Traditional caste hierarchy and services in Sinhala society (from the traditional villages in Kurunegala district)

Abstract

In any society there are economic, social, and cultural imbalances between groups of people. Sociologists have called this ‘Social Stratification’. Accordingly, caste and class status are a representation of social inequality. Caste can be identified as one of the layers of stratification which is common throughout society, like the highness and lowness of the person, the social level of mankind. in practice, people with historical values who are considered superior by most of the society are Upper caste and those who are defined as inferior based on specific measurements by the same group are considered inferiors. Caste is identified as a charged condition that comes with the birth of the person and the purpose of this study is to investigate the ‘Traditional Caste Hierarchy and Services in the Sinhala Society’. Field research and non field research were used in data collection for this study. The data collection techniques of observation, participant observation, questionnaires and interviews were used in the field research and the source study was done through the library references in the non-field research. The caste system of ancient Sri Lanka, which dates to the sixth century, was established by people who periodically migrated to Sri Lanka from India and established colonies here. The special feature of the Sri Lankan caste system that was formed and developed in this way is that it was shaped according to the culture of the country. It can be concluded that the Sinhalese caste system, which had a great impact on many aspects of society in this country until the recent period, is currently on the decline and many evolutions have taken place in it. But even though the society’s attitudes towards caste is undergoing a change, it was revealed that it is by no means a defunct social institution.