What is history? An echo of the past in the future;
a reflex from the future on the past.
Victor Hugo
This section helps you to understand the early origins of the families, going back to a period even beyond the first usage of the De Fonseka name in Sri Lanka.
We do this by resorting to anthropological studies such as caste studies and historical accounts documenting the caste, to which the family belonged. The caste system prevalent at that time, and the intensity with which caste superiority was debated at a later period, thankfully left valuable documentation to help understand the family’s past.
The history recorded here is not specific to the De Fonseka family, but is equally applicable to most of the Karava (Kaurava) families of Sri Lanka such as Perera, Silva, Fernando and others with similar names.
This section of the site is organized in to two pages.
Beyond 1658:
This page summarize information from an excellent book to give a quick overall understanding of the Karava caste, their origins, arrival and settlement, and the rapid rise during sweeping periods of economic change. The summary is extracted from the book ‘Caste in Sri Lanka – from Ancient Times to the Present Day’ and provides the background, which is so necessary to understand and put into perspective, the family and clan related information presented in the site.
The Karava:
This page collates and presents an extensive list of material gathered about the Karava caste, as we pursued the elusive past of our ancestors. The De Fonseka families were part of the Karava caste, and the information garnered from these sources gives us a holistic understanding of the past such as dress, customs, and artefacts as well as family groups and settlements.