Marginal View of Vakaraivedar Community: An Anthropological Study

வாகரை வேடர் சமூகம் மீதான விளிம்புநிலைப் பார்வை: மானிடவியல் ஆய்வு

Abstract

Batticaloa district of Sri Lanka is a region of different ethnic groups. Among them, the hunter community is considered to be the primitive tribe. The community lives in groups in some parts of Batticaloa. There are 764 hunter families in 12 villages of Mankerni, Kayankerni, Panichchankerni, Madurangenikkulam, Kirimichai, Uriyankattu, Kathiraveli, Katumurivu, Amanthanaveli, Palchenai, Kandaladi and Punanai with 2757 Veddar families. Tamil people live here predominantly. The hunter community lives in isolation and mingle with them. In the social hierarchy, the hunters are seen as the downtrodden, the oppressed or the marginalized. In this region, the Veddar community continues to be seen as a group of people who dominate or dominate the political, economic, religious and educational fronts or the rest as the upper class. Due to this continuous trend, the community has to face many adverse implications. As a result, their future is at stake. In such a situation, this study is an anthropological study of the impact of the ancient community of the Veddar community being seen as a marginalized people.