Browsing by Author "Sivapathasuntharam, A."

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The Brahmins (Temple priests) - A socio – cultural and linguistic perspective
(Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Kelaniya, 2015) Sivapathasuntharam, A.
The Brahmins are the temple priests of the Tamil community. These casts occupy the higher strata of the cast hierarchy of the Tamil society. The Brahmins consist nearly 1% in the Jaffna Peninsula. Most of the Brahmins in Jaffna are descendants of those who have migrated to Jaffna after the Hindu revival of 19th century which was triggered by Srilasri Arumuganavalar. All the Brahmins are Hindus. They are attached to temples either as priests or as assistants. The Brahmins wear the sacred thread: They are also strictly vegetarian. Brahmin community significantly differs from others in their lifestyle. They have special rituals connected to their day to day life. There are "Santhiyavanthanam" "Upanayanam" etc. The artisans maintain close connection with India. This cast performs several essential religious duties for the Hindu population of the Jaffna peninsula and their existence is inseparably interwoven with other cast. My Research methodology is Participation and observation, Interviews and discussion. I shall be focusing demonstrating how the Brahmins rituals practices vary from the others and how they are able to maintain artisan identity in the Sri Lanka.
The Brahmins: A Study on the Traditional Elite in Jaffna with Reference to their Dialect
(Department of Linguistics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Sivapathasuntharam, A.
The Brahmins, originally those who are priests are considered the highest Hindu caste. The Brahmins consist of nearly 1% of the population in the Jaffna Peninsula. Most of the Brahmins in Jaffna are the descendants of those who have migrated to Jaffna after the Hindu revival which took place during the19th century which was triggered by Srilasri Arumuganavalar. All the Brahmins are Hindus and are attached to temples either as priests or as assistants. The Brahmins wear the sacred thread. They are also strictly vegetarian. The Brahmin community significantly differs from the others in their life style. They have special rituals connected to their day to day life. :"Santhiyavanthanam" "Upanayanam" etc. The artisans maintain a close connection with India. This cast performs several essential religious duties for the Hindu population in Jaffna and their existence is inseparably interwoven with the other casts. There are two kinds of dialects used by the Sri Lankan Tamils: Regional dialect and Socio dialect. The Socio dialect is influenced by the cast system .This research explores the special features visible in the socio dialect used by the Brahmins. It will further focus on demonstrating how the Brahmin rituals and practices vary from those of other casts and how they are able to maintain the artisan identity in Sri Lanka. Further, The effects of Brahmin caste on their socio dialect will be analysed through the study. In conducting this research the technique of participation and observation, interviews and further, the discussions were used as the methodology.
Spoken Language in Punkkuduthivu;
(Faculty of Humanities, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, 2016) Sivapathasuntharam, A.