Sri Lanka's indigenous Muslims, called Ceylon Moors, like other communities on the island, has had historical ties with India, especially Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India.
Today, unfortunately, these links are very weak, if they exist at all. And they are not remembered or recognized.
Political exigencies due to the redrawing of international borders after the collapse of the British Empire has put up barriers between the Ceylon Moors and India.
The new identities were created and are constantly created. New links are forged in response to new stimuli, both domestic and international.
But India's impact on the Ceylon Moors (a society that is different from the Indian Moors, which is more recent Muslim immigrants from India) can not be ignored because it can be seen in language, culture and practices in society.
The active links have dropped, but the legacy is there for all to see.
Early migration from Kerala
Ceylon Moors are of Arab origin. Even from the earliest times were Arabs from Gulf countries have been coming straight to the island for trade, but the really great migration for settlement through the Malabar coast in what is now Kerala.
Marina Azeez, in his contribution to the ethnological study Muslims in Sri Lanka (Razik Fareed Foundation, Colombo, 1986) says: "The first Muslim fleet is said to have sailed to the Indian Ocean in 636 AD during the Caliphate of Omar, and since then Muslim traders settled along the Malabar coast of India where pre-Islamic-time Arabs had settled as far back as 4th.century AD ".
"According to Tennent (James Emerson Tennent, London, 1859) when these settlements expanded with increased trade and migration, people spread to the coasts of Sri Lanka, settled here and carried on their trade."
By 7th century AD Arabs had settled in Kayalpatnam in what is now Tamil Nadu. From Kayalpatnam, they spread to the east and west coasts of Sri Lanka.
Although the Arabs were traders from the earliest times, Islam gave their profession a big boost. Extension of trade meant more settlers abroad and more converts from non-Arab peoples.
"By the 9th century all trade between Europe and the Middle East was transferred to the Arabs, and the 14th Century they were active in the region of the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, the Malay Archipelago and China," said Azeez.
The Arabs had been expelled the Greeks and Romans as the traders in this area.
Muslims in the Arab-Indian origin from the Malabar and Kayalpatnam, together with those from Arab countries, settled in Colombo, Beruwela, a coastal town on the way to Galle.
Beruwela, which retains its distinctive Islamic character, even today, got its first Muslim immigrants in the 1024th It is confirmed that the art of weaving was introduced by migrants from Beruwela Kayalpatnam.
Colombo, which has a significant Muslim population than today, primarily was a Muslim when the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505, "said Azeez.
Muslims of Arab and Arab-Indian descent, married local women in Sri Lanka. They took most Tamil wives because Tamils populated coast and were the local merchants as well.
Those who ruled the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, came first in Kathankudy near Batticaloa. Today Kathankudy is perhaps the only all-Muslim town in Sri Lanka. It also has the largest number of mosques per square kilometer in the world.
In Batticaloa, the Muslim Arabs and the Arab-Indian origin married local women from the dominant caste Mukkuvar.
The Mukkuvars themselves were early immigrants from the Malabar Coast, who came to the East of Sri Lanka via Mannar and Jaffna in the 4th century.
Muslims and Mukkuvars of Batticaloa practiced matriliny or the system of tracing descent through the female line, and organized themselves into matrilineal "kudis" or clans.
The administration of temples and mosques were in the hands of kudis and President of the mosque was the head of kudi with the mosque were identified.
Adoption of the Tamil language
The early Muslim settlers in Sri Lanka was adopted Tamil as their spoken language.
This was because Tamil was the language of the traders in South India and Sri Lanka and it is these Tamil Muslims traders families married into.
The Portuguese chronicler, Duarte Barbosa, wrote in 16th.century AD to the port of Colombo, speaking Muslims, a mixture of Arabic and Tamil, and used the Arabic script for writing Tamil.
Tamil, written in the Arabic alphabet, came to be known as "Arabic Tamil".
Many Muslims in the Sinhala majority areas are now saying that their mother tongue is Arabic Tamil.
Muslims in Sri Lanka produced literature in Arabic-Tamil, as well as pure Tamil, with Arabic script, besides the Tamil script.
But Arabic Tamil as a literary tool is not in vogue now. Muslims today are using the purest form of Tamil in his writings and formal speech. But their spoken Tamil is unique, with the help of Arabic and Islamic words, terms and expressions.
In his essay, "The Language and Literature of the Muslims' MM.Uwise says that" Muslim Tamils "are different from the Tamil spoken by Sri Lankan Tamils in terms of words and even pronunciations.
The use of Arabic words and terms will be visible.
But many of the differences can be traced to the Sri Lankan Muslims' historical links with the Indian Tamils and Malayalees in Kerala.
To give just one example, "Itam" (Sri Lankan Tamil word for space) becomes "Etam" in the Muslim Tamils. But in Tamil Nadu is also ITAM pronounced as Etam or Edam.
Some of the Muslim Tamil words are actually classical Tamil words, which are still in vogue in Tamil Nadu.
The Sri Lankan Muslims to use "Nombu" for "Vrata" or "vritham" (fasting). Recitation of prayers is "Odhudhal" not "vaasithal." But both Nombu and Odhudhal is pure Tamil words, which are used in Tamil Nadu as a replacement for the Sanskritic conditions Vritam and Vaasithal.
There are signs of Malayalam influence also. "Kudithen" (drinking) is "kudichcha", which is only a variant of Malayalam "kudichchu".
In Tamil Nadu, Tamil is also Kudithen Kudichchen.
Uwise says that the Tamil spoken by Muslims living in Sinhala areas on very different from the Tamil spoken by Muslims in the Tamil areas. He also says that Muslims in the Sinhala areas, many Sinhala words.
But the cases he can mention are few and far between, and these are only used in common speech.
It can not be denied that Muslims in the Sinhala areas speak Tamil at home. They have been responsible for the survival of the Tamil language against great odds in the Sinhalese areas.
As the famous Tamil scholar, Prof. Karthigesu Sivathamby put it: "If Tamil is heard today in villages deep in Sinhalese country, it is because of the Muslims but for them, Tamil have disappeared from the Sinhalese areas .."
Earlier, the quixotic attempt by some Colombo-based elite politicians get Muslims to accept the Arab or Sinhalese as their spoken language failed because the love of Tamil ran in the veins of the Sri Lankan Muslims.
Performing Arts
In the field of performing arts, is the influence of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, however, clearly MMM Mahroof in his essay "Performing and Other Arts of Muslims" portrays them as are of Arab origin.
Although some of them are, the figures clearly indicate relations with India.
The Silambam or Silambattam, demonstrating flexibility in the handling of the sticks, is portrayed as an Arab game. Admit, however, that Mahroof Silambam is popular in Kerala and Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu also.
Kali Kambu dance, a dance of men with small sticks, are also said to be Arab. This may well be. But Moplahs in Kerala has a similar dance.
The Villu Pattu, a Tamil art is also part of the Muslim folk art.
However, these links to Tamil Nadu and Kerala have either disappeared or are fast disappearing due to the Islamisation of the Sri Lankan Muslims since the 1980s.
Many of these performing arts have been called as "un-Islamic" and discouraged.
Portuguese era and the Indian connection
The arrival of the Portuguese in 1505 had a devastating impact on the Muslims in Sri Lanka since the Portuguese saw them as competitors in Asia and Euro-Asian trade.
The Portuguese took on the Muslims both on the Malabar Coast and Sri Lanka, with an intent to drive them out, cripple them and decimate them.
Force was used freely, but traders in Asia, including Arabs and Arab-Indian/Ceylon Muslim men, for peace and never used violence.
As it happened, came Portuguese to Sri Lanka via India. On hearing that Muslim ships were dodging the Portuguese men-of-war by going to the Gulf via the Maldives sent the Portuguese Governor of Goa nine armed ships under the command of his son Don Laurenco de Almeida to decimate them. But due to poor navigation, landed the Portuguese commander in Colombo instead!
The Portuguese began to persecute Muslims in Colombo from the beginning. The Zamorin of Calicut, who had a lot of problems with the high handed Portuguese in Malabar, sent a fleet of ships to help the Muslims in Colombo resist Portuguese.
But this did not stop the Portuguese from virtually run the Muslims of the western coast of Sri Lanka.
With compassion for them, gave the Sinhalese king of Kandy, Senar, their land to grow in the Batticaloa district on the east coast.
This had a profound impact on the Muslims as traders became farmers overnight. Eventually, paddy cultivation is the single most important profession in society.
After the nightmare of the Portuguese and Dutch rule the Muslims rose to a degree of freedom under British rule. Tolerance, peace and law and order, helped the growth of Muslim trade.
The Indian influence continued because the British ruled India as well. Trade with the Coromandel Coast and Malabar flourished. According 19th.century columnist, Alexander Johnston, the Muslims in Sri Lanka followed the business practice of the Hindu trader in India.
