The Vedda, or Wanniyalaeto, are a minority indigenous group of people in Sri Lanka who, among other sub-communities such as Coast Veddas, Anuradhapura Veddas and Bintenne Veddas, are accorded indigenous status. The Vedda minority in Sri Lanka may become completely assimilated. Most speak Sinhala instead of their indigenous languages, which are nearing extinction. It has been hypothesized that the Vedda were probably the earliest inhabitants of Sri Lanka and have lived on the island since before the arrival of other ethnic groups in India.
Vedda man and child.
Most prominent Vedda chief late Tisahamy Aththo
Tisahamy Aththo with some Vedda women
A Veddah ritual about to be performed
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territory, and an experience of subjugation and discrimination under a dominant cultural model.
A Kaqchikel family in the hamlet of Patzutzun, Guatemala, 1993
Colorized photograph of an Amis couple in traditional clothing. Taken in pre-World War II Japanese-ruled Taiwan.
Guatemalan girls in their traditional clothing from the town of Santa Catarina Palopó on Lake Atitlán
Alonso Fernández de Lugo presenting the captured Guanche kings of Tenerife to Ferdinand and Isabella
