Fading history: Kerala link to Sri Lanka
The Malayali link to Sinhala culture has a rich past even if it does not have much of a present.
Enoka Lankatilleke
Some good points,
http://www.tamil.net/erumbugal/?p=96
Throughout the first millennium, the Sinhala kings of the
island enlisted mercenaries from throughout south India, including Kerala.
Historical references also detail migrations of Keralites who joined the Sinhala forces in order to protect the kingdom of Rajarata. A century earlier, the same kingdom had been sacked by a king from Kerala, Kalinga Magha.
Although the Sinhala language is rooted in Sanskrit, it shows affinities with Tamil, Telugu and Malayali, as well.
Indeed, the presence of Malayali speakers in Sri Lanka has, since the medieval period, led to an enrichment of Sinhala. There are marked similarities in the two alphabets. In some instances, Malayali characters were used to write Sinhala, as can be witnessed in graffiti on the rock fortress of Sigiriya.
More recently, a close examination of the signatures of the Sinhala chieftains on the 1815 Kandyan Convention (between the British and the Kandyan chiefs) shows
a mixture of Sinhala and Malayali characters.
The osariya or Kandyan sari, for instance, is very similar to its Keralan counterpart, but is today a symbol of authentic Sinhala-ness.
Religious practices such as the Pattini deity worship (as well as the worship of Natha, Vishnu, Kataragama, Saman and Vibhishana) were also introduced to Sri Lanka from Kerala.
Sinhala classical poems such as the 'Perakumba Sinha' and 'Kokila Sandesaya' also bear the Keralan stamp.
In areas such as Lunuwila, Wennappuwa and Marawila, there are many descendants of Keralan migrants who today feel culturally and socially closer to the Sinhala people than they do to the Sri Lankan Tamils.
However, descendants of Malayali migrants who initially married Tamil women have today become part of the Tamil community in towns along the west coast. Small groups of Cheras living in Dematagoda, Naharenpita and Maradenkulama still do try to maintain their ethnic identities.
Edited By - Sritharan - 9 Jun 2007 00:26:54 GMT |
