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Village Settlements
Only two, viz.
Kolonthotuwa and Warukadeniya are lovated within the Reserve itself.
The topography of the region seems to have influenced the pattern of
human settlement, and those around the Reserve are mainly along the
valleys and river basins. Numerous ancient footpaths exist on the
periphery of the Reserve while there are three which cut across the
interior of the forest, one along the western boundary (Neluwa -
Pitakele - Kudawa - Weddagala) a second along the eastern boundary
past Beverley Estate and Denuwakanda and the third traverses the
centre of the forest (Watugala - Kumburugoda - Panapola) (Figure
12).
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Figure 12.
Village settlements of the Sinharaja |
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1. Pitadeniya |
7. |
Pelawatta |
13. Watugala(1) |
19. Radagoda |
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2. Pitakele |
8. |
Potupitiya |
14. Watugala(2) |
20. Madugeta |
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3. Kudawa |
9. |
Denwakanda |
15. Pitadeniya |
21. Tambalagama |
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4. Ketalapatala |
10. |
Kiriweldola |
16. Nilweligama |
22. Kosmulla |
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5. Kongahakanda |
11. |
Kiriwalagama |
17. Kolonthotuwa |
23. Gigurawa pahala |
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6. Koskulana |
12. |
Mederipitiya |
18. Warukandeniya |
24. Gighrawa Ihala |
The people
The local
inhabitants are for the most part Sinharaja by race Buddhist by
religion. Judging from studies done on village life on the
north-western boundary, the villages of the area are not very large
but consist of about 20 to 50 families living in a fairly close-knit
community. The family structure is that of an extended family with
parents, children and grandparents living together. Although the
older generation of villagers have not had much formal education,
the young are literate. Primary schools have been established just
outside the boundaries of the Reserve. Secondary schooling is
available only in the larger village of the region which are 5 to 10
kilometers away. Modern health facilities too are only found in the
larger towns such as Kalawana which is 16 kilometers away from the
forest. The villagers however are relatively healthy and physically
fit.
The houses have a
small floor area, averaging 25 square meters, and are constructed of
wattle and daub. A house usually consists of a verandah, 1-2 rooms
and kitchen, or perhaps, more simply of one single room divided into
different areas with thatched screens. The roof is thatched with
leaves of Beru (Agrostistachys serumica) or with bamboo
leaves. (Ochlandra stridula). Lately however, coconut leaf
thatch and clay tiles have begun to gain popularity as roofing
material.
The staple food is
rice. Yams such as sweet potato (Ipomoea batata) and manioc (Manihot
utilissima) ; bread-fruit (Artocarps incisus) and
jak-fruit (A. heterophyllus), grown in home gardens, are
often used as substitutes for rice. Other plants commonly found in
home garden are vines of betel (Piper betel), black pepper (P.
nigrum) and passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) ; fruit
trees such as papaya (Carica papaya) and plantain (Musa
paradisica) are also grown by the villagers. For his other needs
the villager walks great distances to the closest town. Various
forest plants are also used for food, medicine and small wood needs.
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Exploitation of the
Forest A
main source of livelihood of the villagers in the area is the production
of jaggery, a crude local sugar. The sugar so made is sold in weekly
markets and shops of the area. Juggery is a basic ingredients in many
traditional Sri Lanaka sweets and there is a ready market for this
product all over the island. The sap needed for the manufacture of
jugger is obtained from tapping the infloresence of the kitul palm (Caryota
urens).
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Tapping of the Kitul palm (Caryota urens) |
Giant
rattan palms (Calamus ovoideus) |
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Wewal
(rattan) is one of the forest products obtained from Sinharaja by
villagers. It is used to manufacture baskets, furniture and
handicrafts. Two species, thudarena (Calamus ovoideus) and
thambotuwel (Calamus zeylanicus) are the ones mainly found in
this forest. |
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The villagers also exploits other plants
products. Leaves, fruits, seeds and mushrooms are sources of food for
the villager as are the fish and animals. The fuel used by the villagers
for cooking, making jaggery ect. is firewood gathered from the forest
and the surrounding scrub. although many trees species are used for this
purpose, there is a marked perference for the wood of Hedawaka (Chaetocarpus
castanocarpus and C. coreaceus). The villager also collects and sells
products from a number of other plants. Dried cardamom (Elettaria
cardamomum) for example is a spice sold at a very high price. Resinous
exudates from Nawada (Shorea stipularis) and other Shorea species are
sold as fumigating agents. Another resin, from the trunk of Kekuna (Canarium
Zeylanicum) is used both as a gun and a water proofing agent. Numerous
plants used in the native "ayurvedic" system of medicine are also
collected and sold by the villager ; of particular significance is the
stem of Weniwel (Coscinium fernestratum) used by most Sri Lanka as an
antidote for tetanus. The slender stems of a number of trees such as
those of the Keena (Calophyllum) species are used in the construction of
ladders and as handles for agricultural and domestic utensils. Even
lianes, such as Bandura (Nepenthes distillatoria), Pattikka (Artabotrys
zeylanicus) and Mala labu (Cissus acumintus) are used form circular
footholds on the kitul palms, to facilitate climbing. Timber for house
construction is also obtained from trees in and around the Reserve.
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Wild
cardamomum
(Elettaria
cardamomum) |
Weniwel
(Coscinium
fernestratum) |
A rare orchid of
medical value "Wanaraja" Anoectochilus setaceus |
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Insect trapper - (Nepenthes distillatoria)
The
"Pitcher Plant" locally known as BANDURA, family Nepenthaceae is a
creeper on shrubs and treelets. The leaf tip modified to form an
elongated sac (a pitcher) filled with a liquid while traps insects
to be digested by the plant. The thickened stem of the plant is
used for tying, in the construction of wattle and daub houses and
ladders by the natives. Usually grow along forest margins and
disturbed sites. |
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Brilliantly coloured
fruits of an epiphte (Freycinatia walkeri) |
A primitive grass
with sticky seeds (Leptaspis cochleata) |
In order to supplement
the produce of his home garden, the Sinharaja villager also engages in
the age-old practice of chena (slash and burn) cultivation. From
earliest times, this has been the method by while Sri Lankans have
cleared the forest so that permanent human settlements could be
established. In the Sinharaja, the vegetation is usually cut down in
December, and the cleared vegetation fired in February-early March. By
March, crops are sown, to be harvested in late August.
One non-agricultural but
commercially motivated activity found in the Sinharaja region is that of
gemming. This too seems to have been a traditional pastime for as far
back as 1873 scientists who visited the Sinharaja complained of the
numerous gem pits that scarred the land in and around the forest. In the
past, gemming was a sporadic activity carried out by villagers. Today,
however, though gemming is forbidden in the Reserve, it is carried out
by organized gangs employed by gem-dealers.
Although recent studies
indicate that the villagers do not depend on the Sinharaja as a primary
source of income, the fact remains that to the villager the forest is an
easily accessible storehouse of wealth awaiting exploitation. Most of
the people living in the region are poor and often have large families.
Their level of education too is low. In addition, employment
opportunities e.g. in industrial enterprises are very limited in the
region. Tourism is confined to visits by naturalists or bird-enthusiasts,
and hence does not provide much employment for the villager. It is
therefore not surprising that the village views the forest as something
that belongs to him, a place which could give him some sort of
livelihood. Thus, although activities such as chena cultivation and
gemming are ecologically destructive practices, the claims the villager
has to the forest are legitimate and cannot be ignored. Any conservation
plan for the forest therefore would necessarily have to take into
account the needs and wants of the people of the region.
Read
CONSERVATION &
MANAGEMENT OF SINHARAJA |
