By Robert Siddharthan Perinbanayagam –

Prof. R.S.Perinbanayagam

In recounting one of his heroic deeds  in a recent article in a newspaper, a government servant describes one of his contacts as wearing an “Ariya Sinhala suit”. I have seen this description of a particular style of clothing in other accounts as well.

What  exactly is an Ariya Sinhala suit? What is the origin of this form of dress and the provenance of this concept ? Did it originate with  what our history books call “the Ariyan immigration”? Did Vijaya and  his associates wear the Ariya Sinhala suit, since he was of course the first Aryan? Did they however wear  the bifurcated pajama which originated in Iran before ot migrated to other places? Incidentally what did the young prince’s first inamorata, the beautiful, and according to all accounts, quite irresistible Kuvenie wear? Was she clothed at all? Is an Ariya Sinhala  suit only worn by those to the manner born to be Ariyas? If the dravidians wear some version of  it does it then  become a Dravidian suit?

I wish some of the learned contributors to this website will explain the term,and its historical and sociological origins as well  describe its stylistic features.