Sri Lanka 1992

The tear of India

(On a hunting expedition with the Veddas)

The colorful diversity of life, the tropical splendor of the vegetation, the beauty of the coasts and beaches make this paradisiacal island a true pearl in the Indian Ocean. We spent weeks roaming the tears of India, as Sri Lanka is also known, and were enchanted by its eventful and millennia-old history.

We will never forget the rice terraces shimmering silvery in the evening sun, the high mountains with their cool climate, the green garb of the dense jungle, the rich flora and fauna and the mostly friendly population. Above all, the visit to the Veddas, the indigenous people of Sri Lanka, was an unforgettable experience. For days, we traveled with them through steppes and forests in search of wild elephants. The hunters shared their camp with us and took us with them on their hunting expeditions. But like many other indigenous peoples, they are also threatened with extinction.

Due to the need for more and more arable land, the jungle was cleared and the Veddas were deprived of their habitat. Many of them were resettled in villages by the government. They intermarried with the Sinhalese and Tamils, which has mixed their race so much that their people will soon cease to exist. Around 600 of them still live as hunters and gatherers in a few regions of the island. To this day, they have mastered the use of bows and arrows and produce consumer goods such as mats and bags, some of which are still made from leaves and bark …

Sri Lanka 1992

The colorful diversity of life, the tropical splendor of the vegetation, the beauty of the coasts and beaches are the reason to compare this paradisiacal island with a pearl of the Indian Ocean. Tanja and Denis Katzer spent weeks roaming the country and visiting the last indigenous people of Sri Lanka.