Study based on Sri Lankan a novels reflecting transformations of the vedda society

Abstract

Novel is a mirror of the society. The specialty & variety of social behavior linked to the miscellaneous societies are evident in such literature. Novels written about the life in the jungle are rare when compared with other types of novels. R. L. Spiitel’s works become prominent in this respect. The endless kindness the author had towards Vedda community, a sub culture of old Sri Lanka, is very evident in the four novels “Where the White Sambour Roams” (1962) , “The Wild White Boy” (1962) , “Savage Sanctuary” (1956) , “Vanished Trails” (1963). Although it was written on the gradual evolution of the same culture, these four novels represent two eras. It focuses on the vedda community during the rule of king Rajasinghe the 2nd in 17th century by “Where the White Sambour Roams” & “The Wild White Boy”, while “Savage Sanctuary” & “Vanished Trails” depict the life of the Vedda people mixed up with the society of the British Era of the 19th century. The intention of this research is to find out the way that the Vedda society changed as a result of The Constant exposure to the major society. The Sinhalese translations of the four books mentioned above and “Eda Heladiwa”, the Sinhalese translation of “An Historical Relation of the Island of Ceylon” by Robert Knox have been used as primary sources. It has been found out that the Vedda society too faced the same transformation faced by the society in general, during the era starting from Rajasinghe the 2nd to the Colonial era.