History of Eastern Tamils

History of Eastern Tamils of Sri Lanka is informed by local legends, native literature and other colonial documents.

[1] Sri Lankan Tamils are subdivided based on their cultural, dialects & other practices as into Northern, Eastern and Western groups.

[3] Although it is not known when ethnic Tamils first settled in Sri Lanka, early settlements occurred in the aftermath of repeated South Indian invasions (c. 1st to 13th centuries.).

[5] Eastern Tamils had feudal organizations that centered around Ur Podiyar[6] at a village level and the Kudi system that controlled social interactions.

The most important social group were the Mukkuvar who had originated from South India and had repeatedly invaded Sri Lanka as evidenced by Sinhalese literature of that period called Kokila Sandeśa as the Mukkara Hatana.

One of the local traditions that records the landing and settling of eastern Sri Lanka is called Mattakallappu Manmiam (Tamil:மட்டக்களப்பு மான்மியம்).

A place where warriors rested and celebrated the victory was called Vanthaarumoolai where the Eastern University of Sri Lanka is located today.