The Ceremonial Dances of the Sinhalese: An Inquiry Into the Sinhalese Folk-religion

Otakar Pertold, a Czech scholar of religion and ethnography, published this rigorous study in 1930 during his tenure as a professor at Charles University. The work emerged from his extended fieldwork in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, where he sought to document the intricate relationship between folk religious practices and the island's traditional dance rituals. It remains a foundational text for those studying the intersection of Buddhist traditions and indigenous spirit-cult rituals.

The volume was designed as an academic inquiry, reflecting the empirical and observational methods favored by European orientalists in the early twentieth century. By meticulously cataloging the visual and ritualistic elements of the Sanni and Kohomba Kankariya dances, Pertold aimed to preserve a vanishing cultural heritage. Upon its release, the work was noted for its ethnographic depth and remains a respected, if specialized, resource for cultural historians interested in the syncretism of the region.