Sacred Space and Cultural Landscape of Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka
摘要
The sacred city Anuradhapura (377 BCE–CE 1017) is significant for its spiritually cherished spatial orientation, which is apparent in the city. Nature, natural elements, and topography are interwoven with the city landscape and the ‘performing system’ of the place. This chapter examines how nature and topography are interwoven in the cultural landscape and establish the ‘sacred space’ in Anuradhapura. The research methodology synthesises aspects of phenomenology, philosophy, anthropology, landscape research, and Buddhist philosophy to frame the study. Ethnographical-geometrical diagrams are utilised to analyse and synchronise the context with the concepts. From pre-history up to the Buddhist city of Anuradhapura, the same spatial orientation continues and highlights the centre and periphery of the place as important dimensions of the sacred space. Irrigation and paddy fields, natural elements, Stupa, and built elements are interwoven in the urban landscape, emphasising the place's centre, axis, and periphery. At the same time, people experience sacred space through encountering the landscape and the embodied landscape. The sacred city of Anuradhapura establishes a pattern of cultural landscape and a performing system to engage the people with nature, topography, and the city and uplift their bodies and minds, revealing sacred space.