Sri Lanka is home to an array of ethnic groups, the smaller of which live partly outside the mainstream of society. Undoubtedly, the best known of these are the Veddah, who conform to the aboriginal, hunter-gatherer archetype. A lesser-known community, the only 'untouchable' group until the 1950s, is the Rodi. Indeed, the Rodi's intriguing myth of origin, their tragic history and the much-renowned beauty of their women, have combined to distinguish them. Not only has the tribe transformed into an oppressed caste in the mists of history, but the Rodi women have suffered disproportionately due to the burden of myths about their sexuality. While their beauty has been romanticised, the mystique of their sexual prowess has inspired both desire and fear in men of higher castes.
Although their beginnings are far from certain, it is possible that the Rodi were originally a hunting tribe from the Subcontinental mainland. Their current numbers are unknown, as Sri Lanka ceased to include caste in the population census over a hundred years ago. Anthropologist Nireka Weeratunge's research in 1988 (the most recent to date) found one of the villages studied to have a larger population than the figure that had previously been used for the Rodi population for the Northwestern Province as a whole. While definite numbers thus cannot be cited, the Rodi population is today estimated to be around 25,000.
As regards their origins, one theory is that the first members arrived as bowmen in the retinue that accompanied the sacred bo (or pipal) tree under which the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment, as it made its journey from the empire of Ashoka to the magnificent north-central city of Anuradhapura 22 centuries ago. However, the Rodi also have a gruesome oral tradition that ascribes to them both a local origin and a royal lineage. Over the generations, this myth of origin has acquired subtle variations. Nevertheless, the commonest version is that which was recorded by the British civil servant Hugh Nevill in the June and August 1887 issues of his journal, The Taprobanian:
At [King] Parakramabahu's court, the venison was provided by a certain Veddah archer, who, during a scarcity of game, substituted the flesh of a boy he met in the jungle and provided it as venison for the Royal Household. Navaratnavalli (or Ratnavalli), the beautiful daughter of the king, discovered the deception and, fascinated by a longing for human flesh, ordered the hunter to bring this flesh daily.