19th June, 1989

K.MATSUI, ID : MHA02645

TITLE : SRI LANKA 7

SOCIETY AND RELIGION IN SRI LANKA.

CATEGORY % NOS. RELIGION & OTHERS

Sinhalese 74 % 11 mil. Buddhism

69 % of the population, more than 10 milion

persons, consider their faith to be

Buddhism.

During the Buddha's lifetime, in fact, he

is said to have transported himself to Sri

Lanka on at leaset three separate occasions

to visit the holy places of Mahiyangana,

Nagadipa and Kelaniya.

I was very lucky that Mahiyangana was just

adjacent to our construction site area, and

actually I visited Mahiyangan temple many

times, as it took only 30, 40 minutes to

get there by vehicle. It's so sacrad place.

Sri Lankan Buddhism is Hinayana, unlike

Japanese Buddhism, Mahayana.

Sri Lanka is one of the most important

countries for Buddism, when we think of

special significance of Sri Lanka's

historical role as a protector of Buddism.

Note:

The colonial era of Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

Portuguese From early in 16th century to mid of 17th century.

Island's commerce. (Purpose of colony)

Dutch From mid of 17th century to beginning of 19th cent.

Spice in the island. (Purpose of colony)

British From beginning of 19th century to 1978.

Tea in the island. (Purpose of colony)

Tamils 19 % 3 mil. Hinduism

Thamils are categorized into two groups,

i.e. Sri Lankan Tamils (or Jaffna Tamils)

whoes roots in the island date back nearly

2000 years, and Indian Tamils who came from

the South Asian motherland only in recent

centuries.

Indian Tamils arrived in Sri Lanka as hired

laborers to toil in the tea plantations of

the British raj in the 19th and early 20th

centuries.

Sri Lankan Tamils cover 13 % of total

population of Sri Lanka whereas Indian

Tamils cover only 6 % of the same.

A majority of Sri Lankan Tamils are living

in the northern part of the country such as

Jaffna and a majority of Indian Tamils

today still reside on tea estates in the

Hill country such as Nuwara Eliya,

Kataragama.

Tamil girls are identical in their forehead

spot mark made up artificially, which is

called "tikka", the "divine eye". A

mixture of sandalwood paste or holy ash is

applied to their forehead,above and between

the eyes, as a symbol of sacred presence

to help in the search for god.

They are not only so exotic and beautiful

but also smart and intelligent.

Muslims 7 % 1 mil. Islam

They could be easily idenfied as generally

they wear Muslim caps on their heads.

However they don't wear Muslim caps during

business time. Muslim merchant/businessmen

are very tough to get along with on

business as their business is very strict

and tight. However they keep promiss,

unlike Shihalese businessmen. But they tend

to adhere too much to money by taking

advantage of the written contract on

business. When having contract with Muslim

Enterprises, the provisions of the

conditions of the contract must be examined

very carefully before making signature on

the contract, especially for payment

clauses. Their relationship to each other

is very strong. Original Arab traders did

not bring women with them and had to borrow

wives from the native population in Sri

Lanka. So it can be said that they are

mixed between Arab and Sinhalese or Tamils.

Muslim can marry at most 4 wives

when he is rich enough to feed them all.

Isn't it wonderful ?

Burghers Tiny Christianity,Buddhism,etc.

The Burghers constitute a tiny but visible

fraction of the Sri Lankan population.

Strictly speaking, they are the descendants

of the Dutch colonialist who occupied the

island between 1658 and 1796.

But the term "Burgher"- Dutch for "town

dweller" - is loosely employed in reference

to any Sri Lankan descended from any

European colonialist, including Portuguese

and British.

They are found in and around urban centers,

wear European clothes, and belong to the

Cristian faith.

Marriages tend to be within the burgher

community, although intermarriage with

Sinhalese or Tamils is not uncommon.

You could find upper class Burgher as well

as lower class Burgher in Colombo.

Veddhas Tiny Worship of ancestral spirits.

They are primitive jungle people who live

in the Central and Uva provinces.

I was luckey to have met them as our

construction site was in the Central

provinces around Mahiyangana.

They still are hunting, fishing, collection

food in the jungle.

Sometimes they came down to the site area

to do some shopping for their daily life.

Gypsies Tiny Buddhism,Hinduism,etc. (currently)

They wander from one end of the island to

the other in groups of 15 to 25

individuals, including women and children.

Donkeys transport their belongings for

daily life. Unfortunately I haven't met

them.