sri lanka tamil

Little scholarly consensus regarding the presence of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka—also known as Eelam in early Tamil literature—exists prior to the medieval Chola period (circa 10th century CE). One theory states that there was not an organized Tamil presence in Sri Lanka until the invasions from what is now South India in the 10th century CE; another theory contends that Tamil people were the original inhabitants of the island.^[12][13]

Pre-historic period

The indigenous Veddhas are physically related to Dravidian-speaking tribal people in South India and early populations of Southeast Asia. They no longer speak their native languages.^[16] It is believed that cultural diffusion, rather than migration of people, spread the Sinhalese and Tamil languages from peninsular India into an existing Mesolithic population, centuries before the common era.^[17]

Settlements of people culturally similar to those of present-day Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in modern India were excavated at megalithic burial sites at Pomparippu on the west coast and in Kathiraveli on the east coast of the island. These villages were established between the 5th century BCE and 2nd century CE.^[18][19] Cultural similarities in burial practices in South India and Sri Lanka were dated by archeologists to 10th century BCE. However, Indian history and archaeology have pushed the date back to 15th century BCE. In Sri Lanka, there is radiometric evidence from Anuradhapura that the non-Brahmi symbol-bearing black and red ware occur in the 10th century BCE.^[20]

Historic period

Potsherds with early Tamil writing from the 2nd century BCE have been found in excavations in Poonagari, Jaffna. They bore several inscriptions, including a clan name—vela, a name related to velir from ancient Tamil country.^[21] Epigraphic evidence shows people identifying themselves as Damelas or Damedas (the Prakrit word for Tamil people) in Anuradhapura, the capital city of Rajarata, and other areas of Sri Lanka as early as the 2nd century BCE.^[22] Excavations in the area of Tissamaharama in southern Sri Lanka have unearthed locally issued coins, produced between the 2nd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, some of which carry Tamil personal names written in early Tamil characters,^[23] which suggest that Tamil merchants were present and actively involved in trade along the southern coast of Sri Lanka.^[24] Historical records establish that Tamil kingdoms in modern India were closely involved in the island's affairs from about the 2nd century BCE.^[25][26] In Mahavamsa, a historical poem, ethnic Tamil adventurers such as Elara invaded the island around 145 BCE.^[27] Tamil soldiers from what is now South India were brought to Anuradhapura between the 7th and 11th centuries CE in such large numbers that local chiefs and kings trying to establish legitimacy came to rely on them.^[28] By the 8th century CE there were Tamil villages collectively known as Demel-kaballa (Tamil allotment), Demelat-valademin (Tamil villages), and Demel-gam-bim (Tamil villages and lands).^[29]

Medieval period

In the 9th and 10th centuries CE, Pandya and Chola incursions into Sri Lanka culminated in the Chola annexation of the island, which lasted until the latter half of the 11th century CE.^{[30][31][32][28]} The decline of Chola power in Sri Lanka was followed by the restoration of the Polonnaruwa monarchy in the late 11th century CE.^[33] In 1215, following Pandya invasions, the Tamil-dominant Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty established an independent Jaffna kingdom^[34] on the Jaffna peninsula and parts of northern Sri Lanka. The Arya Chakaravarthi expansion into the south was halted by Alagakkonara,^[35] a man descended from a family of merchants from Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. He was the chief minister of the Sinhalese king Parakramabahu V (1344–59 CE). Vira Alakeshwara, a descendant of Alagakkonara, later became king of the Sinhalese,^[36] but he was overthrown by the Ming admiral Cheng Ho in 1409 CE. The Arya Chakaravarthi dynasty ruled large parts of northeast Sri Lanka until the Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna Kingdom in 1619 CE. The coastal areas of the island were conquered by the Dutch and then became part of the British Empire in 1796 CE.

The caste structure of the majority Sinhalese has also accommodated Hindu immigrants from South India since the 13th century CE. This led to the emergence of three new Sinhalese caste groups: the Salagama, the Durava and the Karava.^[37][38][39] The Hindu migration and assimilation continued until the 18th century CE