Vaddah Village - Dabana
Dambana Vaddha Village, the primary home of the last surviving aboriginal people of Sri Lanka, lies about 20 kms from Mahiyangana on the boarders of the Maduru Oya Wildlife Reservation.
Called Yaksha Tribe in the pre christian times, Vaddha (hunter) in the past and now called ‘Aadi Waasi’ (aborigines) identifies themselves as “Wannila Aththo” (forest dwellers). In the course of history, most of these original inhabitants have been more or less absorbed into mainstream Sinhala society (as in the North Central and Uva provinces) or Tamil society (as on the East Coast) leaving only few thousand Wannila Aththo tribe living in small pockets in many parts of the dry zone bordering forests. Most of the aboriginal villagers have become farmers moving away from hunting.
Wannila Aththo have their unique language which closely resembles Sinhalese and their own religious beliefs. They make offerings to number of gods and believes their dead come back as yakkas to protect the family.
The...
Called Yaksha Tribe in the pre christian times, Vaddha (hunter) in the past and now called ‘Aadi Waasi’ (aborigines) identifies themselves as “Wannila Aththo” (forest dwellers). In the course of history, most of these original inhabitants have been more or less absorbed into mainstream Sinhala society (as in the North Central and Uva provinces) or Tamil society (as on the East Coast) leaving only few thousand Wannila Aththo tribe living in small pockets in many parts of the dry zone bordering forests. Most of the aboriginal villagers have become farmers moving away from hunting.
Wannila Aththo have their unique language which closely resembles Sinhalese and their own religious beliefs. They make offerings to number of gods and believes their dead come back as yakkas to protect the family.
The...
