Folk music

Caste-based folk poems, Jana Kavi, originated

 as communal song shared within individual 

groups as they engaged in daily work. 

Today, they remain a popular form of cultural expression. 

Folk poems were sung by ancient people of Sri Lanka to minimise their loneliness, sadness, tiredness etc.

 There isn't a known author for the folk poems. Kavi was also sung to accompany annual rituals. 

These ancient rites are rarely performed in 

contemporary Sri Lanka, but the preserved 

songs are still performed by folk musicians.

Another traditional Sri Lankan folk style is called the Virindu. 

It involves an improvised poem sung to the 

beaten melody of a rabanaTraditional song 

contests were held in which two virindu singers

 would compete through spontaneous verse.

 The Portuguese influenced  baila has been a 

popular folk tradition along the coastal districts

 in the past five hundred years and is now part of the mainstream music culture.