Marcelline Jayakody

Fr. Marcelline Jayakody
Born June 3, 1902(1902-06-03)
Sri Lanka
Died January 15, 1998(1998-01-15) (aged 95)
Nationality Sri Lankan
Other names Pansale Piyathima, Modern Gonsalvez
Education Roman Catholic Boys School in Madampe,St. Joseph’s College, St. Aloysius Seminary, Borella.
Occupation Catholic priest, musician, lyricist, author, journalist and patriot
Religion Roman Catholic

මගෙ නත්තල දුගියා බත් කන දාය
මගෙ නත්තල වැරහැලි නැති වෙනෙ දාය
මගෙ නත්තල ඔබෙ දුක සැනසෙන දාය
මගෙ නත්තල පව පල්ලිය යන දාය

Fr. Marcelline Jayakody (June 3, 1902─January 15, 1998) was a well-known Sri Lankan Catholic priest, musician, lyricist, author, journalist and patriot,[1] and an exponent of indigenous culture who, according to a former High Court Judge, directed the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka towards the mainstream of national life.[2] Biographer Judge Fernando honors Jayakody by writing:

No other Catholic prelate or priest in Sri Lanka has touched the hearts and lives of both Catholics and non-Catholics alike like Fr. Marcelline Jayakody. Sincere to God and sincere to man Fr. Marcelline Jayakody was a legend in his life time.[2]

Contents

Passion Play of Duwa

Fr. Jayakody served as the head priest in Duwa in 1939. Duwa is the Passion Play Village in Sri Lanka.[3] A Passion Play is a religious drama of medieval origin dealing with the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.[4] Originally, the Play used traditional puppets as actors for Duwa Passion play. Jayakody wrote original script for a Passion play influenced by Fr. Jacome Gonsalves and composed new hymns to the traditional "Pasan".[5] Next, he introduced live male and female actors for puppets. Eventually there were over 250 live actors taking the place of puppets in his adaptation of Dorothy L. Sayers’s The Man Born to be King [Dukprathi Prasangaya in Sinhala].[6] The Duwa passion play was considered as the greatest Passion show in Asia at that time.[7]

Awards

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Fr. Marcelline Jayakody - vibrant Catholic priest and patriot". dailynews. 2003. http://www.dailynews.lk/2003/06/03/fea05.html. Retrieved /2003/06/03. 
  2. ^ a b Fernando, W.T.A. Leslie. "Birth centenary of Fr. Marcelline Jayakody — the rebel priest." Online: 5 Nov 2010. [1]
  3. ^ "Duwa is The Passion Play Village". passionplay.lankasites. http://www.passionplay.lankasites.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9:duwa-the-village-with-passion&catid=6:experience&Itemid=6.. Retrieved 22 March 2009. 
  4. ^ Passion play. (2010). In ‘’Encyclopædia Britannica.’’ Retrieved November 01, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online:
  5. ^ a b "In commemoration of Rev. Fr. Marceline Jayakoddy". passionplay.lankasites. http://www.passionplay.lankasites.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6:n-commemoration-of-rev-fr-marceline-jayakoddy&catid=6:experience&Itemid=6. Retrieved 14 March 2009. 
  6. ^ "Dabbling with mystic themes". sundayobserver. 2009. http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/05/10/spe39.asp. Retrieved 2009-05-10. 
  7. ^ "Duwa Passion play’ at Bishop’s". sundaytimes. 2000. http://sundaytimes.lk/090329/Magazine/sundaytimestvtimes_04.html. Retrieved 2009-03-29. 

References

Actors • Directors • Films A-Z • List of films • Screenwriters 

External links

Father Marceline Jayakody video/discussion /music: සංහිද ‘SANHIDA’ musical programme. ITN Television Sri Lanka (http://www.itn.lk/); watch    
online on Col3negoriginal.org website, 25-12-2011, Link:http://www.col3negoriginal.org/watch.php?id=15747