Paper long abstract:

The Afro-Sri Lankan community in the North Western Province of the Island are the descendants of Africans who were uprooted from their homelands. The African roots of this community in the village of Sirambiyadiya are exposed through their oral histories. As functionaries within the colonial regime, they had to cope with changes in a postcolonial setting since the middle of the 20th century.

In a milieu where education is subsidised, the Afro-Sri Lankans, like all other ethnic groups in the Island today, are able to gain access to primary, secondary and tertiary education. This has increased exogamy as they are exposed to social change and other ethnic groups who gain an education in the same institutions. Endogamy is nowadays a rare occurrence in this community.

Afro-Sri Lankans learnt the bridging tongue of the day - Indo-Portuguese of Ceylon. They have not retained an African language or dialect. While being mother-tongue speakers of the lingua franca gave them an advantage over the indigenous communities during colonial rule, they have now switched over to Sinhala, the mother-tongue of the majority of Sri Lankans.

In terms of housing, clothing and food, this community shows no African retentions.

However, negritude is expressed through their music which they call Manhas and whose lyrics provide clues about their past. The impromptu dancing which accompanies the sessions of this vibrant music are a reminder of this community's African origins.

Relevant Publications

Les Cafres de Ceylan: le chaînon portugais. Cahiers des Anneax de la Mémoire No. 3,

pp. 229-253 (2001). France: University of Nantes.

Les femmes et l'esclavage au Sri Lanka. Cahiers des Anneax de la Mémoire No. 5,

pp. 99-122 (2003). France: University of Nantes.

"The African Diaspora in Sri Lanka". In The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean. pp. 251-288 (2003). New Jersey: Africa World Press.

"On The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean". In The African Diaspora in the Indian Ocean. pp. 7-17 (2003). New Jersey: Africa World Press.

"Trading on a Thalassic Network". International Conference on "Issues of Memory: Coming to Terms with the Slave Trade and Slavery". UNESCO, Paris.

3-5 December 2004.

Indian Ocean Island Cultures: African Migration and Identity. Conference on "Monsoons and Migration, unleashing dhow synergies" organised in association with the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), Tanzania. 5-7 July 2005.

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