Origins
As the mainstream Sinhalese speakers claimSouth Indian roots
SomeColonial period
The powerfulEtymology of Bera
TheSub divisions
There are many subdivisions within the caste, some of which are ''Badgam Berava'' and ''Gahala Berava'' indicating drumming specializations. They denote Temple drummers who occupied and cultivated ''Bathgam'' (rice producing villages) asRole in folk religion
Although great many Sinhalese purport to profess the conservativeReferences
* The Feast of the Sorcerer: Practices of Consciousness and Power – by BRUCE KAPFERER. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997. *Performing Respectability: The Beravā, Middle-Class Nationalism, and the Classicization of Kandyan Dance in Sri Lanka by Susan A. Reed Cultural Anthropology May 2002, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 246-277 Posted online on October 29, 2004. * The Musical Gift: Sound, Sovereignty and Multicultural History in Sri Lanka by Jim Sykes, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago, 2011. *Servants of Globalization: Women, Migration, and Domestic Work, and: The Kitchen Spoon's Handle: Transnationalism and Sri Lanka's Migrant Housemaids (review) by Tiengtrakul, Chanasai NWSA Journal - Volume 15, Number 2, Summer 2003, pp. 195-199External links