Anuradhapura period Sri Lankan monarchs have intermarried with south Indian royalty and used the services of
South Indian labor for millennia. According to the
Mahavamsa, noblewomen and service groups from the
Pandyan kingdom accompanied the settlement of
Anuradhapura by
Prakrit speakers.
Epigraphic evidence describes traders and others self identifying as Damelas or Damedas (Sinhala Prakrit for Tamils) in
Anuradhapura and other areas of Sri Lanka as early as 2nd century
BCE. The idea of looking upon the Damelas as aliens was not prevalent in the early historical period. Tamil mercenaries were brought to Anuradhapura by the Sinhalese rulers from the 5th century, and in ever larger numbers during the 7th-10th centuries CE. In the early stages they were brought for short periods and served political purposes, fighting on behalf of rulers whose positions were insecure or those who had aspirations of taking the throne.
Polonnaruwa period Rajaraja I renamed the city
Polonnaruwa to Jananathamangalam, near Anuradhapura and settled
Velakkara Agampadi (Agampu+adi) soldiers (Agammudayar), These two Castes were subdivisions of the Tamil caste). They eventually assimilated to
Sinhalese society. The Sinhalese family name Palihakkara (Palaikkarar) originated from the Velakkara soldiers and the suffix
Agampadi in front of some names of the Salagama sub caste "Hewapanne"(militia) originated from the Agampadi soldiers, who married Salagama Hewapanne women, Large scale mercantile activity from peninsular India primarily came from the
Coromandel Coast.
Transitional period The majority
Sinhalese caste structure, which has no religious sanctions attached to it, has accommodated recent Dravidian
Hindu immigrants from South India leading to the emergence of three new Sinhalese caste groups-the
Salagama, the
Durava and the
Karava. This migration and assimilation happened until the eighteenth century. Salagamas, whose caste legends allude to South India, came as weavers from
Kerala. Many also worked as mercenary soldiers (Agampadi soldiers). Agampadi soldiers (mercenaries who were deployed in the army and as coast guards from Dambeniya rule onwards) came from Tamil Nadu. Some were punished by the
King of Kotte, who imposed a tax on cinnamon. Eventually some became
cinnamon peelers. According to some historians this was begun in 1406 by the King of Kotte. Another section is called "Hewapanne" or soldiers.
Crisis of the Sixteenth Century During the period of the Crisis of the Sixteenth Century and the arrival of the
Portuguese to Sri Lanka also saw the migration of various Southern Indian and Tamil speaking groups. The
Bharatha people are descendants of
Tamil speaking
Paravar of
Southern India who migrated to Sri Lanka under
Portuguese rule during that time. Several hundreds of converted Christian Bharathas were brought from the Indian mainland to the western shores of Sri Lanka by the
Portuguese to wrest control on the
pearl trade.
Sri Lankan Chetties, Formerly considered a
Sri Lankan Tamil caste, were also a class of
Tamil speaking traders, who migrated from
South India under
Portuguese rule, and continued to during
Dutch presence on the island. They settled mostly in western
Sri Lanka, especially in the ports of
Colombo and
Galle from the 16th century to the mid-17th century. Some of the Chetties in Northern Sri Lanka were absorbed into other communities, mainly in the
Sri Lankan Vellalar community, considered a subcaste known as
Chetty Vellalar. The Chetties of Western Sri Lanka converted to
Roman Catholicism under
Portuguese rule while others converted to
Anglican or
Reformed Christianity under
British rule and
Dutch rule, respectively. Intermarriage and alliances between
Sinhalese and Chetties were not uncommon thus many also got
Sinhalised.
British Ceylon period Like the Portuguese and Dutch, the
British colonial period saw the transportation and migration of Tamils to Sri Lanka, but on a much larger scale.
Indian Tamils were brought to Sri Lanka as
indentured labourers during the 19th and 20th centuries to work on coffee, tea and rubber plantations owned by the British. Workers were recruited from around the
Tamil Nadu cities of
Tirunelveli,
Tiruchirappalli,
Madurai and
Thanjavur in 1827 by
Governor Edward Barnes on the request of
George Bird, a pioneering planter. Many died during their first few months of employment. They were instrumental in the establishment of
tea,
rubber,
coffee and
coconut plantations and formed the bulk of the labour force of the plantation sector. These Indian Tamils were separate from an already existing trading community of Indian Tamils who were not part of the plantation economy. Indian Tamils had been lumped together with Sri Lankan Tamils for the Sri Lankan Census from 1871 to 1901. Since 1911, Indian Tamils have been shown as a separate group, and revealed Indian Tamils constituting 12.9% of the total population, whereas Sri Lankan Tamils, who had lived in the country for centuries prior had a lesser population of 12.8%. Indian Tamils had formed the majority Tamil population in the country until the 1950s and 1960s when the Indian population was repatriated back to India. Many Indian Tamils, after acquiring Sri Lankan citizenship, also declared themselves as Sri Lankan Tamils.
Indian Moors were a grouping of people during the colonial period distinguished by their
Muslim faith and whose origins traced back to the
British Raj. Therefore, Indian Moors refer to a number of ethnic groups such as
Memons,
Bohra and
Khoja. These groups tended to retain their own ancestral practices and language. However, the largest specific group were
Tamils from
South India. Indian Moors shared a similar history to
Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka, but due to their decline and smaller numbers the Indian Moors have either returned to India or have declared themselves as being classified as
Sri Lankan Moors. ==Communities==