[1][2] As the mainstream Sinhalese speakers claim North Indian ethnic origins, the presence of many South Indian-type social groups like the Kinnaraya indicate a complex migration history from India to Sri Lanka.
believe that the early society of Sri Lanka looked to South India for manpower to fulfill functional needs as land was cleared and new villages founded.
The indigenous people of Sri Lanka known in the legends[weasel words] as Yakkas and Nagas also fused with the caste structure at the bottom as marginal people providing needed support services for survival as their habitats were cleared or simply taken over.
[examples needed] As a numerically small and culturally insignificant[weasel words] community they have not been able to upgrade their social position in the society.
Many live as agricultural or domestic workers, overseas maids in the Middle East, or especially since the Black July civil war pogroms as recruits in the army.