Sri Lanka in the Modern Age-a History of Contested Identities

‘I am a Ceylonese of the Burgher community and 27 years of age’ – E. J. Livera (application for post of systematic botanist in 1924) SLNA, Lot 5/334

British colonialism brought about a new way of looking at identi­ties through a variety of technologies of rule. The most important among these was the imperative of enumerating groups in society through the census. Identities lost their substantial quality, their many forms and shapes, and became objective features of people that could be delineated once and for all. Enumerations themselves would not have changed the shape of the varied and con­textual identities of the peoples of the land, but their currency contributed to the gradual imposition of the idea promoted by nationalists as well--that identities were like institutions: fixed and gelled. One of the conventions in the census is the 'impermissibility of fractions, or to put it the other way round, a mirage tike integrity of the body'. The understanding on the part of the colonized peo­ples, that by claiming to belong to one or another group recognized by the colonial rulers one could obtain certain entitlements, further moored this perception of identities as embodied, inescapable features of being.

In that sense colonial knowledge did not imagine identities or construct them; rather, it opened up a new realm for political iden­tities to blossom. Colonial divisions were informed by a desire to strengthen what was considered the authentic culture of the land, recognized without hesitation as the Kandyan culture. Both in the ceremonial sphere and in the realm of political representation British readings of identities displayed this feature.

It was precisely when Britain's colonial subjects were beginning to create a public arena for themselves, with the growth of the press, the spread of reading habits and the emergence of a modern thea­tre, that the concern for collecting, collating and publishing detailed information about all aspects of the population acquired a new dimension. At first there had been, on the part of early British visitors, a feeling of confusion and marvel at the diversity of the peoples living in the island. Percival's description of the different ‘castes’, ‘races’, ‘mixed races', 'half castes', 'religions', 'languages', 'classes of people', each with its own 'manners, customs and language' in the city of Colombo in 1803 revealed the difficulties he and his contemporaries faced when they attempted to make sense of human differences.

Censuses, gazetteers, administrative reports were then carefully written from first hand observation. Only later can their concern be traced to an imperial project of control where natives were coun­ted, objectified and divided into social groups such, as castes, races or ethnic groups. British colonialism did not in any sense of the term invent or imagine identities. What colonial officials were try­ing to do in their writings and policies, often in a gauche way, was to 'describe something that had practical and conceptual coherence both fur outsiders and observers' and for the peoples of Sri Lanka themselves. And the British were not the first to use such enumer­ative technology in this manner: both the Portuguese and the Dutch had expended great efforts in compiling tombos. Further­more, they too had used labels fur the communities and social groups they encountered. Indeed the Portuguese and Dutch offi­cials and writers had used certain categories to describe the peoples they encountered that were very similar to those used by the British in the nineteenth century. Mission reports of Dutch priests in the eighteenth century refer to 'Tamal' and 'Chingala' people and the sect of 'Budu', 'which is the religion of all the Chingalas of Ceilao'. But the British differed in the systematic manner in which cate­gories were used and in the modern stamp that was given to identi­ties as providing the basis of entitlements and rights, such as places in the administration or representation in the Legislative Council.

That same year a census of most of the provinces and princely states of India, as well as a census in Great Britain and Ireland, was carried out. In Sri Lanka the Registrar-general was charged with the con­duct of the census, but the actual work of enumeration was done by the Government Agents and their assistants. Enumerators were se­lected at the district level. In Sri Lanka, as in India, village records, district records and census reports were meant to provide a photograph of the actual state of the community and give an authorized version of knowledge about the society.

There was a tremendous amount of experimentation with cate­gories. When the British officials chose to delineate groups within the native population and refer to them as castes, nationalities, races or communal groups, the term used was never innocent or fortuitous; it reflected an understanding of the differences prevalent amongst the people of Ceylon. The British needed labels that served to locate the strange in a frame of reference that they were familiar with. This entailed arranging groups in neat diagrams, or by alpha­betical order, simplifying them, and finding equivalents in language.

Both the 1814 and the 1824 censuses gave information on castes and religions in Ceylon. Caste was the category used to differentiate groups in these censuses, just as it was in India. But in Ceylon the term 'caste' was more vague. It encompassed caste groups not only in their most recognized sense, such as the Vellala? but also re­gional groups such as Europeans, Portuguese and Malays, occupa­tional groups such as washermen or potters, and large amorphous groups such Moors and Malabars.

It seems that at least until 1824 Sinhalese and Tamils were per­ceived not as clear-cut ethnic groups, but first and foremost as members of a number of caste groups of various sizes. Caste particulars were not obtained in censuses because, according to Denham, 'caste does not play in Ceylon the important part it does in India’.

In 1835 a detailed statement of the total population had been prepared from headmen returns and registers of births and deaths. The population was grouped under the following headings: whites (9,121 ), free blacks (1,194,482), slaves (27,397) and aliens and resi­dent strangers (10,825). The categories were no longer castes, but they expressed more clearly the feeling of exclusion-inclusion that permeated colonial situations. The British were whites. The 'oth­ers' were their antithesis-blacks, an all-encompassing term.

In the 1871 and 188l censuses the term 'race' appeared for the first time along with the category of nationality. In the 1871 there were seventy-eight nationalities and twenty-four races. There was a cer­tain amount of incoherence in these classifications. Sinhalese and Tamils, for instance, were races as well as nationalities. It seems that the 'nationality' category was introduced to describe groups numeri­cally too small to be called races, for instance, Abyssinians or West Indians. The 1881 census showed a process of rationalization: there were only seven races left, namely Europeans, Sinhalese. Tamils, Moormen, Malays, Veddas and others. The number of nationalities had slightly decreased from seventy-eight to severity-one. From then on race became tile main category of classification.

The term 'nationality', which entered official usage in the middle of the nineteenth century at the time nationalities were awaken­ing in Western Europe, was dropped in 1911 in favor of the new term 'race'. The number of races in the censuses also increased. The 1921 Census recognized ten principal races in Ceylon, three pairs being subdivisions of larger groups, These pairs were the low Country and Kandyan Sinhalese, the Ceylon and Indian Tamils, and the Ceylon and Indian Moors. The four other specified races were the Burghers and Eurasians and the Malays and Veddas. The differentiation of the Sinhalese community into Low Country and Kandyan Sinhalese, a division that was regional in origin, was a leg­acy of the European impact. The Low Country Sinhalese of the southern and western coastal areas, more than two-thirds of the Sinhalese, tended, as a result of four centuries of Western influ­ence, to diverge somewhat in social practices and attitudes from the more traditional Kandyans of the interior, who remained inde­pendent until 1815 and were subject to much later and less intense Western influences. This was the rationale for dividing the Sinhalese into two distinct groups.

In the same way the predominantly Saivite Hindu Tamils who lived in the Northern Province, in the jaffna peninsula, along the east coast and in the city of Colombo were called Ceylon Tamils so as to distinguish them from the Tamil-speaking South Indians who had come in the nineteenth century as temporary sojourners in search of employment on the tea and rubber plantations of the interior hill country or to work as laborers in the towns. This group was referred to as Indian Tamils. Censuses also divided the island's Muslims into three separate communities. In the 'Ceylon Moors' category were Muslims living along the coast in the Eastern Province, in Colombo and in the cities of the west coast. The 'In­dian Moors' category encompassed more recent Muslim migrants from India. The 'Malays' category drew into its fold Muslims who claimed descent from East Indies troops brought to Ceylon by the Dutch. In terms of origin, both Muslims and Tamils of the Eastern Province hailed from the southern coast of India. Religion had demarcated these two groups.

Although the larger categories of race became acceptable to the people, caste remained an important feature of classification upon which colonial constructions had little effect. Castes too had evolved. Some caste categories had simply disappeared; this was the case of the Hammaru, the caste of tanners present in the writings of early nineteenth century travelers but invisible thereafter. Other castes absorbed new groups, growing into large communities such as the batgam. There were also contests over the caste hierarchy as it appeared in government documents, which most administrators accepted as a given. The main contest involved the Goyigamas and the Karava, Salagama and Durava castes of the coastal belt. The British administration's policy had in the first decades of the nine­teenth century officially recognized the existence of higher castes and lower castes in the choice of juries----the distinction was between 'first class' and 'second class'- and in the selection of headmen. But alter thc abolition of rajakariya, and petitions on the part of¸ ‘second class’ men, the recognition of caste was abolished in the selection of juries in 1844. The new opportunities that emerged with the growth of a capitalist export economy led non-Goyigama castes to compete for public employment. The, end of the nineteenth century witnessed a growth in caste tensions which manifested ill altercations, judicial disputes and petitions to the government. The position of the colonial administration varied from encouragement of members of emerging castes such as Karavas, Salagamas and Durawas. by giving them official posts at the district level (Korale Mudaliyar), to openly favoring Goyigamas, perceived as the 'native aristocracy'.

Thus, although the colonial census played a crucial role in gel­ling identities which were until then flexible and contextual, and drawing discrete boundaries between communities, conflicts over these classifications and resistance to them constantly transformed a seemingly ordered picture.

Rather than gelling identities, the lasting effect of colonial rule in the nineteenth century was to propagate the idea that identities were fixed and stable and that one could not jump from one to another. In his certificate of discharge Y.G. Stephen, an engine cleaner, had to state his race after his name, in this case Tamil. Sandanam Nicholas, who was a candidate for a scholarship, specified in his application form that he was a Jaffna Tamil and a Roman Catholic. Divisions acquired a new importance in a few concrete instances: the representative system and the ceremonial sphere of official titles and ranks.

That same year a census of most of the provinces and princely states of India, as well as a census in Great Britain and Ireland, was carried out. In Sri Lanka the Registrar-general was charged with the con­duct of the census, but the actual work of enumeration was done by the Government Agents and their assistants. Enumerators were se­lected at the district level. In Sri Lanka, as in India, village records, district records and census reports were meant to provide a photograph of the actual state of the community and give an authorized version of knowledge about the society.

There was a tremendous amount of experimentation with cate­gories. When the British officials chose to delineate groups within the native population and refer to them as castes, nationalities, races or communal groups, the term used was never innocent or fortuitous; it reflected an understanding of the differences prevalent amongst the people of Ceylon. The British needed labels that served to locate the strange in a frame of reference that they were familiar with. This entailed arranging groups in neat diagrams, or by alpha­betical order, simplifying them, and finding equivalents in language.

Both the 1814 and the 1824 censuses gave information on castes and religions in Ceylon. Caste was the category used to differentiate groups in these censuses, just as it was in India. But in Ceylon the term 'caste' was more vague. It encompassed caste groups not only in their most recognized sense, such as the Vellala? but also re­gional groups such as Europeans, Portuguese and Malays, occupa­tional groups such as washermen or potters, and large amorphous groups such Moors and Malabars.

It seems that at least until 1824 Sinhalese and Tamils were per­ceived not as clear-cut ethnic groups, but first and foremost as members of a number of caste groups of various sizes. Caste particulars were not obtained in censuses because, according to Denham, 'caste does not play in Ceylon the important part it does in India’.

In 1835 a detailed statement of the total population had been prepared from headmen returns and registers of births and deaths. The population was grouped under the following headings: whites (9,121 ), free blacks (1,194,482), slaves (27,397) and aliens and resi­dent strangers (10,825). The categories were no longer castes, but they expressed more clearly the feeling of exclusion-inclusion that permeated colonial situations. The British were whites. The 'oth­ers' were their antithesis-blacks, an all-encompassing term.

In the 1871 and 188l censuses the term 'race' appeared for the first time along with the category of nationality. In the 1871 there were seventy-eight nationalities and twenty-four races. There was a cer­tain amount of incoherence in these classifications. Sinhalese and Tamils, for instance, were races as well as nationalities. It seems that the 'nationality' category was introduced to describe groups numeri­cally too small to be called races, for instance, Abyssinians or West Indians. The 1881 census showed a process of rationalization: there were only seven races left, namely Europeans, Sinhalese. Tamils, Moormen, Malays, Veddas and others. The number of nationalities had slightly decreased from seventy-eight to severity-one. From then on race became tile main category of classification.

The term 'nationality', which entered official usage in the middle of the nineteenth century at the time nationalities were awaken­ing in Western Europe, was dropped in 1911 in favor of the new term 'race'. The number of races in the censuses also increased. The 1921 Census recognized ten principal races in Ceylon, three pairs being subdivisions of larger groups, These pairs were the low Country and Kandyan Sinhalese, the Ceylon and Indian Tamils, and the Ceylon and Indian Moors. The four other specified races were the Burghers and Eurasians and the Malays and Veddas. The differentiation of the Sinhalese community into Low Country and Kandyan Sinhalese, a division that was regional in origin, was a leg­acy of the European impact. The Low Country Sinhalese of the southern and western coastal areas, more than two-thirds of the Sinhalese, tended, as a result of four centuries of Western influ­ence, to diverge somewhat in social practices and attitudes from the more traditional Kandyans of the interior, who remained inde­pendent until 1815 and were subject to much later and less intense Western influences. This was the rationale for dividing the Sinhalese into two distinct groups.

In the same way the predominantly Saivite Hindu Tamils who lived in the Northern Province, in the jaffna peninsula, along the east coast and in the city of Colombo were called Ceylon Tamils so as to distinguish them from the Tamil-speaking South Indians who had come in the nineteenth century as temporary sojourners in search of employment on the tea and rubber plantations of the interior hill country or to work as laborers in the towns. This group was referred to as Indian Tamils. Censuses also divided the island's Muslims into three separate communities. In the 'Ceylon Moors' category were Muslims living along the coast in the Eastern Province, in Colombo and in the cities of the west coast. The 'In­dian Moors' category encompassed more recent Muslim migrants from India. The 'Malays' category drew into its fold Muslims who claimed descent from East Indies troops brought to Ceylon by the Dutch. In terms of origin, both Muslims and Tamils of the Eastern Province hailed from the southern coast of India. Religion had demarcated these two groups.

Although the larger categories of race became acceptable to the people, caste remained an important feature of classification upon which colonial constructions had little effect. Castes too had evolved. Some caste categories had simply disappeared; this was the case of the Hammaru, the caste of tanners present in the writings of early nineteenth century travelers but invisible thereafter. Other castes absorbed new groups, growing into large communities such as the batgam. There were also contests over the caste hierarchy as it appeared in government documents, which most administrators accepted as a given. The main contest involved the Goyigamas and the Karava, Salagama and Durava castes of the coastal belt. The British administration's policy had in the first decades of the nine­teenth century officially recognized the existence of higher castes and lower castes in the choice of juries----the distinction was between 'first class' and 'second class'- and in the selection of headmen. But alter thc abolition of rajakariya, and petitions on the part of¸ ‘second class’ men, the recognition of caste was abolished in the selection of juries in 1844. The new opportunities that emerged with the growth of a capitalist export economy led non-Goyigama castes to compete for public employment. The, end of the nineteenth century witnessed a growth in caste tensions which manifested ill altercations, judicial disputes and petitions to the government. The position of the colonial administration varied from encouragement of members of emerging castes such as Karavas, Salagamas and Durawas. by giving them official posts at the district level (Korale Mudaliyar), to openly favoring Goyigamas, perceived as the 'native aristocracy'.

Thus, although the colonial census played a crucial role in gel­ling identities which were until then flexible and contextual, and drawing discrete boundaries between communities, conflicts over these classifications and resistance to them constantly transformed a seemingly ordered picture.

Rather than gelling identities, the lasting effect of colonial rule in the nineteenth century was to propagate the idea that identities were fixed and stable and that one could not jump from one to another. In his certificate of discharge Y.G. Stephen, an engine cleaner, had to state his race after his name, in this case Tamil. Sandanam Nicholas, who was a candidate for a scholarship, specified in his application form that he was a Jaffna Tamil and a Roman Catholic. Divisions acquired a new importance in a few concrete instances: the representative system and the ceremonial sphere of official titles and ranks.

By Dr. Nira Wickramasinghe