The terms Vedda and Wanniyala-Aetto are the two terms most commonly used to refer to the indigenous people of Sri Lanka. Those who are not of the indigenous descent use the term Vedda when referring to the group, but the people themselves use the term Wanniyala-Aetto, meaning forest dwellers. The Vedda immigrated to Sri Lanka from India at a time that is unknown. They claim to be the first inhabitants of the country, although there is little proof and much argument on who the first inhabitants actually were. The original Veddas lived in rock caves and survived off the land and the animals that they hunted. The original weapon of the Vedda was a bow and arrow, that they constructed themselves, but today the shotgun has replaced that. The Veddas do not kill young or pregnant animals; they kill only what they need to survive. The food is then shared with their family and others. In addition to the animals that they hunt the Veddas also eat the fruit and honey that they gather from the land. Many of the Vedda people also practice a type of agriculture called chena cultivation. It is a slash and burn method which the new government sanctions. Mass ceremonies were held to legally wed those who were already wed according to Vedda belief. It was also ruled that the woman had to take the man's name in marriage. With the new laws it has became very difficult to trace the descent of many of the Vedda people. Death like marriage is also made to be very simplistic. The Veddas do not hold any large ceremonies and their loved ones are quickly placed in the ground. The bodies in a traditional burial were covered with juices from the leaves of jungle trees or a lime tree.
In the past, people farmed small areas of land in the forest, cultivating them for a couple of years, and then letting them rest. The men both hunted and gathered while the women were just gatherers. Often, the women supplied more food for the family because the man was not always successful in his hunt The original diet of the Veddas developed over many years to be a very balanced and nutritious one. However, the government made it illegal to kill wild animals and then most Veddas turned into vegetarians. With this turn illness and obesity were seen for the first time among the people. The group had also never used or abused alcohol until the new government regulations were set into place, then alcoholism and mental illness were also seen for the first time. The government restrictions also brought other big changes. Their culture and language slowly started to vanish, and today there is not an original Vedda language remaining, and there is, at the most, only a few hundred Vedda people left that have not inter-married with other races and still practice the old ways of living. Many traditions and religious rituals began to disappear. The original Vedda religion was actually a type of cult, based on the worship of ancestral spirits, known as Ne yaku. They asked for the blessings of the Ne yaku and other spirits in order to keep the spirits of their dead happy. They feared that the spirits would bring them tragedy. The Veddas believed that their deceased were always with them and they weren't actually dead until everybody that knew them was also dead. The Vedda marriage ceremony was one of simplicity. It involved the woman tying a bark rope, that she had woven, around her husband to be's waist to show that she accepted him as her mate. Vedda women are in several ways considered the equals of man. In many cultures a person's decent is traced through the man but in the Vedda culture it is traditionally traced through the woman. When a man and a woman married they took her name.
The clothing of the Veddas has also changed. The traditional dress consisted of the men wearing a loin cloth and the women wearing a piece of material that covered the area between their naval and their knees. The men now wear a sarong and the women wear a piece of clothing that covers from the breast-line to the knees. Almost all activities of the Veddas follow the changing of the seasons. The Veddas year is determined by two main monsoons. The first, lasts from June to August and covers the southern and western coastal areas and the central hill country. The second, lasts from November to the end of January and covers the northern and eastern parts of the island, which is the area where the Veddas live. The time spaces between the two major monsoons bring thunderstorms. If these rains do not come the Veddas experience drought and food becomes hard to come by. The Vedda culture has been deeply affected by the government of Sri Lanka and may one day cease to exist. The few original Vedda that are still out there have changed dramatically. They no longer speak their native tongue and many other aspects of their lives have changed due to the laws they were forced to live under. The Vedda culture is one of uniqueness but may one day no longer be here for us to study. It has already lost many of its original features and may soon lose them all. ?? ??
References:
Indigenous Peoples, Nature Conservation and Human Rights A Case Study of the Veddahs (Wanniyala-Aetto) of Sri Lanka http://www.igc.apc.org/glencree/srilanka/stegeborn2.html 16 Apr. 1999
Vedda Burials http://www.lacnet.org/islandli9808231f3.htm
24 Aug. 1998Veddhas, The Unspoilt Children of Nature http://members.tripod.com/~hettiarchchilveddah.html 20 Aug. 1999
Veddas: What Sort of an Ethnic Phenomenon? http://xi.pair.com/isweb3/spot/sp0405/clip1.html 11 Aug. 1999
Written by: Kristine Hoppe