Sinhalese people: Difference between revisions
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Two studies on blood genetic markers found no significant genetic difference between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan tamils.<ref>http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/110482916/abstract</ref>. A study looking at gentic variation of the [[FUT2]] gene in the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan tamil population, also found similar genetic backgrounds for both ethnic groups. With little genetic flow from other neighbouring asian population groups.<ref>http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/trfu/abstract.00007885-200512000-00015.htm;jsessionid=KzPChpMlnTCSJstRsDdmjFyVBHvCBkJyG3011lv6QCRQGN9yhN20!-514211921!181195628!8091!-1</ref> Studies have also found no significant genetics difference with regards to [[blood group]] and [[single-nucleotide polymorphism]] between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil population.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/2799860?seq=5</ref><ref>http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121515782/HTMLSTART</ref>Thus, the evidence suggests that the legend of the sinhalese being the descendents of Prince Vijaya and his companions may not be true, or that the genetic contribution by Prince Vijay and his companions has been erased by the contributions of other population groups, such as the tamils and bengalis, over 2000 years. |
Two studies on blood genetic markers found no significant genetic difference between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan tamils.<ref>http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/110482916/abstract</ref>. A study looking at gentic variation of the [[FUT2]] gene in the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan tamil population, also found similar genetic backgrounds for both ethnic groups. With little genetic flow from other neighbouring asian population groups.<ref>http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/trfu/abstract.00007885-200512000-00015.htm;jsessionid=KzPChpMlnTCSJstRsDdmjFyVBHvCBkJyG3011lv6QCRQGN9yhN20!-514211921!181195628!8091!-1</ref> Studies have also found no significant genetics difference with regards to [[blood group]] and [[single-nucleotide polymorphism]] between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil population.<ref>http://www.jstor.org/stable/2799860?seq=5</ref><ref>http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121515782/HTMLSTART</ref>Thus, the evidence suggests that the legend of the sinhalese being the descendents of Prince Vijaya and his companions may not be true, or that the genetic contribution by Prince Vijay and his companions has been erased by the contributions of other population groups, such as the tamils and bengalis, over 2000 years. |
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The latest study done in 2007 supports the claim of North Indian origin for the Sinhalese. The study used over 100 Sinhalese subjects, which is more than what any other previos genetic studies used. The study found similar frequencies of the allele [[HLA-A|HLA-A*02]] in Sinhalese (7.4%) and North Indian subjects (6.7%).HLA-A*02 is a rare allele which has a relatively high frequency in North Indian populations and is considered to be a novel allele among the North Indian population. This suggests possible North Indian ancestry for the Sinhalese.<ref>http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117982701/abstract</ref> |
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==Major Holidays== |
==Major Holidays== |
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Revision as of 17:27, 17 July 2009
| File:Sinhalese people.PNG 1st row: Anagarika Dharmapala • Arisen Ahubudu • Chandra Wickramasinghe • Don Stephen Senanayake • Gongalegoda Banda 2nd row: Kumar Sangakkara • Martin Wickramasinghe • Mahinda Rajapaksa • Nissanka Wijeyeratne • Parākramabāhu I | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Sri Lanka 14,100,000[1] | |
 Saudi Arabia | 400,000[3] |
 Australia | 73,849[4] |
 Thailand | 67,000[2] |
 United Arab Emirates | 50,000[5] |
 Italy | 45,575[6] |
 Malaysia | 25,000[2] |
 Oman | 24,000[2] |
 Singapore | 20,000[2] |
 Qatar | 17,000[2] |
 Norway | 13,000[2] |
 Libya | 12,000[2] |
 United States | 11,000[2] |
 Cyprus | 5,400[2] |
 Canada | 4,700[2] |
 India | 3,400[2] |
 Maldives | 2,100[2] |
 Brunei | 1,100[2] |
 Kenya | 400[2] |
| Languages | |
| Sinhala, English, Tamil | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Theravada Buddhism. Minority Christianity and Hinduism. | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indo-Aryans, Sri Lankan Tamil, Veddahs, Bengali, | |
The Sinhalese are the main ethnic group of Sri Lanka. They speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language, and number approximately 15 million people with the vast majority found in Sri Lanka. More than 400,000 live in other countries, mainly in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the United Kingdom[7].
Etymology
The Sinhalese are also known as "Hela" or "Sinhela". These synonyms find their origins in the two words Sinha (meaning "lion") and Hela (meaning "pristine"). The name Sinhala translates to "lion people" and refers to the myths regarding the descent of the legendary founder of the Sinhalese people, the prince Vijaya. The last royal dynasty on the island was the Sinha (Lion) royal dynasty and the word Sinha finds its origins here.
Distribution
Sri Lanka
The vast majority of the Sinhalese live in Sri Lanka (mostly in the south and west of the island).
Expatriates
There are significant expatriate communities in Southeast Asia, as well as the Middle East, where Sri Lankans are often employed as guest workers. Smaller communities also exist in Australia, Europe (notably the UK and Italy) and in North America (in particular United States and Canada).
History
Prehistory
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Legendary accounts recorded in the Indian epic saga, the Sanskritic Ramayana, discuss mythic tales of deities battling over the fate of the ancient island of Lanka (presumably modern Sri Lanka), including that of the legendary King Raavana. The name of the island and its various peoples are often traced to the people and places named in the saga, or their supposed analogues.
Ancient period
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According to local legend, the Sinhalese are descended from the exiled Prince Vijaya and his party of several hundred who arrived on the island between 543 and 483 BC[citation needed]. The people arrived in Sri Lanka after being forced from the Sinhapura kingdom in north west India. The origin legend and early recorded history of the Buddhist Sinhalese is chronicled in two historic documents, the Mahavamsa, written in Pāli around the 4th century BC, and the much later Chulavamsa (probably penned in the 13 century CE by the Buddhist monk Dhammakitti). These are ancient sources which cover the histories of the powerful ancient kingdoms of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The Mahavansa describes the existence of fields of rice and reservoirs, indicating a well developed agrarian society. The oral tradition of the Sinhalese people also speaks of many royal dynasties prior to the Sinha royal dynasty: Manu, Tharaka, Mahabali, Raavana, etc. Many Sinhalese have mixed with the colonizing Portuguese and English. The Sinhalese have spread to other countries like the Maldives and Mauritius.
Buddhism was introduced to the Sinhalese from India by Mahinda, son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great, during the 3rd century BC. Buddhism has since been closely tied to both the Sinhalese identity and the history of Sri Lanka. To this day buddhism has survived in Sri Lanka while it was pretty much wiped out in other parts of the subcontinent, hence Sri Lanka is the last bastion of Theravada Buddhism in South Asia.
Medieval period
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Modern period
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The Sinhalese are identified through their Sinhala language and ancestral heritage as well as their Buddhist faith. These culture complexes set them apart from the main ethnic minority of Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Tamils.
A policy of universal healthcare provision has raised average life expectancy to 72 years. Female emancipation reflects many social changes including greater parity between the sexes. Prominent female politicians include former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike and President Chandrika Kumaratunga. The Sinhalese have a stable birth rate and a population that has been growing at a slow pace relative to India and other Asian countries. The Sinhalese make up about 74% of the Sri Lankan population. The life expectancy has gone up because of the state funded health care.
Culture
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Language
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The Sinhala language, also known as "Helabasa", has two forms: spoken and written. The written form uses many words of Sanskrit origin, whereas the spoken form is unique. Many early Sinhala texts such as the Hela Atuwa were destroyed after their translation into Pali. Other significant Sinhala texts include Amar Wathura, Kavu Silumina, Jathaka Potha and Sala Liheeniya.
Literature
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Dress
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Cuisine
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Sports
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Folklore
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Religion
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Most of the Sinhalese (93%) are Buddhists. They are the only ethnic group in South Asia to adhere to the Theravada sect of Buddhism. There are also a minority of Sinhalese Christians which are mainly in the Roman Catholic denomination. Their cultural centre is Negombo.
Genetic Studies
The 2003 genetic study done by the University of Stanford which used the methods of MX1 Locus, mtDNA analyses, Y-chromosome analyses, sequencing and data analysis to carry out the study of all the major South Asian ethnic groups found that Contrary to popular opinion, in part instilled by British colonial policy of 'divide and rule', the Sinhalese are not a distinct group that is entirely or even mainly of Indo-Aryan origin, which is itself a linguistic categorization and not a palpable 'racial' group. In fact, most Sinhalese, like most Indian populations show a high degree of genetic similarity that stems from a population that formed on the island and has been little changed through invasions by Indo-Aryans and other groups.
From an anthropological perspective, the modern Sinhalese represent a fusion of a wide variety that nonetheless is overwhelmingly indigenous to the island of Sri Lanka and the genetic variations (based on Y-chromosomes and MtDNA only) between the Sinhalese and their Tamil and Veddah neighbors appears to be largely marginal and may be restricted to a small degree of sporadic differences rather than anything universal although some genetic drift has taken place that corresponds to language barriers.[9]
As the sinhalese originate from India they, like other Indian tribal and caste populations, derive largely from the same genetic heritage of a southern asians and western asians in the Pleistocene. They are likely to have have received limited gene flow from external regions since the Holocene. [10]
Overall, the evidence supports the strong possibility that the Sinhalese are largely indigenous to Sri Lanka and adopted the Indo-Aryan language from invaders who in turn showed limited ancestry from some original Indo-Aryan invaders stemming from some Eurasian homeland. Ultimately, the genetic evidence also shows substantial genetic drift that corresponds to geography and in the case of Sri Lanka supports the notion that most Sinhalese stem from very early migrants, rather than later invaders:
Modern Pakistani, Indian, and Sinhalese donors, examined for combinations of mini- and microsatellite loci, along with a number of Y chromosome and mtDNA markers (24), show varying degrees of diversity, which is expected from their geographic position and ability to receive waves of migrants pulsing from Africa and West Asia at different times. DYS287 or Y chromosome Alu insertion polymorphism also clearly demonstrate the gradual decline in insert-positive Y chromosomes from Africa to East Asia, reaching a transition point from polymorphic levels (1 to 5%) to private polymorphism in Pakistan. <http://natvet.sh.se/jna/Human_evolution_a.pdf>
According to genetic evidence, the Sinhalese have their origins in South India and North-East India, particularly Tamil Nadu and Bengal . Due to relatively easy access from South India and Tamil workers being brought from South India under British rule, mixing of the Tamil and Sinhalese groups has been occurring for many generations. The Sinhalese and Sri Lankan tamils have been in close proximity to each other historically, linguistically, and culturally for over 2000 years. This explains why they share a common gene pool of 55%.[11]
A genetic admixture study found the sinhalese had the greatest contribution from South Indian tamils (69.86% +/- 0.61), followed by Bengalis from the northeast India (25.41% +/- 0.51). Similarly, Sri Lankan Tamils have a greater contribution from the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka (55.20% +/- 9.47) than Indian Tamils (16.63% +/- 8.73).[12]
This is also supported by a genetic distance study, which showed low differences in genetic distance between the Sinhalese and the Tamil, Keralite and Bengali volunteers.[13] D1S80 allele frequency (A popular allele for fingerpriting) is also similar between the Sinhalese and Bengalis, suggesting the two groups are closely related.[14] In additon, the Sinhalese and South indian tamils have similar cultures in terms of kinship classification, cousin marriage, dress and housing.[15]
A 2004 biomedical central study found the frequency of the average proportion of mtDNA gene flow from West Eurasia in the Sri-Lankan population to be 15%[16]. This proportion is similar to Central, South (23%, 11% and 15% in Maharashtra, Kerala and Sri Lanka, respectively) and East Indian groups (13% in Uttar Pradesh and around 7% in West Bengal and Bangladesh).
Two studies on blood genetic markers found no significant genetic difference between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan tamils.[17]. A study looking at gentic variation of the FUT2 gene in the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan tamil population, also found similar genetic backgrounds for both ethnic groups. With little genetic flow from other neighbouring asian population groups.[18] Studies have also found no significant genetics difference with regards to blood group and single-nucleotide polymorphism between the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil population.[19][20]Thus, the evidence suggests that the legend of the sinhalese being the descendents of Prince Vijaya and his companions may not be true, or that the genetic contribution by Prince Vijay and his companions has been erased by the contributions of other population groups, such as the tamils and bengalis, over 2000 years.
The latest study done in 2007 supports the claim of North Indian origin for the Sinhalese. The study used over 100 Sinhalese subjects, which is more than what any other previos genetic studies used. The study found similar frequencies of the allele HLA-A*02 in Sinhalese (7.4%) and North Indian subjects (6.7%).HLA-A*02 is a rare allele which has a relatively high frequency in North Indian populations and is considered to be a novel allele among the North Indian population. This suggests possible North Indian ancestry for the Sinhalese.[21]
Major Holidays
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The celebration of the New Year on April 14 is an important tradition.
Education
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The Sinhalese have a very high regard for education, as such the first lesson of writing for young children is done in a ceremony by an important family elder at an auspicious time.
Architecture
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References
- ^ www.statistics.gov.lk
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Sinhalese". joshuaproject.net. Joshua Project. 27-April-2009. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108492.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2008 - Saudi Arabia
- ^ http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/research/_pdf/poa-2008.pdf The People of Australia - Statistics from the 2006 Census
- ^ http://www.worldchristiandatabase.org
- ^ http://www.cnel.it/cnelstats/dettagliI.asp?topic=010&fen1=001&fen2=004&nazi=005®i=&prov=&anno=2004 CNEL Statistics of registered immigrants in Italy, year 2004
- ^ Ethnologue report for language code:sin
- ^ " Department of Census and Statistics
- ^ http://natvet.sh.se/jna/Human_evolution_a.pdf
- ^ http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/AJHG_2003_v72_p313-332.pdf
- ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8543296
- ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8543296
- ^ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/110484906/PDFSTART
- ^ Surinder Singh Papiha (1999). Genomic Diversity: Applications in Human Population Genetics. London: Springer. 7.
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/667927
- ^ http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/5/26
- ^ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/110482916/abstract
- ^ http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/trfu/abstract.00007885-200512000-00015.htm;jsessionid=KzPChpMlnTCSJstRsDdmjFyVBHvCBkJyG3011lv6QCRQGN9yhN20!-514211921!181195628!8091!-1
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/stable/2799860?seq=5
- ^ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/121515782/HTMLSTART
- ^ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117982701/abstract
Other References
- De Silva, K.M. History of Sri Lanka (Univ. of Calif. Press, 1981)
- Gunasekera, Tamara. Hierarchy and Egalitarianism: Caste, Class, and Power in Sinhalese Peasant Society (Athlone, 1994).
- Roberts, Michael. Sri Lanka: Collective Identities Revisited (Colombo-Marga Institute, 1997).
- Wickremeratne, Ananda. Buddhism and Ethnicity in Sri Lanka: A Historical Analysis (New Delhi-Vikas Publishing House, 1995).
- Fernando, Basil Thoughts of a Sinhalese about some Sinhala habits (Asian Human Rights Commission, 2006).]
External links
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- Sri Lanka
- The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers Persists Both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations, Am. J. Hum. Genet. 72:313–332, 2003.
- Most of the extant mtDNA boundaries in South and Southwest Asia were likely shaped during the initial settlement of Eurasia by anatomically modern humans, Biomedical Central, BMC Genetics 2004, 5:26
- Department of Census and Statistics-Sri Lanka
- Ethnologue-Sinhala, a language of Sri Lanka
- CIA Factbook-Sri Lanka
- Genetic Clues to Dispersal in Human Populations: Retracing the Past from the Present (Science 291, 2 March 2001).
- Sinhalese
| Indigenous | |
|---|---|
| Traditional | |
| Multiracial | |
| Immigrants | |
| Asia |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | ||
| North America | ||
| Oceania | ||
| Africa | ||
| See also | ||