International Day of the World’s Indigenous People :

Veddah community: ‘Our history and heritage’

By Indunil THENUWARA

Sri Lanka’s indigenous people need no introduction; even a small child would have heard of the Adi Vasi, Vanniyela Aththo (forest dwellers) or Veddah community though only a few may have seen or talked to them. They are the descendants of the island’s original occupants and have a history dating back to around 16,000 BC.

Indigenous communities are not unique to Sri Lanka. The Red Indians of America, Aborgines of Australia and Maori of New Zealand are some of the better known of the many indigenous people of the world. Over 300 million indigenous people live in about 70 countries today, and comprise four percent of the global population. Despite being united by common experiences including a history of marginalisation and struggles for cultural survival, they are distinct and different.

Indigenous communities are the original occupants of the land they live in. Although some of them have now integrated themselves to the general population and contribute to national economies, some continue to live separately in their own groups.

A grave danger all indigenous communities are facing today is the threat of extinction. Due to the expansion of cities and the resultant loss of livelihood and their way of life, and new generations leaving the communities seeking a modern life, their numbers are fast dwindling.

Tomorrow is the ideal day to focus on the world’s indigenous communities and their problems and increase awareness about them as it’s the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. The UN-declared day will be celebrated for the 16th time this year.

The international observances will take place at the UN Headquarters from 2.00 p.m. to 5.00 p.m. tomorrow. The theme for this year is ‘Celebrating indigenous film-making’ and will focus on and appreciate the work produced by indigenous film-makers all over the world.

The event is organised by the Secretary of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in co-operation with the NGO Committee on International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

Main events

In Sri Lanka, the main program in connection with the event, organised by the National Heritage and Cultural Affairs Ministry in association with the Presidential Secretariat and other ministries and institutions, will take place , on September 25. However, Variga Sabha , a traditional annual event organised by the Adi Vasi community of Dambana will take place tomorrow in the village .

The event in September will see many projects being launched for the benefit of the Vanniyela Aththo in Dambana as well as in a few other areas of the country.

Additional Secretary (Cultural Promotions) of the National Heritage and Cultural Affairs Ministry, H. D. S. Malkanthi told the Sunday Observer that a host of projects are in the pipeline with the goal of improving the lot of Sri Lanka’s Adi Vasi community.

Sri Lanka’s Adi Vasi community is spread across the villages Henanigala and Pollebedda in Ampara, Hathugala in Moneragala, Dambana in Badulla, Dalukana in Polonnaruwa and Vakarai in Batticaloa. They live in clans and still carry their axes, bows and arrows over their shoulders. Despite living among other communities with some of them even securing higher education, most continue to retain their age-old customs and traditions.

However, modernity hasn’t completely passed them by; due to many of these reasons, the numbers of Vanniyela Aththo have decreased from 4,510 in 1921 to 2,361 in 1946. No separate count on their population has been carried out since 1963. The Ministry of National Heritage and Cultural Affairs and the University of Colombo will carry out a survey due to lack of statistics in this arena. According to the Additional Secretary, the major projects which are being carried out are to fulfill some of the requests made by the indigenous communities to the authorities.

Tribal schools

Massive irrigation projects to provide water to the Adi Vasi villages; gathering and preserving their rock art and promoting traditional rites and rituals; a project with the Ayurveda Research Institute to teach the younger generations of these communities about their indigenous food and medicines and also to release such information in book form; and a well-equipped museum to showcase their customs and traditions are some of the plans in the offing.

A request had also been made by the community for the establishment of tribal schools to teach the children their language and way of life. Accordingly, steps will be taken to set up such schools in the Adi Vasi villages with the co-operation of the local authorities of those areas. Such a school exists only in Dambana at present, Malkanthi said.

Helping the Adi Vasis with houses built according to their requirements and construction of roads in their villages are other projects to be carried out by the Government.

The support of many bodies including the National Housing Development Authority, Road Development Authority, Irrigation Department and Health Ministry will be forthcoming for these projects. According to Malkanthi, “The Adi Vasis are our history and heritage. All of us should get together to protect them and preserve their way of life”.

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The United Nations General Assembly decided to celebrate this day on August 9 by a resolution on December 23, 1994 during the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People, which had started on December 10, 1994. The date marks the day of the first meeting in 1982 of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protecting of Human Rights in Geneva.

In April 2000, the Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution to establish a Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues which was endorsed by the Economic and Social Council in July 2000. The mandate of the Forum is to discuss indigenous issues related to culture, economic and social development, education, environment, health and human rights. The UN General Assembly proclaimed 1993 as the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People.

The second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People was proclaimed in 2004 as the period between 2005 and 2014. The goal is to further strengthen international co-operation for solving problems faced by indigenous communities in the areas of culture, education, health, human rights, environment and social and political development. In April 2000, the Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution to establish the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues that was endorsed by the Economic and Social Council, the forum mandated to discuss issues related to cultural, economic and social development, education, health and human rights.

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