The Coming of Brahmin Migrants: The Śudra Fate of an Indian Elite in Sri Lanka

Abstract

One must be very humane to say, ‘I don't know that,’ to afford ignorance.- Friedrich Nietzsche, aphorism 229 in The Will to Power. Most Sri Lankans assume that due to the contemporary absence of a Brahmin presence there have been no Brahmins in Sri Lanka at all, particularly among the Sinhalas, except in Jaffna and other Hindu areas where a small number of Brahmin and non-Brahmin kurukkals officiate in major temples. For Sinhala Buddhist areas, there is no record of Brahmins from the nineteenth century onwards although it is evident from historical evidence that Brahmin purhitas were present in most, if not all the kingdoms of Sri Lanka. It is often assumed that Brahmins were not part of the general population, in spite of the fact that there were constant South Indian migrations throughout history. However, palm leaf manuscripts collected over the last 10 years and written from the sixteenth century onwards by village intellectuals not only refer to the mass immigration of South Indian people but also deal with Brahmin movements into Sri Lanka, and list some of the villages they were settled in. Several contain the term Brahmin or bamunu and hence village names such as Bamunugama and Kiribamuna. Texts from an important shrine for god Skanda in the Uva district mention its founding by two Brahmin brothers and their descendants who have non-Brahmin names. Dutch sources mention the existence of Brahmins in the city of Kandy during the reign of King Vimaladharmasuriya (1591–1604). The question then is: where have all the Brahmins gone? A clue is found in two palm leaf manuscripts from the mid-seventeenth and mid-eighteenth centuries that list the names of important families in the Matale district, north of Kandy. They mention several prominent goyigama/vellala (farmer caste) families with the name ‘Brahmana’ attached to it. The article suggests that given the numerical and political importance of the goyigama caste, various migrant groups, be they merchants or Brahmins, were assimilated into that caste with the more prominent Brahmins often placed in its aristocratic segment ( radala). Recent research indicates the constant movement of Brahmins from the north to the very south of India from ancient times, and it is improbable that they did not extend their journeys into Sri Lanka. The article demonstrates their movements into Sri Lanka where they were in a sense ‘demoted’ in terms of the classical varna scheme but ‘promoted’ in terms of Sri Lankan values. The speaker will also briefly discuss the local variations of the varna scheme in relation to Brahmin migratory movements.