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

393
Ceylon, the confiscation by Tamils and Ker4aa of lands and
properties belonging to the Sinhalese and the consequent migration
of the official class and many of the common peopleto the southwestern
regions. These factors, more than any other, helped the
transformation of northern Ceylon into a region occupied b
Tami]. speakers and directly led to the foundation of a Tamil
kingdom and several 2mi.]. Vanni cbieZti1nies tbere. It may
be concluded that in the major part of the thirteenth century
it was the Tamil and Ker4a mercenaries who founded. the new
settlements. These were spread over a good part of Ijaraha.
Once the kingdom o Uaffna and the Vanni chieftaincies were
founded, it appears that Tamil rulers invited fimt11es from
South India for settlement. Towards the end of the thirteenth
and the beginning of the fourteenth century, therefore, a
peaceful migration of settlers from the Tamil and Kera3a
countries seem to have taken place. The prominent mention of
Ker4a mercenaries in the Sinhalese and Tamil sources and the
occurrence of Xer4a places among the original omes of the
new settlers, as listed in the Tamil chronicles, indicate that
there was a strong Ker4a element in the new population of the
northern districts. This is also revealed by the similarity pr
that exists between the social organizations of the Tamila of
Ceylon and the Nalayis of Kera3a and the affinity between the