113992242-Dravidian-Settlements-in-Ceylon-and-the-Beginnings-of-the-Kingdom-of-Jaffna-By-Karthigesu-Indrapala-Complete-Phd-Thesis-University-of-London-1965

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While it i8 possible to show to some extent at least
that the Jaffna peninsula was first occupied by Sinhalese settlers,
that the Tamil penetration was probably slow and peaceful and
that the Sinhalese long survived there before they were either
assimilated to the Tamil population or ousted from the peninsula,
it is not easy to determine the period when the Tamil occupation
began. The late chronicles of Jaffna are unanimous in their
assertion that the settlement of the Tamils in the peninsula
began under the Tainil rulers of that area. The X a-vaipavamlai
refers to the presence of Nukkuvas in Jaffna before the
foundation of the kingdom but distinguishes them from the Tamils
The Nukkuvas, as we shall see later, were a Ker4a caste who
went to the island in the centuries after the C1a occupation
The evidence of the Tamil chronicles is, however, not entirely
r1iable. The ! ppa-vaipava-rulai refers to two different
attempts at settling Tamils in Jaffna. The first attempt was
made in the ninth century but it ended in a failure as the
settlers returned to South India after some time This account
is based on the Ypi legend which , as we shall show later,
has no historical basis and. is a fabrication based on popular
1. Yvm., p. c
2. See supra, p.I&V ; see infra,
3. See infra, p.