Sri Lankan ethnic myths served political purposes only since the nineteenth century

Evidence

Myths clearly have been used, especially since the nineteenth century, for politicking purposes and have been deleterious to the fashioning of a peaceful polyethnic society with a common Sri Lankan identity. Sinhalese and Tamil claims and counterclaims notwithstanding, Buddhism thrived in Sri Lanka even as it lost its luster in the rest of South Asia. Thanks to the creativity of certain outstanding monarchs, the island’s Buddhists crafted a remarkable civilization even as some among them later used their religion to craft an insidious nationalist ideology. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 84

Categorization

• QUESTION: What specific nineteenth-century conditions or colonial instruments triggered the myth-politicization, and does that timing align with similar manufactured-enmity dynamics elsewhere?
• XREF: connects to: Nationalist myths date mainly to the nineteenth century and impede shared identity — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 84; Sri Lankan ethnic claims rest on manufactured mytho-history, not primordial identity. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 718; Sinhalese-Tamil enmity is legitimized by myth rather than primordial fact — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 78 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Nationalist myths date mainly to the nineteenth century and impede shared identity #corroborates (0.85) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 84
• Sinhalese-Tamil enmity is legitimized by myth rather than primordial fact #corroborates (0.80) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 78
• Sinhalese-Tamil ethnic divisions are recent social constructions, not primordial facts #expands (0.80) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 83
• The Kosovo myth of ancient Serb-Muslim enmity is a recent nineteenth-century construction #expands (0.80) — Michael A. Sells, The Bridge Betrayed, 133
• Sri Lankan ethnic claims rest on manufactured mytho-history, not primordial identity. #expands (0.75) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 718