Each one was a cultivator. Every villager owned a piece of land as well as a paddy field. Even the richest man in the village would get down to the field and plough. Men and women, young and old, were in close touch with the soil. They never considered it a mean task to work in the field. On the other hand, they felt proud to be cultivators. Those who were involved in agriculture belonged to the ‘goigama’ caste just as much as others in different vocations belonged to a caste of their own.

Historians say that agricultural methods as practised to this day had been introduced by the Indo-Aryans who came to the Island. They cleared the forests and converted them to fields. They used the services of the local people to clear the forests and then introduced improved methods of agriculture they knew. They saw to it that the people were self-sufficient in food.

If a community did not produce the food they needed, they had to either perish or move to another area where they could get food. The staple diet even in those days was rice. The kings too began to show interest in agriculture since the people had to get their food.

In early times, rice cultivation took two forms. In one, forest land was cleared in patches and cultivated. These had to depend on rainfall, which was seasonal. The other was the cultivating of land, which got water from irrigation as well as rain. It was soon realised that water was needed for a proper and successful system of cultivation. There was thus a need to store the water to irrigate the paddy fields when there was no rain. The reservoirs came to be constructed in every important village settlement.

The great historian and archaeologist , Dr S. Paranavitana describing the agricultural practices in the early Anuradhapura period says: “Agriculture in ancient days, as it is today, was not confined to irrigated lands. Crops were raised during the rainy season on unirrigated land. Rice grown on such lands was more sought after than that from irrigated fields.

Other varieties of subsidiary food-grains, beans and pulses were grown on unirrigated fields; these products comprised an important and essential part of the people’s diet. The main edible oil was that extracted from sesamum,(‘tala’) also grown on high lands. Sugarcane was an important crop, and molasses formed an important item of the diet of the richer folk. The needs of clothing of the population were satisfied with the cotton grown locally. Varieties of fruit trees were grown, the mango receiving special mention. Coconut groves are mentioned in an early inscription as well as in literary works, and its nut was eaten when tender.

Cattle-breeding was as important an occupation as agriculture. The ghee extracted from the cow’s milk was regularly taken with rice by everyone except the poorest. Curd and other milk products formed important items of food”.

Mention is also made that products like turmeric (‘kaha’), ginger (‘inguru’), pepper (‘gammiris’) and spices (‘kulu badu’) were grown in hilly regions. There were fishing villages in the coast and also fish in inland waters was an important item in the diet of the people. Honey collected in the field was both a food item and a medicinal item.

Reservoirs built in important villages soon came to be enlarged and our irrigation culture began to develop. Small tanks were being built supervised by the ‘uparaja’, the sub-king. ’Tissawewa’ originally known as ’Tissavapi’, was constructed by King Devanampiya Tissa in the third century B.C. By the first century B.C, the village tank was a well established feature in the Dry Zone.

Historical evidence points to the existence of two methods of irrigation. One is where small, permanent, stone dams as well as temporary dams out of timber and clay were built across streams to divert water to canals, which took the water to the fields. The other was the erection of village tanks directly irrigating the fields. The village tanks had been owned by individuals.

The Sinhalese community usually have two names. The first is called the "GE" (Sinhalese for House or Tribe, pronounced "Gedara") Name while the second is the actual name of the individual. The "GE" name may indicate the place from which their family originated, the title or profession of the Head of the family or any other special characteristic of the family that prevailed at the time. Hence a person may be called "MuhandiramlaGE Simon" which indicates that he hails from the "House of Muhandiram" and his name is Simon. Muhandiram is a title meaning an appointed commissioner or leader of a locality. This prefix "GE" name is carried down through all descendants irrespective of whether they are male or female and would serve more effectively for searching such family connectivity. Sinhalese women usually adopt the second name of the spouse after marriage, yet keep their prefixed family or "GE" name in tact. The Sinhalese, usually, use an initial to indicate the first name rather than spell it out in its full form

The Tamil community have a completely unique and different method of nomenclature. They also, usually, use two names, the first representing their father's name and the second representing their own. Eg; Ponnambalam Ramanathan indicates that the individuals name is Ramanathan and he is the son of Ponnambalam. The son of P. Ramanathan would then become Ramanathan Arulanantham, where the son's name is Arulanantham and is prefixed by the name of his father. The Tamils, like the Sinhalese, usually, use an initial to indicate the first name rather than spell it out in its full form. Women too use the same naming structure but do adopt the husbands name after marriage. Searching for connectivity using names for Tamils can be difficult unless one recognizes the convention they usually adopt.

It must also be noted here that both Sinhalese and Tamil communities maintain a caste system, even until today, and this caste system can also have its influence on providing them prefixed names or titles.

Moors, who are Muslims of Arab origin, have multiple methods of naming amongst their community. Many of those in villages and remote towns use their fathers name as a prefix, similar to the Tamils, differing in only by the fact that they may use more than one name for the prefix. Eg; Muhammad Ismail has a son and names him Muhammad Ismail Muhammad Saleem where the sons name is Muhammad Saleem. The names Muhammad or Ahmed are commonly sued across the board as first names for male Muslims while the names Fathima or Sithy or Ummu or Noor are used for females. Furthermore Muslims have a tendency to give more than one name for their offspring. This, usually, rises from the fact that all members of both spouses family take part in contributing these names. Modern Muslims living in the metropolitan areas and big cities, have adopted the use of the running Surname as is used in western cultures. This is a direct influence of the Colonial era. Malays too follow the practice of carrying on the Surname throughout their descendants. However they have a tendency to use the Prefix TUAN for males and GNEI for females as a standard similar to the Muhammad and Fathima of the Moors. Although Islam does not recommend the giving up of the family name by women after marriage most Muslim women have adopted the modern western method of taking their husbands name. Muslims also have a tendency to use initials to depict all their names except the last one thus giving rise to many names like, M.S.M. Irfan or A.L.M. Rasheed.

By this they sometimes become known to the rest of the community by the initials instead of the last name, ;eg ALM or MSM. Many Muslims living in the Central Province of the country also have Sinhalese "GE" names prefixed to all their Muslim names. This has been, mainly, on account of special titles and honour rendered upon them by the ancient Sinhalese Kings for various services and work rendered by them to the Royalty and Community during that era.

The Burghers, who are direct descendants of Colonial Europeans and the locals, either Sinhalese or Tamil, conform to the western system of naming where the Surname is carried down the line. Women, of course, adopt the Surname of the husband after marriage.

The Christians, who are mostly descended from converts from Sinhalese Buddhists and Tamil Hindus during the colonial era adopt the modern western method of nomenclature keeping their surnames running down the line. However, some of them may still carry their prefix "GE" names, if they were previously Sinhalese. Some Tamil Christians still maintain their original Hindu system of nomenclature keeping their immediate fathers name as a prefix.

Thus it will be seen that Sri Lankans have a mixed variety of naming conventions and methods amongst all their ethnic groups to such an extent that it would be almost impossible to use any fixed type of search methodology to research their progeny. This fact is very important to be borne in mind by those using presently established methods of search using Surnames or Family Names.