The Deva are a mythical people of

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 ...

according to the

Sanskrit epics Indian epic poetry is the epic poetry written in the Indian subcontinent, traditionally called ''Kavya'' (or ''Kāvya''; Sanskrit: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá''). The ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata'', which were originally composed in ...

. According to the Mahavamsa and

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages e ...

they lived among the

Naga Naga or NAGA may refer to: Mythology * Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions * Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata'' * Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...

, Yakkha 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 Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Prese ...

. 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 P ...

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 Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and g ...

worship him as a deity. He is said to be the guardian of

Samanalakanda Adam's Peak is a tall conical mountain located in central Sri Lanka. It is well known for the Sri Pada ( si, ශ්‍රී පාද), i.e., "sacred footprint", a rock formation near the summit, which in Buddhist tradition is held to be ...

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 The early Dravidian religion constituted a non-Vedic form of Hinduism in that they were either historically or are at present Āgamic. The Agamas are non-Vedic in origin,Mudumby Narasimhachary (ed.) (1976). "Āgamaprāmāṇya of Yāmunācārya ...

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