The Complex Human Geography of Sri Lanka

[@gammonface]

The level of quality of this video is incredible. This is only my second video on this channel after watching the Guyana one that was just uploaded. So I'm looking forward to binge watching all of the videos

[@shehantennakoon]

Hi Alex, I appreciate the nuanced approach to very sensitive subjects. The line "Majority with a minority complex vs minority with a majority complex" was the nail on the head to describe some of the issues here. There are complexities of the long history that make it impossible to convey in a short video but I think you've done an awesome job of summarizing it. Hopefully this will be taken as a point of education for both locals and foreigners to better understand Sri Lanka. Cheers!

[@AlexRothman]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment!

[@Kuminda]

This is one of the best and balanced account of Sri Lankan ethnic complexity! really good content

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks a lot for watching and commenting!

[@har2252]

This was a well researched, comprehensive video and a very enjoyable watch. I like how you fairly represented multiple theories and viewpoints and I’m very impressed with how informed you are! As a Sri Lankan I’ve noticed people (both Sinhalese and Tamil) get very touchy about their history and origins and get too hung up on the who got here first arguments. Ignore the less than kind comments you get in relation to this and I hope you continue making more educational/informational videos! Keep up the good work!

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks a lot for the comment. Some of the info has definitely stirred up some controversy, but I really did a lot of work to make sure it was legit so I appreciate you taking the time to write!

[@hoehoe734]

i'm a tamil srilankan from jaffna, at first i was very shocked and disappointed about all of a sudden ppl protesting about their money missing, but didnt give a shit about thousands of tamil civilians diying in 2009, but then seing the protests in tv, it just showed me how crazy all of srilankans are, like damn i thought my ppl were nuts

[@Gordi_B]

You should have ‘$ Thanks’ button, mate. You have done an absolute wonderful job with the Sri Lankan series. You deserved to be paid.

[@PramithGanearachchiMusic]

Very Informative Video..!!! The situation in the country is getting better now. Petrol and Gas Queues are totally gone now..!!!

[@AlexRothman]

Is that right? I'm glad to hear it. I visited at a difficult time, but Sri Lankans were universally welcoming and friendly

[@konstantinkutelas4604]

Amazing video, Alex! Love the editing. More like this please! ❤

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks brother!

[@Syiepherze]

Thanks for your coverage on my country! Race and religion is a very touchy subject, but I think you handled it very well. Just a suggestion, have you thought about making playlists for each of your video series?

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for the comment, I hadn't thought of that, but I just did it because it's a great suggestion. Can you see it now?

[@MrDaskon]

This is the most unbiased overview I have ever seen. A well researched video.

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks!

[@geenadasilva9287]

I was a 16 year old adoptee in Britain when the civil war broke out. One birth parent was Sri Lankan and the other Scottish. Partly due to British racism I grew up deeply ashamed of my non white "ethnicity" and the civil war made it very uncomfortable to feel any connection to the place. I did visit in 1999 and found the place utterly fascinating but the ethnic situation was - and still is - deeply upsetting to me. There is too much ethnic distrust and chauvinism for me to ever reconcile myself to that aspect of my birth family's heritage. Thanks to a happy accident, I am learning something of my family's history years after having given up on them. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[@hansanakolonnage2378]

You nailed this. I am so happy that you managed to cover everything so comprehensively.

[@AlexRothman]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@theodoreschindler2372]

Excellent content. Came here after finding your Guyana series. I was in Sri Lanka in March of 2022 and you could feel the tension simmering. Everyone basically told me something is going to give soon and behold it did shortly thereafter. Beautiful country in all aspects. I was super impressed. I hope they can overcome their recent challenges soon because they deserve a bright future.

[@dennypaulose2550]

very informative video. actually I was very curious to know about the history of different ethnic people in Sri Lanka. well researched and explained.

[@jislymohamed8151]

as a sri lankan muslim, iam supprised as to how you explained moors outlook of identity. its almost as if you lived among us for a long time.

[@bklynbubba]

I started out watching you in Tajikistan, subscribed to your channel, and then once I found your videos on Sri Lanka I dived right in. You are giving excellent commentary, analysis, and context. I was there in 2011, shortly after the end of the Civil War. I never talk about politics in other countries, as being an American......well, I think you understand, but I'll gladly listen and hopefully learn something.. I met Lankans who said everything is the fault of the politicians. I met other Lankans who were very nationalistic about their particular ethnicity. And I met Lankans who were just trying to survive as best they can. And I enjoyed meeting them all. Sri Lanka is beautiful and you bring back many happy memories. Keep going!

[@viktorlehner2095]

Love the video, can't wait for the next part! Greetings from Germany :-)

[@AlexRothman]

Hey Viktor brother, hope all is well and thanks for the comment! Also hope Nepal was great

[@tamarind1459]

Alex, the tuk tuk drivers were stocking up fuel in their homes by drying up their tanks in the tuktuk couple of times a day and selling at a higher rate thus the long queues and non availability of fuel for the other vehicles. There was a mafia until the government came up with the QR code where these illegal sellers couldn't purchase fuel so many times. I hope you researched on this.

[@AlexRothman]

@@tamarind1459 I didn't hear or read that. Can you share with me a source for that because to be honest I am deeply skeptical...

[@tamarind1459]

@@AlexRothman well i am from Sri Lanka and own a vehicle..we saw from our own eyes how they used tubes to take out the fuel and come to the same fuel queue. Since the introduction of the QR code you have a set quota depending on your vehicle. You cannot go multiple times in a week if your quota is over. There is no chance for these illegal sellers now.

[@madinaishmuradova9516]

The editing is transcendent! Though couldn’t focus on the narrative, cause you’re so damn handsome 😅 my mind just switches off every time you’re in the picture 😍

[@jcsufi]

Perfect pronunciation of Galle face bravo awesome series keep it up.

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for the comment and for watching!

[@felspa2684]

Fantastic, really well put together. Looking forward to the next episodes

[@AlexRothman]

Late night mate? Thanks for the watching

[@yehanfernando8323]

Perhaps quite late into the series of your videos about my lil island Sri Lanka, but man you’ve done some amazing research on these videos. Just simply hooked and it’s fascinating to know so much about my country through your research despite having lived for over 30 years in this island! Thanks and kudos to you! May you carry these type of series in future as well! 💯

[@leticiahaertel5994]

Congrats on your in depth research and thank you for sharing it with us in such a didactic manner!

[@AlexRothman]

My pleasure!

[@danidu85]

Great videos dude, I don't think we've had such in depth and sensitive coverage of our complex and nuanced history delivered by a non-Sri Lankan in an impartial way before

[@HaroonSamsudeen]

You did an amazing job in explaining everything so well!

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for watching

[@mardybum6383]

this guy is underated! one of my favorite channels.

[@chatty_catty_24]

It's amazing how much work you put into understanding the complexity of this subject. Really enjoyed it. But I think castes such as Karava are now being misinterpreted as fishermen's castes even though their roots trace back to Tamil mercenaries who fought for the medieval kingdom of Kotte. Some of them later got Christianized during the Portugues Ceylon and became a part of the Sinhalese Catholic community. There is a [conspiracy] theory among some Karavas that the Farmers' Caste (Govigama) has not historically been prevalent as it is in the Modern day, rather it was used as a political tool to unite Sinhalese Buddhists into one single entity. But it seems like majority of Sinhalese (even some Karavas) started identifying themselves as Govigama Caste in order to achieve higher social status, since the British government started offering prestigious last names and Govigama clan names to the locals. If you look into it, I think it can be useful to understand the ruling class and political families in Sri Lanka. Good Luck!

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for the comment and for watching!

[@ppwithaweewee9403]

Man, i learn way more about my country than i know. Thanks for this amazing journalism.

[@mad7raul]

Great job to compile so many details, it’s never easy to present the reality. I was in Kalpitiya Sri Lanka 10 years ago and it was fascinating to see mixed cultures and religious in same families, Catholics with Buddhist, Muslims with Hindu. 🇱🇰

[@ChanakaWeerasena]

You are a great content maker. I wonder how you came to know all these stuff. Looks like you are a good researcher and a man who talked a lot with locals. Checked your other videos as well. I can show these to anyone who ask about our country 🇱🇰. Because your content seems more balanced, unbiased and correct. By the way. Where are you from?

[@AlexRothman]

That's very kind of you to say! I'm from New Zealand, as it happens. Basically I do a ton of research (mostly books, some news as well) before I go. Then when I'm in a country I talk to people about it as much as possible to make sure that I have the correct sense of things. Usually that means I change the emphasis of certain parts, or include other stuff. Thanks for sharing!

[@ChanakaWeerasena]

Ah. I see. We love Kiwis. Your cricket team is our favorite after SL team. ❤️❤️❤️

[@ashadanver2274]

Well researched and mostly accurate.

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for watching!

[@jayf4005]

Simple correction, Angelo Mathews the Former Sri Lankan Cricket Captain captioned here as Burgher, Is actually a Christian of Tamil descent.. A mistake even most Lankans make just because of his anglicized name

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for clarifying, one website I saw suggested he was but I couldn't cofirm it

[@Gordi_B]

He is what they call a Colombo Chetty. His immediate descendants are traced back to South India. Most have now married into other ethnicities.

[@imranallyinfo4356]

IM impressed with your documentary Keep it up !

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for watching!

[@nizefella]

Well researched and highly informative, again! Thanks.

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for watching!

[@rupeshrai4037]

Actually, I was watching the T20 Cricket World Cup match between India and England. While searching for the location on KZbin, your video popped up. I watched all the videos about Guyana, and now I'm here.

[@janakadahanayake]

Nice video! Colorful uet informative.

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks!

[@manjulaselvan3052]

Great research and findings and considered the best video.

[@AlexRothman]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@laara1426]

Just found your channel. Absolutely outstanding .

[@czr1238]

As a sri lankan- great video!

[@AlexRothman]

Glad you liked it!

[@janchris1102]

this is real food for our mind and soul! all your videos could be watched by so many people around the world...

[@freecommentor]

This is a very good quality documentary. Keep it up mate. I'm glad if you could overlay a text box or something to make the following corrections/improvements. 01:58 NOT below freezing. Never. 04:05 Vedda might had a separate language up to certain period in history. But the modern day Vedda language is accepted as a Creole of Sinhalese. 07:17 Well said. 😉👍 11:47 Lord Buddha totally rejected the caste system and said a person becomes noble only by actions not by birth. 💡 So that might be the reason for Sinhalese to forget about the caste system during most of their lives. 19:03 That is NOT Kottu Roti (simply called Kottu nowadays). 🤭 But you correctly described what you were having: Roti with curry on top.

[@AlexRothman]

It doesn't freeze at night sometimes up in the hill country? I read it does, but of course I wouldn't necessarily know as a non-local. Thanks for the corrections!

[@freecommentor]

@@AlexRothmanIf you are serious, you might find sub-zero temperature recordings in certain places within the last century or so. But I'm not aware of such recording.

[@dsijj123]

Lord Buddha himself considered which caste he would bear, before his birth.

[@ItachiUchiha-mh8hn]

@@dsijj123 Key words: before his birth. He wasn't Buddha back then.

[@dsijj123]

@@ItachiUchiha-mh8hn he was bodisathva. He knew he will become buddha

[@emiljayatileke416]

Very good video! One thing to note is that even though Tamils have not been on the island in large numbers until later, many of the ancient kings of Sri Lanka were of Tamil and Dravidian descent. One example is King Elara, who was favourable by the Sinhalese. Dravidian culture in general has been on the island since ancient times.

[@mithilakaushalya8826]

"many" ☠️☠️☠️

[@malindudissanayake7458]

@@mithilakaushalya8826 Wouldnt say many. Just a handful. Also there has only ever been one fully Tamil king who ruled all of Sri Lanka and thats Rajendra Chola, the most powerful Chola to ever exist. Sadly he was no where near as benevolant as Elara and caused quite a bit of trouble. However one thing ill note is the fact that all Sinhalese have a large chunk of their genetic ancestory being Tamil. Cause when Vijaya came to Lanka with his 700 followers in 543BC from Vanga, now day Bengal, he had no queen or female companions for his followers. So he sent a request to South Indian Pandya Kingdom which is the most ancient Tamil kingdom and they sent a Princess and 700 of her followers. So Sinhalese have quite a big ratio of their genetic ancestory owed to Tamil, same as to Bengali. And about Dravidian culture being in Lanka from ancient times your also right. Cause a group of Dravidians, who we call Nagas in Lanka and are scientifically known as Harrapans from Indus Valley, migrated to Lanka in 1000BC. Another group of them migrated to South India and formed Tamils of today. But one that stayed on Lanka formed their own ethnicity the Nagas. And in 437BC Pandukabaya brought the Bengali Tamil mix people together with the local Veddas/ Australoid (Yakka) and Harrapan/Dravidian (Naga) together and formed one race called Sinhalese. Thats why even though the Sinhala language is Indo European linguistically its alphabet is Dravidian and is grammatically Veddoid. It pays tribute to all the founding races who came together to form one. And even the hydrological technology the Sinhalese Kings mastered came from the Harrapan Nagas who had brought down the knowledge from the Indus Valley which was very hydrologically advanced. Sinhalese are a very big mix, literally created to form unity in the island. It worked so well the average Sinhalese dosent even know were they really came from. Sadly we dont have the same sentiment of unity today.

[@cg-fq2im]

​Yeah ​@@mithilakaushalya8826 even maha parakramabahu also had a pandyan origin via his farther's side. ( Actually he wasn't crowned price at that time. He was a very diplomatic prince, because He gained power through a diplomatic coup. And prove himself as the greatest. ) මේ වගේ වසං කරපු කතාව බොහොමයි. දන්න කෙනෙක් වෙන්න ඇති උඩින් කමෙන්ට් කරන්න ඇත්තේ.

[@desfernando4636]

Hi Alex, Thanks for presenting a well balanced report. As with most countries, Sri Lanka's history has been influenced by the neighboring countries and commerce over the years. As per the program aired by Neth FM (Radio station in Colombo) and presented by Dr. Raj Somadeva (Unlimited History), the inhabitants of Sri Lanka at the time of Prince Viyaya's arrival can be considered as the original settlers of Sri Lanka who migrated from other regions (possibly going as far back as at a time when Sri Lanka was connected to India). Dr. Somadeva's book "Yakshi" is a good source for tracing the roots and Sri Lankans and identifies archeological evidence to support this narrative. In my view, your presentation is well researched, well balanced and very well done. I hope that you will be able to do similar reports about other countries. Good luck and wish you the best.

[@dumbwiser]

Nicely done....more like these please....

[@AlexRothman]

Definitely more to come, just hard to find the time, but working on the next one right now

[@ranilabeyasinghe]

This is some high quality content. Keep up the good work!

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for watching!

[@shiranaw779]

nice video good job good An explanation love 🇱🇰❤❤

[@AlexRothman]

Thank you so much 😀

[@channapradeep9443]

your information about sri lanka is very accurate and clear❤❤,(because lots of videos provide fake and less accurate info)

[@AlexRothman]

I definitely put a lot of work into the research, so thanks for the comment!

[@YessicaYaelAg]

Hot damn the lenses! What a series Al. 5 estrellas excelente servicio a la comunidad

[@AlexRothman]

Gracias por tu atención precioso y por todo tu apoyo

[@tbchandresakara]

A small correction. At 2:00, it days Cold (below freezing). While certain of the hill zone can have lower temperatures (single digits in early morning) compared to the rest of the country, going below 0° is considered an anomaly.

[@kingdomoflife34]

Oh our history is a mess.😵😵 still we can't separate mythology from history.😣

[@sandunbandaranayake5809]

Great explanation ......

[@Saran_tamil]

❤️ Body for Soil and Life for Tamil ❤️ Tamil's thirst for Tamil Eelam motherland ❤️

[@ChannaJayawardhana-h1o]

Stupid idea which got no modern values..

[@ChamathYapa]

I really appreciate your thorough research and to hear that this is just the first of 6 is just great. As for the caste system and Buddhism, you might be surprised that one place where the caste system is most prevalent are the Buddhist temples. The separate sects of Buddhist monks are more or less based on the caste system. Hope you had a good time here given the conditions prevalent at the time.

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks for watching and commenting, and rest assured, I loved my time in Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lankan people

[@dtaxsheng]

Lord Buddha welcomed anyone to Shasanaya regardless of the cast when there was a strong cast system in India. What truly mattered was ones ability to understand Dharma and attain Nirvana. This cast system in temples has nothing to do with the path Buddha has shown

[@ChamathYapa]

@@dtaxsheng Agree with you 100%. Yet, the caste system prevails in the temples. Strongly.

[@123thruth]

correctly analysed

[@c.sandran5679]

Good work.

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks!

[@dsijj123]

Great video.

[@AlexRothman]

Thanks!

[@malikshabazz2065]

great stuff!

[@bernadinerodrigo5789]

I clicked on this video fully expecting to be angered and made to feel like Sri Lanka is being ridiculed, I was certainly put in my place.

[@AlexRothman]

Thank you very much for your feedback! Ethnicity is definitely a hard thing to wade into, especially as an outsider (or perhaps easier as an outsider?), and Sri Lanka's ethnicity make up is also very controversial. But I also feel that for people not from the island, they need to understand the different communities to get a sense of the dymanics in the country. Definitely fairly basic, but I hope it's a starting point

[@bernadinerodrigo5789]

@@AlexRothman It really is and it's quite nice to see the true stories behind the country come to light. In school Sri Lankans are taught that the country is a melting pot of cultures yet you hardly hear it talked about. At least being aware of it would give tourists and other visitors a much more rounded perspective. Of course these things get controversial but a neutral view can help the people themselves understand how they can work together. This video is a great start ♥️

[@rajwarnakulasuriya1906]

​@@AlexRothman it was the oustsiders like yourself who created all types of problems and it's still going on ..the same way your ancestors mistreated/cheated/looted and created divisions amongst nations using cast systems, religions and the colour of their skin in order for your ancestors to ease controling the nations that was colonised, and used various brain washing programs to change the mindset of those natives about their true hisory, now you got the odacity to come here and talk about our history which was diluted/ changed and re-written by your ancestors.....

[@chevindivakara6275]

Good video Alex. But the caste system isn't prevalent in Sri Lanka anymore maybe in the most remotest places of Sri Lanka. But even in remote areas caste system isn't prevalent anymore it might have been there 50 years before but it has all faded away now!

[@AlexRothman]

That’s interesting, so even in the most traditional villages parents wouldn’t pay much attention to the caste of who who their child was going to marry?

[@chevindivakara6275]

Not by today's standards however they will consider their income level. At least that is what sinhalese parents would consider don't know about tamils though.

[@dsijj123]

@@AlexRothman Yes they do. Just check out some matrimony adverts from the local newspaper. Religion and caste are always mentioned. The only difference is caste isn't much discussed in public these days. But it is still there.

[@AlexRothman]

@@dsijj123 This would have been my assumption but it's interesting to hear the different views on this. Thanks for sharing!

[@kev8943]

@@AlexRothman it has more to do with the current finical status rather than cast, not even my grand parents are aware about their cast. most parent prefer their children to marry within or above their financial status. Plus religion plays the big roll aswell specially in rural areas. In cities like Colombo, Kandy it's not uncommon different religious and ethnic groups intermarrying each other but it's extremely uncommon in most rural places.

[@mrPixZ]

We lived 100 and 1000 years as brothers and sisters in the same geo geography borders, It's enough to me ...We are Sri lankan 😎✌️ no matter what other POLITICIZES division are

[@kanaya123]

Well done Alex

[@hashanperera5800]

Good video Again need to highlight, there is no trouble between Sinhalese and Tamils other than racism promoted for political benefits by both sides. It's not much distinct culture.. mostly connected

[@morwickchesterham3875]

As someone who had lived in Sri Lanka, let me clear some stuff up... The Indian Tamils... are not Tamils. They were shipped in from Kerala by the British as indentured laborers, and are ethnic Malayalis (culturally similar to Tamils, but are a separate bunch, and speak a mutually intelligible language). Which explains why they have no solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils. The same thing about Sri Lankan Malays... they were shipped in from Indonesia by the Dutch as slaves, and were ethnic Javanese (culturally similar to Malays, but are a separate bunch, and speak a mutually intelligible language). The British deliberately mislabelled the Malayalis as Indian Tamils, and the Javanese as Malays because they wanted to keep things simple. Fun fact: The Sri Lankan word for Sri Lankan 'Malays' is 'Ja'.

[@AlexRothman]

That's very interesting, I didn't know that, if true. You sound convincing though. I've read quite a number of histories of the island (including by Sri Lankan historians) and the 'plantation' Tamils were always called Tamils. If they are Malayalis as you say, any ideas why they are still called Tamils in the history books?

[@morwickchesterham3875]

@@AlexRothman ​ Yes, it is 100% factual. The reason is simple, no one really gives a sh*t about the Sri Lankan Malayalis, so no one is going to bother fixing that misnomenclature. If you have time, research their dialect, and where they originate from... the coast of Malabar, which is in Kerela, where the Malayalis live. The broader relationship between Tamils and Malayalis is similar to the relationship between Russians and Ukrainians. The Tamils like the Russians claim that the other is simply a subset of them. When the Sri Lankan civil war kicked off, the Tamil separatists tried to encourage the Plantation Malayalis to join the cause, and even promised them an independent 'Malaynadu' (which literally translate to Malayali Land) in central Sri Lanka where the tea plantations are... The Plantation Malayalis did not join them. For political purposes, Sri Lankan Tamils label the plantation Malayalis as 'Tamils, all the other ethnic groups in Sri Lanka either don't know, or don't care... kind of like how the Pennsylvania Dutch were not actually 'Dutch', but were German.

[@morwickchesterham3875]

I forgot to add, my grandfather was a tea-planter in Ceylon (Colonial Sri Lanka). he knew a lot about the various ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, especially about Tamils, Burghers and 'Malays'. Colonial Sri Lankan had been a tiered society with the English at the top, the rest of the Britons next, Burghers (mixed-race), Malays, Sri Lankan Tamils, then those easiest to control in various parts of the hierarchy, with the Sinhalese Buddhist majority right at the bottom. It was classic divide and rule, uplift the minorities, suppress the majority... The groups the colonial administration favoured, were the same groups my grandfather interacted with the most. He actually spoke a little Malayali, and his Malayali language proficiency was better than his Sinhala language skills. He also had a Burgher mistress, an English-speaking Sinhalese Christian secretary, and two 'Malay' maidservants... and yes, he stuck his dik in all of them... the plantation was crawling with his bastards...

[@AlexRothman]

@@morwickchesterham3875 It sounds like your info is solid, thanks for sharing. That's absolutely fascinating. I wish I had known about that difference when I had visited, so I could have asked people about it. Again, thanks for the comment, I'm learning quite a lot just from what people are commenting on the videos!

[@morwickchesterham3875]

@@AlexRothman Yes, you will actually get a flavour of what things were like by talking to people, especially older people. Just remember, that nowadays many plantation Tamils have been thoroughly 'Tamilized' culturally, and might be unaware that they are descended from Malayalis. Also if you find a Sri Lankan Malay (you probably won't, they have been completely absorbed into the Sri Lankan Moor group), he/she will most likely deny that they were descended from slaves, and will claim that they used to be kings... but then again, who would be thrilled to descend from slaves? Anyway good luck with your travels.

[@BogalaSawundiris]

Though the Sri Lankan Tamils are genetically similar to Sinhalese (because they have more Sinhala admixture among them) , the Indian Tamils are quite different from Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils. Also the studies which used Sinhalese of high sample size and from different regions show a 70% West Bengali autosomal genetic admixture. The reason for Sinhala and Sri Lankan Tamil genetic similarity is because the Sri Lankan Tamils got more Bengali genes from Sinhalese by mixing with them. Indian Tamils dont have that Bengali component as high due to less mixing with Sinhalese , so it is wrong to say that Sinhalese only got the language from North India, they got genes as well

[@eshikaudayanawanigasekara]

❤ 🇱🇰 ❤ Now 180° Degrees Turned 😊 🇱🇰

[@MemeTeam6900]

Acruay bro, before vijaya's arrival, they were 4 calns in sri Lanka called yakka, naga, deva and raksha ig. They were called sewhela. And since vijaya is a foreigner, I think he misinterpreted it as sinhala or sew hela must have later turned into sinhala. And he married a yakka girl called kuweni. But since his father's name is also sinha bahu these old historians must have made this legend about sinha bahu's father being a lion man or something because sinh means lion and le means blood.

[@BogalaSawundiris]

Actually the Sinhalese indo aryan migrants mixing with the indigenous happened at a minimal level. Sinhalese from central regions who lived in the Island before the 13th century Dravida caste integration, still have predominantly Bengali genes. But Veddahs have predominantly Balangoda man genes. So though mixing did happen through centuries , there was stil a sense of cohabiting with and reproducing with ones own race.

[@kev8943]

Mate that's definitely not kottu roti. That's just some chopped up roti with Curry on top of it, kotti roti is pretty much like fried rice but it uses roti as base rather than rice.

[@AlexRothman]

Haha yeah a number of people have told me that now, whoops!

[@m3gam1nd007]

as far as I'm aware Angelo Mathews is not a burger he is a Tamil catholic. :D

[@AlexRothman]

Yeah since publishing a few people have pointed this out, I tried to find pictures of Sri Lankan Burghers and couldn't, and although I tried to double check, the info I found indicated he was a Burgher, but I've since discovered that wasn't right

[@sriyanandadiyabalanage531]

Good 👍👍👍👍💕💕🇱🇰

[@MarquessofCandea]

The bit about the moors you’ve claimed is actually not correct. The study used to back up this claim is typically Perrera, Galhena and Ranwaka (2021). You should read the actual studies. The authors make several claims that are not supported by the data they themselves present. First off: The entire study is written as if to try and forward the idea that the Sinhalese are Indo-Aryan rather than Dravidian like the Tamils, and yet the data does not agree. (I might add this has historically been an intrinsic part of ideologies around Sinhalese racial superiority, bizarrely, over Tamils in Sri Lanka.) - It shows that Sinhalese are slightly closer genetically to Indo-Aryans than the Tamils but they are still far far closer to the Tamils than to Indo-Aryan groups. This is consistent with the close phenotypic and cultural similarity that is observable between Sinhalese and Tamils today. Also it is well known that linguistic connections don’t always translate to genetic ones. Sinhalese may be an Indo-Aryan language but the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka are genetically largely Dravidian - Now for the moors: first off, there is no data from Arab populations in the study at all to make any discussion about genetic distance relative to Arabs meaningful. There is a shorter distance to Bil Indians for example but drawing claims from this would be irresponsibly negligent without the discriminating inclusion of Arab haplogroups (for example, one possible conclusion could be that Malabar Indians are also genetically Arab due to centuries of close contact and settlement across the Arabian sea. We can’t know either way without also looking at dna from Arabs included in the study.) Thirdly, the data from the study shows peculiar things such as the genetic distance between Sri Lankan moors and the Portuguese or even the Swedes being closer than the distance between moors and Sinhalese or Tamils - obviously you wouldn’t claim that the moors are then Swedish ! So in summary the study authors are advancing some rather strange ideologically-motivated conclusions that are glaringly contradicted by the data. The standards of scholarship at least in this field in Sri Lanka seem to be rather lax. If the study is tl;dr for you here is a link to the summary: the MDS plot showing genetic distances between the groups in the study data: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8211843/figure/Fig3/?report=objectonly

[@AlexRothman]

Got it, I can't remember if that was the study I was getting my info from but thanks for the update and summary

[@SmokingOz-nd4ew]

LOL The PEER REVIEWED STUDY IS RIGHT You are using 1 Genetic drift chart between INTER Sri Lanka populations within the wider study/source you provided to judge Ancestry of Sinhalese population. Actual parental studies by Dr Mastana from 2007 clearly show Parental ancestry of Sinhalese being 72% western Bengali, 12% Gujarati and 16% Dravidian. Sinhalese are also R1a Haplogroup positive at a higher rate than people around this southern region. SL tamils and Sinhalese are MUCH closer related than Sinhalese to Indian tamils because Sinhalese isnt only an ethnicity its also a state identity. Sinhalese have castes which include Sinhalised tamils. SL tamil groups also have Tamilised Sinhalese who used to live in those regions prior to Chola invasions I'm pretty sure SL tamils even have a certain caste which is basically Tamilised Sinhalese who lived with them over the years. Compare DNA of Sinhalese with Indian Tamils. That will show you the real picture you so desperately try to avoid.

[@kingdc7017]

Good video overall BUT this video was littered with misinformation especially the ethnicity bit. Most recent comprehensive DNA study based on PARENTAL analysis - An Alu polymorphism analysis by Dr. Mastana S (2007) using Sinhalese, Tamil, Bengali, Gujarati (Patel), and Punjabi as parental populations found the following proportions of genetic contribution: Sinhalese are 72% Odisha/Western Bengali, 12% Gujarati and 16% Tamil. These numbers vary wildly according to caste. There are "Sinhalised" Tamils who in the census are counted as Sinhalese and vice versa as well. Another thing of note is that there is lower Tamil contribution with higher castes similar to Northern India. What you do not know and didn't say in this video is that Sinhalese are not just an ethnicity its also an identity so the caste system here is a huge factor in the way it affects inter population genetic studies like the one done in 2021 which you likely used as a source for your understanding. Those studies don't take into account Sinhalised Tamils and Tamilised Sinhalese who lived in Sinhalese kingdoms and Tamil kingdoms respectively and THIS IS WHY SINHALA ACTS LIKE BOTH A LANGUAGE AND AN ETHNICITY. To reiterate Inter population DNA studies in SL are useless unless you make the distinction of Ethnically Sinhalese vs Sinhalised Tamils and vice versa on top of Ethnically Sinhalese/tamil vs Moors. It is wild that you as a foreigner haven't done even the most basic level of research into this topic before making a video on a foreign country and such a sensitive topic at that..

[@ranjankana5929]

Thank You. You have put it best. When Mogg returned to avenge his father Dhatoo slaying by Cashiappa he brought with him forces that had to be paid off. I suggest that the mercenary soldiers were paid off with both land and life partners. and there is a strong probability that a significant percentage of those who claim to be pure Sinhalese are actually Tamil. On a related note one of the popular creatures in srilanka (Ceylon) is the Chameleon. Ambitious folks have unabashedly have mis-identified themselves when aspiring for high office. Being pragmatic and practical, I suppose. Thomas Sowell has a take on "identity politics" on his video. I would thank Alex for trying, and his deep dive into a pivotal island. That may well end up as a New Cyprus. India the Northern parts and China the South - Bought and paid for by both super powers.

[@BogalaSawundiris]

Actually Tamils took Hinduism and bulk of Indian culture to South East Asia earlier and the Sinhalese took Buddhism to South East Asia later. Tamils did not take Buddhism to South East Asia

[@SLtraveller98]

I'm a Sinhalese from Sri Lanka and actually there is no any traditional caste system among Sinhalese right now.

[@AlexRothman]

I've heard a few different opinions on this

[@MrHmjg]

cant figure in what order these videos come

[@kamaleshinnocentwinner]

The greatest leader of Sri Lanka were Srimavo Bandaranaike, Chandrika Bandaranaike and Mahindha Rajapaksa. They ruled us very well. They loved Tamil people very much. I am an Indian tamil and also I love these leaders.

[@jokemejoker]

Tamil trader's came here 200bce and settled in jaffna. Ancestors of Sinhalese came here around 500bce. So actually Tamils came here 1st. But sinhalese mixed with original people who own the island and Indians. Sinhalese 1st called sigh+hela=singhela later became sinhala. Sigha= lion. hela= people who originally own the this island. There are 4 type of hela tribes Yakka,Naga,dewa,raksha. Naga people lived jaffana aria so they got mixed with Indian Tamil traders. That's why Srilankan tamil little different then indian Tamils. Yakka tribe was the majority who mostly mixed with north indians. That's why sinhalese are the majority coz yakka tribe was the majority

[@satheesraisah4969]

Not sinhala language?

[@jokemejoker]

@@satheesraisah4969 elu was a language vadda tribes spoke. Sinhala is the mix of Pali Sanskrit and elu

[@KethTamilTubing]

You may be right about the north east tamils being mixed with indigenous vedda people of north and sinhalese mixed with southern tribes. I feel sense of similarities between the tamils and sinhalese through bloodline. Although we are furious at eachother, i feel we are closer to them than the tamils of india. When i was in tamilnadu, the food,people lifestly all totally different. But when i was in kerala i felt many similarities of sri lankans. Its very complicated mixtures. The sri lankans are made up of many ethnic groups to.make us unique.

[@jokemejoker]

@@KethTamilTubing yes Tamil and Sinhalese DNA 100% match same DNA. But real Indian Tamils who lives in nuwara eliya 1% different than Sri lankan tamils in north. Tamil Sinhalese same DNA coz yakka, naga same hela (vadda) people. Only tribe names are different.

[@madarawijerathne276]

Just say we all came from Africa since it's the cradle of humans 🙄🙄

[@ShamikaAmayanthaSL]

Let me tell you something you missed. Of course, you know about Lord buddha. Back in his day even before his arrival, there were 4 major clans who were there called Yaksha, Naga, Deva, and Raksha (Rakus). They're Going Back to the Days of our Golden Age of King Ravana. So Sinhalese are not originally coming with Vijaya who came from northern India. He met a special girl from Yakka Clan and got support from Nothern India, and then your story started there. Look into Ravana's Story you'll know what I'm talking about.

[@dsijj123]

Ravana has nothing to do with the history of Sri Lanka. It is an Indian myth.

[@khp7425]

ලංකාවේ සිංහලයන් ගේ ඉතිහාසය සමග රාවනගේ කිසිදු සමිබන්ධයක් නැත.සිංහල භාෂාව රාවනගේ භාෂාව නොව පාලි භාෂාවෙන් ප්‍රභවය විය.සිංහලයන් ගේ ආගම වන බුද්ධාගම රාවනට කිසිදු සමිබන්ධයක් නැත.විජයට පෙර හැදු එකම වැවක්වත් නැත එමනිසා සිංහලයන් ගේ ආර්ථික ක්‍රමය සමග රාවනගේ කිසිදු සමිබන්ධයක් නැත.මෙබදු තවත් කරුනු රාශියක් සිංහලයන් සහ රාවන අතර සමිබන්ධයක් නැතිබව පෙන්වයි.

[@harithyapa217]

Dear viewers, to elaborate further this ravana fellow is what king Arthur is to you(if you are from England). albeit Ravana is bit more leaning towards grander science fiction side than good ol' Arthur.

[@sudeerawijetunga1525]

@@dsijj123 Ha ha

[@MrDaskon]

these are not fairy tales mate. Get a life

[@rroxz1]

Mate, 19:03 is not Kottu roti!

[@lahirupremawansha1024]

Actually, Sinhalese didn't come from india, because there is no ethnic group called Sinhala in india. I think almost all of the ethnic groups originated from groups of people mixed with each other. So those new ones cannot be considered as an arrived one from anywhere else. Language of wedda people is not completely different from sinhala, and there were no conflict between sinhalese and weddas. Sinhala caste system is not tough, but there are some discriminations in politics, religion and in marriages. Sinhalales have the most diverse genetic makeup according to an article i read few years ago. Recently Arun Siddharth revealed about tamilized Sinhalese of Jaffna as slaves or low caste people, so that it should be more genetic similarities among two groups.

[@SmokingOz-nd4ew]

Utter fantasy BS wtf looool this is like the hindus saying Abraham = Ram. Stop embarrassing us my god man.

[@WatchingTheWorldGoRound]

More than half of the Sinhalese were Tamil once converted to Buddhism. The rest came from North east india ( present day Bangladesh and Nepal) and Nayakkars from Andhra Pradesh like Raja Pakse family. Tamil nadu once was Buddhist in Sangam period. Ravanan existed 600 years before Vijayan came to Eelam, Ilankai, Lanka. Until recently Sinhalese and Tamils co existed in harmony.

[@dboyagod]

Your explanation gave me a lot of coherence on the subject! Glad I came back to this video!

[@garryslater3834]

Rajapaksha’s have malay ancestry

[@WatchingTheWorldGoRound]

That is his wife Shiranthi.@@garryslater3834

[@SmokingOz-nd4ew]

Provide even a shred of evidence to support these wild claims LMAOO

[@ranjankana5929]

dna studies see other comments@@SmokingOz-nd4ew

[@nisakushow]

seems like you are a researcher which interested on Srilanka

[@AlexRothman]

What gave it away?

[@nisakushow]

@@AlexRothmanNoh. Its just a compliment on your works. Go ahead

[@AlexRothman]

@@nisakushow Thanks for watching!

[@muadhsamsudeen292]

Bro caught a local Celebrity on camera Adhil Osman 18:46

[@alpharajan]

You are wrong about the origins of Singhalese . They are not originally from North India. They are from Eastern India. To be precise, from current eastern Indian states of Orissa & west Bengal . Genetic studies & Dna studies prove this . There are also local Singhalese books about their origin which states the same . There are also local folk stories in Orissa & west Bengal of a prince & his people moving to Sri Lanka .

[@editjoke]

we all were same blood before Indian Tamils and Aryans came. then the Tamil traders got mixed with north people of the island and became tamils. and Aryans got mixed with south people of the island and became Sinhalese.😂😂

[@csnoorbd]

Prince Bijaya was from Greater Bengal not a north Indian 😮

[@senthilkumars7407]

Well made document. However, there are some corrections. Eelam tamils are indegenious to Srilanka, living more than 5000 years. All the archealogical evidences are destroyed by the present Sinhalese govt, to hide the tamils history. Previously, there was a land bridge connecting Danuskodi, Tamil Nadu, with Mannar of Srilanka few thousand years back. Even now it is a shallow water. Also the muslims speak tamil as their mother tongue, they will integrate well as one tamil community in the future.

[@SamuelPeps]

Sinhala people is created marrying girls from south india, so came to the center at the time of Vijaya. Norther tamil lived even before Sinhala arrived and evidence is destroyed by burning Jaffna library and can be found in excavation

[@chathurakapuge]

The fact that you have presented here as Sinhalese have come to island from north part of India totally wrong. If it is correct, then probably this community could be found today in India like tamils in south Indian region.That means they are native only to Sri Lankan soil & you cannot find them in any other country as traditional settlers.According to historians,there may be a group of north Indian migrants had been footed in the island before 25 centuries and may have lead to form a new Race by mixing with the local tribes.(Yakka,Deva,Naaga & Raksha) But Tamils different, as they could find in Malaysia, south Africa, Singapore,Mauritius,Indonesia & so on, other than in Tamil nadu in south India.They are one of the biggest diaspora community dispersed all over the world today.

[@KethTamilTubing]

The tamil that living in diaspora left sri lanka during genocide war by the ruthless Buddhist extremists. The tamils who are in the kandy hills, Mauritius, south Africa Singapore and Malaysia were taken as slaves during the Europen colonial periods. The tamils of jaffna kingdom and the veddas are the original inhabitants of sri lanka. Sinhala arrived just under 1000 years ago.

[@deelanaS]

@@KethTamilTubing The Jaffna Kingdom isn’t even the oldest kingdom on the island. Why do you try so hard to change facts to change your pathetic narrative.

[@KethTamilTubing]

@@deelanaS i know its not the oldest kimgdom, the chola, pandya dynasty ruled but what i am trying to say is that the indians tamils and the original inhabitants of jaffna are not the same. We have history of over thousand years in the island. Many veddas of East assimilated with the tamils. Many also assimilated with sinhalese. sinhala language is originated in sri lanka with the help of Indo-Aryan ancestry and sri lanka's original inhabitants. Hence it makes the tamils of north-east and sinhalese almost same root but different culturally and linguistically.

[@deelanaS]

@@KethTamilTubing The Sinhalese people are the result of people from North and/or West India and as well as from East India. We intermixed with the local Veddha population and hence the creation of the Sinhalese ethnicity. All this happened well before Indian Tamils ever got involved in the island.

[@KethTamilTubing]

@@deelanaS lol people from north india so many thousands of miles away from arrive in the island meanwhile the the tamils the world oldest civilization that are only 20km away from the island were never able tomcome to the island. Infact the tamils could've just swimmed their way into the island. Just like the veddas assimilated with the north indians the veddas also mixed with the tamils. The north/east veddas assimilated with the tamils. Im fact lord muruga, tamil god, married to a vedda community woman. We have long history over thousands of years old. Meanwhile the north indians arrived spoke pali Indo-Aryan language and adopted veddas language, took so many tamil words and called it sinhala. Sin- hela(original inhabitants of sri lanka). The veddas never able to change tamil as they had strong bond to the dravidian and most powerful civilization in the world. Learn about tamil dynasty of pallavas and their close link to prakrit. Maybe that will help you solve your complicated ethenic confusion.

[@AvgerinouAna99]

Απ' ό,τι κατάλαβα, στην Σρι Λάνκα Βόρειοι Ινδοί μάχονται εναντίον Νότιων Ινδών κυρίως για λόγους θρησκείας, ενώ στην Ινδική Υποήπειρο Δυτικοί Ινδοί μάχονται εναντίων Ανατολικών Ινδών πάλι για λόγους θρησκείας

[@nelumsanjay4696]

now the country is peaceful and there is no protest, and there is fuel and electricity

[@Stranger-lh6ho]

17:26 trust me those are not bullet holes.

[@AlexRothman]

You seem very confident. I am interested, what do you think they are?

[@Stranger-lh6ho]

@@AlexRothman I heard someone say it was rocks thrown at the busses during the riots. Although I neither can conform nor deny this 🌚

[@chacmool2581]

Caste. I don't understand. The Sinhalese are Buddhist. Caste is a Hindu thing. What do the Sinhalese Buddhist have to do with caste? Isn't caste against the tenets of Buddhism?

[@Shamendra1998]

Bro stop calling Sinhalese North Indians. We're not Indians.

[@chinthanaillukwatte]

😂

[@popularhindutamilbhajansfr1448]

More than half the srilankan tamils are living as refugees in western countries. So population analysis does not add up. You seem be saying, tamils came to srilanka, when the Chola empire roughly 1500 years ago. That is not correct. All around srilanka. Hindu temples are located- whether south or North of srilanka. Though most are in ruins. Due to Tamil population ratio reduction.! This does not meant to be dis respect good singalease people. Tamils and Singalease helped each other all around recent history. All major wars in srilanka are won using tamil help all around the history.

[@popularhindutamilbhajansfr1448]

To be fair. You need to look at the tamil areas from pre civil war period previous to 1956, 1979, 1983 riots and the subsequent civil war. At that time norrh, east and puthalam area was majorityly Tamil. You have to go to british time censor for these. So tamils and dravidians lived undisturbed. For thousands of years. So, making an assumption after post civil war scenario is not accurate. Because, Tamils have moved out of these areas in millions. It is estimated the current population of srilankan Tamils living outside srilanka all over the international countries are around 3.5 million. Which is more than the population in srilanka. Also, Minority Tamils in the north controlled 2/5 of the srilankan area. Also you touched upon cast system. Tamils in srilanka are indeed modern as most of them are educated in british or american mission schools etc. So Tamil hindus as any other modern groups do not follow cast system regidly and they are modern. But indeed poverty and war makes the affected people look like they have been affected by cast system!!. But truly believe me cast system is disappearing.

[@1965vinu]

Buddha himself practiced caste.

[@nalin8182]

What you said about ethnicity of Sri Lanka are 60% true rest is bias ,probably some NGO or some group or organisation sponsored your trip for this Vedeos. I don't see you as a neutral or independent individual. It's sounds funny to hear one sided stories like this ..anyway Srilankans who watch your Vedeos will definitely know what's your agenda is Go ahead keep it up Hooray!🤣🤣 Can ordinary britisher met maried to a member of Royal family and continue the Royality,???🤣🤣🤣 What do you call for that . That's also caste system 🤣🤣🤣

[@AlexRothman]

Interesting, in your own words, how would you describe my bias?

[@olsenfernando2126]

In Sri Lanka the history lessons are biased in the local syllabuses. So majority of the population wouldn’t agree with you. The video captures the history of Tamils being in the island before Sinhalese, which is not mentioned in our local school textbooks. ( but historians from neighboring countries would agree ) And it also correctly says that Tamil is an ancient language unlike Sinhalese. That makes us ask the right question again. who came first? But who cares who came first? We should all live together cause that is the only way now. Let’s not argue about the past and waste our present and future.

[@chamarajayasinghe8233]

@@olsenfernando2126 You seem to be biased How can it be said that the Tamils ​​were there before the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka ? History is not made on faith, theoretically History means judging the past logically based on evidence. What are the evidences that in Sri Lanka, at least in the north, to prove the tamil people lived for thousands of years before sinhalese?? no archaeological evidence structures ?buildings ? nothing at all What were they doing in all that long period🙂however there is a clear tamil element in sri lankan history from 8,9 century A.D mostly as invaders 🙂...I can go further on archaeology but i bring very simple logic based on linguistics ..you know new language is evolved from existing language by caused by various reasons mainly long period isolation then we consider both tamils and sinhalese.. who does speak unique language ? Why tamil speak same tamil language like in south india why they practise same culture as in tamil nadu??? How can it happen ??If tamils have been living long time before sinhalese they should speak different language but they still speak tamil this situation is similar like americans those migrated from britain they still speak english...it is obvious that tamils are recent migrants from south india..🙂 i am dissapointed about your history knowledge..🙂 Finally i must say that Who came first is irrelevant tamils and sinhalese both can live peacefully, tamils sinhalese muslims every humans should have decent life and respect...

[@nalin8182]

@@AlexRothman You haven't answered my questions, what organisations or who sponsored your trip. Almost all the excavations at archiyalogical sites including North and East or all over Srilanka by local, British, French, German or Indian archiyalogist have found enough and more evidence To prove the claims of Srilankan ancient history books. Namely MAHAVAMSA, CHOOLAVAMSA, STUPAWAMSA AND MAMY MORE. UNLIKE INDIAN OR SOUTH INDIAN LEGENDARY STORIES. ANY NEW STORY SHOULD TALLY WITH EXSISSTING HISTORICAL EVIDENCE WITH CARBON DATING. ALL ARCHIYALOGICAL FINDINGS IN SRILANKA BEEN TECHNICALLY PROOVEN. NO ONE CAN CHALENGE SINHALEESE HISTORY . MANY International SCOLERS FROM REPUTED UNIVERSITYS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD COLLABORATIONS WITH MINISTRY OF ARCHIYALOGY AND LOCAL UNIVERSITIES DO LOTS OF RESEARCH AND ESCAVATIONS. SO FAR WHAT EVER FINDING S ARE RELATED TO SINHALEESE CULTURE AND HISTORY AND BUDHISUM. SO DO A PROPER RESEARCH BEFORE UTTERING FALLS HOOD.

[@AinzWoolGown]

@@nalin8182 Sri Lanka wasn't deserted when the north indians came to Sri Lanka. He only said that these indigenous people having Tamil roots are highly contested. And he didn't contest any archeological findings of sinhala history. And also unlike he said, and being a tamil myself being first doesn't have any modern day implications. Majority actually matters, but with a equal civil liberties for everyone. If being first matters Israelites should give priorities to Canaanites, Turkish should to the Italians, Americans to the indigenous and Australian ls to the aboriginals. But they haven't and don't need to.

[@1965vinu]

The talk about south and north Indian languages is not correct

[@praseeshprabhu302]

Hindi has more in common with European languages than Tamil 😂🤣🤣. The white man still fails to learn. There are more common words in Tamil which are of Sanskritam origin. Sinahlese and Tamils are going to be in Srilanka forever. The veddas are the original people of Sri Lanka. Sinhalese are more like the eastern Indian state of Orissa. Oriya script of Odisha is very similar Sinhala script. One of the major ethnic groups of the Indian state Kerala called Ezhavas is said to have come from Ezham I. E Srilanka. So migration was continuous and multi directional. I would call India and Srilanka as Sister nations. Srilanka has the potential to be a Singapore or Hong Kong of Indian Ocean if they properly manage their affairs and write their history unlike the Firang in this video blurring out his views like a guess work astrologer.

[@FazlinaAzwar]

What you had was not kottu roti 😭

[@satheesraisah4969]

Srilanka our myth upon myth history ancient texts sinhala not arrived india from Thailand people south india nayaks teluguan

[@rangaweerakkody165]

What triggered you?