Most of the idioms bring us interesting back stories. Idiom stories can bring us closure to real-life experiences that we cannot gain in a lifetime, as they reflect human behavior, culture, and nature all around the world. Those folktales are usually ideal as bedtime stories for kids, as they teach a simple but important moral lesson. Yet, since they are products of different cultures, some might carry not-so-appropriate morals for modern societal values. Therefore, parents or caretakers may need to look for good folktale stories for kids. Saving the time and energy of many, here are some of the best funny idiom stories with moral lessons from Sinhalese folklore that are also appropriate for kids as well as adults.
1. Like Portuguese went to Kotte [Parangiya Kotte Giya Wagey]
The idiom “Parangiya Kotte Giya Wagey” in Sinhalese folklore comes with one of the most interesting idiom stories with historical narratives.
One day in 1505, the first Portuguese naval ship reached the island of Sri Lanka. The naval fleet commanded by Lourenço de Almeida was blown to the port of Kolomthota, which is now known as the Colombo harbor. The Portuguese wanted to meet the king of Sri Lanka. Therefore, they sent a message to the king. The king asked his men to escort the Portuguese representatives to the capital city of Kotte.
King’s men escorted the Portuguese men to the capital after a long and tiring journey that took a full day. The Portuguese men who met the king and had a friendly welcome went back and informed the commander of everything. Then the Portuguese took that route to the capital when they wanted to meet King Veera Parakramabahu.
After a while, the Portuguese were comfortable at the Colombo port, where they stayed for some time. They camped there and showed off their firearms. One day, while the Portuguese men were in the capital, they heard gunshots. Since they knew the only ones who had guns were themselves on the island, it should be their guns that their men fired at the port. So, the Portuguese realized that the Colombo port and the capital of Sri Jayewardenepura are not that far from each other. They realized they had been manipulated by the Sinhalese since the beginning.
Since the Portuguese were foreigners and strangers to the island, the men who went to escort them had taken safety precautions. They did not want the strangers to have knowledge of how to reach the capital city from the port. Therefore, they took a long path purposefully. It took them a whole day to reach the capital city, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. In reality, the capital city was just about an hour’s walk away. The locals took the longest route to reach the palace and their plan worked.
However, whenever someone is taking a longer route than the obvious short one on the road or on the path of getting something done, people say, “Parangiya Kotte Giya Wage.” That is how the idiom “like Portuguese went to Kotte” came into the Sinhalese vocabulary.
2. Like the description of the whiteness of an egret given to a blind man [Andayata Kokage Suda Kiwwa Wagey].
When it comes to idiom stories, some are very short and carry a heavy message. One such example is the backstory of the Sinhalese idiom “Andayata Kokage Suda Kiwwa Wagey.”
One day, a man brings curd for a blind man. That blind man had never had curd before in his life. And he was blind from birth.
“What is this?” the blind man asked.
“This is curd,” the man replied.
“Curd is like what?” the blind man asked.
“Curd is white,” the man replied.
But the man was blind from birth. So he didn’t know what was white. Hence, he asked, “What is white like?”.
“White is like an egret,” the man replied.
“What is an egret like?” the blind man asked.
“Like this,” the man bent his arm, imitating the standing, still posture of an egret bird and asked the blind man to feel it.
The blind man touched the arm of the other man. Then he said, “I see. Curd is like an arm.”.
From that day on, when someone is going to explain something to someone who would never understand, people say things like the description of the whiteness of an egret given to a blind man.
3. Like exchanging ginger for chili [Inguru Deela Miris Gaththa Wage]
The idiom “like exchanging ginger for chili” is from Sri Lanka and its story goes back into the 16th century. And it is also one of the idiom stories directly tied to history.
In the colonial period in Sri Lanka, first the Portuguese, then the Dutch, and finally the British ruled the coastal area of the island. Since 1505, the Portuguese have been a worse nightmare for the Sri Lankan king. The Portuguese became hostile day by day and cunningly took control of the ports around Sri Lanka and the trade.
During that time, the Dutch arrived in the Indian Ocean and were looking for a way into the island. The first Dutch representative, Joris van Spilbergen, met King Rajasinghe II and developed a good relationship with the king of the Kandyan Kingdom. Then the Dutch showed a helping hand to the king to eradicate the Portuguese from the island.
Following several discussions, the Kandyan Treaty of 1638 was signed on May 23, 1638, between the Kingdom of Kandy and the Dutch Republic. King Rajasinghe II signed for the Kandyan Kingdom and Dutch Naval Commander Adam Westerwold and Vice Comander Willem Jacobszoon Coster of the Dutch East India Company signed for the Dutch Republic.
At first and until the treaty was signed, the Dutch played a nice game with the king. But soon, they started to show the true colors of their imperialism. They attacked all the ports along the coast of Sri Lanka and took them by force from the Portuguese. The treaty was to return the control of the ports to King Rajasinghe II. But the Dutch went against the treaty. And they even purposefully forged the treaty, changing its agreements to their advantage.
Soon, King Rajasinghe and the people of Sri Lanka realized that it was a mistake to get close with the Dutch to repel the Portuguese. The Portuguese were bad. But the Dutch are worse. Therefore, the Sinhalese started to say “Inguru Deela Miris Gaththa Wage.” Because, obviously, ginger is spicy. but chili is spicier. That is how the idiom “like exchanging ginger for chili” was added to the Sinhalese language.
4. As the Seven Gurus’ Cunjee Pot [Aandi Hathdenage Kenda Heliya Wagey]
This idiom is used to address the fact that a team’s success depends on individual contributions. When a team is unsuccessful, when team members are not contributing enough as individuals, when team members are depending too much on others, when a team is made of cunning and lazy individuals, people say, “Aadi Hathdenage Kenda Heliya Wagey.” It means like the cunjee pot of seven Aandi. The story is about seven gypsies who came from South India and used to travel a lot doing mystic performances, such as giving prophecies to people by looking at their palms in Sri Lanka. This is one of the funny idiom stories with moral lessons.
“Once upon a time, in ancient Ceylon, seven gurus who were traveling on their own different paths met each other at an ambalama, where they chose to stay for the night. Ambalama is like a lodge, built for pilgrims, traders, and travelers to stay the night. So, the seven gurus who were traveling alone coincidentally met at such a place.”
Read the full idiom story: the Seven Gurus’ cunjee pot
5. Like Kaluwa went to Marapana [Kaluwa Marapana Giya Wagey]
The idiom ‘Like Kaluwa went to Marapana” is from Sinhalese folklore and it is for revealing the brainless, visionless work people do in day-to-day life. The backstory of this idiom is quite interesting, and it is indeed one of the best hilarious idiom stories.
“Once upon a time, in one temple in Sri Lanka, there was such a man. His name was Kaluwa. He was quite famous in the village for his carelessness and silly actions. However, the head priest of the temple kindly let Kaluwa depend on the temple and took Kaluwa’s support for daily tasks in the temple.”
Read the full idiom story: Like Kaluwa went to Marapana.
6. Like the Verdict of King Kakille [Kakille Rajjuruwange Nadu Theenduwa Wagey]
When someone is doing something else instead of doing what should have been done, when injustice has happened, or when the authorities have taken the side of the perpetrator, Sinhalese people say, “Kakille Rajjuruwange Nadu Theenduwa Wagey.” This idiom comes from a folktale story about the hilarious verdict of a foolish king. This is surely one of the best funny idiom stories one can ever find. The story includes just a mention of the ancient punishment method of being crushed by the elephant. Otherwise, this is one of the best funny folktale stories for kids, too.
“A long time ago, there was a beautiful and prosperous kingdom with all the natural resources. The name of the king of this kingdom was Kakille. Though the kingdom was prosperous due to its richness in natural resources and good, hardworking people, the king was famous for his stupidity.”
Read the full idiom story: Like the Verdict of King Kakille.
7. Like Making the Chair by Breaking the Granary [Atuwa Kada Putuwa Heduwa Wagey]
The idiom “like making the chair break the granary” is one of the most common idioms in Sinhalese and comes with a very interesting story. The story centered around a villager who made a chair and took the wood planks from his granary. The story has a deep sense of humor and is indeed a folktale with moral lessons. When someone sacrifices something more valuable for something that has less value, the Sinhalese say, “Atuwa Kada Putuwa Heduwa Wagey.” It is safe to say this is one of the best idiom stories that makes quite a good bedtime story for kids, too.
“…When their friends visit them, they serve them herbal tea and other homemade sweets. Meanwhile, they have nice conversations. But every time someone comes over, they become worried. They did not have any chairs. Therefore, their visitors had to sit on the floor at the edge of the small area, like a verandah of their house. This made them worried.”
Read the full idiom story: Like Making the Chair Breaking the Granary.