Social class in Sri Lanka

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Social class in Sri Lanka is often described as

Buddhist culture actively fought against all forms of class discrimination, many Buddhist organizations used caste as a method to extract surplus from temple property.[1]

History

Lanka

Caste system

Buddhism rejects casteism as a fundamental principle of its worldview, and this has an effect on reducing the severity of the caste system on the island. Notably, the highest caste group in both communities of the island also formed the popular majority for both communities.

The caste systems in Sri Lanka were organized in a similar manner to the Jāti systems found in South India. The history of the caste system in Sri Lanka is unclear since there is very little historical evidence and much research carried out into the subject has been criticized as being biased.[2] Caste positions did not correlate with wealth.[3]

Goyigama was the most common caste in the Sinhalese community numbering around 50%. These people were basically landowning farmers but had monopolized the high positions in politics and royal courts. Vellala is the term used for the similar community among Tamils.[3] Brahmins did not have as much influence on the island as on the mainland, and the most politically influential caste belongs to the farmers.[4]

The documented history of the island begins with the arrival of

South Indians and Bengalis.[6][5][7][8][9][10] About half of the Sinhalese population are Govigama.[11]
Of the three native tribes, it is believed that the Dewa are part of the Sinhalese castes.

Ancient Sri Lankan texts, such as the Pujavaliya, Sadharmaratnavaliya, Yogaratnakaraya and inscriptions, show that a fourfold caste category namely Raja, Bamunu, Velanda and Govi existed among the Sinhalese. Evidence of this hierarchy can be seen during the 18th century British-Kandyan period,

, with smaller castes being absorbed to the larger castes.

Kandyan castes

In the

Berava were traditional drummers and agricultural wage labourers. The Kinnara caste did menial work and were segregated from the rest of the community.[18] The most important feature of the Kandyan system was Rajakariya ("the king's work"), which linked each caste to an occupation and demanded service to the court and religious institutions.[19]

Southern castes

There were differences between the caste structures of the highlands and those of the low country, although some service groups were common to both in ancient Sri Lanka. The southwestern coast had three other castes (the

Abayagiri inscription referring to a Karava navika may be the first reference to a specialized occupation.[20][21]

Tamil castes

The Tolkāppiyam Porulatikaram indicating the four-fold division is the earliest Tamil literature to mention caste.[22] Sangam literature however mentions only five kudis associated with the five tinais.[22][23] Colonialism also had influenced the caste system.[24][25]

Their caste system had stronger religious ties than its Sinhalese counterpart, although both systems have comparable castes.[26] In the caste system observed, there were distinctions between Northern and Eastern societies, and also the agricultural and coastal societies.

In the agricultural society were mainly the castes of the

Koviar, where the Vellalar caste is the dominating one, particularly in Northern Sri Lanka. They approximately constitute half of the Sri Lankan Tamil population and were the major land-owning and agricultural caste.[27][28]

The Northern and Western coastal society was dominated by the

Mukkuvars, traditional pearl divers, dominate greater parts of Eastern Sri Lanka where they were the major landowners also involved in agriculture.[30][31]

The artisans, known locally as

Koviar (farmers), Kusavar (potters), Maraiyar (conch blowers), Nattuvar (musician), Nalavar (toddy-tappers), Pallar (farm workers), Paraiyar (drummers), Turumbar (scavengers) and Vannar (dhobies) constituting the domestic servants termed as Kudimakkal.[34] The Kudimakkal gave ritual importance in marriage, funeral and other temple ceremonies.[35][36]

Other Sri Lankan Tamil castes of importance were the Cirpatar (cultivators),

Kaikolar (weavers), Madapalli (former royal cooks), Shanar (toddy-tappers) and Maravar (Poligar-Warriors).[37][38] The Sri Lankan Chetties, traditional merchants, along with the Bharatha people, traditional seatraders, were listed as their own ethnicities in Sri Lankan census.[39] The Coast Veddas, found mainly in Eastern Sri Lanka were considered a Tamil caste among the Sri Lankan Tamils.[40]

The

village deities of the Sri Lankan Tamils were also shaped by the caste structure. The Sri Lankan Moors don't practice the caste system, however, follow a matriclan system which is an extension of Tamil tradition.[41]

Ceylon

With the onset of colonial rule in the country, different castes emerged with new occupations. However, social mobility was present since the colonial rulers didn't impose hereditary occupations as was the case in the Kandy Kingdom. Therefore, it is identified that this is the point at which the caste began to be limited to a social culture rather than an occupational group. Newer castes originated at this point such as the powerful

Mudaliyar
class who loyally served their colonial masters.

By the late 19th century the upper-class natives of Ceylon (called Ceylonese by the British) formed a second-class group in their own land, serving their colonial masters. The finest example of this would be the famous second-class and third-class carriages used by the Ceylonese on the trains due to the first being reserved only for Europeans [

public schools modelled after their English counterparts and at British Universities they were taken into the Ceylon Civil Service
, others took up places in the Legislative and later the State councils. Entering into this upper class were successful merchants who gained wealth in the lucrative mining industry of the time.

A middle class emerged during this period of a

bourgeois
people who gained their status by Professions or by Business.

Sri Lanka

The 20th century brought several changes to the social structure. By the 1940s when Ceylon gained Independence from the British (in 1948) there were four social groups. The upper class is made up primarily of landowners, the Upper middle class of educated professionals holding traditional jobs such as Lawyers, Doctors, Army officers, Academics, senior Civil Servants and police officers; and merchants. The political leaders of the new Dominion of Ceylon came from these two classes. The lower middle class was made up of persons who were educated but held less prestigious, but respected jobs such as lower-level public servants, policemen, and teachers.

This order changed dramatically in the 1970s due to the land reforms brought on by the government of

J R Jayewardene
opened up the country's economy to free market reforms. This along with the civil war saw major change in the social structure.

The direct result of the changes of the 1970s and the 1980s was witnessed only at the late 20th century and the start of the 21st century. Today;[42]

Society

Upper class

The upper class in Sri Lanka is statistically very small and consists of industrialists, businessmen, senior executives and serving government ministers. These people are the wealthiest in the land, having in some cases inherited money and position, and in other cases having earned it themselves. Their educational backgrounds may vary, but they typically send their children to national, private or international schools to be educated in English and thereafter send them to overseas universities.[2]

Upper middle class

The upper middle class in Sri Lanka consists of educated professionals. Traditional jobs include lawyers, university lecturers, doctors, engineers, senior military officers, senior civil servants, managers, and businessmen who generally come from educated backgrounds, having been educated at public or private schools and local or foreign universities. They manage their own business that has a high income. They typically send their children (depending on family income, traditions, and residence) to national, private or international schools to be educated in English or in their local languages. For university education, they may be sent to overseas universities or local private higher education institutions (depending on family income).[2]

Middle class

The middle classes include government workers such as teachers, and government department workers and manage small businesses such as retail businesses and service providers. Some can afford to put their children into private national schools but refrain from the more expensive private international schools. The Sri Lankan national universities are mainly for the Middle classes. The middle-class university students do travel abroad on university scholarships.[2]

Lower middle class

The lower middle class in Sri Lanka consists of people in blue-collar jobs living in less prosperous suburbs. This class constitutes the largest of Sri Lanka's social groups. Typically they have not had a university education, and send their children to national or provincial schools to be educated in their local languages (depending on family residence or scholarships). For university education, if selected they may be sent to local state universities, if not local private higher education institutions.[2]

Lower class

These people would typically be on low incomes and dependent on state benefits. Many reside in the slums or shanty towns of cities or underdeveloped rural areas. They send their children to provincial schools to be educated in their local languages.[2]

Discrimination

Although caste discrimination is still found in Sri Lanka (particularly in rural areas), caste boundaries are blurring.[43] Political power and wealth have largely replaced caste as the main factor in Sri Lankan social stratification, especially in the Sinhalese and Indian Tamil communities.[44] Ponnambalam Ramanathan, under British Ceylon, opposed extending voting rights to the people and urged reservation of franchise only to men of the Vellalar caste.[45]

In 1951 the Kandyan Peasantry Commission wrote, "... As a first step in the fight against caste it is necessary to abolish the service tenures." (R.K.P.C. 1951, p. 180.) Nur Yalman[46] encountered caste division in the Ceylonese village of Terutenne in 1954. According to Lakshman et al.,[47] "The Social Disabilities Act of 1957 intended to outlaw caste-based discrimination" (p. 68, note 16).

References

  1. ^ http://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/user_folder/pdf/New_files/Publications_from_network/Caste_discrimination_and_social_justice_in_Sri_Lan [dead link]
  2. ^ a b c d e f Riswan, M. "A Historical Survey of Social Class and Caste System in Sri Lanka" (PDF). KALAM. 8 (1): 40–47. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Sri Lankan Caste System | Asian Recipes". www.asian-recipe.com. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  4. ^ "WWW Virtual Library Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka Caste System". lankalibrary.com. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  5. ^
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  11. ^ "Traditional Sri Lanka". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  12. ^ Kadayimpoth – Boundary Books
  13. ^ Mahavansha
  14. ^ Sinhala Sanna ha Thudapath, Ananada thissa Kumara, Godage Publication,Second Edition,2006,pp 142,pp 137
  15. ^ Kandy Fights the Portuguese, C.Gaston Perera, Vijithayapa Publications, 2007
  16. ^ An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies, Robert Knox, 1681, pp. 46 & 73
  17. ^ Tilakartna, Gayan. "Land". Pathfinder Foundation.
  18. ^ "Caste System in Ceylon". Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  19. ^ An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon in the East Indies by Robert Knox. 13 December 2004.
  20. ^ de Silva, Raaj. "The ancient 'Kaurava Pavilion' at Anuradhapura". De Fonseka Web. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
  21. ^ "Paranavithana S. 1970 Inscriptions of Ceylon Vol I Early Brahmi Inscriptions". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  22. ^ .
  23. ^ KOLAPPAN, B (2015). "Early Tamil society was free of caste". The Hindu.
  24. ^ Fernando, Laksiri (2013). "Philip Baldaeus Didn't See A Big Ethnic Difference In Ceylon". Colombo Telegraph.
  25. .
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  31. ^ (Jaffna), University Teachers for Human Rights (1991). The Debasement of the law and of humanity and the drift towards total war. UTHR (Jaffna), University of Jaffna, Thirunelvely. p. 31.
  32. ^ McGilvray, Dennis B. (1974). Tamils and Moors: caste and matriclan structure in eastern Sri Lanka. University of Chicago. p. 160.
  33. .
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  36. ^ Raghavan, M. D. (1961). The Karāva of Ceylon: Society and Culture. K.V.G. De Sīlva. pp. 87–88.
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  38. ^ Chitty, Simon Casie (1834). The Ceylon Gazetteer: Containing an Accurate Account of the Districts, Provinces, Cities, Towns ... &c. of the Island of Ceylon. Cotta Church Mission Press. p. 55.
  39. ^ "Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics. 2012.
  40. .
  41. .
  42. ^ "Today's middle class: An insight into the contemporary middle class of Sri Lanka". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka.
  43. ^ Silva, Kalinga Tudor; Sivapragasam, P.P.; Thanges, Paramsothy (2009). "Caste Discrimination and Social Justice in Sri Lanka: An Overview" (PDF). Indian Institute of Dalit Studies. III. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  44. ^ Dr. Devanesan Nesiah (28 September 2014). "Caste in Jaffna And India". The Sunday Leader.
  45. .
  46. ^ Under the Bo Tree -- studies in castes, kinship, and marriage in the interior of Ceylon, 1967, 1971, Univ. of California Press
  47. ^ "Sri Lanka's Development Since Independence: Socio-economic Perspectives and Analyses", New York, 2000

External links