The Sri Lankan Kaffirs (cafrinhas in Portuguese, kāpiriyō in Sinhala, and kāpili in Tamil) are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka who are partially descended from sixteenth century Portuguese traders and enslaved Bantu-speaking people who had been brought by them to work as laborers and soldiers to fight against the Sinhala Kings.
They are very similar to the Zanj-descended populations in Iraq and Kuwait, and are known in Pakistan as Sheedis and in India as Siddis.
The Kaffirs speak a distinctive creole based on Portuguese, and the "Sri Lankan Kaffir language" (now extinct).
Their cultural heritage includes the dance styles Kaffringna and Manja and their popular form of dance music Baila.
