Wanniyala-Aetto Totally Explained

Everything about Wanniyala-aetto totally explained

:"Vedda" and "Veddas" redirect here. For the Sanskrit texts, see Vedas. For other uses, see Veda (disambiguation). The Wanniyala-Aetto, or "forest people", more commonly known as Veddas or Veddahs (transliteration of Sinhala වැද්දා, are an indigenous people of Sri Lanka, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It is suggested that they're Caucasoid.

Roots

Human remains in Sri Lanka dating from as early as 18,000 BC show a genetic continuum with present-day Veddas.
   According to the ancient chronicle of Sinhalese royalty, the Mahavansa, the Pulindas (Veddhas) are descended from Prince Vijaya (6th-5th century BC) the founding father of the Sinhalese nation, through Kuveni, a woman of the "Yakkha" clan whom he'd 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" (Adams 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.
   The Ratnapura District, which is part of the Sabaragamuva 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). Indeed, the very name Sabaragamuva 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.

DNA studies

DNA studies suggest that Wanniyala-Aetto may have been the ancestors of most Sinhalese before the Indo-Aryans arrived from North India. Both Sinhala and Vedda lore says that the two races shared a few common ancestors.

Subdivisions

Sinhala-speaking Veddas are found primarily in the southeastern part of the country, especially in the vicinity of Bintenne in Uva District. There are also Sinhala-speaking Veddas who live in Anuradhapura District in the North Central Province.
Another, largely distinct group, often termed East Coast Veddas, is found in coastal areas of the Eastern Province, mostly between Batticaloa and Trincomalee. These Veddas speak Tamil as their primary language

Cultural aspects

Religion

The interior Veddahs follow a mix of animism and nominal Buddhism whereas the east coast Veddahs follow a mix of animism and nominal Hinduism, known as folk Hinduism amongst anthropologists.
   One of the most distinctive features of Vedda religion is the worship of dead ancestors: these are termed nae "yaku" among the Sinhala-speaking Veddas. There are also peculiar deities that are unique to Veddas. One of them is "Kande Yakka".
   Both the sub divisions of the Veddas along with the Island's Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim communities venerate the temple complex situated at Kataragama, showing the syncretism that has evolved over 2,000 years of coexistence and assimilation. Kataragama is supposed to be the site at which the Hindu god Skanda or Murugan in Tamil met and married a local tribal girl, Valli, who in Sri Lanka is believed to have been a Vedda.
   There are a number of other shrines across the island, not as famous as Kataragama that are as sacred to the Veddas as well as to other communities..

Current status

Some observers have said Veddas are disappearing and have lamented the decline of their distinct culture. Development, government forest reserve restrictions, and the civil war have disrupted traditional Vedda ways of life. Dr. Wiveca Stegeborn, an anthropologist, has been studying the Vedda since 1977 and alleges that their young women are being tricked into accepting contracts to the Middle East as domestic workers when in fact that'll be trafficked into prostitution or sold as sex slaves.(External Link

) However, cultural assimilation of Veddas with other local populations has been going on for a long time. "Vedda" has been used in Sri Lanka to mean not only hunter-gatherers, but also to refer to any people who adopt an unsettled and rural way of life and thus can be a derogatory term not based on ethnic group. Thus, over time, it's possible for non-Vedda groups to become Veddas, in this broad cultural sense. Vedda populations of this kind are increasing in some districts.
Today many Sinhalese people and some east coast Tamils claim that they've some trace of Veddah blood. Intermarriage between Veddas and Sinhalese is very frequent. They are not considered outcasts in Sri Lankan society, unlike the untouchable caste called Rodiyas (see Caste in Sri Lanka).
The current leader of the Wanniyala-Aetto community is Uru Warige Wanniya.

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