The Ahikuntaka

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Mahakanadarawa a village by the tank
Situated on the bank of the Mahakanadarawa tank, within
the jurisdiction of the Mihintale Urban Council, the
Mahakanadarawa Ahikuntaka village bears the interesting
postal address - New Telingu village, Seepukulam, Mihintale.
Currently, the village is made up of 34 families amounting to
over 200 inhabitants. The village has fairly recent beginnings,
with former Minister S.M. Chandrasena taking measures to
provide the community with permanent housing in 1999.
This resulted in the construction of nearly 30 village houses
on ten perch blocks of land.
Prior to their migration to the present location, the
inhabitants resided in Velangamuwa, also situated in close
proximity to the Mahakanadarawa tank, which is an integral
part of their day to day life.
Among Sri Lanka’s migrating Ahikuntaka clans, two reside
within this village. A majority of villagers identify themselves
as ‘Lankan Telingu’ people and trace their ancestral beginnings
to a community residing in Puttalam. Their livelihoods are
centered on fishing while the females exercise their traditional
mode of livelihood – palm reading in public places around the
sacred city of Anuradhapura.
Some six families residing within the village derive their
identity from the original gypsy community, tracing their
beginnings to the village of Thambuththegama. The men
engage in snake charming and training performing monkeys
as a mode of livelihood while the women continue the
tradition of palm reading.
Despite living in relatively close proximity to one another,
these two clans give attention and priority to preserving their
separate identities. Each clan professes superiority over the
other. However, it also seemed that both groups were guilty of
breaking some of their traditions along the way.
When probed about their religion, many inhabitants told
us that traditionally they have been Buddhists but have now
moved towards the religion of the Bible. Some, mentioned
that they were devotees of Kali Amma. However they didn’t
seem to know which strand of the ‘religion of the Bible’ they
belonged to.
When asked why they converted, their reasoning was very
simple.
‘A big party is held every Christmas and the children are
showered with gifts. They also pray for our sick and the
needy’ they said. Still, many families send their children to the
Buddhist temple for Sunday school.
When we visited the village, the leader of the clan Aloysius,
was cohabiting with a Telingu woman named Thangavelu
Kamalawathie. It is worth to mention that, Aloysius claims he
is a Sinhalese. Both the leader and his partner have children
from separate marriages and there is no record of them being
legally married to each other although they are currently living
together.
42 The Ahikuntaka
Mahakanadarawa a village by the tank