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{{Short description|Migration to Sri Lanka}}
{{EngvarB|date=January 2019}}
[[File:Tamil speakers map.svg|thumb|Tamil speakers, 1961]]
'''Tamil settlement of Sri Lanka''' refers to the settlement of [[Tamils]], or other [[Dravidian people]]s, from [[Southern India]] to [[Sri Lanka]].<ref>Indrapala, K. “Early Tamil Settlements in Ceylon.” The Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland, vol. 13, 1969, pp. 43–63. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43483465. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021.</ref> Due to Sri Lanka's close proximity to Southern India, Dravidian influence on Sri Lanka has been very active since the early Iron Age or megalithic period.<ref name=":0">Indrapala, K. (2005). The Evolution of an Ethnic Identity - The Tamils of Sri Lanka 300 B.C.E to 1200 C.E. {{ISBN|0-646-42546-3}}.</ref>

During the protohistoric period (1000-500 B.C.) Sri Lanka was culturally united with southern India,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/other/article30208096.ece |title=Reading the past in a more inclusive way - Interview with Dr. Sudharshan Seneviratne |work=Frontline (2006) |date=26 January 2006 }}</ref> and shared the same megalithic burials, [[Black and red ware culture|pottery]], iron technology, farming techniques and [[megalithic graffiti symbols|megalithic graffiti]].<ref name="Seneviratne">{{cite book |last=Seneviratne |first = Sudharshan|title=Social base of early Buddhism in south east India and Sri Lanka|date=1984 }}</ref><ref name="Karunaratne">{{cite book |last=Karunaratne |first = Priyantha|title=Secondary state formation during the early iron age on the island of Sri Lanka : the evolution of a periphery|date=2010 }}</ref> This cultural complex spread from southern India along with Dravidian clans such as the [[Velir]], prior to the migration of [[Prakrit]] speakers.<ref>Robin Conningham - Anuradhapura - The British-Sri Lankan Excavations at Anuradhapura Salgaha Watta
Volumes 1 and 2 (1999/2006)</ref><ref>Sudharshan Seneviratne (1989) - Pre-State Chieftains And Servants of the State: A Case Study of Parumaka -http://dlib.pdn.ac.lk/handle/123456789/2078</ref><ref name="Seneviratne"/>

Once [[Prakrit]] speakers had attained dominance on the island, the [[Mahavamsa]] further recounts the later migration of royal brides and service castes from the Tamil [[Pandya Kingdom]] to the [[Anuradhapura Kingdom]] in the early historic period.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mahavamsa.org/mahavamsa/original-version/07-consecrating-vijaya/ |title=The Consecrating of Vijaya |work=Mahavamsa |date=8 October 2011 }}</ref>

Trade relations between the [[Anuradhapura Kingdom]] and southern India existed, very probably from an early time.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=13}}{{sfn|Pieris|2007}} Very early in its recorded history Sri Lanka has seen groups of Southern Indians enter the island as traders, mercenaries and occasionally as invaders, but their significance to the wider Prakrit speaking demographics of the island was only peripheral in these stages.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=14}}

From the third century BC Tamil influence on the political affairs of Sri Lanka became more pronounced. There were attempts by Tamils to usurp power of the Anuradhapura Kingdom{{NoteTag|See [[Sena and Guttika]] and [[Ellalan|Elara]]}} which appear to have been motivated by the prospect of influencing its external trade.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=13}} From about the fifth century AD onwards, Tamil mercenaries were brought to the island, this became more common from the seventh century.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=13}}{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=14}} It is from the 10th century that more permanent settlements of [[Middle Tamil|medieval Tamil]] speakers begin in Sri Lanka. These were not extensive settlements, but they would be important in the fact that they formed the nucleus for later settlements in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=14}} Tamil settlements then became fairly extensive early in the 11th century AD following the Chola conquest.<ref>Da Silva, KM. (2015). A History of Sri Lanka. p279</ref>

Following the invasion of [[Kalinga Magha]] in 1215 AD, and the subsequent establishment of the [[Jaffna Kingdom]] and [[Vanni chieftaincies|Vannimai chieftaincies]] in the east, Tamil settlements became predominant in these regions.<ref>Indrapala, K. (1965). Dravidian settlements in Ceylon and the beginnings of the kingdom of Jaffna.</ref>

During the [[Crisis of the Sixteenth Century]]{{NoteTag|Period of Sri Lankan history lasting from 1505–1594}} up until the end of the [[British Ceylon|British colonial period]]{{NoteTag|Period of Sri Lankan history lasting from 1815–1948}} many Southern Indian and Tamil speaking groups were transported or migrated to Sri Lanka, many of whom assimilated into the native Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhalese populations.

Today the two major Tamil communities are the [[Sri Lankan Tamils]], who came to the island in waves of migration starting from the 3rd century BC,<ref>Velamati M. Sri Lankan Tamil Migration and Settlement: Time for Reconsideration. India Quarterly. 2009;65(3):271-294. doi:10.1177/097492840906500304

</ref><ref name=":0" /> and the more recent [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka]], who were brought as indentured labourers by the British during the [[British Ceylon|colonial period]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ceylon-Tamil |title=Sri Lanka: Ethnic composition |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica }}</ref>

==History==

===Anuradhapura period===
Sri Lankan monarchs have intermarried with south Indian royalty and used the services of [[South India]]n labor for millennia. According to the [[Mahavamsa]], noblewomen and service groups from the [[Pandyan kingdom]]{{NoteTag|Located in present day [[Tamil Nadu]]}} 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.{{sfn|Indrapala|2005|p=157}}{{sfn|Pieris|2007}}

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.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=14}}

===Polonnaruwa period===
[[Rajaraja I]] renamed the city [[Polonnaruwa]] to Jananathamangalam,<ref>Spencer, George W. “The Politics of Plunder: The Cholas in Eleventh-Century Ceylon.” ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', vol. 35, no. 3, 1976, pp. 405–419. ''JSTOR'', www.jstor.org/stable/2053272. Accessed 30 Jan. 2021.</ref> near Anuradhapura and settled [[Velakkara]] Agampadi (Agampu+adi) soldiers (Agammudayar), These two Castes were subdivisions of the Tamil caste). They eventually assimilated to [[Sinhalese people|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]].{{sfn|Indrapala|2005|p=214-215}}

===Transitional period===

The majority [[Sinhalese people|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]]''.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=121}}{{sfn|Spencer |1990|p=23}} This migration and assimilation happened until the eighteenth century.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=121}} 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 [[Kingdom of Kotte|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.{{sfn|De Silva|2014|p=121}} 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 Ceylon|Portuguese]] to Sri Lanka also saw the migration of various Southern Indian and Tamil speaking groups. The [[Bharatha people]] are descendants of [[Tamil language|Tamil]] speaking [[Paravar]] of [[South India|Southern India]] who migrated to Sri Lanka under [[Portuguese Ceylon|Portuguese rule]] during that time.{{sfn|Roberts|Raheem|Colin-Thomé|1989|p=253}} Several hundreds of converted Christian Bharathas were brought from the Indian mainland to the western shores of Sri Lanka by the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] to wrest control on the [[Pearl hunting|pearl trade]].{{sfn|Gunasingam|2005|p=62}}{{sfn|Briggs|2018|p=290}}

[[Sri Lankan Chetties]], Formerly considered a [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Sri Lankan Tamil]] caste, were also a class of [[Tamil language|Tamil speaking]] traders, who migrated from [[South India]] under [[Portuguese Ceylon|Portuguese rule]], and continued to during [[Dutch Ceylon|Dutch presence]] on the island.{{sfn|Reeves|2014|p=27}}{{sfn|Holt|2011|p=70}}{{sfn|Wickramasinghe|2015|p=165}}{{sfn|Wickramasinghe|2015|p=174}}{{sfn|Wickramasinghe|2015|p=274}} They settled mostly in western [[Sri Lanka]], especially in the ports of [[Colombo]] and [[Galle]] from the 16th century to the mid-17th century.{{sfn|Sivaratnam|1964|p=175}} 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''.{{sfn|Nyrop|1986|p=108}} The Chetties of Western Sri Lanka converted to [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] under [[Portuguese Ceylon|Portuguese rule]] while others converted to [[Anglican]] or [[Reformed church|Reformed]] Christianity under [[British Ceylon|British rule]] and [[Dutch Ceylon|Dutch rule]], respectively.{{sfn|Vijayalakshmi|2005|p=8}} Intermarriage and alliances between [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] and Chetties were not uncommon thus many also got [[Sinhalisation|Sinhalised]].

===British Ceylon period===
Like the Portuguese and Dutch, the [[British Ceylon|British colonial period]] saw the transportation and migration of Tamils to Sri Lanka, but on a much larger scale. [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|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 [[Edward Barnes (British Army officer)|Governor Edward Barnes]] on the request of [[George Bird (coffee planter)|George Bird]], a pioneering planter.{{sfn|Nadarajan|1999|p=146}}{{sfn|Radhakrishnan}} Many died during their first few months of employment.{{sfn|Radhakrishnan}} 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.{{sfn|Suryanarayan|2001}}{{sfn|Sambandan|2003}} These Indian Tamils were separate from an already existing trading community of Indian Tamils who were not part of the plantation economy.{{sfn|Fulbright Commission}}

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.{{sfn|Suryanarayan|2001}}{{sfn|Department of Census & Statistics|2010}} Many Indian Tamils, after acquiring Sri Lankan citizenship, also declared themselves as Sri Lankan Tamils.{{sfn|Suryanarayan|2001}}

[[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 in Sri Lanka|Memons]], [[Mustaali|Bohra]] and [[Khoja]]. These groups tended to retain their own ancestral practices and language.{{sfn|Nubin|2002|p=148}} However, the largest specific group were [[Tamil people|Tamils]] from [[South India]].{{sfn|World Culture Encyclopedia}}{{fcn|date=July 2025}} 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==
Present day communities who trace origins to Dravidian speakers from southern India:

*[[Sri Lankan Tamils]]
*[[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka]]
*[[Indian Moors]]
*[[Sri Lankan Gypsy people]]
*[[Bharatha people]]
*[[Sri Lankan Chetties]]
*[[Karava]]
*[[Salagama]]
*[[Durava]]

==Notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last1=Briggs |first1=Philip |title=Sri Lanka : the Bradt travel guide |date=2018 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=9781784770570 |edition=Edition 6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VrZDDwAAQBAJ}}
* {{Cite book |last=De Silva |first=K. M. |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dByI_qil26YC|title=A History of Sri Lanka |date=1981|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520043206|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dByI_qil26YC/page/n197 175]|language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=De Silva |first1=K. M. |title=A history of Sri Lanka |date=2014 |publisher=Vijitha Yapa Publications |location=Colombo |isbn=978-955-8095-92-8 |edition=Revised }}
* {{cite book |last1=Gunasingam |first1=Murugar |title=Primary sources for history of the Sri Lankan Tamils : a world-wide search |date=2005 |publisher=M.V. Publications for the South Asian Studies Centre, Sydney |location=Sydney |isbn=9780646454283 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xEVuAAAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last1=Indrapala |first1=K. |title=The evolution of an ethnic identity : the Tamils in Sri Lanka c. 300 BCE to c. 1200 CE |date=2005 |publisher=M.V. Publications for the South Asian Studies Centre |location=Sydney |isbn=0646425463}}
* {{cite book |last1=Nadarajan |first1=Vasantha |title=History of the Ceylon Tamils |date=1999 |publisher=Vasantham Publication}}
* {{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Michael |last2=Raheem |first2=Ismeth |last3=Colin-Thomé |first3=Percy |title=People Inbetween: The burghers and the middle class in the transformations within Sri Lanka, 1790s-1960 |date=1989 |publisher=Sarvodaya Book Pub. Services |isbn=9789555990134}}
* {{cite book |last1=Spencer |first1=Jonathan |title=Sri Lanka : history and the roots of conflict |date=1990 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=0415044618}}
* {{cite book|last1=Nubin|first1=Walter|title=Sri Lanka: Current Issues and Historical Background|date=2002|publisher=Nova Publishers|location=New York|isbn=1-59033-573-2|page=148|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iudi2JJLaUAC&dq=Indian+Moors+in+Sri+Lanka&pg=PA147|access-date=2 August 2014}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1sCHCwAAQBAJ|title=Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History|last=Wickramasinghe|first=Nira|date=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190225797|pages=165, 174, 274|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4N5UAgAAQBAJ|title=The Encyclopedia of the Sri Lankan Diaspora|last=Reeves|first=Peter|date=2014-03-07|publisher=Editions Didier Millet|isbn=9789814260831|location=Institute of South Asian Studies, [[National University of Singapore]]|pages=27|language=en}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DntuAAAAMAAJ|title=Cultural minorities of Sri Lanka: their growth, achievements, and relevance today|last1=Vijayalakshmi|first1=E.|date=2005-01-01|publisher=International Centre for Ethnic Studies|isbn=9789555800969|pages=8|language=en}}
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* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H7xWAAAAMAAJ|title=An outline of the cultural history and principles of Hinduism|last=Sivaratnam|first=C.|date=1964|publisher=Stangard Printers|pages=276|language=en}}
* {{cite conference|first=V|last=Radhakrishnan|title=Indian origin in Sri Lanka:Their plight and struggle for survival|book-title=Proceedings of First International Conference & Gathering of Elders|publisher=International Center for Cultural Studies, USA|url=http://www.iccsus.org/IstConf/111.html|access-date=2008-01-23|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320050247/http://www.iccsus.org/IstConf/111.html|archive-date=2008-03-20}}
* {{cite web |last1=Pieris |first1=Kamalika |title=South Indian influence in ancient and medieval Sri Lanka |url=http://www.island.lk/2007/12/22/satmag2.html |website=www.island.lk |publisher=The Island |access-date=28 June 2019 |date=22 December 2007}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Sambandan |first=V.S. |url= http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2005/stories/20030314000805700.htm|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050326174750/http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2005/stories/20030314000805700.htm|url-status= usurped|archive-date= March 26, 2005|title=A promise of identity|access-date=2008-02-05 |magazine=Frontline |volume=20 |issue=5 |date=March 1, 2003}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Suryanarayan |first=V. |url=http://www.flonnet.com/fl1816/18160950.htm |title=In search of a new identity |access-date=2008-03-05 |magazine=Frontline |volume=18 |issue=16 |date=August 4, 2001 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080529221016/http://www.flonnet.com/fl1816/18160950.htm|archive-date=2008-05-29}}
* {{cite web|title=Population by ethnic group, census years |url=http://www.statistics.gov.lk/abstract2010/chapters/Chap2/AB2-10.pdf |publisher=Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka |access-date=23 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113175023/http://www.statistics.gov.lk/abstract2010/chapters/Chap2/AB2-10.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2011 |ref={{sfnref|Department of Census & Statistics|2010}} }}
* {{cite web|url= http://www.fulbrightsrilanka.com/sl_overview.html|title= Sri Lanka – an Overview.|access-date= 2008-02-20|work= Fulbright Commission|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080305161622/http://www.fulbrightsrilanka.com/sl_overview.html|archive-date= 2008-03-05 |ref={{sfnref|Fulbright Commission}} }}

{{refend}}

{{Sri Lankan Tamil people}}
{{Anuradhapura period topics}}
{{Polonnaruwa period topics}}

[[Category:Indians in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Tamil diaspora in Asia|Sri Lanka]]

Tamil settlement of Sri Lanka - Revision history

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