Sri Lankan Malays ( ''Shri Lanka Mæle Janathava'' (Standard); ''Mæle Minissu / Ja Minissu'' (Colloquially); are Sri Lankans with full or partial ancestry from the

Indonesian Archipelago The islands of Indonesia, also known as the Indonesian Archipelago ( id, Kepulauan Indonesia) or Nusantara, may refer either to the islands comprising the country of Indonesia or to the geographical groups which include its islands. History ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, or

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. In addition, people from

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

and the

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also consider themselves Malays. The term is a

misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name ...

as it is used as a historical catch-all term for all native ethnic groups of the

Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago ( Indonesian/ Malay: , tgl, Kapuluang Malay) is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also been called the " Malay world," " Nusantara", "East Indies", Indo-Australian Archipelago, Spices Arc ...

who reside in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

; the term does not apply solely to the ethnic Malays. They number approximately 40,000 and make up 0.2% of the Sri Lankan population, making them the fourth largest of the five main ethnic groups in the country. Sri Lankan Malays first settled in the country in 200 B.C., when the

Austronesian expansion The Austronesian peoples, sometimes referred to as Austronesian-speaking peoples, are a large group of peoples in Taiwan, Maritime Southeast Asia, Micronesia, coastal New Guinea, Island Melanesia, Polynesia, and Madagascar that speak Au ...

reached the island of Sri Lanka from Maritime Southeast Asia (which includes peoples as diverse as

Sumatran Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent ...

s to

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) and brought speakers of the Malayo-Polynesian language group to Sri Lankan shores. This migration accelerated when both Sri Lanka and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

were Dutch colonies (1640–1796), while a second wave (1796–1948) came from the

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, when both Malaya and Sri Lanka were in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. However, Sri Lanka has had a history of Malay presence dating back to as early as the 13th century. Distinct to the present-day Sri Lankan Malay population, these Malay migrants were primarily Buddhists who intermarried into the Sinhalese population. Sri Lankan scholars suggest that the Sinhalese population possesses a notable Malay connection due to this, meaning a significant portion of the Sri Lankan population would have at least some Malay ancestry.

History

A significant Malay presence in Sri Lanka dates as far back as the 13th century, when Chandrabhanu Sridhamaraja, a Malay of Tambralinga, managed to occupy the northern part of the island in 1247; his followers assimilated into the local population. Many ancestors of present-day Sri Lankan Malays were soldiers posted by the Dutch, and later by the British, for the colonial administration of Sri Lanka, who decided to settle on the island. Other immigrants were convicts or members of noble houses from the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whic ...

(present-day Indonesia), who were exiled to Sri Lanka and who never left. The main source of a continuing Malay identity is their common

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines an ...

, the Islamic faith, and their ancestral origin from the

. Many Sri Lankan Malays have been celebrated as courageous soldiers, politicians, sportsmen, lawyers, accountants, and doctors.

Society

Language

Depending on where they live in the country and other socio-economic factors, Sri Lankan Malays speak Sinhala,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

, and/or

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

. According to the 2012 census, 79.2%, or 28,975 Sri Lankan Malays also spoke Tamil and 66.2%, or 24,202 also spoke English.

Religion

Like their ancestors in present-day

and

, Sri Lankan Malays are Muslim. Mosques were erected by the local Malays along the coasts of Sri Lanka in places like Hambantota, Beruwela, and Galle. The Jawatte mosque in Colombo and Masjidul Jamiya, the military mosque on Slave Island, are renowned for their architecture and long history. The first two storeys of the Grand Mosque in Sri Lanka was built by Mohammed Balankaya, an exiled Malay noble of the royal house of Gowa (in present-day

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu ...

). Today, the mosque is of great significance and is a symbol of Muslims in Sri Lanka; it is the Grand Mosque of Sri Lanka, where decisions affecting the lives of the island's Muslim population are made.

Sri Lankan Malay names

First and last names among Sri Lankan Malays are mostly of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

origin and are similar (including equivalents) to names used by

Sinhalese people Sinhalese people ( si, සිංහල ජනතාව, Sinhala Janathāva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. They were historically known as Hela people ( si, හෙළ). They constitute about 75% of ...

. Common last names include Jayah, Weerabangsa, Sinhawangsa/Sinhawansa, Jayawangsa, Singalaxana, Bangsa Jayah, and Wangsa. Malay-origin last names include Lye, Samath, Cuttilan, Chunchie, Preena, Hannan, Sallay, Doole, Kitchilan, Kutinun, Kanchil, Sainon, Bongso, Bohoran, Kuppen, and Lappen. Arabic names are also used by Sri Lankan Malays, including Saldin, Assan, Rahman, Drahaman, Bucker, Ramlan, Rajap, Jumat, and Mannan. Prefixes of Malay origin such as Tuan, Maas, and Raden for males and Gnei, Nona, Sitti Nona, and Gnonya for females are commonly used as first names among Sri Lankan Malays.

Legacy

Organisations

* All Ceylon Malay Political Union * Colombo Malay Cricket Club * Sri Lanka Malay Association * Malay Association Kolonnawa Electorate (MAKE) * Conference of Sri Lanka Malays * Dunia Melayu Dunia Islam * Kurunegala Malay Association

Malay place names in Sri Lanka

Some place names in Sri Lanka have references indicating the presence of Javanese and Malay communities or their contribution to the location. Some of these are: * Jaffna (Java Pattanam) * Ja Goda * Ja Kotuwa * Thavasikulam * Hambanthota (Sampan- Thota) * Taiyiddi * Thachathopu * Jawatte * Kartel ( Slave Island) *

Ja-Ela Ja-Ela ( si, ජා-ඇල, ta, ஜா-எல) is a suburb of Colombo, located approximately north of the Colombo city centre. Ja-Ela lies on the A3 road which overlaps with the Colombo – Katunayake Expressway at the Ja-Ela Interchange. ...

* Javakachcheri ( Chavakachcheri) * street names such as Malay Street, Java Lane, Jalan Padang

Notable Sri Lankan Malays

Notes

References

{{British Ceylon period topics Kingdom of Kandy Malay people Ethnic groups in Sri Lanka