Sri Lankan Tamils or Ceylon Tamils, are a section of Tamil people native to the South Asia island state of Sri Lanka. According to anthropological evidence, Sri Lankan Tamils have lived on the island around the 2nd century BCE. Most modern Sri Lankan Tamils claim descent from residents of Jaffna Kingdom, a former kingdom in the north of the island and Vannimai chieftaincies from the east. They constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Province, and are in the minority throughout the rest of the country. Sri Lankan Tamils are culturally and linguistically distinct from the other two Tamil-speaking minorities in Sri Lanka, the Indian Tamils and the Moors. The Sri Lankan Tamils are mostly Hindus with a significant Christian population.