Sri Lanka is an island steeped in history, with a rich and vibrant culture. Known previously as Taprobane to the Romans, Serendib to the Muslim traders (and the inspiration of this blog title: 'Serendib' means 'Island of Jewels', referring to Sri Lanka's abundance of precious stones), Ceylon to the Dutch colonials of later history, and often called simply Lanka by its indigenous people. The respectful title of 'Sri' was given to her fairly recently, resulting in the splendidly noble title it boasts today.
Buddhism
Sri Lanka is predominantly Buddhist, with approximately two-thirds of the population following the Theraveda school of Buddhism. The history of Sri Lanka is abound with Buddhist tales: from the siting of the Temple of the Holy Tooth Relic on the shores of Kandy Lake, which houses a tooth taken from the Buddha himself, to the looming presence of Sri Pada. This peak has a number of legends attributed to it: Sri Pada means 'sacred footstep' and is supposed to be where the Buddha stepped off Earth towards paradise. In a similar story with a Christian connotation the site is where Adam first set foot on Earth after the banishment from paradise, hence the alternative name of Adam's Peak. Finally, it is also known as Samanalakande, 'Butterfly Mountain', where legend says butterflies go to die.
