“Portuguese-Sri Lankan Surnames And Their Meanings” by Roel Raymond (Roar Media Archive)

Cover: The Portuguese manner of dressing was adopted by the Ceylonese. (Image courtesy sundaytimes.lk)

We would like to share a link to read an article written by Roel Raymond for Roar Media Archive on “Portuguese-Sri Lankan Surnames And Their Meanings” 

A traditional Portuguese-Sri Lankan wedding in the Batticaloa area. (Image courtesy natgeotourism.com)

The Portuguese arrived in Ceylon, or Ceilão, as they called it, by chance. In 1505, a fleet commanded by Lourenço de Almeida—the son of Francisco de Almeida, the first viceroy of Portuguese India—was blown into Galle by adverse winds. It was thirteen years later, in 1518, that the Portuguese established formal contact with the Kingdom of Kotte, ruled by Vira Parakrama Bahu, and were permitted to build a fort in Colombo.

Although the Portuguese were primarily interested in exploring trade and commercial opportunities in Sri Lanka, an opening for greater exploitation presented itself in the form of seven warring kingdoms within the island. With time, the kingdom of Kotte began to depend heavily on the Portuguese for defense against the other kingdoms, leading to an  enhanced role for the Portuguese in Sri Lankan affairs.

An agreement in 1543 between King Buvenaka Bahu of the kingdom of Kotte and the Portuguese resulted in his grandson Prince Dharmapala being educated in the Franciscan order of the Roman Catholic Church. The conversion of Dharmapala heralded sweeping changes in Sri Lanka’s social landscape, as the Portuguese embarked on a mission to convert the local populace.

Sri Lankans in the western coastal areas were particularly susceptible to the changes, with conversions occurring en masse,  but conversions occurred interior and in the northernmost parts of the island as well. As Portuguese culture permeated the island, Sri Lankan Tamils and Sinhalese took on many Portuguese names as their own, suffixed to their personal names.

 

Pope Francis: arrival speech in Sri Lanka

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis arrived in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday morning, beginning the first leg of a week-long visit to Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Below, please find the full text and audio of the Holy Father’s remarks at the arrival ceremony at the international airport of the Sri Lankan capital.

via: http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/01/12/pope_francis_arrival_speech_in_sri_lanka/1117969

“Pope to visit Sri Lanka, Philippines in January” by Agence France-Presse

Pope Francis will travel to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January for his second trip to a continent where evangelisation is a big priority for the Catholic Church, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

via: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140729/pope-visit-sri-lanka-philippines-january