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Sri Lanka Sinhalese
The Sinhalese are the largest ethnic group in the country,
officially comprising 11 million people or 74 percent of the
population in 1981. They are distinguished primarily by their
language, Sinhala, which is a member of the Indo-European
linguistic group that includes Hindi and other north Indian
tongues as well as most of the languages of Europe. It is likely
that groups from north India introduced an early form of Sinhala
when they migrated to the island around 500 B.C., bringing with
them the agricultural economy that has remained dominant to the
twentieth century. From early times, however, Sinhala has
included a large number of loan words and constructs from Tamil,
and modern speech includes many expressions from European
languages, especially English. The Sinhalese claim to be
descendants of Prince Vijaya and his band of immigrants from
northern India, but it is probable that the original group of
Sinhalese immigrants intermarried with indigenous inhabitants
(see Sri Lanka - Ancient Legends and Chronicles
, ch. 1). The Sinhalese
gradually absorbed a wide variety of castes or tribal groups from
the island and from southern India during the last 2,500 years.
The Buddhist religion reinforces the solidarity of the
Sinhalese as an ethnic community. In 1988 approximately 93
percent of the Sinhala speakers were Buddhists, and 99.5 percent
of the Buddhists in Sri Lanka spoke Sinhala. The most popular
Sinhalese folklore, literature, and rituals teach children from
an early age the uniqueness of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the long
relationship between Buddhism and the culture and politics of the
island, and the importance of preserving this fragile cultural
inheritance. Buddhist monks are accorded great respect and
participate in services at the notable events in people's lives.
To become a monk is a highly valued career goal for many young
men. The neighboring Buddhist monastery or shrine is the center
of cultural life for Sinhalese villagers
(see Sri Lanka - Buddhism
, this
ch.).
Their shared language and religion unite all ethnic
Sinhalese, but there is a clear difference between the "Kandyan"
and the "low-country" Sinhalese. Because the Kingdom of Kandy in
the highlands remained independent until 1818, conservative
cultural and social forms remained in force there. English
education was less respected, and traditional Buddhist education
remained a vital force in the preservation of Sinhalese culture.
The former Kandyan nobility retained their social prestige, and
caste divisions linked to occupational roles changed slowly. The
plains and the coast of Sri Lanka, on the other hand, experienced
great change under 400 years of European rule. Substantial
numbers of coastal people, especially among the
Karava (see Glossary)
caste, converted to Christianity through determined
missionary efforts of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British; 66
percent of the Roman Catholics and 43 percent of the Protestants
in the early 1980s were Sinhalese. Social mobility based on
economic opportunity or service to the colonial governments
allowed entire caste or kin groups to move up in the social
hierarchy. The old conceptions of noble or servile status
declined, and a new elite developed on the basis of its members'
knowledge of European languages and civil administration. The
Dutch legal system changed traditional family law. A wider, more
cosmopolitan outlook differentiated the low-country Sinhalese
from the more "old fashioned" inhabitants of highlands
(see Sri Lanka - Caste
, this ch.).
Data as of October 1988
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