Originally Vannams were kind of recitations. In most Vannams it describes about the behaviours of animals. Such as Elephants, monkeys, rabbits, peacock, cocks, serpents etc. Later dancers have used Vannam as background songs for their performances. There are 18 Vannams in the Kandyan Dance form.
Traditionally a dancer would have to learn to perform all these Vannams before they would be gifted the Ves costume. The most well known among these are the Hanuma Vannama (Monkey), The Ukusa Vannama (Eagle) and the Gajaga Vannama (Elephant).
The word "vannam" comes from the Sinhala word "varnana" (descriptive praise). Ancient Sinhala texts refer to a considerable number of "vannams" that were only sung; later they were adapted to solo dances, each expressing a dominant idea.
History reveals that the Kandyan king Sri Weeraparakrama Narendrasinghe gave considerable encouragement to dance and music. In this Kavikara Maduwa (a decorated dance arena) there were song and poetry contests.
