ABSTRACT
The ‘resplendent land’ (Sanskrit: Sri Lanka), the ‘island’ (Sanskrit: Lankadipa), or ‘island of jewels’ (Sanskrit: Simhala-dvipa, Silandiva, Senendiva > Arabic: Serendib > Portuguese: Cilao > Dutch: Zeilan > English: Ceylon) lies at the Indian subcontinent’s southern tip. Sri Lanka’s location (Figure 10.1) in the Indian Ocean facilitated maritime trade between Iran, India, Africa, and China. Mariners utilized the southwest monsoon winds from June to October for sailing eastward, the northeast monsoon winds from December to March for sailing westward, and the island’s deepwater harbors for docking (Whitehouse and Williamson 1973; Carswell 1977-78; Prickett 1990; Daryaee 2003; Potts 2006).1 That trade brought some Zoroastrians from Iran and India to the island’s ‘copper colored’ (Sanskrit: Tamba Vanna, Tamraparni > Tambapanni > Greek: Taprobane) shores.2 Others came as soldiers, advisors, bankers, and skilled and unskilled service providers. Economics and politics are well-known factors in the creation and persistence of diasporas. The importance of technology to bring about movement, on the one hand, and familiarity with a location to and from which movement occurs, on the other hand, are two other important but less visible factors in diaspora formation and maintenance. Events in Sri Lanka serve as a model case study for those issues, motivations, and consequences.
