Africans in Sri Lanka
| Total population | |||||||||||||||
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| Few thousand (2005)[1] ~1,000 (2009)[2] |
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| Regions with significant populations | |||||||||||||||
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| Languages | |||||||||||||||
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Sri Lanka Kaffir language, Sinhala, Tamil language, Sri Lankan Portuguese Creole |
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| Religion | |||||||||||||||
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Originally Sunni Islam |
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| Related ethnic groups | |||||||||||||||
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Demographics of Mozambique, Burgher people, Sinhalese, Sri Lankan Tamils |
African Sri Lankans, mainly the Sri Lanka Kaffirs, are a very small Ethnic group in Sri Lanka who are descendants of slaves that were brought into the island by Portuguese colonists in the 17th century. There are currently around 1000 African Sri Lankans. They live in pockets of communities along the island's coastal regions of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Negambo. The Portuguese colonists used them to fight the Ceylonese Kings.[3]
The main African Sri Lankans are known as Kaffirs. This term is not used as a racial pejorative it is in other parts of the world. They were originally Muslims but many have now converted to Catholicism and Buddhism. They speak a lyrical creole language with a mix of native Sinhalese and Tamil.
Contents |
Groups[edit]
Nittevo[edit]
The Nittaewo are a lost race of dwarfish men said to have lived in the Mahalenama region now within the Yala East Intermediate Zone and the Tamankaduva area. These folk are believed to have been exterminated by the Veddas about 250 years ago.[4]
Sri Lanka Kaffirs[edit]
The Sri Lankan Kaffirs are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka who are partially descended from 16th century Portuguese traders and the African slaves who were brought by them to work as labourers and soldiers to fight against the Sri Lankan kings.[5] They are very similar to the African populations in Iraq, Iran and Kuwait, and are known in Pakistan as Sheedis and India as Siddis.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
- Kaffirs in Sri Lanka - Descendants of enslaved Africans at Sri Lanka virtual library site.
- Sri Lanka Portuguese Creoles at Sri Lanka virtual library site.
- The Beginnings of the European Slave Trade
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