Vedda
- proper noun
- Brow's ethnography of a Vedda village in the Anuradhapura district shows how Veddas have been pressured into identifying themselves with the Sinhalese people.
- Vedda origins
Examples
-
People who were once Vedda have become Sinhalese, and vice versa, but in Sinhalese eyes, the Veddas have always represented the wildness and lack of civilization against which their own culture is to be measured.
Academic text (1990) -
In this instance, the villager was saying only that his former way of life was like that of a Vedda.
Academic text (1990) -
At the same time, it was asserted that, despite their Vedda ancestry, the inhabitants of the village had adopted Sinhalese customs and thus belonged within the national community of Sinhalese Buddhism.
Academic text (1990) -
On the other hand, spokesmen for some Vedda groups that were threatened with relocation by the massive Mahavali Development Program have recently urged that development funds be used to create a reservation in which Veddas could continue to pursue their purportedly traditional way of life (Gamage 1984).
Academic text (1990) -
The Vedda people have a rich culture that emphasizes their connection to nature.
-
In Sri Lanka, the Vedda continue to preserve their traditional practices and beliefs.
-
Many researchers study the Vedda to understand their unique ways of life and history.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Vedda is the name for the native people of Sri Lanka and comes from a local word meaning 'hunter' or 'forest people'. This helps you remember that a Vedda is a member of that community with a traditional life linked to the forest.
