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From Oceania to East Africa-By Seneka Abeyratne Meeting of Kuveni and Prince Vijaya. (Painting by Prasanna Weerakkody). The radical view is that a relatively advanced civilisation existed in the island ‘prior’ to the arrival of Prince Vijaya and that the evolution of Sri Lanka into a modern geo-political entity took place through a complex process of integration, differentiation and creative synthesis Ruminations on Sri Lanka’s Ancient Past – Part III Historical evidence suggests that Sri Lanka had regular trading and cultural connections with the empire of Sri Vijaya in Palembang, South Sumatra. Legend has it that the Radala, noble families of Sri Lanka, and the Raden, noble families of Indonesia, frequently intermarried. It is something of a mystery that though the island’s location is subcontinental, its character is more Southeast-Asian. We can make sense of this paradox only if we accept the premise that in ancient times there were continual ...