Snake charming and monkey tricks to fortune telling

By D.C. Ranatunga

Turning over the pages of a Dilmah Conservation publication on traditional communities in Sri Lanka, I recollected how, as young boys in the early 1940s, we were fascinated by young men and women clad in colourful clothes going from door to door. 

They were invariably with no permanent abode. They got about in groups mainly in semi-urban areas where they felt they could display their talents and earn some money. They would pitch tents in a vacant land and stayed on for a few weeks and then move on to another location. They used donkeys to carry their goods from place to place. 

We called them ‘Ahikuntakayo’, meaning gypsies. The men claimed to be ‘specialist’ snake charmers.  So they were known as ‘Nai Natavanno’ or ‘NaiI Panikkiyo’. In addition to the paraphernalia to get the snakes to dance, most of them invariably got about with a monkey dressed as a clown getting him to perform and entertain the people. The women were fortune-tellers. Both men and women spoke Sinhala with a Tamil accent. 

Over the years this clan of people has dwindled. Taking the initiative in ensuring that they will not entirely vanish, Dilmah Conservation decided to do something to care and protect this Nomadic community. 

In a foreword to the Dilmah Conservation publication on ‘The Ahikuntika’, Professor Ranjith Bandara of the Department of Economics – University of Colombo introduces the gypsies as a community that prefers living away from traditional society. 

“Their lineage is traced back to India and parts of this large gypsy family is scattered in different parts of the globe. The traditional homeland of all these communities is believed to be India. I believe that the Sri Lankan gypsies should be considered a parts of this larger gypsy community scattered in many parts of the world and must be connected with them,” he says. 

Rigid caste system

The research study conducted under his guidance indicates that the entire gypsy population in the country is limited to around a thousand families. A rigid caste system had been in operation with a huge bearing on marriages similar to that of rural Sri Lankan society. Though rigidity is now less, the ‘high’ and ‘low’ caste differentiation still exits when deciding on vital matters. The caste hierarchy has essentially come down from India where caste plays a prominent role. 

Basically, there are two distinct differences in the caste system. One is ‘Dugudoru’ (High) and the other is ‘Thapaloru’ (Low). The former has four sub clans while the other has five sub clans. The divisions are based on hereditary professions similar to the divisions among the rural Sinhala folk. The higher castes have more prestigious duties such as cultivating crops and decoration of marriage festivals and brides. Washing clothes or cutting the hair is done by those in the lower castes.

Worshipping of deities and gods is common among the Ahikuntaka community with different sub clans worshipping different gods most of whom are similar to the Hindu gods. 

Landmark event

A unique event took place on 28 January 2011 when Dilmah Conservation took the initiative in holding a tribal meeting or ‘Varigasabha’ of the Ahikuntaka Community in Sri Lanka on the banks of the Rajangana Tank in Kudagama, Thambuttegama. It was the first time in six decades that such a gathering took place with gypsies from all over the country met as one community and spoke to each other of their lives, changing times, concerns and the need to preserve their identity in a fast changing environment. 

The Varigasabha brought together five community leaders to discuss their problems. The five leaders were K Nadarajah of Kudagama, Enkatenna Massaana of Andrabedda, M Rasakumara of Aligambe, Karupan Silva of Siriwallapuram, and Anawattu Massaana of Kalawewa. The core issues discussed by them included the lack of infrastructure development in their respective villages; lack of employment opportunities for community members; and the need to ensure that their traditional forms of livelihood are secured in the years to come.

The ‘Kudagama Charter’

The first-ever Charter of the Ahikutaka community titled the ‘Kudagama Charter’ was accepted and signed by the leaders who made a pledge to unite in order to strengthen and save their unique cultural identity. 

The Charter recorded that towards the middle of the 20th century, the Sri Lankan government took several measures to settle the Ahikuntaka community in colonies. Thus the community is settled at Kudagama of Thambuttegama, Kalawewa, Aligambay, Sirivallipuram of Akkaraipattu in Amapara, and Andarabedda in Kurunegala. 

“With pride we mention that even though we are a minority community, our contribution towards nourishing Sri Lankan cultural diversity is significant. Our cultural identity plays a major role in that context. For a slight elaboration of our cultural identity, we are pleased to make mention of snake charming and monkey performing, fortune telling and gypsy lifestyle which distinguishes the Ahikuntaka community from others.

“We are confident that our community is strong enough to live on its own and in nowhere in history is it mentioned of our conditional protests against the majority community in Sri Lanka. Unlike at present, there were lesser amusement oriented events in the past. It will not be pretentious if our community alone bags that pride of being the one and only entertainer of the nation during the past,” the Charter stated.

Touching on the effects of the social, religious and economic upheavals in the past few decades, the Charter highlighted the threat of losing sterile lands to put up their temporary tents when touring the country. “As a result, we are compelled to give up our gypsy life style which is one of our major means of living. This has also adversely affected our economic status. Moreover, it resulted in the erosion of our traditions and culture.” 

The commitment of Dilmah Conservation is clearly evident with the setting up of the Ahikuntaka Resource Centre in Kudagama. It has an open air theatre and a museum to house traditional arts and crafts. The objective is to make Kudagama a tourist hub and also to preserve the identity and culture of a dwindling traditional community while leading to the general upliftment of their social conditions.

Pix courtesy Dilmah Conservation​