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.
Jim softy / August 24, 2013
King Ravana lived long before Kuweni. Ravana kingdom had a very developed civilization that india. Kuweni also known as queen Leelawathi, was heading Sri Lanka long after Ravana. Even at that time, Sri Lankans were civilized to accept a woman as the queen.
what made you think that she may not have worn anything ?
Why you are asking the view of the Arya sinhala suit from others, what is the point that you are trying to prove ?
As scientist accept that monkies are our forefathers, are you willing to give the whole earth to monkies.
Scientists accept that Africans were the first in the human civilization and they migrated, subsequently, all over the world. So, what is your point african should have the whole earth to them ?
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Ravi / August 24, 2013
It seems the Sinhalese are very good at borrowing everything from others and made a few modifications and called them as their own. There is a serious lack of originality in the so called Sinhala culture and tradition. The Sinhalese men and women were topless until the arrival of Portuguese. (The Garb of Innocence: A Time of Toplessness : http://livingheritage.org/toplessness.htm)
There is nothing called ‘Arya Sinhala’. The Aryan tag of the Sinhala race is more a work of the British who saw Sri Lanka as a jewel in their colonial possessions and who by seeking a kinship with the Sinhalese by identifying them as Aryans hoped for their permanent stay as rulers of Sri Lanka. A low country Sinhala man and a son of a carpenter, Don David Carolis Hewawitharana aka Anakarika Dharmapala took full advantage of what the British introduced to create Ultra- Sinhala Nationalism/racism. He called the Sinhalese as the only unique race (Arya-Sinhala) with a pure Aryan blood and their national dress as the ‘Arya Sinhala’ dress.
The prince Siddhartha, as a Nepalese, was not an Aryan. No king of Lanka during the 2500 years history of Lanka, claimed that he was of Aryan Dynasty. How then can the populace claim that they are Aryans? Ariya-Sinhala was created by the British for the serene joy and emotion of the Sinhalese. In reality it was the Tamil Kingdom of Jaffna that carried the tag Aryan historically, as Arya Chakaravarthy and Sinhgai Aryan due to the Kalinga origin of its Royalty.
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M.Sivananthan / August 24, 2013
I appreciate your points. All the Sinhalese never come from Prince Vijaya. If the Sinhalese come from Vijaya, then how these Rodiyas, Berayas and other castes still exist? Because Vijaya belonged to the Kshatriya Caste. He was of the second HIGHEST caste in Hindu religion after Brahmans.
Topless paintings of Sigiriya is an evidence to tell even the Royals did not had any upper garment at that time.
The so called “Arya Sinhala” dress is simply available in KERALA.
If we go through the Kings of Jaffna, many Tamils are “Aryans” than the Sinhalese. Language never determine the RACE or Caste.
If the Sinhalese have ARYA or North Indian connection, how do the become RICE eaters instead of ROTTI?
So far no Sri Lankan king went to marry in North India but North Indian origins came and ruled Sinhalese and Tamils.
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Spotless / August 26, 2013
“Topless paintings of Sigiriya is an evidence to tell even the Royals did not had any upper garment at that time”.
Like the modern day, discrimination against women in advertisements was a pang in the very backs of the artists who portrayed them booby stripped and hairy-V’d even in the olden days, so that Dr.Rajendran perceived of that our good-old maidens were kept out in the cold with the feed-in-ready brave duns by the cold-hearten men of Langoi.
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r.mallawarachi / August 25, 2013
No sarong jonnies in north Arya India
This is a Dravida & Muslim dress
Like hoppers, stringhoppers & pittu
No darmapala, confused jarapala
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Buckmoons / August 25, 2013
The name Kuweni was derived from the English word ‘Queen’, whereas her indomitable chronicles portray her as only a village wench, a seductress in her own lewdness who’s father was a chief of the tribe Rodeontarayos.
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abhaya / August 24, 2013
I have no clue . lol . but somebody better versed in history will chime in .
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Pandukabaya / August 24, 2013
Mr. Perinbanayagam, I reckon that the best person to ask is the Hitorian and Archeologist Darshani Ratnavalli.
She would certainly find out and explain so well as our other historian in the country Jack Anthony.
There are other twisters, turners & con artists there as well who play wih Mahawamsa big time.
How about Ariya Bavan?
How about Ariyawathies & Ariyapalas?
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Native Vedda / August 24, 2013
The Ariya Sinhala Suit: A Plea For Clarification
Here is a Tamil speaking man who is also wearing the Arya Sinhala Suit:
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa Tamil speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZEp0fmSRl4
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Senguttuvan / August 24, 2013
Dear Native,
I warmly welcome this effort by the President to talk in Tamil to a
Tamil-speaking audience. He must restore the right of the people in the
NEP to sing the National Anthem in Tamil. I know it will be done at least while Mrs Pillay visits there.
Senguttuvan
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Native Vedda / August 24, 2013
Senguttuvan
“NEP to sing the National Anthem in Tamil. I know it will be done at least while Mrs Pillay visits there.”
For the purpose of good public relation, Mahinda and Vasu could issue any number of statements about the virtues of multilingual national anthem only to be ignored or deliberately prevented by enforcers on the ground.
Enforces include the the Military governor, his army commanders, the faceless little bureaucrats behind the desk, and the Weerawansa variety.
As a seasoned observer you know that there is a huge difference between one’s intention and judgement.
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Merlin Van Tweest / August 24, 2013
Dear Mr. Senguttuvan,
From your previous discourses I fathom that the singing of the Sri Lankan national anthem in Sinhala is an emotive issue for you and other Sri Lankan Tamils. I agree with you for the sake of national unity that if it need be then the national anthem can be sung in regions where the ‘lingua franca’ is Tamil.
However I am very perplexed and confused why the Indian National anthem is sung only in ‘Bengali’ and not in Tamil in Tamil Nadu or in the many regional languages of the Indian State. Why is it that the Tamils in Tamil Nadu readily accept the singing of the Indian National anthem in Bengali in Tamil Nadu and the Tamils in Sri Lanka vehemently object to the Sri Lankan national when it is sung in Sinhala.
Is this a case of ‘cause celebre’ for Sri Lankan Tamils to assert their Tamilness? I would be grateful if you or any of the others who inhabit these columns resolve this conundrum with rational arguments (and not emotive gibberish often seen here) for such divergence?
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Native Vedda / August 25, 2013
Merlin Van Tweest
“Why is it that the Tamils in Tamil Nadu readily accept the singing of the Indian National anthem in Bengali in Tamil Nadu”
As long as the anthem is not in Hindi, the Tamils don’t mind.
Accepting National anthem which is sung in Bengali also shows Tamils don’t reject the idea of unity in diversity.
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manisekaram / August 25, 2013
Mr.Merlin, to answer your question as a Tamil,
That’s the beauty of federalist arrangement agreed upon with provinces prior to independent India or states after independence. As you said, Bengali which is not national language, just one of the recognized language, yet the national anthem sung in it were accepted purely for its concept of the unity portrayed by great noble nobel laureate Sir Ravidranath Tagore. Do you even know the meaning of Indian National anthem? Huh?
Secondly Tamil have their own Tahmizhtthai vazhthu sung in addition to National anthem in state in all state functionaries. Moreover what is the problem singing in two mostly recognized language of island? Like in Inida, the problem of singing in all 22 nationally recognized language does not exist right?
It is just mindset, “all is mine”
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Merlin Van Tweest / August 25, 2013
Dear Manisekaram and Native Veddah,
Thank you for your explanations. As I have indicated in my original reply to Mr. Senguttuvan and I quote ‘I agree with you for the sake of national unity that if it need be then the national anthem can be sung in regions where the ‘lingua franca’ is Tamil.’
However unlike in India where Tamil is only a regional language, in Sri Lanka Tamil is also a national language as per the constitution with English as the link language – doesn’t it mean that Sri Lanka has accorded more importance to Tamil than India ever will?
I know full well that it is a complex issue as to give equal status to all the regional languages in India, I also know that it would be a gargantuan task hence India has Hindi as the national language and the regional languages occupy a second tier unlike in Sri Lanka where Tamil has parity of status with Sinhala nationally – an issue that is lost on my Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka and the global Tamil Diaspora.
Moreover Tamils and Sinhalese are much more integrated in Sri Lanka than the other regional players in India will ever be now or even in the future. Quite unlike in Sri Lanka where even today Colombo has over 40 percent Tamils and over 53 percent of the total Tamil population of Sri Lanka reside in the south. In the future Jaffna and the north east of Sri Lanka too will have more Sinhalese as economic progress, faster travel and communications in the north and east will attract more Sinhala speaking residents to this region.
Hence isn’t it superfluous to make a ‘mountain of a molehill’ about the national anthem and its language of delivery? Sri Lanka has much more important issues to resolve like economic progress and the increase in living standards for all its citizens. It has already achieved a milestone of becoming a middle income country according to the United Nations quite unlike its neighbours in the region and the IMF and OECD predicts faster growth than its regional neighbours even during these global recessionary times.
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manisekaran / August 25, 2013
Mr.Merlin,
Let me take another opportunity to correct your false notion that Hindi is national language of India. There is no such thing called as Hindhi as national language, In fact there are 22 national languages for India. So your arguement that Hindhi is national language is false. Tamil is as much as recognized Hindhi in constitution( It is different matter that GOI spends and makes more importance to Hindhi).When critical issue of Hindhi as national language arose in 1956 in India similar to the issues in Srilanka, India decided not to enforce Hindhi as national language and dropped trilingual policy that time, if there was one sensible governance in srilanka followed similar lines, I am sure with just two major language with just not even 2 crore people, many issues would not have surfaced in first place.
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Arthur / August 25, 2013
Merlin Van Tweest
I would suggest for the ‘Linga Francans’ to make a totally different tunes or rhythms changed to suit in district-wise while keeping to the translations of the Sinhala text intact, so this endeavor could make sales of these songs in CD’s and other media which could boost the revenues of the government coffers.
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manisekaran / August 25, 2013
Let me take another opportunity to correct your false notion that Hindi is national language of India. There is no such thing called as Hindhi as national language, In fact there are 22 national languages for India. So your arguement that Hindhi is national language is false. Tamil is as much as recognized Hindhi in constitution( It is different matter that GOI spends and makes more importance to Hindhi).When critical issue of Hindhi as national language arose in 1956 in India similar to the issues in Srilanka, India decided not to enforce Hindhi as national language and dropped trilingual policy that time, if there was one sensible governance in srilanka followed similar lines, I am sure with just two major language with just not even 2 crore people, many issues would not have surfaced in first place.
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Senguttuvan / August 25, 2013
Dear Merlin,
Welcome back. We used to enjoy your sober, well-thought of and structured interventions in the national discourse to create a peaceful society and reconciliation.
Where we failed and where India succeeded was they first built India and then gradually went on to create “the Indian” We not only threw the baby with the bathwater but are now in the process of throttling the baby to extinction. The reason President Rajapakse did away with the national anthem being sung – ALSO in Tamil as done for decades – was on a supposed personal slight. It is good to know some of his Cabinet colleagues opposed his angry move. It is equally good to hear, probably as a prelude to the arrival of the UNHCR, this is now temporarily restored. It can be reasonably expected of the Sinhala ex-Army Governor to impose this once this S. African VVIP – carrying a Tamil returns – leaves our shores.
To answer your question, it is not merely an emotive issue. It is rational, just and legal which is why it was part of the law – in the first place. Mr. Rajapakse upset the apple cart rather un-necessarily and illegally, where his good Sinhala Buddhist sense gave way to prejudice. Wouldn’t you agree.
Permit me to say while I always thought you were a lovely lass from that friendly Burgher community – where I am privileged to claim many personal and family friends – your interventions
in recent times makes me believe you are only a pseudonym of a cultured and literate – somewhat in the minority in the Govt side – Rajapakse apologist. Forgive me and do correct me if I am in error.
Senguttuvan
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Merlin Van Tweest / August 26, 2013
Dear Mr. Senguttavan,
Thank you for kind words. I always enjoyed communicating with you and admired your historical knowledge of Sri Lankan politics and the anecdotes of politicians past that gave Sri Lankan politics of the past a human face.
I am no apologist for the Rajapakse government, but I draw the line on commentators here who tend to twist the truth and speculate without any proof – even seasoned journalists indulge in this paradigm that certainly does them no favours. I also find the standard of English of many of the commentators here leaves a lot to be desired. As for intelligent discourse they seem to be just intent on scoring emotional points of each other instead of indulging in sensible and intelligent discourse.
As a person who has worked in the political offices of the west I have a full knowledge of the double standards and hypocrisy that is in abundance in Western governments, and believe me Sri Lankan politicians are amateurs when it comes such tactics.
However in my opinion Mahinda Rajapakse is an exception as he has shown similar traits in defending Sri Lanka’s interests. He is media savvy and is able to play International politics with alacrity much to the chagrin of the Western politicians who time and again underestimate him. I wouldn’t be surprised if these western leaders and United Nations officials secretly admire Mahinda Rajapakse’s political skills. While working in the political offices of Western Governments I was aware of the admiration and respect accorded by politicians to some opponents of the west – one such opponent that comes to mind is the ex-Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
As a person who loves Sri Lanka and its people wholeheartedly I admire Sri Lanka for the progress it has made economically with high growth rates and low unemployment. While internal politics can be murky at times (and my personal experience tells me internal Western politics can be murkier) on the whole Sri Lankan politics is much cleaner compared to its neighbours in Asia.
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yarlpadi / August 27, 2013
Merlin Van Tweest observes that the Indian national anthem is “sung in Bengali”. Keeping faith with one meaning of his pseudonym, he is doing a twist here. The anthem is really in Sanskrit and it will be equally true
to say that it is sung in Hindi or Marathi since they are all Sanskritic languages.
He says that there is genetic evidence that the Sinhalese people are connected to the Gujaratis. First of there is contradictory evidence for this. There is also evidence that the Sinhalese people are connected to South Western Indians too. And which Sinhalese people? All and everyone of them?
If there is a DOMINANT Guju genetic connection, was there then a mass migration from there to ONLY certain parts of the island? And so on and so forth. Did they congregate on these parts and kept away from the native population to retain their ethnic purity? How many of them came?
And of course there a connection between Gujarati and Sinhalese as there is between Sinhalese and Bengali because they are both Sanskitic languages and Sinhalese is mainly a Sanskitic language. And a parsimonious is that of cultural transmission .
It is really strange why certain Sinhalese nationalists like Van Tweest want to claim that their ancestors came
from somewhere so far away from the island .Why are they not satisfied with recognizing that they built a rich and vibrant hydraulic civlization on their own informed to a great extent by the noble religion of Buddhism as well as Hinduism to some extent? And why use defunct Germanic linguistic theories and 19th century racial theories to legitimize their civilization as exemplary and radically differentiate it from that of others? It iws great civilization on its own , built no doubt like ALL GREAT CIVILZATIONS, by a synthesis of both indigenous elements as well as foreign ones
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Merlin Van Tweest / August 27, 2013
Yarlpadi,
You are sadly mistaken I am not a Sinhala nationalist as you imply. In my reply to Ahmed below I have referred to Sri Lankans devoid of any racial stereotypes. I have also said that the Sri Lankans are a mix of races not only from Northwest India and the South Indian Malabar and Coromandel coasts but also from far afield as East Arabia and South East Asia and later also from Europe. I have also given references from C.T. Maloney and Spencer Wells.
Please be kind enough not to stereotype me as a Sinhala nationalist and the negative connotations associated with such assertions by implication. I love Sri Lanka and all its peoples and the philosophical aspects of both Buddhism and Hinduism. As for the unique hydraulic civilisation, I agree with you to its greatness. It is homegrown and depicts the innovativeness of our ancestors and is attested by the fact that it is without parallel in any of the neighbouring countries.
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M.Sivananthan / August 24, 2013
Pillai cannot speak Tamil. Dont you know it?
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Cochinaris / August 25, 2013
Pillai speaks Sanskritized Tamil, i.e. Malayalam.
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M.Sivananthan / August 26, 2013
Ohh.. She is a Pillai from Kerala and not from Tamil nadu!
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Sanjay Karuna / August 24, 2013
I have also heard it called the ‘Vavul’ Suit. Because the wearers look like ‘Vavulas’ with the ends flapping. Why doesn’t the GOSL make the SL Cricketers, who are the most visible Sri Lankans in the outside World, wear the Arya Sinhala Dress? Can you imagine SL Cricketers playing Cricket wearing ‘Vavul’ Suits?
Sri Lankan Politicians should start thinking globally and not shut themselves in, ‘fragmented and enclosed by narrow domestic Walls’ as Rabindranath Tagore put it. By the way, Hitler also called himself an ‘Aryan’, whatever that means!
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Native Vedda / August 24, 2013
Sanjay Karuna
“Sri Lankan Politicians should start thinking globally and not shut themselves in, ‘fragmented and enclosed by narrow domestic Walls’ as Rabindranath Tagore put it.”
Are you instigating the Sinhala/Buddhists to commit mass suicide?
Hope you are not a Tamil with a hidden agenda.
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Sanjay Karuna / August 25, 2013
Native Veddah, please note I used the words ‘Sri Lankan Politicians’ not ‘Sinhala Buddhists’
Read the whole of Tagore’s poem on ‘Google’ and you will understand what I meant:-
“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake!”
Rabindranath Tagore
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Native Vedda / August 26, 2013
Sanjay Karuna
“Native Veddah, please note I used the words ‘Sri Lankan Politicians’ not ‘Sinhala Buddhists’”
Please re read my comment.
Thanks for Tagore’s poem. Why couldn’t the Sinhalese/Tamils write so beautiful a poem? Simply both of them are stupid.
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Punnakku / August 24, 2013
In as much as this Aryan identity itself is doubted, this Ariya Sinhala dress – that came into vogue with the 1956 Apey Anduwa
Revolution is a local concoction. Vijaya, if he came from Bengal,
is by no means North Indian as the imaginary Aryans entered India
from the West via then Persia. The AS suit seems is now little
different to the Kapati Suit (black pant and white l/s shirt) favoured
by MPs, PS members and sundry poltikkas. Even those infamous Security
Guards who protect our precious poltikkas, their wives, mistresses,
concubines, homo partners, chooty puthas and ratharan duwas too have
taken to this garb that seems to give them a feeling of officialdom as they wear this on. Little do they realise the larger public are writhing feel outraged when they see the colour of this and more the wearer.
Punnakku
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Native Vedda / August 24, 2013
Punnakku
“that came into vogue with the 1956 Apey Anduwa”
It started little earlier than what you suggest, may be about 15 years before independence.
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Punnakku / August 25, 2013
I said it came into vogue during 1956 – something that Michael
Roberts too confirms. As Prof RSP says here during his father’s
days in 1920s it was worn – but by a very few.
Punnakku
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Dingbat / August 25, 2013
Nativa,
In todays trend, the similitude of AryaSinhala attire simply resembles an Arab man’s (Arabian Peninsula) dress sans the ‘Ghutra’. It is the sightlessness of the Sinhalese who wrongly paid tribute to the name ‘Aryan’ to ascribe themselves a noble heritage.
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Zaradushta / August 26, 2013
Nowadays, ‘Zar’ or ‘Izar’ [a name from the early Islamic times] is worn by many Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula which is exactly the same ‘Sarong’, ‘Sarung or ‘Saram’ of the Indian, Malay and Lankan stocks.
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‘Izaar’ Arabic name of a wrap clothing item commonly worn in Arabia, Horn of Africa, South and Southeast Asia elsewhere known as Futah[Arabic, but slang _ meaning Menstrual cloth], Sarong[Malaya], Izār[Arab], Lungi[North India], Macawwis[Somalia] and Mundu[Kerala].
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M.Sivananthan / August 25, 2013
Bengalis never claim they are Aryan!
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D.K.Moti / August 25, 2013
The Sinhalese have mistaken the Gujarati ruler of Jaffnapatan Aryachakraborti to a Irani Aryan, with who the Kotte brothers had businesses established towards the coasts of India. Eventually, the Sinhalese in a bogey tendency ascribed the name ‘Aryan’ as a trendy term to express themselves to be of a superior class.
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M.Sivananthan / August 26, 2013
The Kings of Jaffna were not a Gujju. They were from Kerala and of Pallava origin.
The Kings of jaffan had the throne name “RAJASEKARAN” which was the name of the Kerala king RAJASEKARA VARMA.
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Santharpa Magha / August 26, 2013
But, the Aryachakravarti are (of the ‘Red Hat’ money lending Gujaratis, [don’t mistake it to be a version of Linux]).
According to the Sinhalese nowhere-source Culavamsa, a warlord or minister named Aryacakravarti invaded the Sinhalese capital of Yapahuwa on behalf of the Pandyan king Maaravarman Kulasekaran between the years 1277–1283 and took the politically significant Buddha’s tooth relic keeping in place a die-cast larger tooth.
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The Cekaracecekaramalai written during the Aryacakravarti rule in Jaffna asserts that the direct ancestors of the Kings belonged to a group of 512 Ariyar (a Brahmin priestly caste) of the Pasupata sect of the Rameswaram Hindu temple. The source also claims that two out of the 512 were selected as Kings of Ariyars (Ariyar means ‘the rare Ones’; ‘the Ones versed in Wisdom’).
In the opinion of Rasanayagam Mudaliar[9] and Swami Gnanapragasar the Aryacakravarti dynasty was connected to the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. Rasanayagam believes that a Brahmin from the town of Rameswaram married into the surviving family members of the Kalinga Magha, an invader claiming to be from Kalinga kingdom in India. Magha apparently belonged to the Eastern Ganga Dynasty. The Royal flag of the Jaffna kingdom is similar to the Royal insignia of the Eastern Gangas. Gangas themselves also claimed Brahmin origins.[10] The Setu coins minted by the Aryacakravarti kings also have a similar symbol.
Swami Gnanapragasar believes that the first Ariyacakravarti also called Cinkaiariyan (Ariyan from Cinkainakar) was Kalinga Magha himself. Three main arguments are adduced to support the claim that these kings were of Eastern Ganga descent. The first is the similar device on their coins; the bull couchant and the crescent surmounting it were struck on coins issued by the Eastern Gangas and Ariyacakravartis. The second is the traditions of their origins are almost identical. The last is the assumption of titles Kangkainaadan (From the country of Ganges) and Kangkaiariyan (Ariyan from the Ganga dynasty).
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S. Paranavitana offered a novel surmise explaining the origins of the Ariyacakravarti. According to him the Aryacakravarti are descendants of Chandrabhanu a Malay chieftain, who invaded the island from Tambralinga in 1247. According to him refugees and immigrants from the Indian kingdom of Kalinga founded similarly named Kingdoms in South East Asia, and some of them came due to various reasons to north Sri Lanka and founded the Jaffna Kingdom. This view has been refuted by noted Indian historian K.A. Nilakanta Sastry as having no credible evidence, and other historians such as Louis Charles Damais (1911–66), an expert on Indonesian studies,[18] Yutaka Iwamoto (1910–88), a Buddhist scholar, and S. Pathmanathan. They assert that there were no kingdoms in South East Asia called Kalinga and such assertions are based on erroneous readings of the Chinese name for a locality called Ho-ling which actually stood for Walain not Kalinga. Further S. Pathmanathan asserts that Chandrabhanu had categorically claimed Padmavamsa lineage whereas S. Paranavitana had adduced a Gangavamsa lineage to the Aryacakravarti. Further he notes that the inscriptions that S. Paranavitana used to make his theory have not been deciphered by any other scholar to imply a Javaka connection to the Aryacakravartis.
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Punnakku / August 26, 2013
“Bengalis never claim they are Aryan” That’s because the cultured
Bengalis (Tagore, Satyajit Ray) know the different between East and West. Bengal is in the East of India while the Persians (Aryans, if you like) came from the West (Gujarat)
Punnakku
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C.A. Teldala / August 24, 2013
What is worn with pride as Ariya Sinhala suit is a duplication of the Slouth Indian Veshti, Salwai and Jippa – that is common in Kerala, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka in particular. It is time Prof Nalin de Silva, Super Buddhist Champika R and Jackson Antony lay claim this is pure Sinhala Buddhist dress which the South Indians – what crooks they are – stole from the Sinhalese.
Carol A. Teldala
Teldeniya
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Amarasiri / August 24, 2013
Carol Teldeniya,
May be the Sinhala adopted the dress from the Tamilnadu or Malayalam-Kerala when the Karava Sinhala came. Whatever it is, it was adopted as a symbol of pure, Ariya, Sinhala Buddhism, to be differentiated from the non-Sinhala, non-Buddhist communities.
SINHALA-NESS AND SINHALA NATIONALISM
Michael Roberts
http://tamilnation.co/conflictresolution/tamileelam/01roberts.pdf
“One expression of this tendency was the sartorial emphasis on what was known as the “Arya Sinhala” dress (a label that is significant, given the innovativeness of the vestments). The indigenism and the economic
nationalism associated with 1956 were carried through into the insurrections of the Janatâ Vimukti Peramuna, both in its Mach I (1965-71) and Mach III (1987-90) variants. The JVP, as I have briefly suggested elsewhere, were (are?) the children of 1956 as much as the
children of the Old Left-gone-Maoist and Guevarist. That is, they embodied a synthesis of two powerful streams of ideology with the further twist provided by Marighella (? -spelling), Guevara and Mao.”
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Sanjay Karuna / August 25, 2013
Amarasiri, he is not Carol Teldeniya but ‘Karola Theldhala’
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Galbunis / August 26, 2013
Sanjay Karuna – What have you against Carol A. Teldala – from the planting family in Teldeniya? You are a karunaless chap.
Galbunis
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srhhoole / August 24, 2013
Prof. Perinbanayagam raises interesting questions to which I am sure he knows the answers.
This so-called Arya-Sinhala suit is little different from the Tamil school master’s verti-national – except that the Arya-Sinhala suit has a collar that does not fold down and a Malay sarong in white instead of the Tamil verti. Ironically the upper garment of both, the kurta, according to dictionaries, is from Persian for a collarless shirt. Bandaranaike’s suit was more the Tamil teacher’s dress with a sarong in place of the verti, together presumably with western underwear like jock-straps. I am not sure which Arya Sinhalese invented the collar.
This strange non-folding collar of the Aryan-Sinhala suit is too much like a Christian priest’s collar to be a coincidence. This is because all our men’s clothes are originally from Rome.
The Roman gentleman originally wore a garment that looked like a Christian priest’s cassock. When Rome adopted Christianity priests started wearing the cassock. The white version of this became popular throughout the Middle East (ruled under Rome then) and we see people there wearing white cassocks to this day.
Priests while doing hard physical work pulled up their foot-length garment through the belt/cincher/rope at the waist and opened up the collar when sweating. This first became the fashionable coat-tailed suit – for when the left and right of the cassock are pulled up through the belt or cincher, the middle is long at the back and front. This gradually became the modern business suit. The Persians wore the knee-length version when the cassock is pulled up uniformly through the belt and people like Jawaharlal Nehru and C.W. Thamotharampillai wore this short knee-length cassock as if it had nothing to do with Europe.
Remember when you wear the modern suit that you are dressing up as a Christian priest at labour.
Did we traditionally wear anything? I think most of us wore loin cloth which probably qualifies as the Aryan-Sinhalese suit and even Tamil suit with perhaps bangles and ear rings when we were rich.
The sari without a blouse may be the only thing authentically Indian and that too confined to the upper classes. Whether it was Sinhalese is another matter which I do not care to comment on.
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mahasohon / August 24, 2013
It makes me wonder why this professor cannot do his own research? Is he a real professor or some sort of pretentious nobody?
For your information Mr Perinbanaygam, Arya Sinhala suit is similar to one the President R currently wears (less his silly red noose). Mr SWRD Bandaranayaka used to wear it on political platforms after he left the UNP, and most times when he was in SLFP politics and government as the PM. Most of the political hangers on with him used to wear a similar attire.
Of course, the attire was not designed for politicians in mind, but for Sinhala people in general as a smart suit instead of the western dress. It is white, light weight, airy, two piece attire, plus a long white “patta” with a pattern on it, which they could wear over their shoulders and down front of their long soft jacket similar to the way the President wears his patta (but without a noose tied).
The sinhala teachers, veda mahattayas, ralahamy and such people of significance wore them, or those attending weddings and fuenrals etc wore them to look well dressed to the occasion.
As to its origin, it is nothing to do with Aryan race, Vijaya or Kuveni. My God, a professor getting all these ideas mixed up, I cannot believe it.
If I recall it correctly from my childhood readings, the suit came into being around the time of revival of Sri Lankan nationalism at the time of national leaders such as Anagarika Dharmapala, Piyadas Sirisena etc’s. Whoever coined the word Arya Sinhala Suit had done it with nationalist (anti-British imperial) politics in mind, because at the turn of the 20th century nationalism was the rage in Sri Lanka.
The word ARYA in this context refers to pure or clean or uncorrupt, like saying here is a pure sinhala suit for the sinhala people instead of the corruption by western suit that our people begun to adopt at the time.
I never wore this style myself because I felt uncomfortable in it, simply not my style, but my brother was happy to wear them when he was an early teen, and no one else in my family went for the A-S suit, preferring the shorts, sarong or western long trousers or jackets. In the 1950s, most of my teachers in the sinhala school wore them, nd to them it was a comfortable and smart business suit, and nothing to do with politics or nationalism.
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M.Sivananthan / August 25, 2013
Sambanthan of TNA, many Tamil, Malayala, Telugu cine actors also wear the same Araya Sinhala dress. Who did copy from whom?
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Ratinum / August 25, 2013
They may wear the native ‘Amude’ too, if it’s for acting.
/
Kamal Nissanka / August 24, 2013
I think this particular dress code was originated during the Donougmore
period(1931-1947)
/
Soleberry / August 25, 2013
‘Don’t-know-more’ introduced this dress code under suit from a royal decree that Sinhalese should relieve of the ‘Amude’ forever for the British gals were bemused of the Lankan-loins and was inquisitive in having indigenous pathogens in them.
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Scott / August 24, 2013
Like many other Ariya Sinhala things, the Ariya Sinhala costume is Dravidian. It does not take rocket science to notice the similarities between what Bandaranaike wore politically, and what Justice Wigneswaran wears as part of his heritage. It is a South Indian ensemble that supplements its unstitched lower garment with the stitched upper garment borrowed from the north, the kurta. It was part of the ariya-sinhalisation software of the of reformer Anagarika Dharmapala. Thus, as the “national dress” of the Sinhala nationalists it is no older than the twentieth century or at most the last decades of the 19th. This Dravidian costume became a favourite method of asserting the domestic maleness of Ariya Sinhala nationalists who sojourned in England in about the early to mid decades of the twentieth century, and returned with white English wives. It was not until after the “people’s government” of 1956 that this Dravidian ariya sinhala costume gradually replaced the genuine Sinhala national dress of the people, the sarong (or a cloth) as the lower garment and a western collared shirt and a western jacket as the upper garment. Dharmapala whose Buddhist morality was partly derived from that of the Christian missionaries replete with its prudishness was keen to civilize his compatriots who he though exposed too much skin, especially the women who exposed their midriffs and “Sinhala black legs”.
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Ahmed / August 24, 2013
Correction Prof.
If there was a race called Aryan, then it is assumed they entered India from the West that is through Iran. Our Sinhala as history states came from Bengal India that is east. So what ever Sinhalese claims should be “Bangala Sinhala” dress but the Bengalas dont dress like our current Sinhala Poltikkos. They wear dhoti or lungis
yes it is absurd to claim anything Aryan by the Sinhalese. Anyway what the heck why bother with Aryan brand, Now that the Sinhalese are rich they should upgrade themselves to brand names like:
ARMANI SINHALA
GUCCI SINHALA
Jayavewa Sinhala
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M.Sivananthan / August 25, 2013
Former W.Bengal CM Jyoti Basu was dressing in the same way as our Arya Sinhala but Bengalis never claim they are Arayans!
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Merlin Van Tweest / August 26, 2013
Ahmed,
For your information, the west of Sri Lanka was populated by migrants from North West India (currently Gujarat), There is philological and genetic evidence to attest this. Modern day Sinhala has an uncanny resemblance to Gujarati even today. The East and South East of Sri Lanka were settled by migrants from Bengal. The reason being it is the way the trade winds and the ocean currents proliferate in the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. There is also genetic evidence that other migration from faraway as South East Asia also made up the mix. The same is true of the Arabs from eastern Arabia. The North was of course populated by South Indians from the Malabar and Coromandel coasts due to its proximity to this region. Also fisher folk from these coasts also settled in the coasts around Sri Lanka.
Even as late as 1505 the Portuguese sea farer Don Lourenco de Almeda was blown by these same winds and currents to Galle. The modern day Sri Lankans are a mix of various races. Sri Lanka is also smack in the middle of sea lanes to the spice islands of Indonesia and all those who passed through Sri Lanka left their genetic footprint behind and these include the late arriving European races.
In essence Sri Lankans are a healthy mix of various races and there is no genetic evidence to suggest the contrary that they are solely from one region like Bengal. Geneticists agree that a proliferation of genes that increases your gene pool is one of the factors for resilience. Hence Sri Lankans are very unique and quite unlike the peoples of India though we share some traits from the peoples of that region.
References: C.T. Maloney – The Beginnings of Civilizations in South India and by the same author ‘The People of the Maldives.
http://thuppahi.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/clarence_maloney.pdf
https://thuppahi.wordpress.com/2013/08/20/the-beginnings-of-civilization-in-south-india-by-clarence-maloney/
Please also read ‘The Journey of Man’ by Spencer Wells the geneticist
http://books.google.ca/books?id=WAsKm-_zu5sC&lpg=PP1&dq=The%20Journey%20of%20Man&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=true
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Confused / August 24, 2013
Was it Sir Ivor Jennings who wrote that the A/S suit is derived from South Indian Tamil dress? I recall reading something like that in the last century debate on the subject.
As for Kuveni, was n’t she spinning cotton yarn when Vijaya’s men first saw her? Why spinning cotton if her folk were unclothed?
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Native Vedda / August 24, 2013
Confused
“As for Kuveni, was n’t she spinning cotton yarn when Vijaya’s men first saw her?”
This is Mahanama spinning yarn.
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Muska / August 25, 2013
The spinning was of spider web, while the spiders were busy incubating, Mr.Vijaya noosed, trapped, groped and snoozed by her potion of the seductive elixir of the nether sac.
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Vibhushana / August 24, 2013
Hello there Robert,
I suspect the question is rhetorical. Either the question is rhetorical or you must be the biggest dimwit to hold a doctorate. The term ‘Arya’ entered into common Tamil national discourse to differentiate South Indian population from the north. Recent scientific journals on genealogy will reveal the classification is superficial. Although why do I get the sense you knew this already!.
The perfect way therefore to answer your question is as follows. Float a question around the wardrobe used in the first Tamil Sangam (or is it ‘Chankam’ now?). The answer you get will have the same value as your question on the ‘Ariya Sinhala’ suit.
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Native Vedda / August 27, 2013
Vibhushana
What is Tamil Sangam or ‘Chankam’?
Is it to do with Demela Bauththama?
/
srilankan / August 24, 2013
Ariya sinhala suite was designed and presented to general public of colonial ceylon, long time ago when its residents, colonial slaves to the British Queen, were agitating united, against the British rule.
A parallel move to same was taking place in India :Jawaharlal Nehru’s much respected lawyer father gave up his european dress and got in to traditional indian dhothi, some thing that all their political leaders have followed since. The nationalist identity was being formed
Even the osaree worn by sinhala ladies was designed and introduced during this same period.
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lal / August 24, 2013
So, a govt servant described a persons clothing as Ariya Sinhala suit. So what? What is the issue here Mr R. Perinbanayagam? I suggest you also write to one of many Tamil blog sites, and you’ll be rewarded with many explanations of “the term, and its historical and sociological origins as well describe its stylistic features”. I expect you presume most, if not all learned persons in Sri Lanka are Tamil by birth.
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Native Vedda / August 24, 2013
lal
“I suggest you also write to one of many Tamil blog sites,”
Is CT an Aryan/Sinhala/Buddhist web site?
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lal / August 25, 2013
To Native Vedda
your Q. “Is CT an Aryan/Sinhala/Buddhist web site?”
my A. I don’t know, but CT seems to have a bias towards the Ealamists and the thrust of the Eaalamist doctrine.
I have no tolerance towards arguments or propositions of racial purity, racial compositions/superiority/inferiority. These arguments are for bigots(Bread and butter stuff for Ealamist losers)
However, I think Veddas have immensely benefited from Sinhalese colonisation of their real estate. I enjoy reading your comments, and think that you have made good use of free education provided to you by my (Aryan) folk (unlike ungrateful Ealamist parasites). I hope you are in good health (courtesy of Free Health Care).
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Romesh / August 26, 2013
Yes losing their country for some recent “health care” is a great benefit.
THIS FELLOW IS UNAWARE OF HIS OWN RACIALISM.
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Native Vedda / August 26, 2013
lal
Please reread your comment and review it and come back.
You have many gaps in your comment.
This is one off chance to amend it.
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manisekaran / August 24, 2013
First of all it is incorrect to call Sinhalese as Aryans. As person who read lot about Indus valley civilization, i can concur few points here, There was a well settled civilisation prior to aryan arrival to Indus valley. In pre-vedic or early vedic period, Indus valley people migrated in large scale to other parts, due to aggressive war between aryan and Indus valley people. Indus valley people were called as dasa,dasyu and considered as enemy to aryans. They migrated to three different regions namely to bramhaputra valley( modernday westbengal, orissa, and upper basins of godavari). You can still see the name Das is very prevalent in west bengal.This people later migrated to srilanka who are none but sinhalese. some section of Indus valley people who migrated below Vindhyan hills are modern Tamils who are categorised as dravidians. some section who were assimilated with Aryan are current keralites. Aryan and Dravidian concepts are not myths, it was established from excavation studies carried out in 1920 at lothal,kalibangan.
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Native Vedda / August 24, 2013
manisekaran
When you say something authoritatively, please quote books, articles, researches to support your claim…
There were migration, but not Aryan migration. Arya is not a race it is linguistic family.
Max Muller and Moona Karunanithy had done enough to keep you people stupid.
Max Muller needed this Aryan myth to justify colonialism.
Moona Karunanithy and DMK benefited enormously from by keeping this myth alive.
The Tamils like their Sinhala brethren suffer from identity crisis.
They have multiple identities, they like to believe they are Sumerians, Lemurians, Harapan, Dravidians, Ravana’s descendants, Arya Chakravarty’s relatives, British Tamil, Tamil Canadian …………
Come on make up your mind.
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M.Sivananthan / August 25, 2013
//The Tamils like their Sinhala brethren suffer from identity crisis.//
This is true statement. The current politics compel them to seek different IDs through stupid theories!
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manisekaran / August 25, 2013
Native vedda,
can you please stop your propaganda that Tamils suffer from identity crisis? For thousands of years Tamil have been and they will be till this earth sees its natural death.
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Native Vedda / August 26, 2013
manisekaran
Tell me about Tamil history siting sources, it won’t take more than three lines.
Look Sinhalese have the book “Mahawansa” which gives 2500 years of continuous history of Sinhalese starting from Sinhapura to SihalaDiva to Sri Lanka. I am looking for similar history book from your people.
What do you have as history book? Your Tamil brethren in Sri Lanka are as useless as you are at keeping historical records.
Please don’t tell me stories about Lemuria (40,000 years), Sumeria and Harappa.
Please help me to learn your Tamil history in Tamilnadu as well as in Sri Lanka.
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manisekaran / August 27, 2013
Yes NV,
I will give you. I am preparing one such.
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manisekaran / August 27, 2013
Native Veddha, the following summary would be enough to understand the history of Tamils;
read the below currentsceinec publication, which of late prooved that Indus valley people who inherited Sumerian culture were none but dravidians and used older tamil.
http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/103/10/1220.pdf
Pre-historic period:
The prehistoric period during which Lower Paleolithic settlements existed in the Tamil Nadu region has been estimated to span the period from about 1,510,000 BCE until around 3000 BCE.
1. “Million years old Acheulian tools were found in Chennai” (Press release). newsreporter.in. 25 March 2011.
2.”Historical Atlas of South India-Timeline”. French Institute of Pondicherry. Institut Françoise de Pondichéry. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
The 1 evidence found in excavation clearly showed that there were settlements in Tamilnadu dated as back as 1,510,000 BCE
The earliest clear evidence of the presence of the megalithic urn burials are those dating from around 1000 BCE, which have been discovered at various places in Tamil Nadu, notably at Adichanallur, 24 km from Tirunelveli, where archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India unearthed 157 urns, including 15 containing human skulls, skeletons and bones, plus husks, grains of rice, charred rice and Neolithic Celts. One urn has writing inside, which, according to archaeologists from the Archaeological Survey of India, resembles early Tamil-Brahmi script, confirming it of the Neolithic period 2800 years ago.
Evidence:Subramanian T.S. (17 February 2005) The Hindu. Retrieved 31 July 2007 Rudimentary Tamil-Brahmi script’ unearthed at Adichanallur
So in nutshell, it has been prooved that Indus valley people were dravidians who used old Tamil as acript and they were excelling in trade, polity, city-planning, (they invented chess), dance , music, literature, entertainment as back as dated to 3500 BCE.
There are plenty of writings and it is confirmed and setteled matter historically that Dravidians were older settlement in India, and NCRET books are advised to update.Aryan and dravidian were not myths as the oldest modern tamil script literature Tolkappiyam states clearly teh distinct between Aryan and tamils and also in four vedas abundant evidence to this.
If you wnat any specific evidence I am willing to provide you, actualay there are many historical evidences available.
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pritesh / August 28, 2013
1510000 BC (one and a half million) years ago there was no modern human
Out of Tamil Nadu theory will now replace out of Africa theory; Tamil communal science
Mundari is older to Dravidian
Indus people are the mixed northern Indians
The same boats & ships are yet in use in the Indus valley
Old south Indian settlements mean there was parallel settlements and culture in south India at that time, otherwise the Indus script & langue will yet be in use in south India (if not Tamil Nadu, Andra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala or among the Adivaasis)
SL also has Balangoda man/culture, also the same burrial urns are found in AL (north west coast)
Indus, probably not
However considering that Sinhalese migrated /sailed from the bay of Canbey Gujrat (Indus Dwarka) & Bengal/Bihar (Gangetic inheritors of Indus) the Sinhalese may well (also) be inheritors to that heritage.
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Native Vedda / August 28, 2013
pritesh
“However considering that Sinhalese migrated /sailed from the bay of Canbey Gujrat (Indus Dwarka)”
Could we have evidence that Sinhalese migrated /sailed from the bay of Cambay Gujrat.
When did they migrate?
Was there a language Sinhala when they arrived here?
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manisekaran / August 28, 2013
@ Pritesh
Go and dispute with those Historian who published their recent investigation in science and nature journal, if you are capable.
The journal which was published has all relevant artefacts, also read today Hindu? You even know what was recent ASI investigations in chennai?
Dont live in your false aryan original inhabitant theory which was rejected by all nuetral hitorian, only hindhian historian like you will write false history.
Also contact Mr . Mahadevan who will give you toast of evidences which will shut your mouth.
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the Don / August 29, 2013
So many others have
The debate is about whether it was Aryan, Dravidian, Mundari or a collective
Megareh & Mheluah in Afghanistan, pre Indus brings more questions
Cite the references for me to do these debates
I don’t care that your communal theory got damaged
I don’t base my soul on them
I see the greatness in the hunter gatherer culture as much as the “advanced culture”; in some distant past or the most advanced white mans culture of today
So what if some are astronauts, farmers, gypsies or town dwellers
Take a look at the Indus ship yet used between Gujrat & Pakistan, not in Tamil Nadu
North Indians also have the early Dravidian gene, the more south it goes lesser the connection.
Why do you follow this Aryan religion, worship Rama & Hanuman, have names like Ram, Rameshwaram
Native, the theories are these Sinhalese came from the north east of India; Bengal, Bihar, Kalinga/Prods and/or Gujrat (ancient Singhapura) and the Kambojas (ancient Afghanistan) referred to in the Dipawamsa, Mahawamsa and the other two texts from that period.
/
the Don / August 29, 2013
So many others have
The debate is about whether it was Aryan, Dravidian, Mundari or a collective
Megareh & Mheluah in Afghanistan, pre Indus brings more questions
Cite the references for me to do these debates
I don’t care that your communal theory got damaged
I don’t base my soul on them
I see the greatness in the hunter gatherer culture as much as the “advanced culture”; in some distant past or the most advanced white mans culture of today
So what if some are astronauts, farmers, gypsies or town dwellers
Take a look at the Indus ship yet used between Gujrat & Pakistan, not in Tamil Nadu
North Indians also have the early Dravidian gene, the more south it goes lesser the connection.
Why do you follow this Aryan religion, worship Rama & Hanuman, have names like Ram, Rameshwaram
A journal is a publication where theories are debated and expressed
It’s not be all and end all
The problem with Tamils trying to claim a civilization of another area jumping the cue from Andra, Karnataka and beyond is that the Indus valley collapsed due to drought.
Native, the theories are these Sinhalese came from the north east of India; Bengal, Bihar, Kalinga/Prods and/or Gujrat (ancient Singhapura) and the Kambojas (ancient Afghanistan) referred to in the Dipawamsa, Mahawamsa and the other two texts from that period.
Yea, this is where the Maldivian and SL versions differ
According to them, our closed linguistic cousin, it was Gujrat to SL via Male
Plus the above records talk of only Kambojas, Tamils & Natives.
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Native Vedda / August 29, 2013
the Don
Let mee get this straight.
“Take a look at the Indus ship yet used between Gujrat & Pakistan, not in Tamil Nadu”
Tamils in Tamilnadu were so stupid they didn’t know how to build ship nor navigate. I take it that you have seen a Indus ship and compare it with present day ships sailing between Gujrat & Pakistan.
The Sinhalese came all the way from the north east of India; Bengal, Bihar, Kalinga/Prods and/or Gujrat (ancient Singhapura) and the Kambojas (ancient Afghanistan) but not from Tamilnadu which is only 20 miles away from this island. What a stupid people these Tamils were.
Did the Sinhalese come as Sinhalese and remain as Sinhalese through out their “2500” years history?
“North Indians also have the early Dravidian gene, the more south it goes lesser the connection.”
Could you give site evidence.
“it was Gujrat to SL via Male”
You mean Ibn Battuta carried the gene and laguage from Gujarat to Sri Lanka via Maldive.
“Plus the above records talk of only Kambojas, Tamils & Natives.”
What do you mean?
“Why do you follow this Aryan religion, worship Rama & Hanuman, have names like Ram, Rameshwaram”
Why?
You are saying that Harapa, Mohanjadaro, Cambay, Sumerian, Lemurian, Aryan, Gangetic,… were/are Sinhala Buddhist civilisation. Gupta and Mourian empires were also Sinhala empire. Sinhalese are an amzing people aren’t they?
Do the present day Sinhalese have anything to do with Dravidian at all?
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manisekaran / August 29, 2013
Indus ship?? what is that ship?
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the Don / August 29, 2013
Come on read
Ship design & technology the same yet in the Indus region
Don’t squeeze insults to Tamils
Half the Sinhalese gene pool is Dravida
Simhapur and Kamboja mentioned before Ibin B
No pure Aryan or Dravidian, Aryan religion of Dravidians
Indus culture is neither Tamil or Sinhala, may be able to link some traces
Google should help with reading and buying
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pritesh / August 26, 2013
who are you self appointed
He is entitled to his opinion
Yes dasa then became to mean slave, serf
Violent conflict is not accepted by all scholars
And not just the areas you mention
We imagine we are saints and only others invade
We don’t give a toss about have been and Will be
That can be the theme of all communities
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manisekaran / August 26, 2013
Did i say that so and so community suffer from identity crisis! Why you defend for all communities, jumping to show your IC. He is entitled to make opinion, similarly i made my opinion as a Tamil who is party-in-person. Why is your back burning?
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pritesh / August 26, 2013
Because I am not comunal.
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Native Vedda / August 26, 2013
manisekaran
Could you respond to my comment August 26, 2013
1:12 am.
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Senguttuvan / August 26, 2013
Native V, dear chap:
Beware when you speak of Muna Kana. There is an outside chance
the clot might extend his turf this way soon. It could even be the Merry Widow. Count on The Family to strike a deal this way if their fortunes are threatened in the Miracle (Debacle) of Asia.
Senguttuvan
/
Native Vedda / August 26, 2013
Senguttuvan
Thanks I got your point.
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Yako / August 24, 2013
Dear Prefessor,
Hitler called himself an Aryan. Gnanasara is a Sinhala.
Imagine Aryan Hitler wearing Gnanasara’s yellow robe. now,
We can call it Arya Sinhala suite. And also imagin Gnanasara
wearing Hitler’s suite. That also can be called Arya Sinhala suit.
Who said Vijaya is an Aryan ? His ancestors are animals in the Bengali jungle.
Besides, the term Aryan originates from the Sanskrit word arya meaning “honourable, respectable, noble”.
Vijaya was an outlaw causing trouble in place of his origin. His head was shaven as criminal heads are shaved bald, except for the strand at the back of their heads which was left uncut. Then he was asked to get lost. He landed in Sri Lanka. He got married to Kuveni and abandoned her.
You can judge if he qualifies to be called “honourable”, “respectable” or “noble” which are the meanings of Arya.
Dear Professor, your question raises more questions than answers which I believe is your idea.
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R S Perinbanayagam / August 24, 2013
Oh Dear!! I am sorry I started this thread. Either the web is no place for irony or perhaps in the current fraught state of ethno-politics in the islsnd it is dangerous to try irony.And again,perhaps some people are too obtuse to understand irony.
AH WELL,,,
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Jim softy / August 25, 2013
You may have used it to ridicule Sinhala people and look like it back fired.
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Rounda / August 25, 2013
….and you burnt your orifice.
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R S Perinbanayagam / August 25, 2013
Jim Softy says:
You may have used it to ridicule Sinhala people and look like it back fired.
Mr Softy i have read your cmments ,off and on,in these pages and have been impressed by your quick understanding of complex issues and texts and your wit
You display this again by your reading of my short essay.It is not meant in any way to demean the SINHALESE PEOPLE but to call attention to some foolish and untenable ideas and theories that SOME Sinhalese,partcularly SOME among the intellectualsnd politicians have.After all,the majority of the Sinhala people do not wear the Arya Sinhala Suit.Please read Scott’s comment in this section and ponder.
On ANOTHER POINT re Dhanapala’s comment on SWRD: I THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A WITTY ALLUSION TO THE FACT THAT SWRD’S POLITICS WAS AN UNHOLY MIXTURE OF ENGLISH LIBERALISM AND SINHALA NATIO0NALSM
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Native Vedda / August 25, 2013
R S Perinbanayagam
I am obtuse, please count me out of irony.
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R S Perinbanayagam / August 26, 2013
OKAY NATIVE VEDDHA: I apologize.NO MORE IRONY.
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Native Vedda / August 26, 2013
R S Perinbanayagam
“OKAY NATIVE VEDDHA: I apologize.NO MORE IRONY”
Thanks
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abhaya / August 24, 2013
its not important is sinhalese are aryans or not . arya is a lingustic family . but the actual word aryai is a sanskrit word meaning pure or noble. how the Germans or the white people became arya is beyond explanation . and how the white trash in the US beleives they belong to the aryan brotherhood is laughable .
And no the sinhala suit did not come from dravidians . lmao
/
R S Perinbanayagam / August 24, 2013
Vibushana says:
The term ‘Arya’ entered into common Tamil national discourse to differentiate South Indian population from the north.
Really?No kidding?
/
Lapatiya / August 24, 2013
Best person to get the Idea about “Arya Sinhala Suit” is Historian Jackson Anthony. Our learned professor should contact him immediately to get the correct information.
I think this “Arya Sinhala Suit” started by old Rajapksha’s and Arya Sinhala suit with Saatayaka is the newer version of the Arya Sinhala suit.
According to Jackson Anthony Rajapaksha’s history goes up to King Dutugamunu and even connected with Lord Buddha’s Suddodana family.
Rajapaksha’s are founders of everything in this country including Grease Piya concept, White Van concept, Deshapremaya concept, Deshadrohiya concept, Api Wenuwen Thopi concept, Manushiya Meheum concept etc. etc.
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R S Perinbanayagam / August 24, 2013
Since so many dates and time periods have been mentioned here, let me give some other information.When my father went to University College in 1922 or thereabouts,he wore what we in Jaffna call the National costume or the verti-shalvai.There was another person in the college wearing a similar costume– I bieleve it was E.W.Adikaram, a Sinhala Buddhist
They were “marked men” my father told me but they carried on nevertheless.
So the National Costume predates the Donoummore times and SWRD took to it much later.In this context I do remember the journalist Dhanapala writing that MR.Bandaranaike may be wearing the national costume but one always suspected that his underwear was western”!!
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M.Sivananthan / August 25, 2013
SWRDB’s origins are traced to the current Tamil Nadu. Many Tamils, Malayalis too wear like Banda.
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Okawango / August 25, 2013
SWORD had traces of blood relatives in Malawi too.
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Disdressed / August 25, 2013
You mean the ‘undie’ with a British Union jack.
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Confused / August 25, 2013
Native Vedda,
You have said something sensible (august 24) after a long time.
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Native Vedda / August 25, 2013
Confused
“You have said something sensible (august 24) after a long time.”
Have I?
I am sorry.
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Ravi / August 25, 2013
The colonial Orientalist ‘scholars’, who were enthusiastic to invent Indo-Aryan cousins in this part of the world, created enough myths in that process for Brahmanism in India and Sinhala-Buddhist elitism in Sri Lanka. It was in these early colonial writings, largely based on the uncritical acceptance of the local chronicles, that a new perspective of the ancient history of the island began to develop. The view that the Sinhalese were the ‘proper inhabitants’ of the island in ancient times and that the Tamils were invaders came to dominate colonial historical writings. In addition, since the Sinhala language was more of Indo-Aryan in nature, the British declared that the Sinhalese were Aryans from North India and the Tamils were Dravidians from South India. In recent years, several anthropologists and historians have shown how this perspective came to be developed in the colonial writings. It was only in the 19th century AD, the Sinhalese started to believe the myth that they are Aryans from North India and the proper inhabitants of Sri Lanka where as the Tamils are Dravidians and outsiders.
It is important to note that the Aryan theory was not merely something imposed from above by Orientalist ‘scholars’. It was eagerly welcomed by most Sinhala scholars who found the Aryan theory flattering in that it elevated them to the ranks of the kinsmen of their rulers. The combined result of the forces at work was the mischievous oversimplification of Sri Lankan History that the Sinhalese are Indo-Aryans who came from North India in the 6th century BC and the Dravidian Tamils are later migrants who came as invaders, traders and mercenaries to snatch a part of the promised land of the Sinhalese away. Influenced by the colonial historiography, the Sinhalese declared that they were indigenous to the island (first arrivals/natives), and that the Tamils were invaders (came later) from South India. The above facts and the non-existence of Tamil Buddhists during the colonial period (due to the aftermath of the 10th century Chola invasion) led the 19th century European Pali ‘scholars’ to assume and subsequently the present day Sri Lankans to believe that the ancient Buddhists and the Buddhists Kings of Sri Lanka were none other than Sinhalese. In Sri Lanka, any person who adopts Sinhala as mother tongue ipso facto is an Aryan. Most of the Sinhalese cannot even think/believe that there were Tamil Buddhists in the early period. If there were Buddhist remains in any part of Sri Lanka, by default it belonged to Sinhalese (only) and if there were Hindu remains it belonged to Tamils (only) whereas the Sinhalese worship most of the Hindu Gods.
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Romesh / August 26, 2013
No Aryan sarong jonnies
This Dravidian & Muslim dress
Just like hoppers, stringhoppers & pittu
Only our language & religion has north Indian origins
Not even our alphabet that has it’s relatives in south India; Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka & Burma
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / August 26, 2013
The sarong is yet the most worn garment in Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese,Tamils and Muslims wear it. Even Arthur C. Clark adopted this dress. It was worn both at work and home by the Sinhalese and Muslims at one time. Manual workers yet wear it to work. Every one wears a sarong to bed.
The sarong is the national dress of Sri Lankan males. The Reddah without the Hatte is the national dress of the Sinhala and Tamil women in Sri Lanka. I have sketches from the 1600’s depicting Tamil Vellahlah women with only the cloth around the waist. I have also seen later photographs of Sinhala women wearing a similar, but more colourful cloth around their waist.
The Sinhala school masters of old, village headmen and others close to the ordinary people wore the sarong and a shirt. On occasions they wore a western type coat over their shirt. The elite wore the sarong, shirt, coat ant tie. Some even had a Kondey and adorned it with a curved comb.
The Arya Sinhala dress has now given way to colourful silk sarongs and silk shirts – button-able or worn top own, among many politicians. Some of this kind are wearing a pant and a shirt adopted from the Arya-Sinhala top.
Dr.Rajasingham Narendran.
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Anpu / August 28, 2013
Dr RN,
Informartion provided by srhhoole https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/the-ariya-sinhala-suit-a-plea-for-clarification/comment-page-1/#comment-673668 is more accurate on the dress. Nowadays sarong is worn through out Sri Lanka. It does not mean that Sarong is a national dress for Tamil males. I know Tamil males who only wear vetty (naalumulam or the full version ettumullam).
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Dr.Rajasingham Narendran / August 28, 2013
Yes. Many Tamils yet wear the verti. It was the equivalent of the Sarong among the Tamils. The sarong is also today the nightdress of a majority of Tamil men.
Dr.RN
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Anpu / August 29, 2013
“It was the equivalent of the Sarong among the Tamils.” What do you mean? Are you going to say piyams are equivalent of verti? This is where you and me differ. You are saying Sarong is national dress of Tamils. I am saying it is not.
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Native Vedda / August 29, 2013
Anpu
As of today Sarong has become our national dress.
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Bensen Burner / August 26, 2013
Handy must be congratulated for this apparently light hearted but much loaded query, an intelligent strategy, that has generated such unproductive discussion thus keeping many occupied. Bensen
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gamini / August 26, 2013
R. S. Perinbanayagam whether knowingly or unknowingly has deflated the egoes of all these buggers who are Nationalist minded, who claim to be what they are not. I saw one who generally boast of a Sinhala Buddhist Aryan connection admitting that he is not knowledgeble enough, not that he otherwise is, unable to contribute to the Origin of this Stupid Dress. The other vociferous Sinhala Buddhist was questionning Why Perinbaayagam was asking the view of the Arya sinhala suit from others and what was the point that he was trying to prove? The point what was proved by Perinbanayagam was that the false egoes of a Sinhala Buddhist mindset, who so far believed were above other ethnic groups were brougt down to reality by undressing the Arya Sinala garb.
The Sinhala Buddhists are a Nation of Copy Cats. The biggest bane and the complex most suffer from is their feeling of superiority over others believing in Mahawamsa a load of Bull Shit written by that sadistic sodomite Mahinda who fantasized a Lion having sex with a human to have produced the Sinhalese Nation. How can this be a Sinhala Buddhist nation when more than half the Sinhalese have Portuguese names? We are a Nation trying to live in our past glory, led by a Padu King.
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R S Perinbanayagam / August 27, 2013
Though my comments started this series I must disavow all the hostile and tendencious comments — not to speak of utterly irrelevant ones– that it has elicited.I did not raise this issue to either ridicule or demean any one or a whole people but to indirectly point out the absurdity of describing an article of clothing by appealing to theories of race and language that have been exploded decades ago.
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gamini / August 27, 2013
Perinbanayagam, there is nothing to lament or feel sorry about. You are appreciated by all Peace loving in this country for broaching on the subject. Thanks for the opportunity to shake these Buggers off their False Egoes. I hope at least now they understand Tamils are the first cousins of the Sinhalese and we Sinhalese have drawn inspiration for everything we posses from Dress to Art to Religion, all from the Indian Sub Continent. Therefore it would do a world of good rather than live on false Myths to live as civilized citizens, without having to feel Superior or Inferior. See the Japanese, they have their Kimono their National dress, but the whole Nation is dressed in Western attire, because they have no false pretences or Rogue Politicians to lead them astray kindling Nationalism. Sevala Banda was the first Bugger to don the Wavul Suit, but still cling on to his Falcon Pipe. Besides he always wore full suit on overseas trips. So is this Bugger MR wearing trouser on overseas trips. In that sense I truely admire Ranil Wickremasinghe for being properly attired and it is a pleasure to see him with Foreign Dignitaries to project the image of this Country rather than the Bus Conductor without the ticket machine.
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Senguttuvan / August 27, 2013
Gamini,
Bravo. It requires courage and breeding for a Sinhalese to say
that. Reconciliation becomes closer when people have the capacity
within and the wisdom to overcome long established racial prejudice.
Senguttuvan
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Yako / August 27, 2013
Mr. Perinbanayagam,
Please read all the comments. You are successful in pointing out the absurdity of describing an article of clothing by appealing to theories of race and language.
Kindly ignore the ones who are pretending to be sleeping. You cannot wake them up.
Please start another series and enjoy the fun.
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yarlpadi / August 27, 2013
Mr Van Tweest
Thanks. I will ccertainly study MALONEY’S paper.More on this anon.
Yet, I must observe one can often end up talking like a narrow nationlist even though one is not a committed one– unless one is careful!
Indeed we must all love Sri Lanka and work towards the emergence of a peacful as well a just society by our talk and our walk.
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sach / August 29, 2013
Many have misunderstood the term ‘Arya’in Sinhala. In buddhism, buddha mentions the word ‘arya’. that is to mean ‘good’, ‘suitable’ things. It has nothing about so called Aryan people or Aryan immigration. The word Arya has been in Buddhist books before british came up with Aryan migration.
So naturally sinhala language adopted that word from Buddhism. Arya means good. It is not about a specific race.
Also it also facinates me, those who are always keen on the Sinhala words, origins are non sinhalese. You ppl cant live without us!
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Aryanath / September 6, 2013
The originality of the meaning of Arya is ‘Ariya’=Rare. Like “Goodness” is a “rare” thing to find in the habits of men, thus the word was coined to mean from Rare to Goodness.
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