Tribes - Vedda

The Vedda  also known as Wanniyalaeto,[4], is an indigenous minority group in Sri Lanka that is recognized as such with sub-communities including the Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas, and Bintenne Veddas. It's possible for Sri Lanka's Vedda minority to fully integrate.(6) Instead of using their almost extinct native tongues, the majority speak Sinhala. It has been suggested that the Vedda were likely the first people to live in Sri Lanka, having settled there long before other Indian ethnic groups did.(7)(8) The Veddas are said to have once lived in the Ratnapura District, which is a part of the Sabaragamuwa Province. Studies like those by Nandadeva Wijesekera have demonstrated this. The term Sabaragamuwa itself  is recognized as having been home to the Veddas at some point in the past. Studies like those by Nandadeva Wijesekera have demonstrated this. It is thought that the very term Sabaragamuwa originally meant "forest barbarians" or the settlement of the Sabaras. This is also indicated by place names in the Ratnapura District, such as Vedda-gala (Vedda Rock), Vedda-ela (Vedda Canal), and Vedi-Kanda (Vedda Mountain). Wijesekera notes that the people living in Vedda-gala and the surrounding area have a strong Vedda influence.

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