Bridging Generations through Kites: The Valvettithurai Kite Festival

Abstract

The Valvettithurai Kite Festival, held annually on the 14th or 15th of January in the northern coastal town of Valvettithurai, coincides with Thai Pongal, a significant Tamil harvest festival. This paper examines the festival as a living tradition that embodies the role of intangible cultural heritage in negotiating continuity and transformation within a conflict and post-conflict Tamil community in northern Sri Lanka. It explores how this community-led celebration acts as a cultural bridge—preserving inherited knowledge, nurturing collective identity, providing a creative outlet for intergenerational expression, and adapting to contemporary challenges. Drawing on a qualitative methodology, the research is grounded in ethnographic fieldwork, visual documentation, and semi-structured interviews conducted with local participants, artisans, and community elders. The analysis is guided by performance theory and cultural memory studies, framing the festival as a site of symbolic and embodied meaning-making. The study pursues a twofold aim: first, to investigate how the festival sustains intangible forms of knowledge such as oral storytelling, kite-making craftsmanship, and ritual practices; and second, to assess its evolving role in cultural resurgence and youth engagement in the post-war context. The significance of this research lies in its contribution to wider debates on the preservation and transformation of intangible heritage in societies undergoing historical transition. By focusing on the Valvettithurai Kite Festival, the paper demonstrates how local, community-rooted festivals can act as powerful vehicles for intergenerational transmission and cultural continuity—bridging the past and future in ways that are both resilient and visionary.