R Chandrasoma

That we do not have a satisfactory account of the physiognomy or salient physical characteristics of the ancient peoples of Sri Lanka is a fact few would dispute.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is possible to have a rich description of the doings and actions of ancient peoples without a physical description of the actorsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  that goes beyond the banal and the commonplace. What kind of people were the inhabitabts of Sri Lanka immediately before the Vijayan ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…” invasionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ some five centuries BC? Here ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”kindƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ refers to a biological variant at the sub-specific level within the ruling type Homo sapiens. While the latter had out-survived the competing archaic forms of the pre-human kind, there was much intra-specific evolution leading to a considerable diversity of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”racialƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ types in widely-separated regions of the world. That Africa was a great centre ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  anthropogenesis is a well-established fact. Less well known is the fact that the Indonesian and North-Australian territories were also important centres of late anthropogenesis at a time when the Palaeartic and African regions had lost the evolutionary momentum they displayed at an earlier period. The recent discovery of Flores Man ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” an extraordinary variant of the genus Homo -ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  powerfully buttresses the thesis that novel kinds of humans evolved in this region and spread ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”locallyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ with considerable success.

Strange though it seems, the Indian subcontinent was not a centre of active anthropogenesis ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” it ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”receivedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ people from dynamic centres of evolution in other parts of the world ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”notably from South- East Asia and the Northern Eurasian land mass – but produced nothing distinctive of its own.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Thus, the population of this large land mass is the result of the fusion of intruders of diverse kinds. It is significant thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the intruding populations were largely bereft of the distinctive Negroid element that characterized the populations of Africa. The key to this puzzle is that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”NegroidsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of Africa ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” in strong contrast to the ancient peoples of South-East Asia – were not sea-farers and had no ability to cross oceans. Needless to say, the same population dynamics that shaped the ethnic profile of India had its parallel in Sri Lanka. The fact that Sri Lanka is an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”exposed islandƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in the Indian Ocean did lead to differences, but these were minor.

From East Asia, two clearly defined anthropological variants enterd the Indo-Sri Lanka region ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” The Australoid and the Negrito. Thes ancient peoples had some resemblance to the classic Negroids of Africa ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” but were phylogenetically distinct. Their heavy skin-pigmentation and aspects of body form were evolved in parallel to suit comparable conditions of life across tropical landscapes and habitats. Let us take the Australoids first ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” they were dark brown to black in skin colour but did not have the fuzzy hair of the true Negros. Their hair was straight or wavy as in the Caucasoids. They had broad flat faces, broad noses, shelf-like brow-ridges and protruding jaws (prognathism). The thick everted lips of the true negros were not seen in these aboriginal Asians. Their cranaial capacity was below the contemporary normƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  (about 1400 cc). Culurally, they were at the hunter-gatherer stage with no built accommodation, no settled agriculture and no fabricated appliances except of the most rudimentary kind. The Aboriginals of Australia are the archetypical representatives of this group. Pre-Vijayan Sri Lanka had a significant part of its population formed of these early people ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” called Veddhas in historical writings.

The Negritos of South East Asia form an ancient racial archetype that differs significantly from the Australoids ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” their hair was fuzzy or crinkly and their skulls ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” while sharing most of the primitive features of the Australoid skull ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” was ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”foetalizedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to some degree as these people we pigmy-like and lived in dense tropical forests. It is most likely that the Pre-Vijayan populations of Sri Lanka nad a significant Negrito population that lived ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”outside historyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in the remote forests of our ancient land. (ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”NittavoƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ – a legendary pigmy race mentioned in the folk-lore of the Sinhala people.) Despite the legendary allusions to the Veddhas in the Mahavamsa ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” about their bastard origins following the misalliance of Kuveni and Prince Vijaya ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” it is clear that while these people, too, stood ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”outside the mainstream of historyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in being confined to their forest fastnesses , they did mix with the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”civilizedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ majority and their ancient genes are found significantly in contemporary populations.

Who, then, were the civilized autochthons of Pre-Vijayan Sri Lanka? By employing the epithetƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”civilizedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ the following is implied ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” settled agriculture with beginnings of crop-management and irrigation; the construction of semi-permanent dwellings using materials such as mud and wattle; the use of fabricated utensils such as fired or sun-dried pottery and the domestication of buffalos and the like. While the word ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”townƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ may be inappropriate, these people lived in villages with (perhaps) a rich social life and had practices that we would recognize as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”religionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the worship of Gods, placatory rituals to ward-off unknown evil forces etc. Let us use the term ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Dark Caucasoid ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ or Indo-CaucasoidƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to denote these first ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”advancedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ inhabitants of Sri Lanka. How can we characterize them anthropologically? They were very far from the ancient racial archetypes mentioned earlier ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the Veddhas and the Negrito. They were part of the Early Semitic people who lived in a great arc extending from Mesapotamia to Peninsular India. Thses people were advanced in cranial architecture ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” resembling the peoples who are now widespread in the Middle-East. In passing to India through its Eastern flank, these Early Semitic Caucasoids mixed with archaic breeds of mankind already settled on the Sub-Continent and, thus,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  blunted somewhat the true profile of the archetypal Semitic stocks. South India today is awash with racial types that are a mixtures of the archaic, the Semitic and the so-called Aryan ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the late invaders of the Indian region.

Let us turn to Sri Lanka. We stated that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”civilizedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ Pre-Vijayans were Dark Caucasoids with close links (anthropologically) with the ancient Semitic races of the Middle East. The first impulse is to relate these people directly with the mixed Semites of South India. That some of the South Indian mixed Semites crossed over to Sri Lanka is indubitably true. It appears, though, that much of the original population of Lanka crossed its historic shores as stranded sea-farers. The Veddhas are related to the peoples of the Andaman Islands and it it is not farfetched to suppose that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”island-hoppingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ was the mechanism of dispersal of the archaic peoples of South-East Asia. The Fiji-Papuan group of peoples are to this day excellent navigators and their skills in boat-building and the exploitation of sea-routes for ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”colonizationƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ are well known. The impact of this understanding of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”naval capabilitiesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of ancient Asian peoples must not be glossed over – it is the realization tha the continental outpost of Sri Lanka with a great ocean around it was a prime terminus for sea-faring ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”adventureresƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of all kinds. That the earliest peoples of our Island ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the Australoids and the Negritos ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” reached it by this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ocean routeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is very likely ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Indeed, that Southern India obtained its ancient peoples by this route is quite evident when we compare the the archaic populations of the Sub-Continent with their counterparts in South-East Asia.

Let us turn to the Dark Caucasoids ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the advanced variant of Homo sapiens that overran the Mediterranian region and had its representatives reach distant India and Sri Lanka. These people did not cross the great mountain-barrier to the North to enter Peninsular India ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” they most certainly used the sea-route and settled the castal regions bordering the Arabian Sea. They ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”expandedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to the hinterland in the East and set up such urban show-piecesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  as witnessed in the conurbations of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

We shall not pursue matters further connected with our great neighbor to the North. The important issue is the origin of the Pre-Vijayan Dark Caucasoids that introduced the finer arts of agriculture and good living into an Island heretofore the abode of such primitive races as the Veddhas and the pygmoid Negritos. Apart from skills in the artifactual, we must suppose that the Pre-Vijayan Dark Caucasoids had attained a degree of spiritual sophistication that made Totemic worship, prayer and identification in spirit with the departedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  possible ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” hence the totemic groups such as the Nagas and Yakshayas chronicled as the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”indigenesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ at the time of the Vijayan invasionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢

Let us turn to the Vijayan Invasion that is widely regarded as the great turning point in the history of our Island. The classical description has it that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”AryansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” a fair-skinned race from Nothern India led by a royal vagabond over-powerd the primitive indigenous groups living in Sri Lanka at the time and usherd in an era of power and splendor in a place heretofore benighted and unknown. This is the kind of mythological foolery commonly seen in all ancient histories. That there was such a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”landingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”royalsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of some kind may be true ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” but such ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”landingsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ must have been commonplace gven ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”porousnessƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of our coastline and the happy location of our Island for early navigators hugging the coast. The Vijayan Invasion is symbolic of many that occurred in the course of our long history.

The key question that must be answered in this context is the following ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” was it the case that Vijaya and his accompanying cohort differed anthropologically from the Dark Caucasoids already established in Sri Lanka? Here the issue of Aryan identity is relevant and must be briefly touched on. We spoke earlier of the Indo-CaucasoidsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  with Semitic affinities as the chief ethnic component of the populations in Peninsular India. Contemporaneous with these peoples (around 2000 BC) there lived in the steppes of West-Central Asia nomadic tribes of a vigorous disposition that were, perhaps, descendents of a Cro-Magnon Stock that dominated parts of Wester Europe prior to the Last Ice Age, Physically, these people were large, fair-skinnedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and with ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”dolichocephalicƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ skulls withƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  a high forehead, prominent aqualine nose and a well-formed chin without prognathism, They had wavy head-hair that was less pigmented than the standard among the Afro-Asiatic races. Blue orƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  brown corneal pigmentation was the norm, They were commonly hirsute unlike the Mongoloids. This is the archetype ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” but we find in practice a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”gradientƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  or ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”clineƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ when these classic ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”North EuropeanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ peoples mixed with the Semitic races to the South. This ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”mixingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ or intermingling of racial traits was seenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in a classic form when the so-called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”AryansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ crossed the nothern mountainsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to enter the Indian Peneplain. A cline was established ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” extending from the original homelands in West-Central Asia to the Sub-Himalayan regions of the Indian Subcontinent, At the upper end the native peoples are to this day ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”NordicƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in appearance ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” fair-skinned, blond-haired and with a physique that is distinctively European, The denizens Afganistan, the Pushtans and the Northern Pakistanis belong to the upper end of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”clineƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ we referred to. They are the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”AryansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ spoken of in theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  classical literature.

We are not concerned with the cultural issues arising from this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”clash of CivilizationsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in the distant past. Our present concern is with the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”racial typeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the Vijayan entourage that entered Sri Lanka aroud 5oo BC ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” were they fair-skinned and blue eyed? This supposition is absurd as the regions of East Bengal from where the invaders came were substantially down the cline we referred to and were hybrids with mixed features. Indeed, these adventurers would have been very much like the contemporary upper-class Indians of the foothills of the Himalayan range. Why is the label ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”AryanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ used by these mixed people as a badge of higher status?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It has to do with consanguimity and caste. The upper classes were fairer than the indigenous ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Dark CaucasoidƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ people and the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Nothern connectionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the Aryan link ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” was a badge of status for the nobility.

We return to Sri Lanka. The Vijayans may, indeed, have looked very different from their contemporary islanders because of their fairer skin, elegant body build and cultural sophistication vis-ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚ -vis the established native races. It is the suggestion that the latter were rude aboriginals that must be rejected. The White Iberians who invaded South America and destroyed its advanced civilization were treated as God-like by the natives who were overawed by their killing power despite the barbarous nature of their ways. Something as dramatic did not happen in Ancient Sri Lanka but the myth that the so-called Aryan Invader made short work of the rude indigenes of lower stock must be dismissed as historical fiction. Ancient societies become stratified after alien intrusions and this is what happened on a grand scale in India and, to a lesser degree in ancient Sri Lanka. The invading stock ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” if culturally aggressive and well-armed ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” rewrites history, relegating the indigenes to positions that do not reflect their true contribution to the building of a nation.

As stated before, North Indian adventurers ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”and, indeed, adventurers of all kinds ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” must have found the Island favourable for ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”putting down rootsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ and contributing to the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”gene poolƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of this exposed Island. Let us take the case of the South Asian Mongoloids who contributed significantly to the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”gene-poolƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ mentioned above. The South Asian Mongoloids ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” better known as Malays ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” differ from the classic Mongoloids of Nothern Asia in lacking the epicanthic fold of the eye and in the less florid expression of classic Mongoloid traits. They are, nevertheless quite distinctive ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” They have reddish to yellowish skins, high cheek-bones and have only very slight body-hair. These Southern Mongoloids wer an invasive sub-species that displaced the native Papuans, Dyaks and the Australoid-Negrito stocks that were originally well-established in this vast Far-Eastern region. What is of especial interest to us is the fact that Malay sea-farers entered the southern part of our Island in substantial numbers around the 14th century when Sinhala power in the North was in terminal decline. At roughly the same time, Malay elements invaded Madagascar in the far West – an indication of their prowess as a colonizing race.

It is not necessary to enlarge on the subsequent turbulent history of Sri Lanka. Most kings of Sri Lanka ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” these includes the early Maurayas ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” claimed direct Aryan descent and sought strenuously to distance themselves from the mass of the common people. The Lambakanna, the Kalinga and the latter-day Waduge royalty took pride in the fact that they were exalted aliens. The Kotte Kingdom obtained its princely stock from Tamil-speaking aliens. More to the point is that vast armies from South India entered this Island from time to time when royal shenanigans created chaos in the country with foreigners across the strait (Palk Strait) arriving in large numbers to assist the local combatants. The flow was mostly one-way ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the aliens stayed on and contributed to the dynamic gene-pool of Sri Lanka.

This notion of gene-pool is pivotal to our understanding the racial history of the land in which we are fated to live,. There are ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”racesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that are easily identified by their distinctive bodily features. Thus, the Papuans, the Malays, the Inuits, the Australian Aboriginals are physically distinguishable human kinds. That the Sinhala and Tamil ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”racesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that inhabit Sri Lanka and Souther India are not of this kind is obvious even to those unversed in matters anthropological. The Sinhala people represent a mingling of the genes contributed by many an invader that has left an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”imprintƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that is difficult to identify except through an examination of hereditary traits that serve as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”markersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of ancient affinity. In this approach, a population or a people is identified by the hereditary determiners of traits (or genes) found in a totality called the gene-pool. The marker traits ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” such as the epicanthic fold, for example ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” serve to identify the genetic source or ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”contributorƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of this this unusual feature.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  By this technique we obtain a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”snapshotƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of the genetic history of a geographically isolated group.

Let us look again at the people who identify themselves as Sinhala or Sihala. There is a mode of identification based on language, religion and culture. No one denies that this has fundamental relevance to the way we look at people. Indeed the standard today is to distinguish human kinds largely on the basis of cutural characteristics except when physical traits are too obvious to ignore.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  However, there is another way of racial identification ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the older way based on physical features, How can we employ this latter mode to shed light on the anthropological affinities of the Sinhala ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”raceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Simple as it may seem, the best methodƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is to look at contemporary crowds gathered at public shows such as political meetings or musical fiestas in this country.

A fact that strikes even an inexperienced observer is the great mix of physiognomiesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  seen in such crowds. A European crowd (at a football match, for example) show striking uniformity of ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”looksƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ based on a large commonality of hereditary acquisions in the history of these people. On looking at the massed facesin our country, the striking fact is that the majority belong to the Dark Caucasoid (or Indo-Caucasoid) group that is widespread in Peninsular India and is closely affiliated with the Semitic races of the Middle Asia region. Equally striking is the sprinkling of dark heavy-jowled faces with clear Austroloid links. There are also the high cheek-boned ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”mongoloidƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ types with reddish-yellow skins, The frank ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”NegroidƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ facies is rare nd so are the crinkled and fuzzy hair hair styles of the latter. Where is the Indo-Aryan element that is occasionally touted as the key feature of the Sinhala ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”raceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢? While nowhere dominant, we do see Sinhala people with nobly formed features including a high forehead, a prominent aquiline nose, a clear and pronounced chin and cheek-bones that are not raised and flat as in most ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”primitiveƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ people. This light-skinned racial archetype existed prior to the invasion of our Island by fair-skinned Europeans and must not be confused with the latter-day ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”EurasiansƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ who were confined largely to the coastal belt where there was cohabitation of the white invaders and the native. We are speaking an aboriginal light-skinned Caucasoid type that was was common in the Kandyan region during the time of Robert Knox. The latter spoke of the native Sinhala people as very close to the European in physical features. Indeed, the Sinhala people of the central and Southern parts of Sri Lanka have a large admixture of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Aryan CaucasoidƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ while in the Northern, the North Cental and the Coastal regions of Sri Lanka this ancient Aryan element has been swamped by the Dark Caucasoid and Australoid elements. There is a a degree of social stratification in this distributional pattern in that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”higherƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ classes look more ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”WesternƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ (and less Australoid) than the poorer classes. As in India, the caste system has thwarted the randaom mating patterns that would homogenize a population.

In conclusion, let us lay bare the main thrust of our argument – that the Sinhala (and Tamil) races of Sri Lanka do have a gentic base in that a historic mix of genetically identifiable human types ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”fusedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to give a collection that had a characteristic anthropologically profile but not a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”raceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in the true sense. A genuine race has genetic markers not found elsewhere. This is not the case of the Sinhala ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”raceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. On the other hand, the word ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”raceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ can be used to denote a geographically isolated group that receives genetic inflows from outside but clings to a collective identity based on a dominant language, a distinctive culture and a will to be exclusive despite all attempts to destroy its cohesiveness, This is the true reach of the Sinhala ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”raceƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that has wondrously occupied with astonishing assurance a remote Island for over twenty centuries.