In the Beginning (5th or
6th century BC - 4th century BC)
The beginning of Sri Lanka dates
back to about five centuries before the birth of Christ when the
first people who were believed to come from the northern of India
and entered the island through Adams Bridge -- a land bridge
connecting Indian subcontinent to Sri Lanka -- , Sinhalese,
settled in the island. These people gradually replaced the prior
inhabitants, the Wanniyala-aetto or Veddahs. On
account of the habitation of the newcomers, the island was then
called 'Ceylon', referred to in ancient Sanskrit
literature, means the island of Sinhalas.
Among the new arrival was the
prince Vijayamarks who had been expelled from India by his
father and, after his arrival on the island, conquered all three
tribes of former inhabitants on the island. This explains the ties
of the Sinhalese people to India in which their language has
common roots with that of the Northern tribes of India. And,
Tamils, the second largest ethnic group of the country, also have
a language that shares a great deal with the Dravidian tribes of
the southern India. |
