The Census Returns have a catch-all term, ‘Others,’ that hides many interesting segments of this Island’s population who, in their different ways, also contribute to the making of this beautiful mosaic we call the Sri Lankan Nation. These ‘Others’ are the: Ahikuntakayas or Gypsies; Baiyyas; Kannadiyans or Canarese; Kinnarayas; Malayalees or Kochchi; Mukkuvas; Pannikans; Parsis; Portuguese Burghers; Rodiyas; and the Vanniyas. Most people in the rest of the population haven’t even heard of some of these communities and some, vaguely, if at all.

Ahikuntakayas or Gypsies: This is a distinct community of gypsies, snake-charmesr and wandering magicians that live by telling fortunes and begging. They are said to originate in the Telegu-speaking area of South India and have been on the Island from remote antiquity. Their dialect is known as ‘Andhra-demala,’ an appellation for Telegu but whether they speak Telegu or a dialect derived from it is not known.

They are found all over the Dry Zone—from the North-western and North-central Provinces to the Ampara and Batticaloa Districts and have settlements one at Aligam Bay close to Akkaraipattu and the other called Rufus Kulam off Pottuvil.

No serious attempt has been made to settle them and they are mostly illiterate.

Baiyyas: This small community lives in the Eastern Province near Chenkaladi and south of that to the borders of Kumana in the Panama-pattuva. These people, wiry and slight of build are mainly slash-and-burn cultivators and keep small herds of cattle known as ‘kulu-harak,’ these animals also being as diminutive as their owners.

Their dialect appears to be a form of archaic Sinhala.

One of their settlements is Sippimaduva, on the borders of the Kumana Bird Sanctuary.

Burgher anthropologist and medical doctor, Richard L. Spittle and Professor Seligman have visited this small community and ministered to their medical needs.

Kannadiyans or Canarese: The name of the Sri Lankan Community fixes their origin in present-day Karnataka where the people speak a Dravidian language: Kannada, which has a script that looks like Sinhala.

They are said to be a sub-caste of the Kapu or Naidu caste of Andhra Pradesh. They are an Agrarian / Merchant/ Warrior community spread out in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh (concentrated in the Rayalaseema region), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. They are also referred to by their caste title Naidu and Naicker.

Their remote ancestors settled in Mannar and along the north-western seaboard between Kalpitiya and Pooneryn. Traditionally they have been farmers, soldiers, and traders.

Common names are Naidoo, Nayakkar, Venkataraman, Raghunatha and Raghavan.

Kinnarayas: This Community is found in the Dumbara Valley, north-east of Kandy. The traditional occupation of this people has been mat-weaving and their Dumbara mats enjoy a widespread acceptance. The Dumbara Valley is also well known for its artistic and finely turned-out brass lamps and other fine vessels and pure kitul jaggery.

Malayalees or Kochchi: This Community, originating in what is Kerela today, has been in Sri Lanka for ages. Because of their tradition in martial arts the ancestors of this community were hired as mercenaries by the ancient kings.

The most famous member of the Community was Alakeshwara (a.k.a. Alagakonarra) who played a prominent role in the affairs of the Sinhalese in the 15th century CE.

Mukkuvas: Traditionally, they have been pearl-fishers at the North-western Pearl Banks in Palk Bay, but teir settlement has been much wider. Historically they have been an important community in the affairs of Sri Lanka. Mukkuva Chiefs controlled large areas of lands in the western and eastern coast of Sri Lanka. This came about due to their military raiding parties during the medieval period that was recorded in local historical records such as the Kokila Sandesya as the Mukkara Hatana or the fight of the Mukkaru

Consequently in western Sri Lanka, Mukkuva domination was brought to an end by the Sinhalese Kings with the help of Karaiyar or Karave mercenaries from India who generally settled in places vacated by Mukkuvas. Some Mukkuvas are still found in the Western region especially at Udappu, near Puttlam and curiously enough in the Vanni Tank country at the village of Maha Galgamuva. Here, is to found a small enclave of Tamil-speaking Roman Catholic Mukkuvas with their own church. Strong Hindu influences are to be seen in the images of Catholic saints and martyrs.

Pannikans; This is another Eastern Province Muslim community of professional elephant trappers who have been engaged in this vocation for centuries. They were used by the Sinhalese kings to trap elephants, a role they later played under the Dutch and the British.

Parsis; Perhaps the numerically smallest community is made up of Parsis or Zoroastrian Persians from the Iranian Province of Fars who fled the Arab Muslim invasion to India and then spread worldwide. The Community in Sri Lanka has such familiar names as Choksy, Billimoria, Captain, Kapadia, Pestonjee, and Rustomjee.

This Community’s strong and widespread influence in the affairs of Sri Lanka belies its microscopic numbers and their contributions have been immense in many ways—enriching the overarching culture of Sri Lanka.