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A STUDY OF THE PEOPLES AND LANGUAGES OF SRI LANKA

ZEYLANICA, a study of the Peoples and Languages of Sri Lanka by Asi Hussein is by far the most comprehensive, multi-disciplinary study of the origins and anities of Sri Lanka’s peoples and languages.
The work comprises of ten chapters covering the dierent ethnic groups of Sri Lanka through which the author takes the reader to the plains and valleys of India, to the steppes of Southern Russia and Central Asia; to the Mediterranean, Asia Minor and the Iranian plateau; the Arabian peninsula and Mesopotamia; the Indonesian archipelago, Malayan peninsula and Taiwan; Northern Europe and the Iberian peninsula and to coastal Eastern and Southern Africa, in an attempt to trace the origins and anities of the island’s various peoples and languages.
The ethnic groups covered in this work includes both the major communities as well as minor groups who have made Sri Lanka their home over the centuries. This includes the Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Malays, Memons, Portuguese and Dutch  Burghers, the Kars and the Ahikuntaka. It also deals with the legendary peoples such as the Rakshasas, Yakkhas, Nagas and Nittavo who are supposed to have inhabited the island in days gone by. The author has gathered around him a vast corpus of information from ancient literature, research studies and eld work, not only to substantiate established facts, but more importantly, has postulated some new ideas and theories which should stimulate further research and inquiry into this fascinating subject.

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