Caste conundrums: Views of caste in a Sinhalese Catholic fishing village

Sri Lanka: State of Research on Democracy

“…How does the democratic political process work within a social formation that is characterized by caste divisions, domination, marginalization and competition? Anthropological studies on caste in both Sinhalese and Tamil societies are quite rich (Leach: 1961, Mcgilvary: 1982, Obeysekere: 1967, Peiris: 1956, Ryan: 1953, Stirrat: 1982, Yalman: 1967, Pfaffenberger: 1982. The early anthropological and sociological studies on caste in Sri Lanka, even up to the 1970s, focused on themes like kinship, family, social stratifi cation, land tenure, rituals and the rural division of labour.…”

Social Mobility, Popular Ideology, and Collective Violence in Modern Sri Lanka

“…Along the coastal strip the rioters were of similar social background to those involved in the disturbances of the late nineteenth century. In the interior, where there had been few disturbances since the rebellion of 1817-18, 3 Regional differences in caste, including those an interesting discussion that can be read as supbetween the coastal strip and the interior, are de-porting my belief that caste along the coastal strip scribed by Ryan (1953)-Peebles (1973, was only one of many possible determinants of stawriting about the late eighteenth and early nine-tus, the relative importance of which varied acteenth centuries, has argued that Karavas and Sal-cording to situation, see Stirrat (1982). agamas were not integrated into a "caste system" 4 The term "cultural nationalism" is used here and that their coastal settlements functioned to describe the belief that one's primary political largely as socially separate domains.…”

“…In the colonial period, many saw themselves as Catholics first and Sinhalese second. Now most identify themselves strongly as Sinhalese, and some have adopted strident anti-Tamil positions, perhaps to compensate for their marginal position among Sinhalese as a whole (Stirrat 1984).…”

“…These accounts have proved very useful, but other approaches are now needed if our understanding of these events is to be advanced. The potential of a broader approach has been demonstrated by work that has sought to explain recent ethnic conflict by examining changes in the ways the Sinhalese perceive themselves in relation to the various ethnic and religious minorities who live on the island (Gunawardana 1979;Jayawardena 1984;Obeyesekere 1984;Peebles 1983;Stirrat 1984). But little attempt has been made to compare disturbances widely separated by time or to examine systematically the development of patterns of collective violence.…”

Signboards and the Naming of Small Businesses: Personhood and Dissimulation in a Sri Lankan Market Town

“…At the same time, names can be changed; therefore a name can equally disguise hierarchical connotations. There is considerable resistance to open discussion of caste in Sri Lanka (Stirrat 1982, Spencer 1990; Abeyasekera 2013), as in India where caste has been described as an embarrassment for nationalist projects of 20 th century modernity (Dirks 2001). 19 A consistent trait among many of the middle-class business families I knew in Dambulla, was a pronounced reluctance to attribute any significance to the role of caste in their daily lives.…”