Coastal veddahs fiercely proud of the tribal heritage

By Amal Hewavissenti

This discussion focuses on certain aspects of the lifestyle of a unique people the coastal veddahs or muhudu veddahs whose lifestyle is intertwined with forest and coastal ecology. Unfortunately, this indigenous community is disappearing at a terrific pace in the face of the widespread colonisation and integration.

Though much of their grandeur and original practices have been compromised to this day, we find their distinct culture and practices fascinating. Much of what is spoken by these tribal leaders directly underscore the threat that modern civilisation presents to these people.

In the same way that the evolution of man since the Stone Age defines us in this 21st century, understanding indigenous communities and their cultural, social, economic and scientific heritage has indisputable relevance in the present time.

Village

Kunjankalkulam is a coastal veddah village in Batticaloa district and is situated along the Valachchenai - Vakarai Road. The village is positioned seven kilometres from the turn at Kajuwaththa near the Kunjan Kalkulam tank.

As it stands today, there are about sixty eight families of indigenous origin residing in the village and strangely enough, not a single individual could connect themselves or their families with a clan or sub clan of the coastal veddahs or any other veddahs. However, the officers and soldiers of the military camp stationed in the village acknowledged that they noticed a distinct difference between these inhabitants of the village and normal Tamil civilians.

It is a tremendously difficult task to retrieve the real roots of the coastal veddahs of Kunjankalkulam as they themselves are incapable of tracing their origin. During the post independence period of Sri Lanka beginning in 1948, the authorities had taken the prerogative to resettle these indigenous folk.

The villagers of Mankarni (the point of migration for the coastal Veddahs in Kunjankalkulam) state that their livelihood was hunting around two generations previously and they used the jungles in the vicinity to hunt for prey. The veddahs who lived the traditional hunter's lifestyle were resettled in Mankarni and subsequently they underwent a second phase of resettlement in the village of Kunjankalkulam.

Generations

The earliest generations of these coastal veddahs had used bow and arrow in hunting and practised traditional veddah customs such as preserving food using bee's honey, making maximum use of what they cultivate and fish.

These veddahs who were being streamlined into society had minor clashes with the native Tamil population and the younger generations were compelled to attend Tamil schools. Their language gradually became Tamil and they experienced a certain extent of exploitation by the rich landowners of the area. However, many of the traditional customs considered imperative among the coastal veddahs have faded against the influence of native Tamils and other external factors.

That is precisely why it has become a fast disappearing community. There are a set of rituals practised by the coastal veddahs. These rituals are generally considered unique to them.At the birth of a child, the tradition dictates that the mother drinks a concoction made from bee's honey and a herb called Kayam - a custom that does not appear among the Tamil people living in the vicinity. Their marriage customs bear certain resemblance to traditional Hindu marriage.

And - the leadership among this indigenous community is inherited. The current chieftain is 75 year-old Sellathambi who is fair in complexion in contrast to the coastal veddahs who possess dark skin. He learnt Tamil at the school and spoke the veddah dialect at home with his parents. His father Kannamuththu and grandfather Chiththira both held the position of village chieftain prior to their death.

Interestingly, coastal veddahs predominantly pay homage to deities such as Murugan the God of Katharagama, Pilliyar, the God of wisdom and Mariamman that the neighbouring Tamils revere. A part from this, the coastal veddahs worship a common deity called Vardan Deyyam (which means the lord of veddahs ).

Chieftain

The Kunjankalkulam veddahs refer to their gods by the names of Udarata Deyyo or Kele Deyyo - both terms describing the environs of the gods. Coastal veddahs as well as veddahs living in central regions jointly worship Kiri amma or Kuveni the queen of the Yakshas and whom many consider to be the mother of all veddahs.

Sellathambi, the chieftain of the clan offers his prayers to a designated tree standing behind his house.

The tree contains a basic box and cloth in red and white which are considered sacred among the community. The traditional prayer takes place during the middle months of the year. They have divided their deities into two groups namely Pirimi (male) Deyyo and Muhudu Deyyo (sea god).

Fishery

The chief industry that the members of Kunjankalkulam tribal village have taken up is fishery.

They have apparently forgotten their basic and unique armour for this purpose, the Mullambu was used broadly by the earlier coastal veddahs.

Most of the current community seem to avoid using this tool and they recall how their forefathers used this weapon with precision to kill fish.

The coastal veddahs use fumigation to collect bees honey. According to the tribes in Kunjankalkulam, they simply throw the hive up into the sky and let gods dance and play with bees, while they are up in the sky.

The collectors then takes the honey they need and leave the excess portion for the bees so that bees can resume their nest.

Sellathambi claims that they have never been stung by bees in the process of collecting honey.