Titre du document / Document title

The Vijayan colonization and the archaeology of identity in Sri Lanka = la colonisation vijayan et l'archéologie de l'identité au Sri Lanka

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

CONINGHAM Robin ⁽¹⁾ ; LEWER Nick ⁽²⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ Department of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, ROYAUME-UNI
⁽²⁾ Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, Bradford BD7 1DP, ROYAUME-UNI

Résumé / Abstract

There are competing, yet interlinked, idnetities in Sri Lanka through which people establish, maintain, and protect a sense of self-meaning, predictability, and purpose' (Northrup 1989: 55). These have become established over hundreds of years, and communities are attributed labels including Sinhala, Tamil, Vadd, Buddhist and Hindu (Coningham & lewer 1999; 857). Sri lanka is now experiencing what Azar (1990) has called a protracted social conflict', wherein a section of the Tamil communities led by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are engaged in a struggle to establish a Tamil homeland or Eelam. International links, especially with south India, have had important implications on the formation of identities in Sri Lanka. Here we focus on a key influence which has deep archaeological and political implications, whose interpretation has informed and distorted the present understanding of the concept and evolution of identities. This theme, the Vijayan colonization of the island, illustrates the formulation of identities, especially as derived from a historical chronicle, the Mahavamsa, which was rediscovered' by colonial officials in AD 1826 and has played a major role in determining the dynamics of this conflict.

Revue / Journal Title

Antiquity   ISSN 0003-598X 

Source / Source

2000, vol. 74, n^o285, pp. 707-712 (34 ref.)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Portland Press, London, ROYAUME-UNI  (1927) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Ethnology ; Population ; Colonization ; Religion ; Buddhism ; Asia ; Sri Lanka ; Type of publication ; Chronicle ; History ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Ethnologie ; Population ; Colonisation ; Religion ; Bouddhisme ; Asie ; Sri Lanka ; Mode de publication ; Chronique ; Historique ; Vijayan ; Mahavamsa ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 23026, 35400009212680.0430