Historical Aspects of Caste in the Kandyan Regions with Particular Reference to the non-Goyigama Castes of the Kägalla District

Archival material of the colonial period, especially at the grass root level, can provide a wealth of historical information on the hitherto little researched caste system of the Kandyan regions: it could shed light on the taxonomy, functional roles, historical evolution, and spatial distribution of castes. In this paper, emphasis is placed on the Kagalla district and on the dynamics of its so-called Duraya social groups. The political economy of the Kandyan kingdom was based on instrumentalization of the caste system: what remained of the caste category after its collapse is a basic issue underlying any study of caste under the British.