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who are about 2 in (51 mm) shorter on average than the
Veddahs, who he suggests may have inhabited Sri Lanka before the arrival of the Veddahs. South and Southeast Asia were subject to a great number of racial migrations, with each new race displacing or pushing out the previous rulers, and
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had been told by a relative of his named
Koraleya. Despite being a fourth-hand account, the story was confirmed in 1915, when Frederick Lewis was given the same information by several informants in Uva and Punawa Pattu. According to an old Veddah named Dissam Hamy, the nittaewo were exterminated no
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The nittaewo was described as being even smaller than the diminutive
Veddahs, only between 3 and 4 ft (0.91 and 1.22 m) in height, with the females being even shorter. They were covered in hair, which was often said to be reddish in colour, and were said to have very short, powerful arms
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The nittaewo lived in small parties, and slept in caves or among the branches of trees, in leaf-nests of their own design. They had a varied diet, eating whatever raw game they could catch, including squirrels, small deer, tortoises, lizards, and sometimes even crocodiles. They did not use tools,
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no doubt once inhabited the rest of Asia before being pushed down into the
Southeast by one of the waves of human invaders mentioned above. Before this decline, however, they might easily have reached Sri Lanka from India when the island was still connected to the mainlandâwhich happened several
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The last of the nittaewo were said to have been exterminated by the
Veddahs of Leanama during the late 18th century, when they were rounded up into a cave, the entrance of which was then blocked up with brushwood which was set alight, suffocating the trapped nittaewo over three days. The cave's
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The first and so far only recorded sighting of the nittaewo since the 18th century supposedly occurred in 1984, when one was allegedly seen by the
Spanish anthropologist Salvador Martinez. He claimed that the nittaewo he saw was human-like, with a coat of long hair with scabs, and emitted
289:), although dangerous when disturbed and liable to inflict severe wounds with it hooked claws, is among the most quadrupedal of bears, only rarely walking upright. Its fur is also usually black, turning red on the surface only occasionally, and it is an insectivore, not a predator.
146:" which a handful of Veddahs could understand. The Veddahs themselves were the enemies of the nittaewo, which had no defense against the Veddahsâ bows and arrows. It was said that whenever a nittaewo came across a sleeping Veddah, it would disembowel them with its claws.
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In 1963, Sri Lankan army captain A. T. Rambukwelle led an expedition to the caves of
Kudimbigala to search for evidence of the nittaewo. He discovered the shells of molluscs and vertebrae and shells of turtles, animals which the nittaewo were said to have fed on.
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was much closer to a normal human height, creating a problem with the theory. However, Heuvelmans notes that, if they did reach Sri Lanka, they might well have developed into a pygmy race, as often happens with species isolated on islands. The
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as a fairly good candidate, as these animals do conform to the nittaewo's description in a number of ways. They are small, only around 3 ft (0.91 m) when standing upright, live in troops, and are the only apes to habitually walk
248:. Unlike many other apes, they will eat animals such as insects, birds, and eggs. Although a far cry from the savage nittaewo, which was said to disembowel people and kill crocodiles, Heuvelmans notes that the Veddahs may simply have "
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which often caused panic in certain villages. Villagers reported the creature to be totally black, gorilla faced and having long claws which was different from the Veddah descriptions, leading to the possibility of a fraud.
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more than five generations earlier than his visitâDissam Hamy's grandfather had taken part in the genocide. Lewis made inquiries of other people in the village, and in another village, and was given the same story.
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position was lost when the
Veddahs of Leanama themselves became extinct just a few generations later. Bernard Heuvelmans estimated that the genocide took place in around 1800, whilst Ivan Mackerle estimates 1775.
271:. They are not known from Sri Lanka, and Heuvelmans writes that it would be surprising to find them there. Gibbons also have famously long, bandy arms, unlike the short arms of the nittaewo.
278:. Orangutans have sometimes been reported from mainland India, but Heuvelmans notes that this ape is too large, heavy, arboreal, vegetarian, and solitary to make a good nittaewo identity.
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Another suggestion is that the nittaewo could have been bears, which are known to walk bipedally, and leave infamously human-like footprints. However, Sri Lanka's only known bear, the
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instead disembowelling their prey with their long claws or hooked nails, allowing them to feed on the entrails. They were said to have a sort of language of their own, a "
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form of this word was "nigadiwa" or "nishadiwa," from which "nittaewo" may have derived. A possible alternative etymology given by George
Eberhart is "
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it is possible that this is what happened with the nittaewo and the
Veddahs. However, Heuvelmans concludes by writing that the Negritos "
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Lewis Frederick Notes on an exploration in Eastern Uva and Southern Panama Pattu. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Ceylon. 1914
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310:". Eberhart also records the theory that they may have been some unknown short-statured race of people, similar to the Negritos, the
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121:", a term used by the Indo-Aryans to describe the more primitive tribes which inhabited India when the Indo-Aryans invaded. The
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Rambukwella Captain A.T. The Nittaewo - The Legendary Pygmies of Ceylon. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Ceylon.1963
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in Indonesia in 2004 has also lead to the belief that they could even be a similar species existing in Sri Lanka.
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However, one argument against this theory is the fact that, in India, gibbonsâthe Indian species are specifically
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made detailed examination of the nittaewo, and came up with several plausible identities. Some sort of Sri Lankan
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102:. No archeological evidence has been found to prove the existence of these humanoids, but they are ubiquitous in
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During an exploration of caves at Kudimbigala, army captain A. T. Rambukwelle discovered a stone building, "
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Captain A. T. Rambukwella also theorised that the nittaewo could be a Sri Lankan species of the African
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In 2019, sightings re-surged again starting in several locations such as Walasmulla and Bambaragala and
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with short, long-clawed hands. Unlike monkeys, they walked upright always and had no tails.
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Another theory is that the nittaewo could have been a Sri Lankan population of
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157:," but Ivan Mackerle later discovered that it had been built by Veddah monks.
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Mackerle, Ivan PotĹeboval Nittaewo oltĂĄĹ? :: Ivan Mackerle mackerle.cz
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Hill and Heuvelmans theorised that the nittaewo could have been a surviving
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Hugh Nevill wrote that one of his informants compared the nittaewo to an
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Lewis, Frederick "Notes on Animal and Plant Life in the Vedda Country,"
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spp.), the only modern ape known from Indiaâare only found east of the
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Reports of more sightings of Nittaewo in Walasmulla - Hiru News
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hunter, who was himself told by an elderly Leanama Veddah, who
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The story of the extermination was first reported by explorer
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do not look in the least like the description of the nittaewo
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times prior to 5000 B.C.âand survived until recent times.
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Nevill Hugh The Nittaewo of Ceylon. The Taprobanian. 1886
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was consistent with the nittaewo, but this is untrue, as
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unintelligible sounds before fleeing into the forest.
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explained that, "nittaewo" may be a derivative from "
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359:theory was favoured by both Hill and Heuvelmans.
440:Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology
250:blackened the character of the greatest enemy
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83:) were said to be a small tribe of small
550:Nittaewo, an Unsolved Problem of Ceylon
472:Nevill, Hugh "The Nittaewo of Ceylon,"
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151:reminiscent of the miniature stonehenge
144:sort of burbling, or birds' twittering,
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552:. Colombo: Loris. pp. 4, 251â62.
371:However, the discovery of remains of
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106:mythology and Sri Lankan folklore.
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346:Hill also wrote that the size of
173:in 1887, who was told of it by a
415:On the Track of Unknown Animals
129:" ("one who possesses nails").
581:Sri Lankan legendary creatures
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521:"Dagger-clawed little people"
239:was regarded by both him and
231:In 1945, noted primatologist
438:Eberhart, George M. (2002)
413:Heuvelmans, Bernard (1955)
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548:Hill, W. C. Osman (1945).
301:, a race native to the
233:William C. Osman Hill
476:1 #3 (February 1886)
314:of Malaysia, or the
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322:Primitive hominoid
293:Unknown human race
241:Bernard Heuvelmans
155:the nittaewa altar
377:on the island of
374:Homo floresiensis
316:Andaman islanders
267:and south of the
227:Mistaken identity
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269:Brahmaputra
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133:Description
115:Hugh Nevill
570:Categories
531:2023-01-28
507:2022-11-21
387:References
283:sloth bear
98:native to
69:Rainforest
59:South Asia
489:10 (1915)
276:orangutan
246:bipedally
186:Sightings
175:Sinhalese
127:niya-atha
123:Sinhalese
110:Etymology
100:Sri Lanka
49:Sri Lanka
299:Negritos
222:Theories
77:Nittaewo
25:Grouping
20:Nittaewo
586:Bigfoot
261:Hoolock
179:himself
96:cryptid
93:hominid
85:bigfoot
81:Nittevo
65:Habitat
45:Country
39:Hominid
29:Cryptid
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380:Flores
312:Semang
265:Ganges
237:gibbon
119:niᚣÄda
104:Veddha
91:-like
55:Region
332:(now
591:Yeti
444:ISBN
419:ISBN
209:2019
200:1984
191:1963
89:Yeti
79:(or
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87:or
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