Sinhalese

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Sinhalese population in Sri Lanka according to the 2012 census

The Sinhalese (from Sinhala සිංහල siṃhala ) are the predominant ethnic group in Sri Lanka . They speak Sinhala (Sinhala), an Indo-Aryan language that belongs to the Indo-European language family . The 15.2 million Sinhalese in Sri Lanka make up 74.9 percent of the island's population (2012 census). The remaining population of Sri Lanka consists mainly of the Tamils who settle in the north and east of the island and the Muslim moors who speak Tamil , a Dravidian language .

Ethnic groups

The Sinhalese are divided into two main groups: One group is the Kandy Sinhalese , who are resident in the mountainous country and are viewed as more traditional and conservative. The other group are the Sinhalese, who live in the lowlands on the coast of Sri Lanka and who are said to have a more cosmopolitan and liberal attitude, which is attributed to their influence by the European colonial powers since the 16th century.

religion

The Sinhalese are mostly followers of Theravada Buddhism , which was heavily influenced by Hinduism and Islam .

Manners

Sinhala marriages are usually monogamous . Traditionally, there was no wedding ceremony at marriages. A man and a woman began life together without official confirmation, but with parental consent. This type of marriage is rare these days, and most couples get married with a ceremony and sign a prenuptial agreement .

Ethnic conflict

Since the island's independence began in 1948, the Sinhalese have been in constant conflict with the Tamil minority; This led to the civil war in Sri Lanka breaking out in 1983 . At the beginning of 2003, an official ceasefire was negotiated between the two ethnic groups through the mediation of the UN and the Norwegian government . However, this was canceled by the government in 2006 and the fighting resumed.

On May 19, 2009, the civil war was officially declared over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa after the final military victory of the Sri Lankan army and the death of Velupillai Prabhakaran and the entire elite of the LTTE . There have been no more terrorist attacks since then. Nevertheless, many Tamils, but also the Tamil opposition , were kidnapped, tortured and killed years later by Sri Lankan soldiers.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Department of Census and Statistics Sri Lanka: Population by ethnic group according to districts, 2012 .
  2. ↑ www.tagesschau.de, Sri Lanka's President declares civil war over ( memento of May 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), May 19, 2009
  3. ↑ Sri Lanka: Travel and Safety Instructions , Federal Foreign Office , June 18, 2014.
  4. ↑ taz.de: Waiting for revenge , June 7, 2014
  5. ^ Rape as an everyday phenomenon , taz.de, July 27, 2014.

literature

  • Robert Knox: An historical relation of Ceylon , Colombo 1958, 3rd edition 1981; Asian Educational Services, India 2004.