expert on Lankan hydrology

[Guest guest]

Philip,

 

Could you please give me Mazard's email? I collected a lot of material on

Indian gardening including fountains and want to ask him about his opinion on

the matter, and further biblio., whether in SL or the mainland.

 

Thanks,

 

Allen

 

>>> phillip.ernest 01/31/06 8:25 AM >>>

 

 

>----Messaggio originale----

>Da: ymalaiya

>Data: 23-gen-

2006 17.52

>A: <INDOLOGY>

>Ogg: [Y-Indology] History of

toilets and sanitation (Re: Video on Untouchability)

>

>The video

mentions "Manual scavenging" which involves involves

>manual removal

of human and animal excreta.

>

>I am curious about how this custom

evolved and how sanitation was

>done in the past and in other

cultures.

 

I forwarded your message to my friend Eisel Mazard, who has

just returned home (to Laos) from Sri Lanka, and he happened to have

this to say:

 

--

 

I'm too much of expert on the history of toilets &

sanitation

in Sri

Lanka for my own liking at this point (I toured the

ruins with a

couple who were editing a book with some contentious

claims about the

history of these things, and they were trying to

investigate the facts

for themseves).

 

The ancient capitals (of

Northern Lanka) have an amazing history of

toilets and sanitation, and

they developed the art of

treating/filtering both excrement and urine

through beautiful

stone-carved toilets & urinal stones respectively

(with the

treatment

and filtering installed underground, in a sequence

of stacked

"pots"

containing various reagents). Needless to say, these

are all quite

intact from an archaeologist's perspective, as they are

largely made

of cut stone, and most of the structure is preserved

underground to

begin with.

 

This reflects the generally high level of

"the culture of the

aquaduct" in classical Sri Lanka --they were

certainly more

advanced

in the engineering of water (incl. sanitation)

than ancient Rome.

Their irrigation schemes were on a massive scale,

and their decorative

fountains were truly ingenious --thus, the

accomplished

"science" of

their toilets should come as no surprise.

 

Did the relative weakness of the caste system in (Buddhist) Sri Lanka

have something to do with the development of advanced toilets and

sanitation? Possibly, but I would rather assume that the cultural

barriers surrounding the provision of toilets (but not

"servants") to

massive monastic complexes was the more important impetus.

 

E.M.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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