For the language, see Vedda language. For articles with similar titles, see Veda (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Vedic people or Venda people.
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Ethnic group
Vedda
Vedda man and child.
Total population
Between 2,500 - 6,600[1][2] (less than 0.20% of the population) (2001)[3]
Regions with significant populations
Sri Lanka 2,500 (2002)
Languages
Vedda, Sinhala, Sri Lankan Tamil
Religion
Traditional animistic beliefs with Buddhism, Hinduism[1]
Related ethnic groups
Sinhalese, Tamils
The Vedda (Sinhala: වැද්දා[ˈvædːaː]; Tamil: வேடர் (Vēḍar)), or Wanniyalaeto,[4] are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Veddas,[5] are accorded indigenous status. The Vedda minority in Sri Lanka may become completely assimilated.[6] Most speak Sinhala instead of their indigenous languages, which are nearing extinction. It has been hypothesized that the Vedda were probably the earliest inhabitants of Sri Lanka and have lived on the island since before the arrival of other ethnic groups in India.[7][8]
A 2024 genetics study using high-resolution autosomal and Mitochondrial DNA found that the Veddas were genetically closer to the Santhal, Juang, Irula and Paniya tribes (as well as the Pallar caste) of India, than to the Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamils. The study concluded that the Veddas were "a genetically drifted group with limited gene flow from neighbouring Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Tamil populations" and that the maternal Haplogroup M mediated their initial settlement of the island.[9]
The Ratnapura District, which is part of the Sabaragamuwa Province, is known to have been inhabited by the Veddas in the distant past. This has been shown by scholars like Nandadeva Wijesekera. The very name Sabaragamuwa is believed to have meant the village of the Sabaras or "forest barbarians". Place-names such as Vedda-gala (Vedda Rock), Vedda-ela (Vedda Canal) and Vedi-Kanda (Vedda Mountain) in the Ratnapura District also bear testimony to this. As Wijesekera observes, a strong Vedda element is discernible in the population of Vedda-gala and its environs.
^ ab"Vedda | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
^"Veddah".
^Jayasuriya, S. de Silva (2000). The Portuguese Cultural Imprint on Sri Lanka. Lusotopie 2000. p. 255.
^"Evidence for persistent forest reliance by Indigenous peoples in historical Sri Lanka". www.shh.mpg.de. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Vedda tribe becoming extinct, Chandler's Ford Today". 6 September 2014.
^"Race in Sri Lanka: What genetic evidence tells us | the Sundaytimes Sri Lanka".
^Ranaweera, Lanka; Kaewsutthi, Supannee; Win Tun, Aung; Boonyarit, Hathaichanoke; Poolsuwan, Samerchai; Lertrit, Patcharee (2014). "Mitochondrial DNA history of Sri Lankan ethnic people: Their relations within the island and with the Indian subcontinental populations". Journal of Human Genetics. 59 (1): 28–36. doi:10.1038/jhg.2013.112. PMID 24196378. S2CID 41185629.
^Welikala, Anjana; Desai, Shailesh; Pratap Singh, Prajjval; Fernando, Amali; Thangaraj, Kumarasamy; van Driem, George; Adikari, Gamini; Tennekoon, Kamani; Chaubey, Gyaneshwer; Ranasinghe, Ruwandi (May 2024). "The genetic identity of the Vedda: A language isolate of South Asia". Mitochondrion. 76: 101884. doi:10.1016/j.mito.2024.101884. PMID 38626841.
sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Veddas, are accorded indigenous status. The Vedda minority in Sri Lanka may become...
Vedda is an endangered language that is used by the indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. Additionally, communities such as Coast Veddas and Anuradhapura...
during the time of the Buddha. The most closely related languages are the Vedda language (an endangered, indigenous creole still spoken by a minority of...
in Sri Lanka that is venerated by the Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and the Vedda people. For most of the past millennia, it was a jungle shrine very difficult...
Calyptomyrmex vedda is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae, which can be found in Sri Lanka. "Calyptomyrmex vedda - Facts". AntWeb. Retrieved...
The Vedda worm snake (Indotyphlops veddae), also known commonly as Veddha's blind snake, is a species of snake in the family Typhlopidae. The species...
Islands and speak a language isolate, as do the Kusunda in central Nepal, the Vedda in Sri Lanka, and the Nihali of Central India, who number about 5,000 people...
creoles Andaman Creole Hindi Bombay Hindi Haflong Hindi Nagamese Nefamese Vedda See also Indo-Iranian languages Nuristani languages Iranian languages...
groups include the Moors, Indian Tamils, Burghers, Malays, Chinese, and Vedda. Sri Lanka's documented history goes back 3,000 years, with evidence of...
romanized: Katirkāmam) is a pilgrimage town sacred to Hindu, Buddhist and indigenous Vedda people of Sri Lanka. People from South India also go there to worship. The...
Cyrtodactylus vedda is a species of gecko that is endemic to Sri Lanka. Cyrtodactylus vedda at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 22 July 2022...
or Village gods in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India and by the Rodiya and Vedda peoples of Sri Lanka. Vaḷḷi is also known as Pongi at Vallimalai in Vellore...
creoles Andaman Creole Hindi Bombay Hindi Haflong Hindi Nagamese Nefamese Vedda See also Indo-Iranian languages Nuristani languages Iranian languages...
minorities, such as Chakmas of Bangladesh, mulbasi Tibeto-Burman of Nepal, and Vedda of Sri Lanka. The Constitution of India does not use the word Adivasi, instead...
She is venerated as Maha Loku Kiriammaleththo by the Veddas. Other names for her varying with Veddas habitats are Indigolle Kiriamma, Unapane Kiriamma,...
descend directly from "Negritos" as such. Groups ancestral to the modern Veddas were probably the earliest inhabitants of Sri Lanka. Their arrival is dated...
Sangams. Yaksha Kingdom Rakshasa Kingdom Naga people (Lanka) Dewa (people) Vedda people Lanka Kuveni Ordhendra Coomar Gangoly. The art of the Pallavas, Volume...
home to a few language isolates, like Burushaski, Kusunda, Nihali, and Vedda. Areally, the influence of the languages extend beyond the subcontinent...
English, Sri Lanka Malay Minority Sri Lankan Portuguese creole, Telugu, Vedda, Arwi Foreign English Signed Sri Lankan sign languages Keyboard layout QWERTY...
featuring ex-Saosin and Dead American frontman Cove Reber on vocals, Don Vedda on lead guitar and Jordan Flower on bass. The tour lasted from January 13...
romantically or sexually frustrated, and are ritually exorcised. The Coast Veddas, a social group within the minority group of Sri Lankan Tamil people in...
and the likelihood of a partial biological continuum to the present-day Vedda indigenous people. Archeological data from the Late Pleistocene in South...
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