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Old rituals; doing it their way-By Yomal Senerath-Yapa and Sajani Ratnayake Boiling milk: One of the nine rituals associated with the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.Pic by Indika Handuwala Source:Sundaytimes Avurudu has been celebrated in the island for millennia, an indigenous practice that probably harks back to yaksa and naga times. The Veddahs follow it propitiating their ne yakkas, testimony to its hoary vintage. The harvest festival, brimming with joy as the golden paddy had been reaped brings the nation together, but in recent years many have had to ‘cut corners’ given  the pressures of rising costs and the daily grind. The traditional Avurudu began with house cleaning, whitewashing, then the making of kevili. The first of the rituals was observing the new moon while the last was leaving for work. These two nekath today are mostly disregarded being impractical or –  as in the case of the first – ...