The Ratnapura District, which is part of the Sabaragamuwa Province, is known to have been inhabited by the Veddas in the distant past. This has been shown by scholars like Nandadeva Wijesekera. The very name "Sabaragamuwa" is believed to have meant the village of the "Sabaras" or "forest barbarians". Place-names such as "Vedda-gala" (Vedda Rock), "Vedda-ela" (Vedda Canal) and "Vedi-Kanda" (Vedda Mountain) in the Ratnapura District also bear testimony to this. As Wijesekera observes, a strong Vedda element is discernible in the population of "Vedda-gala" and its environs.