| Revision as of 00:19, 7 February 2005 view source24.101.68.184 (talk)No edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 00:20, 7 February 2005 view source Fvw (talk | contribs)19,601 editsm Reverted edits by 24.101.68.184 to last version by FvwNext edit → | ||
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
| {{ethno-stub}} | {{ethno-stub}} | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| == External links == | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
Revision as of 00:20, 7 February 2005
The Sinhalese are the majority (14 million) ethnic group of Sri Lanka, who probably came from Northern India. They speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language. The history of sinhales runs over 2500 years back. According to legend, they may have descended from King Vijaya and his party of several hundred that set foot on the island around 500 BC.
They are generally considered to be a Caucasoid race, but display some traits of their Dravidian neighbours (Australoid with strong Caucasoid traits), possibly due to assimilation of Tamils
Most of the Sinhalese are Buddhists (85%). They've been having conflicts with the Tamils in recent years (see Ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka).
 | This article about ethnicity is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |