The Ahikuntaka

‘The only things I know about their traditions are the ones that
I have learnt by observing them. There is nothing more that I
know’. This was a strange confession. How could someone be
part of a clan or tribe and know nothing about their traditions
and culture, other than what she has witnessed?
She seemed to be contemplating about what to say next and after
a while she began to speak again. This time she said that she is
about to share something that she has not told anyone. We were
excited and tense at the same time.
‘I haven’t told this to anyone but I don’t see any point in
continuing to hide this fact. I am a Sinhalese from Madatugama,
Kurunegala. My mother passed away when I was a little child
and so did my sister. My father died a little while later and I was
orphaned with no hope. I lived with some of my relatives but had
to undergo many hardships in that house. I was fed up with life.
In April 1974, a trader who sold incense sticks visited our village
and I decided to run away with him. He was a Telingu national
and from that day onwards I decided that I’m going to be one of
them’ she recalled with a sense of nostalgia.
We asked her how she became the leader of the clan and why she
was named Kali Amma.
‘At the time there was no one to speak on behalf of the villagers,
so I decided to take it upon myself to voice the hardships faced
by them. This is how an outsider like me ended up being the
de-facto leader of the clan. Currently many villagers use Sinhala
names. However, when I came here nearly four decades ago, a
Sinhala name was unheard of among them, so I called myself Kali
Amma’ she said. She politely declined to share her real name with
us.
NG
Kali Amma the woman who strayed away from tradition The Ahikuntaka 45