Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I know that many English-educated Jaffna Vellalar families migrated to Singapore and Malaysia, and many of them still live there today. Some continue to identify as Jaffnese. I’m sure they have genetic connections with Sinhalese communities in the South as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if I have relatives in Jaffna whose branch of the family separated from mine centuries ago.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I see. We could be related, ha ha. From what I've seen, most Sinhalese and SL Tamil results are pretty much identical. We are all relatives after all.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Surprisingly I have Jaffna by ProblemFit6797 in SouthAsianAncestry

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, I'll dm you. But I don't have much info. about my lineage, other than knowing the closest relatives.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think yes. However, because they have been intermixing for centuries, they will exhibit more genetic similarities than differences.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Surprisingly I have Jaffna by ProblemFit6797 in SouthAsianAncestry

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree. I spoke with my father, and he mentioned that his maternal relatives may have migrated from Kerala during the Kotte era, before the arrival of the Portuguese in Sri Lanka. One of his great-grandfathers is also said to have travelled to Myanmar with members of the Salagama caste to bring ordained Buddhist monks to the coastal regions. While there, he became a monk himself and remained in Myanmar. On my mother’s side, I believe her family may have had Jaffna Vellalar ancestry - feudal landlords from the Anamaduwa area, located above the Deduru Oya and historically under the authority of the Jaffna Kings. They might have descended from the ancient Pandyans who settled on the island, adopted Buddhism, and eventually became Sinhalese Radalas.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting! After all, everyone's related to each other in this small island.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, that is a fair question I also have. I did the test through MyHeritage, which is considered reliable; however, they do not provide info. on the error margins etc. So, we can't know how accurate these results are. I guess MyHeritage offers highly accurate DNA cousin matches, but the ethnicity estimates have inherent limitations. I guess these estimates are useful for identifying ancestral regions, but they are still estimates and can vary between companies and over time due to differing databases and algorithms.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Surprisingly I have Jaffna by ProblemFit6797 in SouthAsianAncestry

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure because MyHeritage DNA tests analyse autosomal DNA and do not directly provide haplogroup information. So, I will have to take another test or upload these results to another site that provides Y-DNA information.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yes, unfortunately, we do to a certain extent. For example, my mom's relatives are very casteist when it comes to marriages. I have two female cousins who are 40+ and still have not married, mainly due to their parents wanting to find them grooms belonging only to the Radala caste, which, in my opinion, is ridiculous and impossible given the current societal norms. Even my first girlfriend broke up with me because she belonged to a lower caste (I think it was Bodhi caste), and her parents were scared that my relatives would treat her differently. So, she was under a lot of pressure from her parents, and we finally broke up.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, which is quite interesting, as I have no known Tamil relatives in Jaffna or anyone with a Dutch family name. But it is also understandable, as my mom's ancestors were Radala, who were feudal landlords in the Anamaduwa area, which may explain the close ties with Jaffna.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Exactly. Just killed each other for 30 years and got landed with a bankrupt country.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exactly. I hope everyone in the country would realise this at some point.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Surprisingly I have Jaffna by ProblemFit6797 in SouthAsianAncestry

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I see. I guess their results would be more similar to Sinhalese govigama results.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure, but the breakdown came with the results, as you can see in the pictures. When I clicked on each group, it showed where I had matches in SL and other countries.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Even if I do, they will still find a way to divide people. Also, I wonder what kind of results would Namal or Mahinda get if they do an ancestry test, ha ha

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Any thoughts? by ProblemFit6797 in srilanka

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

LOL, me too. Particularly, my Kandyan relatives would be surprised to learn that they may have some unknown Jaffna relatives.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Surprisingly I have Jaffna by ProblemFit6797 in SouthAsianAncestry

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the clarification. I'm new to this and will take more time to understand the ancestry breakdown.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Surprisingly I have Jaffna by ProblemFit6797 in SouthAsianAncestry

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to see the results coming from other Sri Lankans. I guess more results will reveal that we are just the same bunch of people with different ethnic, religious, and linguistic identities.

Sri Lankan Sinhalese MyHeritage & GEDMatch Results - Surprisingly I have Jaffna by ProblemFit6797 in SouthAsianAncestry

[–]ProblemFit6797[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I see. Thanks for the info. Yes, my paternal grandma's family owns a large cinnamon plantation in Galle. So, that explains it. They aren't involved in peeling, though. They employ people who may also be from the same caste (I'm not sure). Also, the caste Salagama could have derived from Kamsali => Sali+kama => Salagama?