Today was all about visiting an indigenous community in Dambana, eastern central Sri Lanka. A highlight was a personal meeting with the Veddah Chief, Uruwarige Wanniyalaeto, which had been arranged for us as part of our visit there. He is the Chief of all 62 Veddah communities across Sri Lanka, totalling 500,000 people. I was amazed as I’d wrongly assumed this was a declining community and that there were just a few hundred or so living in isolated communities.

Kiran and I got to ask him a few questions about the education system which is primarily traditional and about passing down long held traditions. He talked about his communities’ growth and how they are integrating more now with other communities. 

In 2019 the Chief visited Edinburgh University to collect ancestral remains taken by the British during their colonial rule. This was the result of some close working within the department of archaeology and the University.

The Veddah belief system and way of life

Veddahs believe in demons and spirits. Relatives are reborn as demons and they loiter around in their forests. They seek to please them by saying prayers, offering them food, performing rites and invoking their ancestors blessings. This is the essence of their belief system in order to get rid of ailments.

Their way of life is simple and fully attuned with their natural surroundings. They live without damaging the equilibrium of nature. They light fires from scratch, kill with their bows and arrows, cook on open fires, build tree houses to seek out prey and threats, and get their babies to sleep with a lullaby. 

We were treated to a traditional lunch of millet roti, coconut sambol and dhal along with herbal tea served in a coconut shuck. 

We ended our time with the amazing Veddah people with a walk through the forest along with them. We witnessed elephant-human conflict in action today in the form of electric fencing. Below is our action-packed movie of the day!

Next up: Focus on Polonnaruwa, the ancient city in the jungle.

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If you missed the last blog check it out below.