14/06/2026
Deraniyagala's Kudumbigala Expedition and the Diet of the Nittaewo
In the 1950s and early 1960s, Sri Lankan archaeologist and museum director P. E. P. Deraniyagala conducted explorations in the remote forests between Maha Lenama and Kudumbigala in southeastern Sri Lanka. His investigations uncovered ancient Buddha statues, Brahmi inscriptions, frescoes, and evidence of prehistoric occupation in rock shelters.
One of the most significant discoveries was made in a rock shelter near Kudumbi Gala. Excavations below a layer of early Sinhala pottery, at a depth of about 8–10 inches, revealed animal remains that appeared to have been discarded as food. These remains included:
• An operculum (shell lid) of a large swamp snail (Pila)
• A fish vertebra
• Part of a fish gill cover
• A shell plate and limb bone of a freshwater soft terrapin (Lissemys punctata ceylonensis, or "Kiri ibba")
Because these aquatic animals were found in a hill cave far above any swamp or water source, Deraniyagala concluded that they had been carried there by humans for consumption.
He compared this evidence with Sinhala oral traditions about the mysterious 'Nittaewo' (නිට්ටෑවෝ), a small, hairy people said to have lived in the southeastern forests. Traditional accounts described the Nittaewo as feeding on small animals such as deer, hare, squirrel, iguana, and tortoise. Deraniyagala argued that the excavated food remains supported these traditions, particularly the claim that the Nittaewo ate small animals and terrapins.
Although he could not definitively prove the identity of the cave's inhabitants, Deraniyagala believed the discoveries provided archaeological support for the traditional stories and helped reconstruct what the Nittaewo may have eaten.
Source: “Some New Discoveries from the Lenama Kudumbigala Dome” (1963) by P.E.P. Deraniyagala
