Abstract:
The history of the Sri Lankan Muslims is ancient one. Since they considered
themselves as the descendants of the Arabs, the migrated Muslims from the
different parts of the world also accumulated with them in later part of their
history. The early history of the Muslims in Sri Lanka is not clear. Because, the
early history has been read with the mythical evidences from cried de-toil. Since
there were some contradictions related to the early settlements of the Muslims in
Sri Lanka, there are strong evidences that prove the settlement of Muslims in
Jaffna mainland formed in 13th century, and Island region during the period of
Dutch. Jaffna mainland and the Island region are the two nearest locations in the
district of Jaffna. However the Muslims are scattered in these two regions widely
till now. There are considerable differences that we can observe among the
activities related to their culture. Since they all observe the faith of Islam, we can
identify the differences among their day-to-day activities and cultural aspects.
Most of the practices of the Muslims in Jaffna mainland are most common and
similar to the practices of the other regions of Sri Lanka. But, the practices of the
Muslims in the Island region of Jaffna have more variations with the Muslims of
Jaffna mainland and as well as the other regions of Sri Lanka. These cultural
differences are rooted in the basis of the Social Economical and life styles of the
people of the two regions of Jaffna. This research mainly concentrates on
exploring the individual identity and the differences of the Muslims of Jaffna main
land and Island region which is the scope of this present research. It incorporates
the historical approach with the primary and secondary sources related to the main
theme of the research. Interviews, questionnaires, participatory observation and
discussions have been done for collecting primary data. The books, research
articles, magazines and newspapers related to the history of the Muslims in Sri
Lanka and Jaffna are utilized for collecting secondary data. This research may
have significance. Because, it is the first attempt to find the differences in the
cultural practices of the Muslims in Jaffna Mainland and Island region.This
research will emphasis the diverse cultural groups who are living in different
geographical region.
