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Hinduism in Sri Lanka

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Sri Lankan Hindus
Hindu temple festival in Colombo in 1900s.
Total population
2,561,299 (2012)[1]
12.6% of its total population
Religions
Hinduism
Shaivism (majority)
Vaishnavism and Shaktism (minority)
Scriptures
Ramayana and Vedas
Languages
Old Tamil and Sanskrit (sacred)
Tamil (majority) and Sinhala (minority)

Hinduism by country
Africa
Asia
Europe
North America
Caribbean
Oceania
South America
Full list

Hinduism is one of Sri Lanka's oldest religions, with temples dating back over 2,000 years.[2] As of 2011, Hindus made up 12.6% of the Sri Lankan population.[3] They are almost exclusively Tamils, except for small immigrant communities from India and Pakistan (including the Sindhis, Telugus and Malayalis).

According to the 1915 census, Hindus made up about 25% of the Sri Lankan population (including indentured labourers brought by the British).[4] Hinduism predominates in the Northern and Eastern Provinces (where Tamils remain the largest demographic), the central regions and Colombo, the capital. According to the 2011 census, there are 2,554,606 Hindus in Sri Lanka (12.6% of the country's population). During the Sri Lankan Civil War, many Tamils emigrated; Hindu temples, built by the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, maintain their religion, tradition, and culture.[5][6]

Most Sri Lankan Hindus follow the Shaiva Siddhanta school of Shaivism, and some follow Shaktism. Sri Lanka is home to the five abodes of Shiva: Pancha Ishwarams, holy places believed to have been built by King Ravana. Murugan is one of the country's most popular Hindu deities, venerated by Hindu Tamils. The Buddhist Sinhalese and Aboriginal Veddas venerate the local rendition of the deity, Katharagama deviyo.[7][8]

Yogaswami of Jaffna is a significant modern Hindu religious figure in Sri Lankan history. A 20th-century mystic, he was the Satguru and counselling sage of the country's Tamil Hindu population. The Ramakrishna Mission is active in the Amparai and Batticaloa districts, and the Shaiva Siddhanta school is prevalent in the north.[9] Yogaswami was the 161st head of the Nandinatha Sampradaya, and was succeeded by Sivaya Subramuniyaswami.[10]

Legendary origins

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The first major Hindu reference to Sri Lanka is found in the epic Ramayana.[11] Lanka, identified with Sri Lanka, was ruled by the yaksha King Kubera. The throne of Lanka was usurped by Kubera's half-brother Ravana, the epic's chief antagonist, who was killed by Rama, the seventh avatar of Vishnu. Ravana’s brother Vibhishana was crowned as the new king by Rama before his return to Ayodhya.[12] The Ramayana also mentions Rama's Bridge, between India and Sri Lanka, which was built with rocks by Rama with the aid of Hanuman, Nala, Nila, and other vanaras. Many believers see the chain of sandbar, connecting Sri Lanka to India in satellite images, as remnants of the bridge. Archaeological evidence supports the worship of Shiva in parts of Sri Lanka since prehistoric times, before the arrival of the legendary Prince Vijaya. Ravana is stated to have been a devotee of Shiva.[13]

Historic roots

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The Nagas are claimed to have practised an early form of Hinduism, worshipping Shiva and serpents. This animistic Shaivism is also common in Tamil Nadu and other parts of India.[14] The Nagas who inhabited the Jaffna Peninsula were probably the ancestors of Sri Lankan Tamils. There are also strong claims that they spoke Tamil as their native language but only small proof is found. The 5 ancient Shiva temples of Sri Lanka is also said to have been built by the Nagas before 6th century BCE. The Nainativu Nagapooshani Amman Temple in Nainativu is believed to be one of the Shakta pithas.[15]

Buddhism was introduced by Mahinda, the eldest son of Ashoka, during the reign of Devanampiya Tissa of Anuradhapura.[16] His father Mutasiva and brother Mahasiva had names associated with Shiva suggesting prior Hindu beliefs.[17] This is supported by the common occurrence of the personal name Shiva in the earliest Prakrit inscriptions.[18][19][20] The Sinhalese embraced Buddhism, and the Tamils remained Hindus.[21] Activity from across the Palk Strait in Tamil Nadu set the stage for Hinduism's survival in Sri Lanka. Shaivism (worship of Shiva) was dominant among the Tamils, and most of Sri Lanka's Hindu temple architecture and philosophy of Sri Lanka drew from that tradition. Sambandar noted a number of Sri Lankan Hindu temples in his works.[22]

Culture

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Rituals

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In common with South India, local rituals include Kavadi Attam and firewalking.[23] These rituals have also influenced the Sinhalese on southern cost of the island; For an Instance, the inhabitants of Tangalle, Kudawella and the surrounding area perform Kavadi.[24]

Religious teachers

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Religious teachers include Kaddai Swami, his shishya Chellappaswami, and Chellappaswami's shishya Yogaswami.[25]

Temples

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Main article: List of Hindu temples in Sri Lanka

Most of the Hindu temple in Sri Lanka have Tamil architecture, most of which are ancient with a gopuram and a ratha in them.[26] Alike many Hindu temples, which are dedicated to Hindu deities, many temples in Sri Lanka are also for their village deities which is mainly among the Tamil community.[27]

The Pancha Ishwarams are:

Demographics

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According to the 1981 census, there were 2,297,800 Hindus in Sri Lanka; the 2012 census reported 2,554,606 Hindus in the country. Twenty thousand people died during the 2004 tsunami in LTTE-held areas alone.[28][29][30]

Hindus in Sri Lanka
YearPop.±% p.a.
1881 593,600—    
1891 615,900+0.37%
1901 826,800+2.99%
1911 938,300+1.27%
1921 982,100+0.46%
1931 1,166,900+1.74%
1946 1,320,400+0.83%
1953 1,610,500+2.88%
1963 1,958,400+1.98%
1971 2,238,666+1.69%
1981 2,297,806+0.26%
1991 2,406,852+0.46%
2001 2,481,495+0.31%
2012 2,561,299+0.29%
*The 2001 census did not cover all regions, due to political instability; however, the overall population increased by 1.02 percent per year.[31]

Decadal population

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Hinduism in Sri Lanka by decades[32][33][34]
Year Percent Increase
1881
21.51%
 -
1891
20.48%
 Decrease -1.03%
1901
23.2%
 Increase +2.72%
1911
22.85%
 Decrease -0.35%
1921
21.83%
 Decrease -1.02%
1931
22%
 Increase +0.17%
1946
19.83%
 Decrease -2.17%
1953
19.9%
 Increase 0.07%
1963
18.51%
 Decrease -1.39%
1971
17.64%
 Decrease -0.87%
1981
15.48%
 Decrease -2.16%
1991
14.32%
 Decrease -1.16%
2001
13.8%
 Decrease -0.52%
2012
12.58%
 Decrease -1.22%

The Hindu percentage has declined from 21.51% in 1881 to 12.58% in 2012.[35] Mainly because of the indentured labourers brought by the British returning to India and immigration of Tamil Hindus caused by the Sri Lankan Civil War between 23 Jul 1983 – 18 May 2009. Around 1.5 lakh were killed and 1 million Tamils left Sri Lanka during that turmoil period.[36]

District-wise population

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S. No. District Total pop. Hindus pop. Hindus (%)
1. Colombo 2,324,349 274,087
11.79%
2. Gampaha 2,304,833 112,746
4.89%
3. Kalutara 1,221,948 114,556
9.37%
4. Kandy 1,375,382 197,076
14.32%
5. Matale 484,531 45,682
9.42%
Total 20,359,439 2,561,299
12.6%
Source: 2012 Census, p. 1

See also

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Notes

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References

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Citation

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  1. ^ "Population by religion and district, Census 1981, 2001, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census and Statistics of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  2. ^ "Buddhism in Sri Lanka: A Short History". www.accesstoinsight.org. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Census of Population and Housing, 2011". Sri Lanka: Department of Census and Statistics. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  4. ^ "During Mahinda Rajapaksa's India visit, New Delhi likely to raise Sri Lankan Hindu Tamil's issues". The Indian Express. 7 February 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  5. ^ Bradley, Mark (2018). "Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus and other Tamis in the Montréal diaspora". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ "Success story of a 'victim diaspora'". The Hindu. 28 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  7. ^ Goonasekera, Sunil (2007). Walking to Kataragama. International Centre for Ethnic Studies. p. 520. ISBN 978-955-580-110-2.
  8. ^ Obeyesekere, Gananath (1977). "Social Change and the Deities: Rise of the Kataragama Cult in Modern Sri Lanka". Man. 12 (3/4): 377–396. doi:10.2307/2800544. ISSN 0025-1496. JSTOR 2800544.
  9. ^ Lion of Lanka. Himalayan Academy. p. 816.
  10. ^ "Shivaya Subramaniam". Himalayan Academy.
  11. ^ Henry & Padma 2019, p. 43.
  12. ^ Heather (25 February 2021). "The Ramayana and Sri Lanka". Asian Art Newspaper. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  13. ^ Gokhale, Namita (23 October 2012). Book of Shiva. Penguin Books. p. 104. ISBN 978-81-8475-863-4.
  14. ^ Meeadhu, Kalabooshanam (13 June 2008). "Nainativu Nagapooshani Chariot festival". Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  15. ^ "Nainativu Nagapoosani Amman Temple, Sri Lanka - Info, Timings, Photos, History". TemplePurohit - Your Spiritual Destination | Bhakti, Shraddha Aur Ashirwad. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  16. ^ Asian Religions in British Columbia, UBC Press (2011), p. 125.
  17. ^ Indrapala, K. (2005). The Evolution of an Ethnic Identity - The Tamils of Sri Lanka 300 B.C.E to 1200 C.E. ISBN 0-646-42546-3. p. 212
  18. ^ Indrapala, K. (2005). The Evolution of an Ethnic Identity - The Tamils of Sri Lanka 300 B.C.E to 1200 C.E. ISBN 0-646-42546-3. p. 212
  19. ^ "ඉන්ස්ක්‍රිප්ෂන්ස් ඔෆ් සිලොන් වොලුයුම් I මිහින්තලේ 29 ශ්‍රී ලංකා අභීලේඛන - ශ්‍රී ලංකා අභිලේඛන පිළිබඳ අන්තර්ජාල දත්ත ගබඩාව".
  20. ^ "ඉන්ස්ක්‍රිප්ෂන්ස් ඔෆ් සිලොන් වොලුයුම් I මිහින්තලේ 40 ශ්‍රී ලංකා අභීලේඛන - ශ්‍රී ලංකා අභිලේඛන පිළිබඳ අන්තර්ජාල දත්ත ගබඩාව".
  21. ^ "Buddhism among Tamils. An Introduction" (PDF).
  22. ^ Lecture on Hindu sculpture and architecture of Sri Lanka Archived 2012-10-12 at the Wayback Machine Sunday Times - September 29, 2010
  23. ^ Gilles Flament (July–September 2003). "Walking on Fire". Hinduism Today. Archived from the original on 26 March 2006.
  24. ^ "Reach out to the minority" (PDF).
  25. ^ Mookerji 1998, p. 76.
  26. ^ Acharya, Prasanna Kumar (1996). Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Limited. p. 187. ISBN 978-81-215-0732-5.
  27. ^ Acharya, Prasanna Kumar (1997). A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture. Low Price Publications. ISBN 978-81-7536-113-3.
  28. ^ 2012 Census, p. 2.
  29. ^ "Sri Lanka Statistics, 2006" (PDF). Government of Sri Lanka. 7 October 2007. p. 202. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Sri Lanka Population Statistics" (PDF). Sri Lanka Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2015.
  32. ^ "Census of Population and Housing of Sri Lanka, 2012 - Table A4: Population by district, religion and sex" (PDF). Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2014.
  33. ^ "Table 2.13: Population by religion and census years" (PDF). Statistical Abstract 2013. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015.
  34. ^ "Population by religion". LankaSIS Sri Lanka Statistical Information Service. Department of Census & Statistics, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Sri Lanka Religious Statistics". www.worldgenweb.org. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  36. ^ "Sri Lankan forces ended LTTE civil war through 'humanitarian operation': Gotabaya". The Hindu. 19 May 2022.

Sources

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