Deconstructing the Representations of the “Wild Men” in Sri Lanka: A Reinterpretation of the Indigenous Vedda Community as Reflected in Their Oral Tradition

The Vedda community is regarded as the indigenous people of Sri Lanka. Despite negative connotations attributed to the Veddas, implicating them as a community of uncivilized people as presented from a largely Eurocentric perspective, scholars and researchers have acknowledged their unique traditions, livelihood, ethics, language, and culture. The main focus of this research is to study traditional Vedda songs to evaluate depictions of their ancient livelihoods and social and familial relationships, as the oral tradition is an uncontestable means of capturing the essence of a community. Through a content analysis, the study critically evaluates purposively selected translated versions of traditional Vedda songs while integrating ethnographic techniques to cross-validate the claims. The corpus primarily includes songs that reflect the Veddha community’s livelihood, beliefs, rituals, and relationships. A mini-ethnographic case study was conducted in Dambana and Henanigala Vedda villages, which are considered traditional Vedda settlements. The study concludes that ancient Vedda songs express not only the hardships and volatile existence of the Vedda community but also highlight their resilience, spiritual beliefs, familial and communal bonds, and complex relationship with nature. This study is pertinent to the field in that it underscores the way the Vedda communities lived as represented in their songs before the overwhelming influence of external factors, which have compelled them to transition from their traditional, jungle-based lifestyle to one that closely mirrors mainstream society.