Northern exposure Posted in Cities, on May 11, 2013 JAFFNA, SRI LANKA – Things happen when they happen in Jaffna, a place of grand temples and eerie modern ruins. It has a population of about 90,000 but the character of a country town, albeit one with a battered past. 0 The cannibals Posted in Oceania, on April 30, 2013 The naserah (ceremonial site) of the Amelbati Tribe on Malekula, Vanuatu. The naserah was once used for cannibalism by Amelbati adult males. 0 ‘The Last Train to Zona Verde’ Posted in Marginalia, on April 14, 2013 Here is a book with a remarkable double structure: the first half is episodic and tame; the second half is a sustained horror show. “I left on this trip with a sense of foreboding,” Theroux writes. 0 Tales of Ausangate Posted in Culture, on March 30, 2013 The community at Chillca, near the mountain Ausangate, may have set out to put their llamas back to work, but what they’ve created is something far more remarkable. 0 Mirissa Beach Posted in Asia, on March 19, 2013 A group of Sri Lankan men learn to be lifesavers at Mirissa Beach, on the south coast. 0 Gopuram Posted in Asia, on March 19, 2013 The striking technicolour gopuram of Naga Pooshani Amman Kovil, on the island of Neduntivu, Sri Lanka. 0 The ferry to Neduntivu Posted in Asia, on March 19, 2013 A Tamil devotee brings an offering of flowers to the island of Neduntivu, just off the Jaffna peninsula, where the Naga Pooshani Amman Kovil rises on the shore in a technicolour burst. Sri Lanka. 0 Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil Posted in Asia, on March 8, 2013 A Jaffna local cycles past the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil (Temple), dedicated to the sacred deity Murugan, brother of Ganesh. 0 Jaffna train station Posted in Asia, on March 4, 2013 The war-ravaged train station in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Originally an art deco masterpiece, the station was one of the busiest in the country, linking the north with the capital of Colombo via the Yarl Devi service. Civil war inflicted serious damage in the 1980s though, and  rail travel past Vavuniya, 140km to the south, has been abandoned since 1990 ... 0 The exorcism Posted in Asia, on February 28, 2013 A sanni yakuma exoricism ritual in Mirissa, Sri Lanka. The dancer is dressed as Maha Sohona, the bear demon of the cemetery. 0