Wings 2016-Batticaloa Burghers

The Batticaloa Burghers performed at the Wings festival on Saturday the 12th November 2016. They are decedents of the Portuguese colonist who invaded the country during the 16th century. The present day Burghers are masons, carpenters, barbers and fisherman. Over the years, they mingled with the Tamils in the area learning the language and marrying the people, which has lead to the Creole Portuguese gradually declining although the language is still being spoken by small groups scattered in the east of the island of Sri Lanka (Creole is a stable natural language developed from a mixture of different languages). They still have very European names such as Jacob, Harrington, Barthelot and Symmons, and keep their Burgher tradition and customs which have been passed down through the ages.