@@Valdemar1791 yes. In Ceylon the Dutch and Portuguese intermarried so it’s not so clean cut. The Burghers often are a mix of both Dutch and Portuguese ethnicities. Basically settlers marrying other settlers. Just like the video says, my mothers ethnicity is an equal part of my heritage and not simply my fathers ethnicity. This sort of colonial passing of one’s father’s family name and ethnicity is something we are trying to unravel and decolonise! So yes De Silva - many of them - have Dutch heritage. And is an example of how we must look past tropes and dig a bit deeper.

So you’re surrounded by them then !!!

Do tuxedos come from real Sinhalese culture ?

@@minalwickrematunge1969 what? Lmao

My sister is a working journalist with over 15 years experience reporting on issues. She isn’t lying, then she’d have to face legal prosecution. Sorry Wijesinghe, we don’t accept comments by people who a) listen to what’s been said and instead shout as they are triggered without listening b) speak for another ethnic group they are not a part of. Please read, learn, educate yourself. It’s never too late. Goodbye.

@@minalwickrematunge1969You shows your colour. 😄

It’s purple ! 😂

It’s a bit more complex than that. As Mum was brought up and educated in a convent. Yes her father was Tamil, this was on the back of the civil war, between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil race in the North, where her father was from. On top of this, my grandfather was shunned from the family for not marrying within his race. He made sure his daughters all spoke English as their first language (another effort at masking one’s ethnicity which was seen as a threat in the South) and also to ensure more opportunities in terms of work. Therefore she completely erased this identity from herself. It’s the same with all her family members. Yet she also always says she is Tamil, although has no real evidence of this in her practices/ way of life. One more thing - my Nana WAS burgher. Are we to complete erase this fact? Isn’t that a very very colonial way of thinking? Just because I am recorded as Sinhalese under the concensus due to my father’s ethnicity doesn’t mean I don’t have visibly Tamil parts of my identity (an act of reclamation). To say I’m only Sinhalese based on my father’s ethnicity would be a colonial way of thinking. I consider myself all three - Tamil, Sinhalese and Burgher. I am mixed, as is my mother. Since she is HALF Tamil and HALF burgher. More than a drop.

@@minalwickrematunge1969, Thanks for your detailed answer. You certainly are lucky to be a mix of the three ethnic groups , which in a way makes you a complete local.

Thank you for your comment. I’m not too interested in historians and scholars from the Netherlands as we were erased from the history books - there is no evidence of us in their writing. These ‘random grandmas’ are the only evidence of what is left of the Burghers. I’m from Sri Lanka, I wanted to highlight the history of my people, not take on the entire South East Asian region - there’s plenty of scholars who’ve written on that. This was based on a gap I noticed in the history - or who gets to tell the history. The Tropen museum was full of history of South East Asian people but NOTHING on the people of Ceylon. Did you know about the people of Ceylon ?

This is not all about kerala or india ... This video all about Sri lanka . please check the content .

@@johnclifford6828 I know you arse hole, I was just commenting about the same people who came to India first

Geoffrey Bawa was Moor and European. George Keyt had dark eyes and black hair. I think since Burghers are mixed - they have both European and Lankan blood, they all look different. I find it interesting you say Kandyan Sinhalese as opposed to just Sinhalese ? Why is that? Why do you think the Kandyans look different ? 😊

@@minalwickrematunge1969 kandyan sinhalese specially ladies, in my experience have more light color skin , see sinhala identity is mainly lingo-cultural identity, genetically i think sinhalese are most diverse group in south asia..throughout history, migrations always shaped it's biological identity..costal sinhalese have more dravidian features dark skin because of the recent (13-18century)south indian migrations, these people assimilated more into costal sinhalese society.. Burghers are the special case of european interaction with sinhalese society but assimilation did not happen because of politics of colonial period instead they evolved into separate community and later became into a privilege powerful community ..the burgher community evolved in costal area within the 500yrs colonial rule but europeans were assimilated into upcountry sinhalese society...for example you should read robert knoxx...famous family name de lanerolle has french origin from a frenchman worked for kandyan king.

@@minalwickrematunge1969 kandyan sinhalese specially ladies, in my experience have more light color skin , see sinhala identity is mainly lingo-cultural identity, genetically i think sinhalese are most diverse group in south asia..throughout history, migrations always shaped it's biological identity..costal sinhalese have more dravidian features dark skin because of the recent (13-18century)south indian migrations, these people assimilated more into costal sinhalese society.. Burghers are the special case of european interaction with sinhalese society but assimilation did not happen because of politics of colonial period instead they evolved into separate community and later became into a privilege powerful community ..the burgher community evolved in costal area within the 500yrs colonial rule but europeans were assimilated into upcountry sinhalese society...for example you should read robert knoxx...and famous family name 'de lanorol ' origin from a frenchman worked for kandyan king.

​@@minalwickrematunge1969 kandyan sinhalese specially ladies, in my experience have more light color skin , see sinhala identity is mainly lingo-cultural identity, genetically i think sinhalese are most diverse group in south asia..throughout history, migrations always shaped it's biological identity..costal sinhalese have more dravidian features dark skin because of the recent (13-18century)south indian migrations, these people assimilated more into costal sinhalese society.. Burghers are the special case of european interaction with sinhalese society but assimilation did not happen because of politics of colonial period instead they evolved into separate community and later became into a privilege powerful community ..the burgher community evolved in costal area within the 500yrs colonial rule but europeans were assimilated into upcountry sinhalese society...for example you should read robert knoxx...famous sirname de lanorol origin from a frenchman worked for kandyan king.

@@chamarajayasinghe8233 ​​⁠ so in essence the Kandyan Sinhalese are also a product of settlers ! I.e- colonial powers (Indian heritage). Kings actually brought down Indian brides in Kandy - that’s where the Kandyan clothing was influenced by! I am familiar with Robert Knox ! Also just to point out that the Burghers are a result of intermixing with Sinhalese AND Tamils.

Where do you live

@@johnclifford6828 in srilanka

Glad you found it interesting! I learnt that Burgher meant Citizen during my last visit to the Netherlands! Found that so interesting!

Hi. Thank you for your comment. She refers to herself as ‘Ceylonese with Sri Lankan heritage’. Her parents left the country when it was called Ceylon. Therefore she probably grew up with her parents referring to home As Ceylon. She does also state that this is under the umberella as Sri Lankan identity (quite clearly). I believe you may need to watch again and listen a bit harder 😊

Thank you for your response. I feel like you’re right, we shouldn’t care. However in Sri Lanka, we are still defined by identity politics - no where can we go without someone inquiring what ethnicity you are. So as much as you may not care and burghers should ‘get over it’, I think the younger generation cares (I’m guessing you’re a bit older than I am) because these questions are constantly thrust upon us. We want to inquire more. I think to say to ‘get over it’ is also problematic. It’s not engaging with your inherent privilege. We can choose not to care, but by denying it, we are making full use of the systems that grant us privilege, without acknowledging it. I know I am not the only one that feels this way. Thank you for engaging and have a good day 😊

@@minalwickrematunge1969 Aney here don’t bring American intersectional politics to Sri Lanka. Most burghers felt inferior to use a non white language when Ceylon got rid of English. So they used their white privilege to migrate. That was the reality. This whole video reeks of colonial white supremacist mentality of the Burghers. Change the title to Lankan burghers exposed 🍔

​@@minalwickrematunge1969Absolutely Correct.... Agree 💯...

⁠@@minalwickrematunge1969 that I think exist in every other country too. I lived in Australia for quite a long time and everyone made sure that I was not an Australian even though I was a citizen by naturalisation. In Sri Lanka I studied at Richmond College Galle and St. Thomas mt. Lavinia. Thomas was for a short time only. I did my ALs there. There I saw burgers who weren’t discriminated. Most of them were seen as posh and more privileged than the people with Sinhalese origins. Some burgers( not all, many of them were very friendly and fun to hangout with ) labeled people like me as godey since I was from down south 😂. Specially with my down south accent almost everyone did. Specially the ones from Kandy. One thing I know about how people from my hometown see burgers is, they are wealthy, posh, fluent in English and living in Colombo 7. I think muslims, and tamils in Sri Lanka are discriminated more than burgers. But if someone is being discriminated, it is unacceptable. I’ve seen some people call burgers “කවලමා, කල්ලතෝනියා, ලංසියා" kind of words and try to make them feel this is not their home. That is totally unacceptable. I know how I felt when I was told, “Go back to your F***ing country” when I was in Australia. I was a taxpayer who was doing my job and trying to make a decent living just as another law abiding citizen. And when I heard something like that, the frustration and the helpless feeling was so hard. But now, I am living back in Sri Lanka. And I see things are changing. It is lucky to see that newer generations don’t care much about race, caste or religion. I think with present younger generations, identity politics would come to an end. Let’s hope for the best.

That’s interesting! They did not reach our island !

@@minalwickrematunge1969 They had their other centers around south india in tamil nadu and Kerala coast too

Hello. Yes thank you for that. Interesting point. However I think there’s a conversation to be had about how Burghers themselves like to separate / discriminate against each other as well. Some Dutch people also have Portuguese last names - this is because of trade and migration before even coming to the island.

Yes. I think the younger generation is re-defining what it means to be Burgher but also coming to terms with all the unfair benefits and power dynamics it holds to call oneself a Burgher. I myself am fully aware of it. However now, most use the word 'Lansi' to describe Burghers, which has derogatory connotations. Perhaps a sign of the times - the shifting towards Nationalist rhetoric as well as the subversion of power.

'Amongst other things' - I resonate with this deeply!

Yes I feel this is because of the migration of most Burghers.

Annelie is a great friend. Wambeek is a village in Belgium (which was once ruled by the Netherlands). I find it interesting that Annelie unintentionally ended up in the Netherlands, after having lived all over the world! I tell her its her homecoming! :)

Its kind racism , they all want to look like pure 100 % white and inside they shame for their Tamil or Singalese blood ?? hmm what crazy world we are living my god .

It's NOT AMAZING! Who cares!

I believe I have just scratched the surface and have much more research to do. I hope I can find the time and resources to look into it further!

​ Heard That A Few Burghers Have Returned To Srilanka To Represent The Football Team..It's A Great Pride And Feeling.😊..Can't Wait For Your Next Video🤗🔥..Love And Hugs...❤️‍🔥😇🙌....

Where do you live at the moment Sir

Yes of course I know R L Spittel. I made some art based on his poem - ‘ O Island, Wild Island - You are Home to Me. ‘ Thank you for your kind words and glad you enjoyed reminiscing.

Thank you for watching