Sri Lanka Journal- Andew and Annette Dey: 2/8/2005

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Links from Andrew and Annette:

Pro Photographer Dixie's web site

Mondo Challenge set up Andrew and Annette's trip.

Unawatuna is the village where they're staying and working

In the north, Andrew and Annette are working with Norwegian People's Aid. NPAID is partnered with the German organization called Arbeiter Samariter Bund.

Bensonwood.com

Andrew

Annette and I arrive at the site in the early afternoon, after spending the morning attending meetings and chasing after materials. We are pleased to see that the carpenters have begun work on the frames. Two crews have started in different parts of the camp, and each has erected the posts for several frames. Three men near us are digging post holes by hand—literally. As Annette watches them reach down into the holes and pull out handfuls of sandy soil, she wonders whether they will achieve her requested embedment depth of two-and-a-half feet. “I guess it depends on how long their arms are.”

We see that several men are working in the shade of a palmyra tree to pre-fit the plate and tie assemblies that will sit atop the posts. This is the same principal of pre-assembly that we employ at Benson Woodworking, although the execution here is different. The carpenters use handsaws and adzes to cut the scarfs that join the 4” diameter round plates. The scarfs are nailed in place atop U-shaped scoops in the tops of the posts.

We notice a single large post that has been erected at one end of the line of nascent frames. A garland of mango leaves circles the post at chest level, and several splotches of yellow and red pigment dot the post above the garland. A silver tray sitting next to the post contains two bananas, some betle leaves, several coins, a small cooking pot, and a half a coconut. I ask Vimal, the driver-turned-assistant-project-manager, what we missed.

“This is ‘first-work’ ceremony from our Hindu culture. At twelve noon exactly on first day, we make this ceremony for successful work.”

We are sorry to have missed it. I had planned to introduce the local carpenters to the North American tradition of “topping off” a timber frame, but decide to wait for another day. The local ritual is apparently more elaborate. Vimal describes a ceremony in which the coconut is placed atop the cooking pot and covered with leaves (?), incense is burned, and coins, fruit, and ashes are placed in the bottom of the first post hole. The post is then installed in the hole, ringed with mango leaves, and smudged with pigment. I notice a dark green metal cylinder, about the size of a can of Red Bull, in the bushes near the symbolic first post.

“Was this also part of the ceremony?” I ask Vimal.

“No, this is motor from rocket-propelled grenade. Carpenters found it this morning.”