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Hela Hawula' was formed as the only organization in Sri Lanka to protect and uplift the Sinhala language, Sinhala land and Sinhala culture. [ 2 ] [ 3 ] 'Hela Hawula' has been recognized as a statutory body by the adoption of the Hela Hawula Establishment Act No. 38 in the Parliament of Sri Lanka Act No. 1992.
The form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka is known as Theravada (school of elders). The Pali chronicles (e.g., the Mahavansa) claim that the Sinhalese as an ethnic group are destined to preserve and protect Buddhism. In 1988 almost 93% of the Sinhala-speaking population in Sri Lanka were Buddhist. [60]
The Tamil language is spoken by native Sri Lankan Tamils and is also spoken by Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka and by most Sri Lankan Moors. Tamil speakers number around 4.8 million (29% of the population), making it the second largest language in Sri Lanka. There are more than 40,000 speakers of the Sri Lankan Malay language.
[4] [1] Sinhala is also spoken as the first language by other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, totalling about 2 million speakers as of 2001. [5] It is written using the Sinhala script, which is a Brahmic script closely related to the Grantha script of South India. [6] Sinhala is one of the official and national languages of Sri Lanka, alongside Tamil.
In a sociological context it could refer to the assimilation of ethno-cultural minorities in Sri Lanka such as the Sri Lankan Tamils, Chetties, and indigenous Veddas into the majority Sinhalese identity, [1] including some Sinhala Buddhists of the interior such as the Demalagattara and some Catholics such as the Bharatha of the coastal areas of the island nation.
Polonnaruwa Vatadage Sri Lanka Ceylon Tea. The culture of Sri Lanka mixes modern elements with traditional aspects and is known for its regional diversity. Sri Lankan culture has long been influenced by the heritage of Theravada Buddhism passed on from India, and the religion's legacy is particularly strong in Sri Lanka's southern and central regions.
These groups are differentiated by lineage, language, history, culture and traditions. [10] The Sri Lankan Moors are of diverse origins with some tracing their ancestry to Arab traders who first settled in Sri Lanka around the 9th century, and who intermarried with local Tamil and Sinhala women.
Sri Lankan Malays first settled in the country in 200 B.C., when the Austronesian expansion reached the island of Sri Lanka from Maritime Southeast Asia (which includes peoples as diverse as Sumatrans to Lucoes) and brought speakers of the Malayo-Polynesian language group to Sri Lankan shores. [9]