4 millions of Tamil people
live in Sri Lanka. Another
70 millions live in India.
Several religions are
represented among the Tamil
population, whereas the
majority admits to the
Hinduism or the Islam. The
language is Tamil.
In Sri Lanka Tamil people
are distinguished between
„native Tamils“ (living on
the Islands already for
millenniums) and so called
„Indian Tamils“ who have
been transferred as tea
farmers from India to Ceylon
during the British colonial
era.
Since the break-out of the
civil war millions of Tamil
People fled from their
homeland. They fear
reprisals from the
Singhalese government.
The Singhalese
represent 75% of the
population in Sri
Lanka. Their
language is Singhala.
From the 15 millions
of Singhalese people
worldwide more than
14 millions live in
Sri Lanka.
The Singhalese
people are divided
into 2 groups: The
Kandy-Singhaleses,
are domiciled in the
mountain regions and
are traditional and
conservative. The
second group are the
Singhaleses living
in the coast
regions. They are
more cosmopolitan
tempered.
Most part of the
Singhalese
population are
devotees of the
Theravada-Buddhism
which is strongly
swayed by the
Hinduism.
