Henry Parker (1849–unknown) was a British engineer in colonial Ceylon during the Victorian era. He was attached to the Irrigation Department from 1873 to 1904.^[1][2] During his work as an engineer he developed an admiration for the skills displayed by the ancient Sinhalese at the time of the construction of their reservoirs.^[3]

Parker is renowned for having studied and compiled the folklore of Sri Lanka, becoming an authority on the subject. He was the author of two books:

• Ancient Ceylon, London-Luzac & Co., First Published by the India Office (1909), is an account of the aboriginal and early civilization of Sri Lanka
• Village Folk-Tales of Ceylon. A voluminous compilation of folk tales collected and translated by the author.

See also[edit]

• Ancient constructions of Sri Lanka
• Irrigation works in ancient Sri Lanka

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Village Folk Tales of Ceylon, Vol. 1 Vol. 2 Vol. 3
• Sri Lanka Ancient Irrigation
• Symbolism on Ancient Sri Lankan Coins
• Gananath Obeyesekere, Colonial Histories and Vädda Primitivism Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine