The Ahikuntaka

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My father could not read or write, but he
knew the value of education
We started migrating from place to place again’. After a brief
sojourn, the clan decided to stay in a place near Nikerawatiya.
‘I was put into the eighth grade at the local school. I was a good
runner and won prizes. Both Prime Minister Bandaranaike
and Sir John Kotelawala visited the school and awarded prizes
to me’, boasts Masanna. His education was short-lived and he
stopped schooling that year.
Subsequently, he tells us ‘I had to find a way to make ends
meet. I didn’t know how to charm snakes because I was
attending school, while the rest learnt the art. But this was my
forefather’s trade, so I started moving about with one of my
elders in order to master the art. One day, when walking along
the paddy fields in Veyangoda, my companion saw a snake. I
watched how he caught it and then removed the poison teeth
from it. Then he gave me his old snake and took the new one. I
started walking alone with his snake’ recalls Masanna.
His ‘first catch’ also brings out and interesting story. “Once
I was walking on the roads in Homagama, suddenly a set of
people saw me and shouted, ‘here is a gypsy, here is a gypsy.’ I
had no clue as to why they shouted, until one man approached
me and told me that there was a snake inside the house. They
wanted me to get hold of it. I started sweating because I’ve
never caught a snake in my life. I felt very embarrassed and used
my ‘Dutch courage’. I told myself that it doesn’t matter even if
the snake bites me, I will try and tame it.
Fortunately, the snake was an old one and since I acted exactly
how my companion did the other day. I was able to tame it
and since that day I have had no fear. I have now caught over
1500 snakes” he says.
Masanna married a relative of his and they lived temporarily
in Medawachchiya. The whole clan was of the opinion that
they needed to find permanent residence in order to provide
their children with an uninterrupted education. Accordingly,
the state, after many requests resettled them in the year 1969,
giving them land in the District of Vavuniya at a village by
the name of Nochchikulam. This clan, for the first time
in its history, found solace in making a livelihood through
cultivation.
‘On the 17 th of August 1985, the Tamil Tigers attacked our
village. All the Sinhalese people and we left Vavuniya for
Anuradhdapura. We had to live in refugee camps for a few
days and then we moved to Kudagama. Kudagama was also
a place where many of our kind lived. We lived there till
1992. But many of us didn’t like living with them. The place
I call home and I know very well is Galgamuwa. Therefore I
requested land from Galgamuwa. A minister at the time gave
us land from the area. Initially there were some families who
joined me and later on five more joined us. It was in 1996
that we got permanent land in Andarabedda.’ Masanna is very
keen to keep the Ahikuntaka tradition alive; making sure his
clan adheres to all the rules and regulations.
50 The Ahikuntaka
The story of Rengasamige Masanna