Hidden Hunter-Gatherers of Indian Ocean. with appendix. Sergey Marlenovich Gabbasov

      Among the Village Veddahs the women wore ivory studs in bored ears. Fire was obtained from two pieces of wood by drilling. The method of making fire by stone and a piece of metal, which is showing for tourists in Dambana as a traditional and ancient, was a traditional for Sinhalese (Rutimeyer 1903; Sarasin 1893). The tradition of chewing of areca-nuts or bark of trees mixed with burned land-shells (“wantako”) was very common.

      The soil is poor and unproductive. But the Wanniyala-aetto plant many different grains, vegetables and tubers. Most of the Wanniyala-aetto clear a piece of land close to the house to do swidden cultivation of maize and kurakkan millet (Eleusine coracana). This type of cultivation is practiced by both Sinhalese and Tamil small scale farmers and is called “chena”. An enormous fence surrounding the chena must resist the elephants, be taller than the sambhur’s leap and tight enough to keep out the hares. Staples include maize, finger millet (Eleusine coracana) and dryland rice. They obtain wetland rice from Sinhalese shops. Maize is sown just before the monsoon in mid-September, followed by kurakkan in October, and it is time for the boys to make use of the double-stringed bow – they guard the chena from birds, then sambhur who is looking for a taller plants, and wild boars seeking roots. The chena can’t be cultivated for more than two to three years – then it must lie fallow for ten to twelve consecutive years (Spittel 1950).

      The harvest time of the kurakkan millet is in February, which is done by the wife and the children. The main danger in this period is elephant who can eat 250—300 kg of vegetation per day. In March or April the corn cobs are ready and all the family members cooperate before the monkeys steal the crop. The chena must be guarded night and day. The Wanniyala-aetto build watch huts on poles in the middle of the field and on the trees at the edge of it. The husband and sons bear this responsibility. If animals come, the watcher shouts and makes noises, hitting buckets with sticks and stones. If elephants threaten, the guards shout for assistance, make torches from bundles of tall grass and chase the elephants away from their homes (Stegeborn 1993).

      Some Wanniyala-aetto also cultivate a small garden close to home, where they grow manioc, beans, chiles, curry leaves (Murraya koenigii), pumpkins and plantains. They may also try to grow some betel vines (Piper betel), which is highly valued among them, but it is cheap to buy, so they generally obtain it at the local tea-shop (ibid.). A very old habit adopted from the Sinhalese long ago is betel chewing, together with the accompanying ingredients – areca-nut and lime. Betel is chewed together with the bitter tasting areca-nut from the betel palm (Areca catechu). Before putting the wad in the mouth, a “pinch” of lime is smeared on the leaf to give it the “right” taste. To give a mildly spicy flavor they sometimes add pieces of cinnamon bark and cardamom seeds (ibid.). The areca doesn’t grow wild in the Eastern Province (Seligmann 1911) or in the bordering Uva Province where the Wanniyala-aetto live. They buy areca-nuts, betel leaves, chewing tobacco, lime, coconuts, spices and edible fruits such as jack-fruit (Artocarpus integrifolia) at Sinhalese owned tea-shops. But it was difficult to obtain them in the forests, so they have modified their own substitutes which can be found in the forests. Such analogs can be made from the bark of the “demate” (Gmelina asiatica) and “davata” (Carallia brachiata, corkwood tree) trees which substitute for the betel leaf and areca nut respectively (Seligmann 1911). Then they collect large, white land snails (Cyclophorus volvulus), burn them in fires, pulverize the shells into powder, add water to make a paste and use this in place of lime (Spittel 1950).

      Important items used for trade are honey, meat, medicinal herbs, wild berries and cultivated grains. With the money they can buy clay vessels, cloth, salt, gunpowder and betel (Stegeborn 1993). Livestock herding has been adopted by a Wanniyala-aetto from their neighboring Sinhalese agriculturalists. On the first stage, Wanniyala-aetto came to watch the herds (the cattle graze around the house and sometimes the man’s wife or children bring them to other places where there is a fresh feed). In addition to the daily pay, they may receive a calf born that year. If they watch several herds, they obtain more livestock. The Wanniyala-aetto milk the cows, boil the milk and drink it or make yoghurt. Also they use cows to plow their rice-paddies. Some families have had four to five chickens freely walking inside and outside their houses, they were kept only for the eggs.

      The Wanniyala-aetto do not eat their domestic animals such as their hunting dogs, chicken or cows. They are considered as pets and part of the compound like the children. The Wanniyala-aetto do not practice endocannibalism and do not eat their dead pets (Stegeborn 1993).

      Nowadays the hunting and gathering traditions of the Wanniyala-aetto are almost lost. Some individuals sometimes go to collect honey and medicinal herbs. The native diet has changed considerably. Canned fish and meat replace fresh produce; sugar replaces honey; fewer vegetables are eaten. That contributes to new diseases: obesity, high blood pressure, heart problems, and alcoholism.