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Ethnicity, Communal Relations, and Education in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). PUB DATE [76] NOTE 32P

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Ethnicity, Communal Relations, and Education in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). PUB DATE [76] NOTE 32P DOCUMENT RESUME ED 125 143 El 008 475 AUTHOR Sharma, C. L. TITLE Ethnicity, Communal Relations, and Education in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). PUB DATE [76] NOTE 32p. EDRS PRICE NF -50.83 HC -52.06 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Community Relations; Conflict; Cultural Differences; *Cultural Factors; *Developing Nations; *Educational History; Ethnic Distribution; *Ethnic Groups; *Ethnic Relations; Interfaith Relations; Nationalism; Religious Conflict; Religious Discrimination IDENTIFIERS *Sri Lanka ABSTRACT The author provides a brief cultural history of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), giving particular attention to the relationsbetween the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority and the effectsthat differing religions, languages, cultures, and educational opportunities have had on that relationship. (IRT) *********************************************************************** * Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * *materials not available from other sources. ERIC makesevery effort* *to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * *reprDducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * *of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * *via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS).EDRS is not * *responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions* *supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. * 414141#41*##*#31131141**31131141311#*3114131141311414(4141413113114141#41414141414141444121141414(###########44141####### r U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. EDUCATION a WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION Tfl5DOCUMENT HA.3 SEEN REPRO DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN ATING I' POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY ETHNICITY, COMMUNAL RELATIONS, AND EDUCATION IN SRI LANKA (CEYLON) C. L. Sharma The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, North Carolina 6' /,, ETHNICITY, COMP ;ALTRELATIONS, AND EDUCATION IN SRI LANYA (CaLON) Sri Lanka isan island country separated from Indiaby a narrow strait eighteen miles wade. It is a pear-shaped nese of crystalline rockand line- stone about 25,000square miles in area, with the plains Skirtingthe hills and mountainsthat are located in the south-centrelportion of the island. The neximum north-south distanceis 270 miles and east-west, 140 Niles.The climate is tropical --warm and humid, with little seasonal variations.The southwest plain and the southwestside of hill country annuallyrecmdme100 to 200 inches ofrainfall and comprise the Wet some.The Dry zone comprises north-central andeastern parts of the island which receive50 to 70 inches of annual rainfall. The HistoricalPast: The history of Sri Lankaup to 1500 A. D. is, by and large,a confused record of wars, invasions,usurpations, and dynastic rivalries.Prom the thirteenth century amords, thecountry was virtually divided into twoking- doms: a Tamil kingdom in the northand a Sinhalesekingim in the southwest. In 1505, the Portuguese came tothe island and establishedsettlements an the west and south coast. Despite their, desperate efforts tocontrol the whole island, the Kandyankingdom in the intericrressimedunoonquered and uneubmissive.1 1 Charles Jeffries, Ceylon- The Path to Independence Mall Press, 1962),p. 5. (London: Pall 2 In 1612, the king of Kandy formed an alliance withthe Dutch 'co defeat and dislodge the Portuguese but, la the process,hehimself became subservient to them. In 1646, the country was, in effect, partitioned betweenthe Portu- guese and the Dutch. In 1656, the Dutchthoroughly defeated the Portuguese who finally left the island. For a century anda half, the Dutch were in control of a greater portion of the island. In 1796, they capitulatedto the British who effectively ruled the whole country until1948, when Sri Lanka became independent. The Ethnic Compositionof the Society: The population of Sri Lanka is composed of severalself-conscious ethnic groups. These groups are differentiated by language,religion, social customs, and, to some extent, racialextraction. The main ethnicgroups are: Sinha- lese (about 69 percent), Tamils (about 23 percent),Moors (about 7 percent), and Burghers (people of Dutch or mixed descent)(about 1 percent). The other ethnic groups- 2 Veddahs, Malays, Europeans--pare in small numbers. The following table gives the ethnic compositionof the population based on 1963census. Although the population isnow about 13 million, the proportions remain almostunchanged. 2 Richard F. Nyrop end others, Area Handbook forCeylon (Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents,Unitednuent Printing Office, 1971),P. 75. 3 Table 1. 3 Ethnic Compcsition of SriLanka, 1963 (in thousands) Sinhalese 7,513 Ceylon Tamils 1,165 Indian Tamils 1,123 Ceylon Moors 625 Indian Moors 57 Burghers and Eu rasians 46 Malays 33 Most of the people of Sri Lanka are of Indian origin.Except the Veddahs, the handful of aboriginalinhabitants who are largely forest dwellers, the remainder of the population is the result of immigrationover the past 2,500 years, by chance or design, in the interest oftrade, war, religion, or economic opportunity. The ancient history of SriLanka (except for the past 40i; years or so) is recorded in the GreatChronicles whose bistprio-raphic authenticity isquestionable. Thenavada Buddhism was introducedfrom India in the 3rd centuryB. C., and is the religion of the majorityof the inhabitants. Hinduism, the other major religion on the island,was also brought from India in the ancient times. The Arab traders and the Westerncolonists brought along with them Islam and Christianity, about the tenth and sixteenth centuries,respectively. The following table showsthe religious affiliations ofthe people: 3 The Statesman's Yearbook,1975,-,77 (London: 1975), pp. 483-484. The Macmillan PressLtd., 4 Table 2 4 Religious Affiliations ofPeople of Sri Lanka, 1963 Buddhists 7,003,287 Hindus 1,958,394 Christians 884,949 Moslems 724,043 Others 11,330 Buddhists constitute about 64 percent of the population, Hindus20 per- cent, Christians 9 percent, andMoslems 7 percent. How did this plural society come into being and what effect has ithad on communal relations and education of the people? Toanswer this question, it is necessary to 5 analyze the nature of each ethnicgroup first. The Sinhalese: Both legend and linguistic evidencesuggest that the Sinhalese came to the island probably as invaders from North Indiaabout 500 B. C. According to Mahavamea,a chronicle written by an Inknown Buddhist monk in the fifth century A. D., the Sinhalese area unique and specially favored people of Aryan stock with an Indo-Europeanlanguage, Sinhala. They are the chosen guardians of Buddhism,and Sri Lanka is a place of special 6 sanctity forthe Buddhist relagion. Thel.r ancient history isreplete with themes of recurring struggles to protect Buddhism from externalincursions 5 W. Howard Wriggins,Ceylon _ 11_1 omzilaNewasnasNation (Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 96 , pp. - . 6 B. H. Farmer, Ceylon A Divided Nati.= (London: Oxford University Press, 1963), pp. 4-8. C 5 and to establish the Sinhaleseculture on the island. They are particularly proud of the cultural and economicachievements of the ancient Sinhalese kingdoms of Anuradhapura andPolonnaruwa that existed from 200 B. C. to 1300 A. D. The Sinhalese (the lion race) crnsitutethe largest ethnic group. They are divided into two subgroups basadupon geographic and cultural distinctions. The Low- Country Sinhalese, whoprincipally live in the southern and western coastal regions, comprise 62percent of the Sinhalese community and form nearly 43 percent of the total population. The Kandyan Sinhalese occupy the highlands of the south-central region, compose about 38 percent ofall Sinha- lese, and are nearly 26 percent ofthe island's population. The vast majority of the Sinhaleseare farmers and live in villages largely organized according to thetraditional cast system and feudal rela- tionship. The co "ntryside peopleare mostly educated in their native lan- guage, Sinhala, with virtually no exposure to the Western thought. The Kandyan Sinhalese are Lubstantiallymore conservative than the Low-Country Sinhalese.The latter, being coastal people,have come in contact with travelers and traders from othercountries over the centuries andhave dev- eloped a more cosmopolitan outlookthan the former. Also, they encountered the European colonists first, intextingledwith them, absorbed their culture, and served as interpreters between them and the island people.The Kandyans, on the other hand, insulated by their famidableterrain and shielded by their political independence,almost renained impregnable toany foreign influence prior to the establishmentof the British rule which brought the region under its effective control. In fact, the Kandyan region servedas a haven to those conservative coastal Sinhalese who found the Christianityand 6 European culture repugnant, couldnot counteract then, and thereforedecided to migrate. The culturaldifferences between the twogroups were accentuated during the rule of the Portugueseand Dutch colonists who could notsubjugate the Kandyan ki and whose influence was therefore largelyconfined to the coastalareas. Despite themare pervasive and unit= Britishrule for over 15D years,a readily observable cultural gap between the twogroups persists. The Kandyans, by and large,continue to be conservative,tenaciously cling- ing to the traditions ofthe past, committed to the preservationof
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