Taboos of Sri Lankan Society as Revealed in the Novels Funny Boy and Cinnamon Gardens by Shyam Selvadurai

S. Mathur

Shyam Selvadurai's historical novel Funny Boy (1994) is set in 1980s Colombo whereas Cinnamon Gardens (1998) is set in late 1920s Colombo, at a time when Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon. These texts highlight issues such as communal violence, rigid gender roles, homosexuality amidst obsessively heteronormative society, and the taboos that surround each of these subject matters that have always been a significant part of Sri Lanka's history. Taboos are undoubtedly present in Sri Lankan society but are not noticeable at a surface level since they are not always addressed directly. They become apparent through the act of forbidding, negation, pseudo-explanations, adynatons, euphemisms, silence, or even through the violent measures that are taken when the taboos are challenged or broken. Using various passages from Freud's Totem and Taboo, I will analyse - how taboos can be identified in Selvadurai's novels, even though there is no direct mention of them; where do taboos come from; what forces are at work that orchestrate the taboos; what are the reasons as to why taboos manage to stay in place even though most people suffer because of them; how characters often use taboos to their advantage; and most importantly, why they are 'taboos?' These taboos as represented in the novels indicate how rigid, suffocating and oppressive Sri Lankan society can be ?at least for the characters in the novel.