A system for wrath: Social code to express big emotions
- Shamalee de Silva Parizeau
- Mar 18
- 3 min read
Across cultures, some rituals are often formed as structured social expressions for deep emotions—grief, joy, disgust, and anger. Their formalization reflects a society’s attempts to channel powerful feelings into comprehensible acts. Among the Vanniyela Aetto, known more commonly as Veddas—the first people and the jungle folk of Sri Lanka—there is a striking example of this. This extraordinary practice is recorded by anthropologists C.G. and Brenda Seligmann.
Their 1911 study, ‘The Veddas’ reveals how the Vanniyela Aetto once used a piece of dried human liver, obtained through personal acts of violence, to summon courage and resolve in moments of profound insult or challenge. This was no casual outlet for aggression but a response to situations that struck at the very foundations of an individual’s dignity—instances such as the theft of a spouse, betrayal, or the violation of land or belongings.
“Every group of Veddas except the most sophisticated village Veddas believe that it was formerly the custom for a man to carry in his betel pouch a small piece of dry human liver. It was essential that the liver should be taken from a man killed by the individual who proposed to carry a portion of the dried liver in his pouch.”
The ritual was reserved for wrath, for extreme situations, far removed from the mundane outbursts of frustration. Their approach to such intense anger was measured, deeply symbolic, and tied to the core of their identity as hunters and defenders.
The act of chewing this dried liver was not just symbolic but a visceral reminder of personal power, a ritual of transformation that turned indignation into action. As the Seligmanns describe, the practice seems to have vanished several generations ago, but its echoes remain in oral traditions. The liver served as a talisman of strength, a bridge between the act of past vengeance and the courage required for future justice. This practice—ritualized, extreme, yet deeply tied to the Vanniyela Aetto’s social codes—embodied their understanding of controlled fury, situating anger as a tool wielded only in moments of utmost necessity.
“The purpose of the dried liver was to make a person strong and confident to avenge insults. As far as we could understand a Vedda might thus work himself up into a condition of berserker fury, but this was only done after very serious insult, as when a man’s wife had been carried off or been unfaithful, or when his bow and arrows had been stolen or an attempt made to take his land or caves.” - C.G. and Brenda Seligmann
This story offers a glimpse into how the Vanniyela Aetto transformed raw human emotions into structured responses, embedding their struggles within acts laden with cultural meaning. It provokes broader reflection: How do rituals shape our responses to emotional situations? The Vanniyela Aetto ritual was practiced by men; what about other genders’ use of rituals to express emotions? How do societies, ancient and modern, formalize emotions into symbols, forging connections between personal identity and collective values? Protests, riots and vigils, are current examples of forms expressing collective anger. What are their personal counterparts? What are ‘accepted’ forms for an adult to express their personal anger right now? Vanniyela Aetto’s practices make us question our response toward anger, our ways of demanding justice, and whether we still need systemized ways to communicate our deepest emotions through ritual. Perhaps, having a socially-accepted method to channel a deeply unsettling emotion is convenient, as our systemised responses to other emotions, like love and gratitude, show.
Emotions are essential to human communication. Expressing emotions in a calculated, measured manner has been part of Eastern creative practices since the 4th century BC. We bring this into practice as part of our commercial story design methodology. Read more.