So who is the Green Man

Al-Khidr literally means 'The Green (one)', though Muslim commentators are not agreed on who he exactly was. Some say he is a prophet while others say he is a Wali meaning one who is close to God, in other words, a saint. There can however be no doubt that it is he who figures in the Qur'an as the unnamed servant of God who initiates Moses into the mysteries or rather paradoxes of life.

Who he was is clearly mentioned in a hadith or saying of the Prophet Muhammad recorded in the Sahih Al-Bukhari where he figures in an episode identical to that related in the Qur'an. He is here called Khidr and described as a man covered with a garment. Another tradition of the Prophet recorded in Bukhari has it that Al-Khidr was so called because if he sat over a barren white land, it turned green with vegetation.

Around this mysterious personage have grown a number of folk beliefs in various parts of the Muslim world, especially in Asia Minor and the Near East. The mystical tradition of the Sufis has it that he is immortal, having drunk of the Maul Hayat or 'Water of Life' though one wonders how this could be reconciled with the statement in the Qur'an that every soul shall taste of death. Sanctuaries dedicated to Khidr are said to exist in Samandag in Turkey, Samarqand in Uzbekistan and Bhakkar Island in Pakistan.

The Muslims of Sri Lanka know Khidr by various names. He is called Kilur, Kalir or Halir, all derivatives of the Arabic Khidr as well as Hayatun Nabi or 'The living Prophet'. This is in spite of the fact that it is Prophet Muhammad who is considered the last of the prophets in Islam. The rituals that have grown round Khidr here are however somewhat different from those existing in other parts of the Muslim world and show considerable South Indian influence, especially with regard to customs such as the flag-hoisting which constitutes an integral part of the local tradition.