Namo Mariyani Lyrics by Christmas CarolsLatha Walpola

Hail Mary, Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace…//

The Son of God, by the grace of the Holy Spirit…//
was conceived by God’s power
in your blessed womb…//

Hail Mary…

The glory shone forth, the Prince of Peace…//
radiant and rich with splendor
in your blessed womb…//

Hail Mary…//

This is a Sinhala Catholic carol, a hymn of praise to the Virgin Mary, the kind sung in Sri Lankan churches and homes through the Christmas season. The opening words, “Namo Mariyani,” carry the same greeting Catholics know from the Hail Mary prayer, and the line “prasada poornavanthini” is the Sinhala for “full of grace,” the title the angel Gabriel gives Mary when he comes to tell her she will bear a son.

The song stays close to that scene from the Gospel. It sings that the Son of God, through the grace of the Holy Spirit and by the power of God, was conceived in Mary’s womb. The phrase “shree obe kuse,” repeated like a refrain, means “in your blessed womb,” and the word “shree” is an old mark of holiness and honor in Sinhala, so each time it returns it lifts Mary up as sacred. The final verse turns to the child she carries, calling him the one whose glory shines and the Prince of Peace, a title for Christ, glowing with a richness and splendor within her.

There is no story of longing or heartbreak here, only reverence. It is a quiet act of devotion set to melody, the singer bowing before Mary and the mystery of the birth she made possible. For a listener, the feeling it leaves is one of warmth and worship, the same hush that settles over a candlelit church on Christmas night.