February 11, 2016
Sri Lankans of
African Descent
Fight to Keep
Their Culture Alive
in ‘Kaffir Culture’
By Tambay A. Obenson | Shadow and Act
Kaffir Culture
An insightful short documentary by Sri Lankan filmmaker Kannan Arunasalam, which tells the story of a small group of Sri Lankans of African descent, and their attempts to keep their culture alive in the face of falling numbers.
According to Arunasalam, the Kaffirs of Sri Lanka started arriving from the eastern shores of Africa in the 1500s with the Portuguese, and later in more waves with the different colonizers of Sri Lanka.
And in case you weren’t aware, the term “Kaffir” is a racist slur used by whites towards blacks in Southern Africa (it was also in wide use among whites in the West in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century). It also means “unbeliever” in Arabic.
But in this specific case, in Arunasalam’s short film subject, it’s not the racial insult that it is in other parts of the world, notably South Africa, nor a racist word like “nigger” here in the USA.
Watch “Kaffir Culture” below :
Kaffir culture from Kannan Arunasalam on Vimeo.
Historians say that the Kaffirs of Sri Lanka started arriving from the eastern shores of Africa in the 1500s with the Portuguese, and later in more waves with the different colonisers of Sri Lanka.
‘Kaffir culture’ is a video portrait of one such community of Kaffirs and the struggle to keep their culture alive in the face of falling numbers.
Written and produced by Kannan Arunasalam.
Music by Ceylon Kaffir Manja, arranged by Jesse Hardman.
Special thanks to Sweta Velpillay (on sound), Nethra Samarawickrema (for help with translations), Leah Worthington (background research) and Greg Kelly (Radio Netherlands).