According to Arisen Ahubudu, there were four major clans of 'hela' in ancient Sri Lanka even before the arrival of Prince Vijaya, and that Sri Lanka was called as 'Siv hela' (siv=four in the Sinhala language) and later it was changed into 'Sinhala'. The story of the arrival of Prince Vijaya in Sri Lanka and the origin of the Sinhalese people is also depicted in the Ajanta caves, in a mural of cave numberВ 17. King Vijaya, the lineage of Sinhabahu, according to the Mahavamsa and other historical sources, arrived on the island of Tambapanni (Sri Lanka) and gave origin to the lion people, Sinhalese. According to the Mahavamsa, Sinhabahu was the son of princess Suppadevi of the Vanga, who copulated with the king of the beast, a lion (there is no clear reference in the original text whether it was a lion or a man with lion-like features) and gave birth to a daughter called Sinhasivali and to a son, Sinhabahu, whose hands and feet were like the paws of a lion and who had the strength of a lion. Some versions suggest Vijaya is the grandson of Sinhabahu. It traces the historical origin of the Sinhalese people back to the first king who mentioned in the documentary history of Sri Lanka, Vijaya, who is the son of Sinhabahu (Sanskrit meaning 'Sinha' (lion) + 'bahu' (hands, feet), the ruler of Sinhapura. The Mahavamsa records the origin of the Sinhalese people and related historical events. ДЇrom the Sanskrit word Sinhala, meaning literally 'of lions'. ДЄccording to the Mahavamsa and the Dipavamsa, a 3rdвЂ“5thВ century treatise written in Pali by Buddhist monks of the Anuradhapura Maha Viharaya in Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese descend from settlers who came to the island in 543 BCE from Sinhapura led by Prince Vijaya who mixed with the indigenous Yakka and later settlers from the Pandya kingdom. Since 1815, they were broadly divided into two respective groups: The 'Up-country Sinhalese' in the central mountainous regions, and the 'Low-country Sinhalese' in the coastal regions although both groups speak the same language, they are distinguished as they observe different cultural customs. The Sinhalese people speak Sinhala, an insular Indo-Aryan language, and are predominantly Theravada Buddhists, although a minority of Sinhalese follow branches of Christianity and The Sinhalese identity is based on language, cultural heritage and nationality. They constitute about 75% of the Sri Lankan population and number greater than 16.2В million. They were historically known as Hela people ( Sinhala: а·„а·™а·…). Sinhalese people ( Sinhala: а·ѓа·’а¶‚а·„а¶Ѕ а¶ўа¶±а¶а·Џа·Ђ, romanized: Sinhala JanathДЃva) are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to the island of Sri Lanka. South Asian ethnic groups, Tamil, Bengali People )ДЄustroasiatic peoples (especially Khmer)

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