The kandyan drummer.

The performing arts of the Kandyan kingdom started life in the temple, with drumming and dancing enacted in honour of the gods – it’s thought that the kingdom’s dances were first performed for a deity called Kohomba (who is still believed to be the god who inspired the ves, Kandy’s most famous dance).

Sri Lankan drummers are usually deployed in ensembles (hewisi) of anything between three and, in the largest festivals, 50 performers. Many ensembles display incredible levels of virtuosity, and the extraordinary sound of a group of top Kandyan drummers in full flight is one of the island’s most distinctive and pulse-quickening experiences.

Solo wind instruments are also occasionally employed, but most performances feature drums on their own, compensating for the total absence of melodic interest with a barrage of extraordinarily complex rhythmic effects.

Kandyan drummers wear a traditional costume: white turban, breastplate, broad waistband and copious sarong. Important musical points are signalled with an accompanying shake of the head, which sends the topknot of the turban flying through the air in a sympathetic flourish.