have a really interesting lesson for you today, all about the Christian Church in Sri Lanka.

And we're gonna find out what it's like there and how being a Christian there is similar or different to being one in the UK.

Can't wait to get started.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to describe how some Christians in Sri Lanka practice their faith and how it blends with Tamil culture.

We have three key words in our lesson today.

Our first word is community.

A community is a group of people having a particular characteristic in common.

Our second keyword is Tamil.

Tamil is the name for a group of people living in southern India and Sri Lanka.

And our third word is diversity.

Diversity means people with a range of different backgrounds, cultures and ideas.

All these words are gonna come up through the lesson, so I think you'll feel really confident by the end of them.

So this lesson has two parts to it.

And the first part of the lesson is going to be asking this question, where and why are there Christians in Sri Lanka? So let's start by looking at some photographs.

You can see three photographs here.

And I wonder what you can see in each of those photographs.

And I wonder what three words you might use to describe them.

Fantastic.

We could see a beach there, can't we? It looks beautiful with a sun setting there.

And we can see the sea.

So this place has got lovely sandy beaches, hasn't it? In the middle, we can see some lush jungle or forest with an elephant in the middle.

So maybe there's elephants in this place as well.

And on the right, we can see some palm trees and a setting sun.

So you might have said this makes you think that this place has got a lot of water near it.

It's got palm trees, it's got forest and jungle.

So it's got a variety of different environments.

Let's meet Neera.

Neera says, "The photographs are of the island of Sri Lanka.

It's where I was born.

I moved to the UK when I was 11 years old.

My family are Christian.

I am now a priest in the Anglican Church." Hi, Neera.

It's great to meet you.

Neera is gonna be telling us all about the island of Sri Lanka and her family and life for Christians in Sri Lanka.

So where is Sri Lanka? Well, if you look at this map, you can see that it is an island.

On the left, you can see it's just south of India, and it's found in the continent of Asia.

If we look at the more detailed map, you can see towards the bottom, the town, the city of Colombo, which is the capital of Sri Lanka.

So it's in the Indian Ocean.

What an amazingly beautiful place it looked like, didn't it, from those photographs? Let's check our understanding so far.

Sri Lanka is an island in the continent of a, South America, b, Africa, c, Asia.

Can you remember? Pause the video.

Have a think.

Fantastic.

It's c, Asia, isn't it? Brilliant, if you got that right.

Let's find out a little bit more about Sri Lanka, shall we? You can see two photographs here.

Now, photographs are really helpful because they help us learn about a place.

I wonder what you can see in those photographs and what we might infer about the different worldviews we might find in Sri Lanka.

You might want to pause the video and look at them more carefully.

Well, I don't know about you, but I can see a huge golden figure in the left, and I can see it's holding with its hands, and I can see some flags outside, and here I can see an incredible building with really intricate carvings.

Izzy and Sam are discussing worldviews in Sri Lanka.

Izzy says, "Sri Lanka is very close to India, so I would expect people to have Hindu worldviews." That's a really good idea, Izzy, because we know there are many millions of Hindus in India.

And Sam says, "I think I could see an image of the Buddha, so maybe people have Buddhist worldviews." That's brilliant, Sam.

Maybe you also spotted that enormous golden Buddha.

Let's find out a little bit more.

Oh, what an interesting photograph.

I wonder what we can see there.

So this is a photograph of a Buddhist monk walking along a road in Sri Lanka.

It's a common sight.

70% of people who live in Sri Lanka have a Buddhist worldview, so that's the majority of people on the island of Sri Lanka are Buddhist, and you can see a Buddhist monk there.

I think that umbrella is to keep off the sun rather than the rain.

However, Sri Lanka is a country with many communities of different religions and worldviews.

Let's look at this photograph more closely.

This is a photograph of an ancient Hindu mandir in Sri Lanka.

We can see different deities carved into it.

Can't we? What an incredible piece of artwork that is.

13% of people who live in Sri Lanka have a Hindu worldview.

So that's interesting, isn't it? Because India is majority Hindu, where Sri Lanka is majority Buddhist.

10% of people in Sri Lanka have a Muslim worldview.

It is a diverse society, so we've got lots of people with different worldviews living in Sri Lanka.

Let's check our understanding.

What is the majority worldview in Sri Lanka? Is it a, Buddhist, b, Hindu, c, Muslim? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's a, Buddhist, isn't it? Well done if you got that right.

There are Hindus and Muslims in Sri Lanka, but they're not the majority worldview.

Izzy and Sam are discussing worldviews in Sri Lanka.

Izzy says, "I understand how there might be Buddhists and Hindus in Sri Lanka, but how are their Christians?" What a good question, Izzy.

And Sam says, "Let's ask Neera to see what she can tell us." Brilliant idea, because if we interview someone, we can find out a little bit more.

Neera says, "My family is from the north of Sri Lanka.

We live in the city of Jaffna," and you can see the arrow pointing to the city of Jaffna, right up in the north of the island.

"My family are Tamil.

Tamils are a community, mainly in northern and eastern Sri Lanka." So we've already learnt a little bit more about Neera's family.

She comes from the north of Sri Lanka.

Her family are Tamil.

What can you see in these photographs? What do you think these buildings might be? Yes, I think they are churches.

I can see a cross on the one on the left.

Christians make up 7% of the population of Sri Lanka.

What can you see in these photographs? They show different Christian churches.

So it's interesting, isn't it? Because in some ways, they look quite like churches in Europe as well, with similar shaped windows and some common designs, so they are recognizably a church, aren't they? Sam asks, "How are there Christians in Sri Lanka, Neera?" Neera says, "Well, Christianity has been found in India for hundreds of years.

It is one of the oldest Christian communities.

Christianity came to Sri Lanka when the Portuguese took over the island.

They brought Roman Catholic Christianity.

Most Sri Lankan Christians today are Roman Catholic." So this is really interesting, isn't it? Because India has a really ancient community of Christians, and Sri Lanka, Christianity came when the Portuguese came to the island.

So when different European countries were creating empires around the world, they also brought religion with them as well, and isn't that interesting? Sam says, "How are your family Christian, Neera?" That's a great question, Sam, because we wanna find out particularly about Neera's family.

Neera says, "The British took over the island in the 19th century.

They brought Anglican Christianity.

The Bible was translated into the Tamil language.

My granddad was an Anglican minister and the first Sri Lankan principal of St John's College.

This was a boys school founded by British Anglican missionaries." That's really interesting, isn't it? Because it shows that not only the Portuguese, but the British also took over Sri Lanka, and they brought a different form of Christianity, Anglican Christianity, and they also set up missionaries, people to go and persuade local people to become Christian, and so other people, other Tamils became Christian as well.

Let's check what we've understood so far.

There have always been Christians in Sri Lanka.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's false, isn't it? And why? Because, as Neera said, Christianity came to Sri Lanka first by the Portuguese and later by the British.

Brilliant if you got that right.

So, for our first task, we're going to think about what we've learned so far about Christians in Sri Lanka.

I've got some sentences for you here, and I would like you to finish them off for me.

So, number one, the majority worldview in Sri Lanka is, can you remember what we said it was? And maybe if you can remember in a lot of detail, you might be able to tell me the percentage too.

Neera's family come from the.

Which particular community is she from? She lived.

Can you remember where in Sri Lanka she said she lived? Christianity was brought Sri Lanka by.

Can you remember, there were two different groups we talked about who brought Christianity, and they were two different types of Christianities.

Many Sri Lankan Christians are.

What's the biggest Christian worldview? However, Neera's family are.

Can you remember another Christian worldview? Right, can't wait to see what you put.

Good luck, everybody.

Wow, you've been working really hard, haven't you? So, you might have said, the majority worldview in Sri Lanka is Buddhist.

70% of Sri Lankans are Buddhist.

You might also have gone on to talk about other worldviews in Sri Lanka, such as Muslims and Hindus.

Question two, Neera's family come from the Tamil community.

She lived in the city of Jaffna in the north of Sri Lanka.

Three, Christianity was brought to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese when they took over the island.

In the 19th century, the British took over.

Many Sri Lankans are Roman Catholic Christians.

However, Neera's family are Anglican Christians.

Brilliant if you managed to tell me all that information.

Fantastic and well done.

So, for the second part of this lesson, we're going to be answering this question, what are weddings and Christmas like in Sri Lanka? Izzy and Sam are thinking about being Christian in Sri Lanka.

We've learned some information about why Christians are there and where they might be found.

Let's find out what it might be like to actually live as a Christian there.

Izzy says, "I wonder if it's different being Christian in a community that has other world views as a majority?" Sam says, "I wonder if Sri Lankan Christians do things exactly the same or differently to Christians in Europe?" Sam says, "What would you say is important about your Christian worldview, Neera?" Neera says, "My understanding of Christianity and the way I read the Bible is influenced by both Western traditions and the Tamil and other cultures of Sri Lanka.

This means there is a rich diversity in worship and how we express our faith that brings these cultures together.

Let me show you some examples." Well, this is really interesting.

So what Neera is saying here is that Christianity in Sri Lanka has got two influences, the Western influence brought by the Portuguese and British and the influence of the culture already there, Tamil and other cultures in Sri Lanka.

What a beautiful drawing! What can you see in this image? What might it show, I wonder, what might be going on? You might have mentioned there are two people together and that the woman is wearing a beautiful white outfit and is holding some flowers.

I wonder what you think is happening in this image? What might these people have done or be about to do? And I wonder if there's anything similar and anything different to what you have seen before? Neera says, "This is me on my wedding day.

Marriage is a real blend of Eastern and Western cultures.

My dad wore a smart suit.

My husband and I exchanged rings.

I wore white and carried flowers." So all of those are things that might happen in a wedding in the United Kingdom.

"My outfit is a traditional saree from Sri Lanka.

But Sri Lankan Christians wear white sarees at the wedding ceremony rather than red, which Hindu Tamils wear." So that's really interesting, isn't it? So Neera is wearing a saree, which is a traditional Hindu and Sri Lankan outfit, but she's wearing one in white, which of course is the color which many Christians in Europe get married in.

And so we can see a real blend there, can't we, of culture with the color of Western culture, but the style of outfit, the saree from a traditional Tamil culture.

What can you see in this image? We've magnified it for you.

Something that Neera is wearing.

What can you see on the image as well? And what connections could you make? Neera says, "This is a thali.

It is a traditional Tamil symbol of marriage.

It's a pendant on a thick gold cord, and it's worn by the bride during the marriage ceremony.

Many Christian and Hindu Tamils like me wear these.

Mine had a symbol of a cross to show my faith and our Christian marriage." Isn't that absolutely beautiful, what Neera wore there? And again, we can see the blending of culture, can't we? So many Tamils, Christian and Hindus will wear a thali when they get married, but the difference is that as Neera is Christian, her thali has a cross on it, and it's really beautiful.

Let's just check our understanding so far.

Which of these statements is correct about a Tamil wedding thali? a, all thali are exactly the same.

b, Christian Tamils might wear a thali with a Christian symbol like a cross.

c, Christian Tamils do not wear a thali.

Think about what Neera was telling us.

Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's b, isn't it? Christian Tamils might wear a thali, and it may have a Christian symbol like a cross, like Neera's did.

Brilliant if you got that right.

Now we have another image to set alongside the original one.

I wonder if you can see what's similar and what's different between these two images.

Let's find out, shall we? I can see that it's the same person on the left-hand side.

We can definitely see some different clothes being worn.

Neera says, "This is me at my wedding reception.

After the marriage service, I changed into this red and gold saree.

It has beautiful patterns.

This is known as a koorai saree.

It's traditional for the Hindu brides to be married in a red saree.

In our Tamil Christian community, we blend our cultures by wearing a koorai saree for the reception after the meal." So isn't that interesting? So for the ceremony itself, Neera wore a white saree, echoing the color of traditional Christian marriage in Europe.

But afterwards, for the reception, she changed into this beautiful koorai saree, which is red, like other Tamil community sarees.

And it's got these beautiful patterns on it.

So she's blending the two Western and Eastern cultures together.

True or false? Hindu and Christian Tums both wear red sarees for the marriage ceremony for service.

Think about what Neera told us.

Is that true or false? Excellent.

It's false, isn't it? And why is it false? Well, because many Hindu brides wear a red saree from a marriage ceremony.

However, Christian brides may wear a red saree afterwards, during the reception.

Brilliant if you managed to get that right.

So that's really interesting, finding out about weddings and how they're similar and different.

Sam now wants to find out about Christmas.

He says, "How is Christmas celebrated by Tamil Christians?" Neera says, "I would say that Christmas is similar and different.

It's a celebration of the arrival of God through the incarnation of Jesus." So the core reason for Christmas is the same, isn't it? "In my community, we focus less on gift giving.

Many people do not give gifts.

There's more focus on the religious element of Christmas.

We sing hymns in church.

Music is really important in Tamil culture." So we can see some similarities and differences there, can't we? Less gift giving or not giving gifts, more focus on the religious element and a shared experience is singing hymns in church and music generally.

What can you see in this image and what might it show? What might you infer from what you can see? You might have said, I think I can see some food.

Looks like it's on a plate, perhaps a cake.

And then I can see some cinnamon and some cloves beside it.

Neera says, "This is a Sri Lankan Christmas cake.

In some ways, it's very similar to Christmas cake eaten in the UK.

But in Sri Lanka, we add some spices and tropical fruits, which make it taste amazing.

It's cut into little squares, wrapped in colorful paper and given to guests.

Hospitality is a big part of Tamil culture.

We don't eat turkey and stuffing, but sometimes we do in the UK with my family!" So again, isn't this interesting because we have some real similarities like a Christmas cake and in some ways they're similar because they're a similar mix of fruits.

But then there's extra spices and tropical fruits from the island of Sri Lanka, which get put into it.

And rather than lots of icing and snow scenes, it's cut into squares and wrapped in colorful paper.

So we can really see a blending there of traditional Tamil culture and Western Christmas culture as well.

Sam says, "How else do you show the blending of cultures?" Neera says, "Music is a huge part of Tamil culture.

Our language is very ancient and there's traditional music that goes back thousands of years.

In church, we sing some traditional hymns in English.

We also sing songs written in Tamil as well.

There's a real diversity of in worship that reflects Tamil and European cultures." So we can see that the Tamils had a really strong musical tradition and when they came into contact with Christianity, they could adapt that culture and have some songs in Tamil as well as singing some traditional English hymns.

Neera says, "My friend Joel is part of a church in London.

He has a worship band of Tamil people who live and worship there.

He's written this song in Tamil.

In it, he praises and thanks God.

You can hear some traditional Tamil music as well.

It's a really joyful song showing our love for God." We're going to hear this music now.

And as you're listening, I'd like you to listen very carefully.

You won't be able to understand the words because they're sung in Tamil.

But can you hear some similarities between the traditional Tamil music and Western Christian music? Let's have a listen, shall we? <v ->(speaking in foreign language) Three, two, one.

</v> (upbeat music) (singing in foreign language) ♪ I wanna sing it loud ♪ ♪ Say, Jesus is the Lord ♪ (singing in foreign language) ♪ I wanna sing it loud ♪ ♪ Say Jesus is the Lord ♪ (singing in foreign language) <v ->Wow, that was really amazing music, wasn't it?</v> I hope you enjoyed that, and could you hear some traditional instruments and some modern instruments as well, and how the music and people sung together their love for God? It was great to hear that.

Thank you so much, Joel.

Let's check our understanding.

Who has understood what Neera has said correctly? Izzy says, "Christianity in Sri Lanka looks exactly the same as it does in Western countries like the UK." Sam says, "Christians in Sri Lanka blend elements of Asian culture, such as wedding and Christmas traditions, but they still focus on Jesus." Hmm, who's got a better understanding, do you think? Pause the video and have a think.

Excellent.

It's Sam, isn't it? Because Neera has helped us understand, hasn't she, how there's a blend of culture in wearing of sarees, Christmas cake recipes and music.

But actually, there's still the focus on Jesus and loving God and celebrating the Christmas story, just as there is in countries like the UK as well.

So our final task for today.

I would like you to help create a guide to help Christians understand diversity in their own faith.

Imagine you're writing this to somebody who knows nothing about the fact that there are Christians in other parts of the world, like Sri Lanka.

You want to help them understand that Christians have been in Sri Lanka for a really long time.

It would be great to use some of the brilliant case study we've had of Neera.

It would be brilliant to show what is similar and different about being a Christian in Sri Lanka.

I've given you some images to help you.

We have the two images of Neera's wedding, in her white saree for the ceremony and the red kure saree for the reception.

I've also given you an image of the beautiful thali that Neera wore and an image of the Sri Lankan Christmas cake.

You could do this how you like.

You might want to cut out these pictures or draw them and put labels around them.

You might want to create a Venn diagram of what's similar and what's different.

Or you might want to write this out as some sentences and paragraphs to explain what it's like to be Christian in Sri Lanka, and particularly about how Tamil Christians blend the cultures together.

Really looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Good luck.

Wow, you have been working hard, haven't you? You may have presented this in many different ways, but I've written some things for you that might reflect some of what you've written.

I've said, Sri Lankan Christians blend different parts of culture in their Christianity.

There's a lot of diversity.

At weddings, many Tamil Christian women will get married in a white saree, which is similar to Western dresses.

They might wear a thali, which is a traditional Tamil symbol, but it may have a symbol like a cross to show their Christian faith.

After the wedding, many Christians change into a red saree.

This links with Tamil Hindu culture, so shows some blending.

At Christmas, Sri Lankan Christians do not usually give presents.

A Sri Lankan Christmas cake has some similarities to Western cakes, but has spices and tropical fruits.

You might also have mentioned about Tamil music being really important, and how Christians in Sri Lanka might sing songs in Tamil, but also songs in English as well, and how they might blend using traditional instruments from Tamil culture and modern instruments too.

Whatever you've done, brilliant work for thinking about the diversity we find within the religion of Christianity.

Let's summarize what we've learnt today.

We've learnt that Christianity can be found in many countries outside Europe.

We looked at Sri Lanka as an example of a country with a Christian community.

We learnt that Sri Lankan Christianity blends elements from Tamil culture with European Christian culture.

And we've learnt that we can see this blending in music, wedding and Christmas celebrations.

I hope you've enjoyed learning about this beautiful island of Sri Lanka and the incredible Tamil culture.

And I hope you've been fascinated to see the way in which we have this incredible diversity in Christian worldviews and how people blend their cultures together.

I look forward to seeing you in another lesson soon.

Thank you.