கவனிக்க: இந்த மின்னூலைத் தனிப்பட்ட வாசிப்பு, உசாத்துணைத் தேவைகளுக்கு மட்டுமே பயன்படுத்தலாம். வேறு பயன்பாடுகளுக்கு ஆசிரியரின்/பதிப்புரிமையாளரின் அனுமதி பெறப்பட வேண்டும்.
இது கூகிள் எழுத்துணரியால் தானியக்கமாக உருவாக்கப்பட்ட கோப்பு. இந்த மின்னூல் மெய்ப்புப் பார்க்கப்படவில்லை.
இந்தப் படைப்பின் நூலகப் பக்கத்தினை பார்வையிட பின்வரும் இணைப்புக்குச் செல்லவும்: Tamil Social Formation in Sri Lanka A Historical Outline

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IRD Publication : .
First Edition : February 1986, (C) Ponnampalam Ragupathy; Publisher
R.S. Visakan on behalf of the Institute of Research and Development, 33, Chezhiyan Mansion, Raja Street, Madras-600 017; Typesetting and Loyout . Cre-A : Madras, Printer : Sudarsan Graphics, Madras-600 017; Copies ovoilable of . Cre-A. 268, Royopettah High Road, Madras-600 Ol4. Price : Sri Lanka . Rs... 5.00; India : Rs... 5.00; Other Countries : U.S. $ 100
Front : Dolmen, a megalithic burial monument found at Katiraiveli, Eastern Province. In the South Asian context, the megalithic culture was essentially a South Indian development, denoted by various types of burial monuments, introduction of iron technology, tank irrigated agriculture, permanent settlements and a pottery technique that produced Black and Red Wares. The urbanization, earliest kingdoms, chieftaincies and the refinement of the language that produced Cankam Tamil literature in South Indio, were in fact the culmination of this culture. Recent studies point out that the island of Sri Lanka was also a part of this milieu. In the Jaffna Peninsula alone, three megalithic sites have been so for identified and excavated at Kantarotai Anaikkottai and Karainagar.
Back: A traditional drummer of Karainagar, Jaffna. The drummers are one of the ancient communities in the formation of Tamil Society in Sri Lanka. Besides playing drums at funerals and folk temples, they had a role in the society as heralds and traditional weavers. They maintained the family records of their feudal lords and even practised medicine and astrology. In Jaffna, they still retain a dialect of their own, which has a number of proto-Drovidian and a few Prakrit words, not found in any other dialects of Tomil.
Back inside : Cluster of Stupas at Kantarotai, Jaffna - a Buddhicized version of megalithism. The structures are recent reconstructions by the Sri Lanka Department of Archaeology on the original bases.

Tamil SOCial Formation in Sri Lanka : A Historical Outline
P. Ragupathy, M.A., Ph.D.
Institute of Research and Development

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Historiography : ca Re-appraisoal
Writing the history of the Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka as a separate entity has a tradition of at least 500 years, beginning with the historiographicol works like Vaiyapdital Cand Kailayamalai. Prior to that period, the conventional sources - the Buddhist chronicles on which the authoritative history of the Island is still based - are not much helpful to Understand the Tamil history. History is basically the capacity of a society in remembering its past. The mode of exerting this capacity differs from Society to Society. Hence, one must devise appropriate tools to reconstruct the history of a particular Society. Saying that a particular Society has no history, without going for an appropriate tool, as in the context of the Tamils, is a Crime Committed on that Society, which is what that is being done by the Sri Lankan historians. Therefore, now we have to mainly turn towards the tools like archaeology, cultural anthropology, folk studies, historical linguistics etc., to Understand the history of the Tamil Society.

South Asia and Sri Lanka
Geologically, geographically and environmentally, the Island of Sri Lanka is a part and parcel of the South Asian Subcontinent. The cultures – both Sinhala and Tamil – that emerged in Sri Lanka fall within the South Asian frame and particularly within the South Indian frame because of proximity.
The development of Sinhala-Buddhist culture and the Tamil Culture in Sri Lanka are parallel and identical with the development of Tamil, Telugu, Kannoada and Malayalam cultures in South India. One can even cite a common stratum for these developments. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, a comparative study of these South Indian and Sri Lankan phenomena has not been even attempted.
Pre cund Protohistoric Antecedents
The human habitation in Sri Lanka began with the prehistoric microlithic people who possibly migrated through a land bridge then existed from the South eastern coast of the present Tamilnadu. The earliest evidence of this culture in the Sri Loankan context hos been now doted boack to 28,000 B.C. The next wove of migration and cultural impoct were marked by the megalithic phase in protohistoric times, which was also essentially of a South Indian cultural stratum. These pre and protohistoric antecedents were an extension of the sequence that took place in the extreme peninsular India. By the dawn of history, during the time of Asoka, Buddhism arrived in Sri Lonka as a cultural inspiration. This was the period when for

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the first time South Asia came under an imperial unity and Sri Lanka acknowledged it.
Ethnic Structure in Sri Lanka - Myth and Realities
There are no racial differences among Sinhalese, Tamils and the people of South India. But, around 6th Century A.D., the Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka imagined a mass Aryan migration during protohistoric times, which they thought was the basis for the formation of the Sinhala-Buddhist society. This myth Created in response to the then prevailing situation is Unfortunately still the foundation for the authoritative history of the island, conditioning the minds of the people. In reality, there were no objective evidences for an Aryan migration. The ethnic structure in Sri Lanka is quite South Indian with close affinities to Tamilnadu and Kerala. Sinhala and Tamil cultures derived from a common stem. Hence, the definition of ethnic differences seriously needs a fresh interpretation in the Sri Lankoan context.
First Settlements in Jaffna - the Megalithic Culture
C. 500 - 1 OO B.C.
Archaeological evidences reveal that the first people of Jaffna belonged to the megalithic culture, which is undoubtedly a South Indian phenomenon of Iron Age. Emerging in around 500 B.C., the first settlers had a multifoceted subsistence of incipient farming, lagoon exploitation and Cattle herding. They communicated in a language that can be termed protodrovidian, were non-Buddhists practising a folk religion similar to that of the Cankam Tamil country and on the whole, were of a common stock of the protohistoric South India. Tamil and

Pali literatures of the early centuries of the Christian era mention them as Ndkds and their land as Naka natu or Naga dipa.
Trans-oceanic Trade, Urbanization and the Resultant Emergence of a Principality in Jaffna
C. 100 B.C.-C. 500 A.D.
The trans-oceanic trade that developed around the beginning of the Christian era had an important impact on Jaffna. Kantarotai in Jaffna was urbanized from the megalithic basis, parallel to Anuradhapura and Mahdgamo in the Southern Sri Lanka, and parallel to Korkai, KOverippattinam, Arikamedu and other Cankam cities in the ancient Tamil country. Jaffna emerged as a principality with Kantarotai as its central place. This phenomenon Survived to C. 5th century A.D. till the decline of the Roman trade.
An aspect of this phase was the overlapping of Buddhism with the megalithic beliefs. Further discussion on the Buddhist monuments in Jaffna is necessory, as they are often misinterpreted and misused by the Buddhist chauvinists in Sri Lanka and much dreaded by and antagonistic to the Common man in Jaffna. During the early centuries of the Christian era, Buddhism was fairly a popular ideology in Tamil South India too. Manimekalai, a post-Cankam Tamil Buddhist work mentions Jaffna as a Buddhist Sacred place - Mani-indko-tivu or Mani-pallavam - testifying the popularity of Buddhism in Joaffnca.
These Buddhist remains of Jaffnd are unique in their concept and execution. They are highly localised ond Constructed

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entirely with the locally available coral and limestone. At Kantarotai they appear in clusters at a particular spot. They seem to be burial monuments of monks, a Buddhicised version of megalithism. Such a concept in architecture and its execution in Coral and limestone, significantly differentiates the Jaffna monuments from those in the rest of the Island. Hence, we prefer to call this architectural expression as Jaffna Buddhism. The monuments explain how at that time the Socio-economic and cultural conditions in Jaffna were able to adopt the Buddhist faith and were Cable to articuloate it in their own way. Buddhism was an integral part of the Cultural heritage of Joffno.
The Sinhala-Buddhist lodentity in the perspectives of South Indian Regional Developments
6th-10th Century A.D.
The lotter holf of the first millennium A.D. witnessed the emergence of regional dynasties and regional cultural Voriations attaining definable forms in South India and Sri Lanka. Concurrent to the development of Kannada, Telugu and Tamil dynasties and cultures, the Sinhala-Buddhist and Tamil patterns developed in Sri Lanka. This was the time when Sinhala became an identifiable language; Buddhism was intertwined with statecraft; and the tank-irrigated agriculture attained its full development. In contrast, the Tamil country in India was facing a Brahmanic revival, Bhakthi movement and the extinction of Jainism and Buddhism. Also, the growing powers like the Pallavas and the Pandiyas often intervened in the Sri Lankan politics. Such a background was the underlying current to the formation of Sinhalo-Buddhist identity and to its antagonism

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ond resistance to the Tomil culture. The Pali chronicles, Dipavamsa and Mahdvamsa were an outcome of such tendencies.
Ironically, in this age of regional developments and identities, Jaffna played a very insignificant role. This was due to the fact that the Roman trade which elevated Jaffna to a principality declined around 6th century A.D., and that, hydraulic developments in the more hospitable regions in the dry zone Sri Lanka and in South India made Jaffna a poor competitor. The Tamil-Saivite evidences of this period mainly come from Montoi (Monndr District) and from Trincomalee. Joffnd was glternately absorbed into the centripetal forces that were Kworking in the dry zone Sri Lanka and in South India.
South Indian and Sri Lankan Polity, the Cola Empire and the Emergence of the Kingdom of Jaffna
10th-13th Century A.D.
The rulers of the ancient Tamil country often fought with the rulers of Sri Lanka in a similar way they fought among themselves. On many occasions, adventurous South Indian chieftains and princes conquered Sri Lanka, but ruled as Sri Lankon Kings. This pattern continued to late medieval times till the advent of the British. The last King of Kandy was neither Tamil nor Sinhalese but of Telugu origin - a Survivor of the legacy of the Vijayanagar empire. Apart from these dynastic conflicts, the Cold empire was the most influential factor in formulating the Tamil homeland. By the beginning of this millennium, from a powerful basis of hydraulic developments, the Cold empire emerged in South India. Trade aspirations, particularly gaining

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control over the trans-oceanic Arab-Chinese trade inevitably activated the maritime expeditions of the empire. Sri Lanka faced its first colonial experience Under the Colos. The dryzone of Sri Lanka and its hydraulic pattern declined. The Capital Anuradhapura was abandoned. Mass migrations took place which considerably changed the demography of the North and the East of the Island. In Jaffno, Kontorotai was replaced by Nallur. As a sequence of these developments, the kingdom of Jaffna emerged in the latter half of the 13th Century A.D. when both the Sinhalese and South Indian hegemony declined. In short, a Tamil strain in Jaffna which was far anterior going back to protohistoric times was given a fresh impetus by the Cola empire in carving out a homeland of specific dimensions for the Tamils in the north and the east.
The Kingdom of Jaffna - Direct Predecessor to the Concept of Tamil Homeland
The kingdom of Jaffna is the direct predecessor to the present day concept of Tamil homeland. The kingdom was TamilSaivite and its demographical extensions were well illustrated in the Joffno-centric historiographical literotures which arose in these times. The demography according to these literatures cover a territory from Kutiraimalai in the west coast (Puttalam district) to Verukol in the eastern coast (edstern province) encompassing more or less the present northern and eastern provinces. The kingdom was dominated by clans and feudal chieftains who had migrated from the various parts of South India, especially from Tamilnadu. On many occasions, new settlements were created by them. The kingdom woS portiolly agrarian and partially mercantile A kingdom exclusively for

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the Tamil homeland became thus possible only when there were no big powers in Southern Sri Lanka and in the Tamil South India. The political reality when the Portuguese came to Sri Lanka was that there were three kingdoms i.e. the Kingdom of Kotte, Kandy and Jaffna.
Tamil Settlements in the Vanni Districts, Eastern Province and in the Northwest
10th-16th Century A.D.
The Cold empire and the subsequent developments had a great impact on the demography of Vanni, East and Northwest. Especially the East was in the timelight Under the Colas, probably due to their activities in the Bay of Bengal. Tamil inscriptions of this and subsequent periods are found concentrated in the East Upto Tirukkoyil in the down South. Moss migrations of clans were a common phenomenon in the Vijayanogor South India, and their impact was felt in Sri Lonko too. Vonni, East ond the Northwest hove their own literary records narrating the settlements that arose in this period. The settlers ranged from agriculturists to traders, artisans, mercenaries and fisher folk. The indirect impact of the Vijayanagar empire prevented the political advent of Islam. But, since the early centuries of this millennium, Muslim settlements came up in the coastal areas known for maritime trade contacts. In the Tamil homeland now they are a considerable population in Manndr, Mattakkalappu, Jaffna city and Puttalam in the Northwest (which was part of the Tamil homeland till recent decades). The language of the Muslims in Sri Lonko whether in the Tamil homeland or in the rest of Sri Lanka is Tamil. They either migrated from the

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Coromandel coost and the COostol areas of the Gulf of Monndr, Malabar etc., or were natives converted to Islam.
The Portuguese and Dutch Periods - Jaffna Centric Socioeconomic Developments
16th-18th Century A.D.
The Portuguese and Dutch maintained the kingdom of Jaffna as a separate Unit. Jaffna witnessed considerable economic growth Under the Dutch due to certain specialized industries and trade. This paved a way to the Jaffnd-centric social and Cultural developments in Subsequent times. Towards the end of the Dutch rule, religious and linguistic revival took place which created a place for Jaffna not only to lead the Tamil homeland but also to be in a position ahead of the then Tamil South Indio in certain spheres of cultural achievements.
The Decline of Economic Independence
The late British period witnessed a gradual decline of economic independence of the Tamil homeland, especially Jaffna. The economy became more and more dependent on the plantations and on the Colombo-centric economic developments that took place in the Southern Sri Lanka. Traditional Subsistence, trading ports and trade routes declined. Missionary and native education brought in white collar jobs. The traditional trade which was cut off from its South Indion contact turned towards the Sinhalese areas in the South Creating subsistence Competitions. The image of the Tamils as exploitors and the resultant ethnic conflict arose in the early decades of this century with the emergence of the powerful force of SinhaloBuddhist notionalism.

The Personality of the Tamil Homeland in Sri Lanka
The Tomil homeland in Sri Lanko is characterized by a contiguous territory of a specific environment. It has a demography of a homogenous linguistic people who have Specific Subsistence patterns and who are conscious of their ethnic identity formulated over several centuries. The social formation of this territory has its own dimensions distinct from that of Tamilnadu and southern Sri Lanka. Though they call thenaelves as Tamils, they shouldn't be identified with the people of Tamilnadu. Their social and cultural formations should be viewed only as a parallel development to that of Tamil South India.
Tamil Homeland - its Place in the South Asian Pattern
if one goes for a South Asian framework, the Tamil homeland in Sri Lanko moy be looked upon as a regional variation. But, the prevailing political and economic Conditions have made it dan exerting question of Tomil nationalism, demoanding a Separate nation. Struggling and achieving a separate political identity, remaining as a regional variation within Sri Lanka; militarily or otherwise establishing the Sinhala-Buddhist nationalism; affiliating with India; these are some of the current options envisaged officially or unofficially in the power circles ond omong the Common people.
It is a historical foct that the Tamil social formation in Sri Lanka over several centuries played a buffer between the Sinhalese and South Indian Social formations. History also points out that it was the subsistence pattern that had determined the place, status and geo-political affinities of this social formation.

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The present Crisis is essentially one of devising Socio-political means which will ensure a Subsistence pottern for these people in their own land. A separate nation, autonomous State, Unitary system and affiliation with India are mere words in the absence of the incorporation of this fundamental factor.
Select Reading
l. ARASARATNAM, S., "A Historical Foundation of the Economy of the Tamils of North Ceylon", Chelvanayakam Memorial Lecture - 1982, Saturday Review, Jaffna, serialised in eight issues from 17.4.1982.
2. DERANYAGALA, S.U., "Prehistoric Research in Sri Lonko l885-1980', PEP. Deraniyagala Commemoration Volume, 1980, pp. 52-207; "Sri Lanka 28000 B.C.", Ancient Ceylon, No. 5, 1984.
3. INDRAPALA, K., "Chapter II — History", Jaffna, ed., Indrapala, K.,
Department of Information, Colombo, 1983, pp. 1-2.
4. NAVARATNAM, C.S., Tomils and Ceylon, Jaffna, l958; Vonni and the
Vanniyors, Jaffna, 1960.
5. PATH MANATHAN, S., The Kingdom of Jaffna, Colombo, 1978.
6. PEIRIS, PAUL, E., 'Nogadipa and Buddhist Remains in Jaffna", JRAS
(CB), 1922, pp. 1-30; Part II, JRAS (CB), 925, pp. 40-67.
7. RAGUPATHY, P., Early Settlements in Jaffna : An Archaeological Survey,
Ph.D., Thesis, University of Jaffna, 1983.
8. RASANAYAKAM, S., Ancient Joffno, 926.
9. SITRAMPALAM, S.K., The Megalithic Culture in Sri Lanka, Ph.D., Thesis,
Deccan College, University of Poona, 1980.


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