Ethnographical Features in Upcountry Tamil Novels of Sri Lanka

Abstract

Upcountry Tamil community in Sri Lanka has unique social, economic and cultural elements. Today, the so-called Upcountry Tamils of Sri Lanka are those who were brought from the rural areas of South India to cultivate cash crops such as coffee, tea and rubber, which were introduced by the British in the 19th century. The literary works about them are the Sri Lankan Upcountry Tamil Literatures. They are also literary copies of the unique cultural treasuries of Upcountry Tamils. This study examines the ethnographic elements found in upcountry Tamil novels. The main objective of this study is to identify the ethnographical elements in Sri Lankan upcountry Tamil novels based on the ethnographic theory of one of the fields of anthropology. The primary sources are novels by non- Upcountry novelists such as Gokilam Subbaiah's Thoorathup Pachai and Buloliyur Ka. Sathasivam’s Mooddathinulle. Both the novels are cultural treasures that reveal the social formation, cultural identities, hierarchies, lifestyles, beliefs, rituals, Material cultures, etc. of the Upcountry Tamils. Gokilam Subbaiah and Ka. Sathasivam have documented in they are novels the Traits the ethnographic researcher's observation, participation, and meticulous translation of cultural features. It is these features that may distinguish the Thoorathup Pachai and the novel Mooddathinulle in the upcountry Tamil novels.