• Living free
• The struggle for the rights
• A school of our own
• The day the Avro was bombed
• 'Rights, for us?'
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• Kala Korner - By Dee Cee
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• Commemorating Mother Teresa
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• Relation and Implication
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Living free

After a long struggle the Wanniyale Etto win their right to the land.

Hiranthi Fernando reports

At Kotabakiniya, within the Maduru Oya Sanctuary, eight families of the Veddha community continue to live their traditional way of life, preserving the age old Veddah culture. For fifteen years, this group of "Wanniyale Etto" have resisted the efforts of the authorities to relocate them. While part of the community consented to be resettled at Henanigala, with the Mahaweli colonisation scheme, Veddah Chief, Uruwarige Tissahamy, who passed away recently, and his family refused to leave their homes in the jungle which then became part of the Maduru Oya Sanctuary.

They stayed on despite the prohibitions imposed on entering the sanctuary and hunting there. With the presidential declaration presented on the August 7, 1998, to Uruwarige Wanniya, who succeeded his father Tissahamy as the Chief, the Wanniyale Etto are once again free to pursue their traditional life without the fear of prosecution, in their accustomed jungle habitat.

The settlement of Kotabakiniya lies deep in the forest, 2 miles off Dambana which is about ten kilometres from Mahiyangana. At the entrance to the settlement, two old Veddah men in their typical garb of span cloth, with long matted hair and beard sat under a tree. One was twisting elephant hairs obtained in the jungle, into rings. Along the gravel track leading to the village, younger members of the tribe, carried on a trade in the produce gathered from the jungle, such as bees' honey and various fruits. There were also roughly carved mugs out of Kothala Himbutu and Gammalu which are supposed to have certain medicinal properties as well as little decorative implements carved in Ebony wood.

A simple thatched shelter housed a collection of Veddah handiwork. There were primitive bows and arrows, and other hunting implements, wood carvings of animals and hollow gourd receptacles used to gather honey from the jungle. The mud hut occupied by the Chief, Tissahamy serves as a kind of museum, displaying the implements and other articles used by the chief as well a collection of photographs of Tissahamy with various well known personalities. A steady stream of interested visitors swarmed through the settlement.

The Chief, Uruwarige Wanniya entertained visitors in the outer verandah of his mud-walled hut. Unlike the older men the chief had his hair drawn neatly back and tied in a knot. Clad in a span cloth he carried a small axe on his shoulder.

"I was born here and always lived here just as my father and mother did," Wanniya said, squatting on a mat. "When this our ancestral land was included in the Maduru Oya Sanctuary, we had to undergo many problems. We could not walk on the jungle track or hunt for food since we were within the sanctuary. If we were caught, we could get prosecuted or fined. About 130 of the tribe decided to get resettled at Henanigala. However, we refused to leave our ancestral land. For many years we lived here without authority."

"Now, with the declaration given to us by the President we have the freedom to go into the jungle we have traditionally used and hunt for our own food," Wanniya continued. He stressed that they were permitted to obtain meat only for their own use and not for sale.

The bees honey, fruits and medicinal herbs which they gather from the jungle they are able to sell. According to the presidential declaration which Wanniya showed us, the Wanniyale Etto would be allowed the freedom to protect their culture and carry on their traditional way of life without hindrance. The Wanniyale Etto in turn are expected to cooperate with the authorities in protecting the animals and the trees in the forest sanctuary. The state also undertakes to take meaningful action to promote the social and economic well being of the Veddah community.

"If this declaration is implemented properly, we are very happy," Wanniya said. "It is in our interest too to preserve the forest. We do not cut large areas of jungle to cultivate our chena crops but grow them in open areas without large trees. We also do not wish to kill animals and sell the meat. We only gather what we need for our own needs."

Wanniya said that ten special Identity Cards issued by the Department of Wild Life, were presented to them by the President. Twenty six photographs have been taken and these cards were to be given on August 29. The new arrangement initially covers 51 persons, the eight families of Kotabakiniya as well as some from Dambana and some who were resettled at Henanigala. There are altogether about 204 Veddah families totalling about 1048 persons, scattered over some twelve villages. The inclusion of the rest will be considered after the first phase is completed and implemented. The identity card enables them to hunt for food and worship in their traditional hunting grounds. The identity cards given to the Veddahs also help the authorities to identify unlawful poachers and timber fellers.

"For fourteen years we have appealed for this. No one seemed to understand or listen to our appeals," said T.M. Gunawardena, the Schoolmaster at the Dambana Senior School. Gunawardena, whose mother is a niece of Uruwarige Tissahamy, was the first graduate from the Veddah community. He graduated from the University of Colombo, offering Sinhala, Economics and Geography.

"The authorities thought that we would exploit and destroy the jungle at will if we were allowed to hunt in it," Gunawardena explained. "Our present leader, Wanniya understood the fears of the government. He was able to explain that our idea is to preserve our culture and traditions as well as protect the jungle. Our culture is linked with the jungle. If we destroy the jungle we are destroying our own culture. Finally the officials concerned understood us," Gunawardena continued. "We still do not know how it will work. Till it is implemented fully we do not know what else will emerge."

He further explained that until now, the Wild Life officers looked after the jungle and the Veddahs were prohibited from going in or hunting in the sanctuary. They felt they had no part in the jungle. When they saw poachers and illicit timber fellers exploiting the jungle, the Veddahs kept silent. "If we informed the wild life authorities, they would have questioned how we saw and why we were there in the jungle," Gunawardena said. "Our elders were very sad about the exploitation, but there was nothing they could do to prevent it. Now that we have a right to be in the jungle and carry on our activities, our people take greater care to see that others do not exploit the jungle. Our rights have been given with responsibility." The schoolmaster said that recently, some Veddah hunters had seen two army personnel killing two Sambhur in the jungle. They protested and tried to stop them but they drove off. The Veddahs have noted the vehicle numbers and have complained to the authorities concerned.

It appears that there is opposition to the rights given to the Veddahs community. Those who made money off the jungle now stand to lose and are trying to create trouble. The schoolmaster said that the leader Wanniya has been threatened.

"We hope that he will have the strength to withstand these threats and the pressure," he said.

"They are protesting against the Veddahs being given special identity cards," said Uruwarige Kenda, Wanniya's younger brother. "They are printing "kavikola" and writing on the road. They have even got three of our Veddah men, although not from our village, to join them and sell out their kind for money and advantages. All this is because those who profited from the jungle now find it difficult to do so."

The struggle for the rights

The Presidential declaration of rights pre- sented to the Veddah community was the culmination of a series of discussions between the Wanniyale Etto and a high level committee appointed by the President. The discussions were aimed at alleviating the long-standing grievances of the Veddah community.

Finally, it was recommended that Wanniyale Etto should be allowed the freedom to collect food and forest produce and worship within their traditional hunting grounds and those carrying identity cards issued by the appropriate authorities should not be fined for food collecting and worshipping within the identified area.

Eight families of Kotabakiniya will be allowed to reside in the Maduru Oya Sanctuary as long as they continue to follow the traditional Veddah culture and way of life. The necessary identity cards will be issued. It was also recommended to instruct the Wild Life Conservation Department and other relevant authorities to refrain from prosecuting Veddahs if they engage in other traditional activities within the identified area.

Following the recommendations, Cabinet approval was obtained to amend the Fauna & Flora Protection Ordinance to accommodate the proposals in regard to the identified area. The Director of Wild Life Conservation was authorized to issue the proposed identity cards initially to the 51 persons mentioned. Pending the amendment of the Ordinance the Director was authorized to relax the procedures of prosecution and fining of those having the relevant identity cards if they engage in food collecting and traditional activities within the identified area.

It was mutually agreed that future requests to come under this new arrangement would be considered on the basis of the experiences gained during the first phase. The government also undertook to restore the Keragoda and Mahawarakandiya tanks to cater to the domestic needs of the Veddah community inside the natural reserve.

On the long term, it was recommended to get their participation in the activities of conservation, protection and preservation of natural resources of forestry, employing them along with forest and wild life officials. This was expected to facilitate good relationship between the Veddah community and the Wild Life and Forest Officials.

It has also been recommended to treat those members of the Veddah community living in different locations as one community and adopt a programme of helping them to assimilate into the mainstream of modern living, providing facilities such as schools, hospitals and so on.

A school of our own

Speaking of the Dambana School, the school master said that there are 231 children, which includes a large proportion of Veddah children. There are several mixed children as well because there are now many mixed marriages between the Veddahs and the other villagers. Gunawardena says the Veddah children are still not regular enough in attending school.

"There is no competitive spirit among them," he commented. "Though we had some new teachers appointed recently, we still need about four more. Since it is considered a hardship station the teachers who come here are either new recruits or those on punishment transfer. The development of the school is not sufficient to encourage the Veddah children to come to school regularly."

"The children need to be motivated to take greater interest in school. It is through the education of our children that we can achieve something for our clan."

According to Mr. Piyadasa Dissanayake, Senior Assistant Secretary of the Presidential Secretariat, action has been initiated to improve the conditions of Dambana School by enhancing the library facilities and providing adequate number of teachers. Books have been donated to the Pollebedde School too, also attended by Veddah children. A cultural centre for Veddahs would be established at Dambana with a museum containing implements, equipment and other interests of the Veddahs.

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