Vedda People

Vedda People

Veddas or Veddahs (Sinhala වැද්දා, Tamil "வேடுவர்") are an indigenous people of Sri Lanka, an island in the Indian Ocean. They, amongst other self-identified native communities such as Coast Veddas and Anuradhapura Veddas, are accorded indigenous status. From as early as 18,000 BCE, a genetic continuum is shown with present-day Veddas.

According to the genesis chronicle of the majority Sinhala people, the Mahavamsa ("Great Chronicle"), written in 5th century CE, the Pulindas believed to refer to Veddas are descended from Prince Vijaya (6th–5th century BC), the founding father of the Sinhalese nation, through Kuveni, a woman of the indigenous Yakkha clan whom he had espoused. The Mahavansa relates that following the repudiation of Kuveni by Vijaya, in favour of a "Kshatriya" princess from the "Pandya" country, their two children, a boy and a girl, departed to the region of "Sumanakuta" (Adam's Peak in the Ratnapura District), where they multiplied, giving rise to the Veddhas. Anthropologists such as the Seligmanns (The Veddhas 1911) believe the Veddhas to be identical with the "Yakkhas" of yore.

Veddas are also mentioned in Robert Knox's history of his captivity by the King of Kandy in the 17th century. Knox described them as "wild men", but also said there was a "tamer sort", and that the latter sometimes served in the king's army.<ref>Knox, Robert (1981). An Historical Relation of Ceylon. Tisara Prakasakayo Ltd (page 195).

The Ratnapura District, which is part of the Sabaragamuwa Province, is known to have been inhabited by the Veddhas in the distant past. This has been shown by scholars like Nandadeva Wijesekera (Veddhas in transition 1964). The very name Sabaragamuwa is believed to have meant the village of the Sabaras or "forest barbarians". Such place-names as Veddha-gala (Veddha Rock), Veddha-ela (Veddha Canal) and Vedi-kanda (Veddha Mountain) in the Ratnapura District also bear testimony to this. As Wijesekera observes, a strong Veddha element is discernible in the population of Veddha-gala and its environs. As for the traditional Veddha lifestyle, a number of authorities have delved on this and we can easily describe their life-style as it existed in the past, and as it exists today.