The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs has taken steps to promote the Sri Lankan traditional game and Martial Art “Angampora” as a martial art as well as a national heritage of the country.
Cabinet approval was granted in 2019 to lift the ban on the martial art Angampora.
However, the relevant Gazette notification has not been published thus far.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs to publish a Gazette notification lifting the ban.
The 202-year-old ban on the popular indigenous martial art, Agampora, was imposed by the British colonial rulers.
Sri Lanka’s traditional martial art had been banned by the British colonial rulers after the 1818 rebellion in October.
Angampora is a Sinhalese martial art that combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and meditation.
A key component of Angampora is the namesake angam, which incorporates hand-to-hand fighting, and illangam, involving the use of indigenous weapons such as the ethunu kaduwa, staves, knives, and swords