Ranwan Dul Karalin Lyrics by Latha Walpola

The morning sun
rises over the mountain peak…
Praying for the gods’ protection, the farmer
heads off to the paddy field…

Ripened in golden, glistening ears of grain,
bowed down and heavy now…
the harvest has grown, a lovely sight,
the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich…

Ripened in golden, glistening ears of grain,
bowed down and heavy now…
the harvest has grown, a lovely sight,
the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich…

Swaying our hips, let’s cut and gather it, ho hoyiya
Swaying our hips, let’s cut and gather it, ho hoyiya
Let’s tie it in bundles and lift them onto our heads
Let’s go, lined up in a row
Let’s go, lined up in a row
Let’s go, lined up in a row
Let’s tie it in bundles and lift them onto our heads
Let’s go, lined up in a row
To the music of the bamboo flute, the cattle herd, lost in it,
mingle sweetly with the cowherds
The herds will go along, hoyiya
Ho.. the herds will go along, hoyiya
Ho.. the herds will go along, hoyiya

Ripened in golden, glistening ears of grain,
bowed down and heavy now…
the harvest has grown, a lovely sight,
the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich…

Winnowed and tossed up in the gentle breeze, ho hoyiya
Winnowed and tossed up in the gentle breeze, ho hoyiya
The grain dried out and the empty husks blown away,
the threshing floor full of grain
the threshing floor full of grain
the threshing floor full of grain
The grain dried out and the empty husks blown away,
the threshing floor full of grain
With all the gods’ protection and their grace upon us,
the village is bountiful, hunger is driven away
the farmer’s heart is full of joy, hoyiya
Ho.. the farmer’s heart is full of joy, hoyiya
Ho.. the farmer’s heart is full of joy, hoyiya

Ripened in golden, glistening ears of grain,
bowed down and heavy now…
the harvest has grown, a lovely sight,
the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich…

Ripened in golden, glistening ears of grain,
bowed down and heavy now…
the harvest has grown, a lovely sight,
the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich
Ho.. the fields and gardens full and rich…

This is a farming song, the kind of tune that belongs to the paddy field at harvest time. It opens at dawn, with the sun coming up over the mountains and the farmer setting off to work after a quick prayer to the gods for protection. From there it follows the rhythm of bringing in the rice, and the whole thing is meant to be sung together, the way villagers once sang to keep time while they worked.

The picture it paints is the one every rural Sri Lankan knows well. The rice has ripened into golden ears of grain so heavy that the stalks bow over, and that bowing is the sign farmers wait for all season, it means the crop is ready and the year has been good. The “ho hoyiya” calls running through the song are not just decoration. They are the real work chants people shout while cutting the sheaves, tying them into bundles, balancing them on their heads, and walking back in a line. The song even brings in the sound of the bamboo flute and the cattle drifting along with the cowherds, the everyday music of a village afternoon.

The final verse moves to the threshing floor (the kamatha), where the dried grain is tossed up in the breeze so the light, empty husks blow away and only the good rice is left. It closes the way a harvest song should, with thanks to the gods, a full storehouse, and hunger pushed away for another year. “Gama saarai,” the village is bountiful, is the heart of it.

What the song is really holding is contentment, the simple, deep joy of a harvest that came in well. There is no heartbreak or longing here, just the satisfaction of honest work rewarded, the fields full, the granary full, and the farmer’s heart full along with them. It is a small hymn to the land and the life it gives.