Abstract:
The Wanniya-laeto, often referred to as Veddas, are
the indigenous people of Sri Lanka. They live primarily in
governmental designated areas in the forest with a few
Vedda villages on the eastern coastal region.
In-depth, semi-structured interviews as well as
participant observation were the methods used to access the
perceptions of mental health and mental illness among the
Wanniya-laeto population. Research was conducted over a
two month period and focuses primarily on the Ratugala
Veddas with additional interviews conducted with three
other Vedda communities, including one coastal village, to
use for comparison and support. Five itinerant
psychiatrist who work in clinics and hospitals that serve
Vedda communities were also interviewed.
Results show that the Veddas believe mental illness is
the result of not being satisfied by with the basic gifts
supplied by the spirits and refer to mental illness as a
"city disease." There are no acknowledged cases of acute
mental illness among the participant's communities. There
are a small number of cases of depression in the Vedda's
communities, but they do not associate depression with
mental illness. The Veddas believe depression is due to
external factors, such as government intervention in their
lifestyle.
Like many indigenous populations throughout the world,
the encroachment of external forces has led to the loss of
their land rights as well as a slow decline of their
culture. The Veddas feel that the prevalence of depression
in their society is increasing as they are becoming more
detached from the land and traditional way of life. They
believe that gaining their hunting and agricultural land
rights would help restore their balance and prevent
depression. Additionally, they believe that financial and
social support from the government for their cultural
preservation would also keep depression and other mental
illness out of their communities.
