Erasing Historical Roots and Vanishing Their Cultural Identity: The Present Condition of Resettled Indigenous Community under the Mahaweli Development Project in Sri Lanka (With Special Reference to Henanigala South)

Abstract

This paper explores if the relocation of the indigenous people has made a significant impact on their cultural practices and the way of life compared to their past history. The societies are dynamic. This dynamism is influenced by many things such as modernization, dominant cultures, environmental determinism, environmental possibilism etc. However, these factors could be controlled or manipulated to protect or strengthen their customs, beliefs to suit the changing dynamics if people have the desire and a collective effort to do so. The past history of the indigenous people was based on the secondary data collected from the documentary research and the present socio-cultural condition of indigenous people in Henanigala – South was through in-depth interview data. Purposive sampling technique was employed to gather the primary data from the respondents and for the secondary data sources as well. Qualitative design was employed with the within method data triangulation technique to interpret the results. The within-method methodological data triangulation is an employment of more than one strategy of data collection under one design. The discussion on this data triangulation showed how the changes in all aspects of socio-cultural and economic life had taken place with the change of living environment of present indigenous people in Henanigala-South. The results revealed that the change of environment had influenced the socio-cultural and economic aspects of the resettled indigenous group of people in Henanigala South.