The Deva are a mythical people of Sri Lanka according to the Sanskrit epics. According to the Mahavamsa and

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

they lived among the Naga,

Yakkha Yakkha may refer to: * Yakkha people, an ethnic group of South Asia * Yakkha language, a Sino-Tibetan language * Yaksha The yakshas ( sa, यक्ष ; pi, yakkha, i=yes) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometime ...

and Raskha. They ousted their arch enemies the Raskha from Sri Lanka, with the help of

Lord Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

. They were then subsequently conquered by King

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

of the Raskha. After the Yakkhas had left to live in the mountains and remote dense forests, they met

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

who converted them to Buddhism.W. L. Wijayawansa . (2009). Curbing the tribesmen . Available: http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/12/31/fea25.asp . Last accessed 17 March 2010.John M. Senaveratna (1997). The Story of the Sinhalese. Colombo: Asian Educational Services. According to the Mahavamsa,

met the Deva at

Mahiyangana Mahiyanganaya is a town situated close to the Mahaweli River in Badulla District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. It is said that Gautama Buddha visited Mahiyanganaya on the Duruthu full moon poya day in order to settle a dispute arose between Yakkas a ...

. Buddha gave Sumana Saman (A leader of the Deva) a few hairs from his head, which were placed in a golden urn and enshrined in a sapphire stupa. A buddhist monk called Sarabhu is then said to have deposited Buddha's ashes in this Stupa. This stupa is now called the "Mahiyangana Stupa" and can be found in the

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

museum. Sumana Saman was a leader of the Deva who came from the central hills of Sri Lanka.Duruthu Poya - The Buddha’s first visit to Lanka. (2009). Gamini Jayasinghe. Available: http://www.amarasara.info/hotnews/20091231-02.htm. Last accessed 17 March 2010. Some Sri Lankan Buddhists worship him as a deity. He is said to be the guardian of Samanalakanda.

Migration

During the ascension of the mythical Raksha demon King Ravana, some Deva people migrated to other places like present-day North Malabar of Kerala where they followed Dravidian folk religion before the advent of Hinduism. they still survive in Malabar, and are known as "Divyar" or "Thiyyar", a localization of the name "Deyva" equivalent to Deva. The ancestor worship of Thiyyas springs from the fact that they consider themselves as descendants of "Deyva" or God. The ceremonial oracles, who represent the spirit of their ancestors of Lanka, in the temple are known as "Theyyam", originating from the word "Deyvam" meaning God. However, by the time of the legendary arrival of Vijaya to Sri Lanka, a significant number of the Deva clan is held in popular tradition had intermingled with North Indians, Nagas and Yaksas, to create the Sinhalese lineage.

References

*H. Parker (1909). Ancient Ceylon. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. 7. *H.R Perera. (1988). Buddhism in Sri Lanka - A short history. Available: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/bud-srilanka.pdf. Last accessed 02 10 10. {{DEFAULTSORT:Deva People Ramayana Buddhism in Sri Lanka Exotic tribes in Hindu scripture