Hinduism in Sri Lanka
Total population | |
---|---|
2,561,299 (2012)[1] 12.6% of its total population | |
Religions | |
Hinduism Shaivism (majority) Vaishnavism and Shaktism (minority) | |
Scriptures | |
Ramayana and Vedas | |
Languages | |
Old Tamil and Sanskrit (sacred) Tamil (majority) and Sinhala (minority) |
Hinduism by country |
---|
Full list |
Hinduism is one of Sri Lanka's oldest religions, with temples dating back over 2,000 years.
According to the 1915 census, Hindus made up about 25% of the Sri Lankan population (including indentured labourers brought by the British).[4] Hinduism predominates in the Northern and Eastern Provinces (where Tamils remain the largest demographic), the central regions and Colombo, the capital. According to the 2011 census, there are 2,554,606 Hindus in Sri Lanka (12.6% of the country's population). During the Sri Lankan Civil War, many Tamils emigrated; Hindu temples, built by the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, maintain their religion, tradition, and culture.[5][6]
Most Sri Lankan Hindus follow the
Legendary origins
The first major Hindu reference to Sri Lanka is found in the epic
Historic roots
The
Buddhism was introduced by
Culture
Rituals
In common with South India, local rituals include Kavadi Attam and firewalking.[23] These rituals have also influenced the Sinhalese on southern cost of the island; For an Instance, the inhabitants of Tangalle, Kudawella and the surrounding area perform Kavadi.[24]
Religious teachers
Religious teachers include Kaddai Swami, his shishya Chellappaswami, and Chellappaswami's shishya Yogaswami.[25] Swami Vivekananda the Bengali Hindu monk right after returning from West, started a series of lectures in India( British India at that time included Sri Lanka), from Colombo and Jaffna. The Hindus of Colombo and Jaffna received with much excitement and shouts of "Har Har Mahadev" and "Jai Swami Vivekanandaji" .
Temples
-
Front entrance of Nallur Kandaswamy temple
-
Thirukkovil Sithira Velayutha Swami Temple, in Ampara.
Most of the Hindu temple in Sri Lanka have Tamil architecture, most of which are ancient with a gopuram and a ratha in them.[26] Alike many Hindu temples, which are dedicated to Hindu deities, many temples in Sri Lanka are also for their village deities which is mainly among the Tamil community.[27]
The Pancha Ishwarams are:
- Naguleswaram temple in the North.
- Ketheeswaram temple in the Northwest.
- Koneswaram Temple in the East.
- Munneswaram temple in the West.
- Tondeswaram in the South.
Demographics
According to the 1981 census, there were 2,297,800 Hindus in Sri Lanka; the 2012 census reported 2,554,606 Hindus in the country. Twenty thousand people died during the 2004 tsunami in LTTE-held areas alone.[28][29][30]
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1881 | 593,600 | — |
1891 | 615,900 | +0.37% |
1901 | 826,800 | +2.99% |
1911 | 938,300 | +1.27% |
1921 | 982,100 | +0.46% |
1931 | 1,166,900 | +1.74% |
1946 | 1,320,400 | +0.83% |
1953 | 1,610,500 | +2.88% |
1963 | 1,958,400 | +1.98% |
1971 | 2,238,666 | +1.69% |
1981 | 2,297,806 | +0.26% |
1991 | 2,406,852 | +0.46% |
2001 | 2,481,495 | +0.31% |
2012 | 2,561,299 | +0.29% |
*The 2001 census did not cover all regions, due to political instability; however, the overall population increased by 1.02 percent per year.[31] |
Decadal population
Year | Percent | Increase |
---|---|---|
1881 | 21.51% | - |
1891 | 20.48% |
-1.03% |
1901 | 23.2% |
+2.72% |
1911 | 22.85% |
-0.35% |
1921 | 21.83% |
-1.02% |
1931 | 22% |
+0.17% |
1946 | 19.83% |
-2.17% |
1953 | 19.9% |
0.07% |
1963 | 18.51% | -1.39% |
1971 | 17.64% | -0.87% |
1981 | 15.48% | -2.16% |
1991 | 14.32% | -1.16% |
2001 | 13.8% | -0.52% |
2012 | 12.58% | -1.22% |
The
District-wise population
S. No. | District | Total pop. | Hindus pop. | Hindus (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Colombo | 2,324,349 | 274,087 | 11.79% | |
2. | Gampaha | 2,304,833 | 112,746 | 4.89% | |
3. | Kalutara | 1,221,948 | 114,556 | 9.37% | |
4. | Kandy | 1,375,382 | 197,076 | 14.32% | |
5. | Matale | 484,531 | 45,682 | 9.42% | |
Total | 20,359,439 | 2,561,299 | 12.6% | ||
Source: 2012 Census, p. 1 |
See also
Notes
References
Citation
- ^ "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Buddhism in Sri Lanka: A Short History". www.accesstoinsight.org. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing, 2011". Sri Lanka: Department of Census and Statistics. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ "During Mahinda Rajapaksa's India visit, New Delhi likely to raise Sri Lankan Hindu Tamil's issues". The Indian Express. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ Bradley, Mark (2018). "Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus and other Tamis in the Montréal diaspora".
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ISBN 978-955-580-110-2.
- JSTOR 2800544.
- ^ Lion of Lanka. Himalayan Academy. p. 816.
- ^ "Shivaya Subramaniam". Himalayan Academy.
- ^ Henry & Padma 2019, p. 43.
- ^ Heather (25 February 2021). "The Ramayana and Sri Lanka". Asian Art Newspaper. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ISBN 978-81-8475-863-4.
- ^ Meeadhu, Kalabooshanam (13 June 2008). "Nainativu Nagapooshani Chariot festival". Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ "Nainativu Nagapoosani Amman Temple, Sri Lanka - Info, Timings, Photos, History". TemplePurohit - Your Spiritual Destination | Bhakti, Shraddha Aur Ashirwad. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ Asian Religions in British Columbia, UBC Press (2011), p. 125.
- ISBN 0-646-42546-3. p. 212
- ISBN 0-646-42546-3. p. 212
- ^ "ඉන්ස්ක්රිප්ෂන්ස් ඔෆ් සිලොන් වොලුයුම් I මිහින්තලේ 29 ශ්රී ලංකා අභීලේඛන - ශ්රී ලංකා අභිලේඛන පිළිබඳ අන්තර්ජාල දත්ත ගබඩාව".
- ^ "ඉන්ස්ක්රිප්ෂන්ස් ඔෆ් සිලොන් වොලුයුම් I මිහින්තලේ 40 ශ්රී ලංකා අභීලේඛන - ශ්රී ලංකා අභිලේඛන පිළිබඳ අන්තර්ජාල දත්ත ගබඩාව".
- ^ "Buddhism among Tamils. An Introduction" (PDF).
- ^ Lecture on Hindu sculpture and architecture of Sri Lanka Archived 2012-10-12 at the Wayback Machine Sunday Times - September 29, 2010
- ^ Gilles Flament (July–September 2003). "Walking on Fire". Hinduism Today. Archived from the original on 26 March 2006.
- ^ "Reach out to the minority" (PDF).
- ^ Mookerji 1998, p. 76.
- ISBN 978-81-215-0732-5.
- ISBN 978-81-7536-113-3.
- ^ 2012 Census, p. 2.
- ^ "Sri Lanka Statistics, 2006" (PDF). Government of Sri Lanka. 7 October 2007. p. 202. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ "Sri Lanka Population Statistics" (PDF). Sri Lanka Statistics. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2015.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012 - Table A4: Population by district, religion and sex" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2014.
- ^ "Table 2.13: Population by religion and census years" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2013. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015.
- ^ "Population by religion". LankaSIS Sri Lanka Statistical Information Service. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
- ^ "Sri Lanka Religious Statistics". www.worldgenweb.org. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
- ^ "Sri Lankan forces ended LTTE civil war through 'humanitarian operation': Gotabaya". The Hindu. 19 May 2022.
Sources
- Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1998). Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0423-4.
- McEvilley, Thomas (2012). The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies. Constable & Robinson. ISBN 978-1-58115-933-2.
- "Census of Population and Housing, Sri Lanka (2012)" (PDF). Government of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Demographics department. 2011.
- Henry, Justin W.; Padma, Sree (4 July 2019). "Lankapura: The Legacy of the Ramayana in Sri Lanka". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies. 42 (4): 726–731. ISSN 0085-6401.