Tag: community

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Kurumba

The Kurumba community of Tamil Nadu are categorized as a Scheduled Tribe and are included in the list of Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs). As per 2001 census, the total population of the Kurumbas is 5498 (2707 males and 2791 females) and their literacy rate is 49.03 per cent. “It is possible that their name originated from the Tamil word ‘kurumbo’ (mischief) because they are said to be very mischievous”. Kurumbas are identified as having five distinct ethnic subcategories in the Nilgiri district on the basis of region of residence, language spoken and variety of cultural traits. These groups are Alu Kurumbas, Betta Kurumbas, Jenu kurumbas, Mullu Kurumbas and Urali Kurumbas.

Alu Kurumbas are found in the taluks of Coonoor and Kotagiri, Betta Kurumbas and Jenu Kurumbas inhabit Mudumalai Sanctuary, Mullu Kurumbas are found in the Pandalur taluk whereas Urali Kurumbas are distributed in the taluks of Gudalur and Pandalur. The Kurumba settlement is called Mottam, and is a cluster of many huts inside the forest,. They are non-vegetarian in food habit. Kurumba practices small game hunting and are extremely skillful in collecting rock bee (Apis dorsata) honey. They make their own fibre/vine/bamboo ladder to climb high cliff and trees in order to collect rock bee honey. The ritual of self-preparation before honey collection is elaborate and strictly adhered to even today.

Originally, animists and totemists, the Kurumbas now follow mainstream Hindu religion and worship “Kumba devaru” and “Karupade thayi”. Kurumbas pass on their folksongs, stories, riddles and rhymes orally through storytellers and musicians. The Kurumbas share a common musical culture with other Nilgiri tribes. Bamboo pipes (kuvalu and bugiri), monofaced drums (tambatte) and two faced drums (are) are popular instruments. Themes are either balladic or associated with death and marriage rituals. In dance, there are two kinds: the gandesa attam is performed by the men while the slower version yen attam is performed by the women. .

Kurumbas women practice body tattooing. The Kurumbas were traditionally hunters, forest food gatherers, and shifting cultivators and now have adapted to working as labour in coffee, tea and vegetable plantations. Some Kurumbas have also become experts in basket weaving. Traditional Kurumba art called Ajile Bottu depicts their beliefs, rituals, hunting techniques and daily village life. Today, the Kurumba youth are reviving this art form which is being well received by the public.

Sources:  Nath et al. (2007). Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains. Keystone Foundation

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Toda

Toda man collecting honey from a hive in tree cavity
Toda man collecting honey from a hive in tree cavity

The Toda people are a small pastoral community who live on the isolated Nilgiri Plateau and Western Ghats of south India. Todas are vegetarian in nature and traditionally live in settlements called as Mund consisting of three to seven small thatched houses, constructed in the shape of half-barrels and spread across the slopes of the pasture. They traditionally trade dairy products with their neighbours. Toda religion centers around the buffalo and consequently, rituals are performed for all dairy activities as well as for the ordination of dairymen-priests. The religious and funerary provide the social context in which complex poetic songs about the cult of the buffalo are composed and chanted During the last quarter of the 20th century, some Toda pasture land was lost due to agriculture by outsiders or afforestation by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department. This has threatened to undermine Toda culture by greatly diminishing the buffalo herds; however during the last decade both Toda society and culture have also become the focus of an international effort at culturally sensitive environmental restoration.[3] The Toda lands are now a part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR). The Toda community was originally pastoral but of late begun cultivating vegetables. Since the colonial period, grazing rights have been given to them for a large landscape.

The Toda dress consists of a single piece of cloth, which is worn like shalya wrap over a dhoti for men and skirt for women along with shalya wrap. Toda women are extremely skilled in embroidery. Their traditional embroidery uses the bright shades of scarlet and black on a white background and  the nature-inspired motifs are very old and similar to those in vogue in ancient India. The traditional attire is a must during rituals, marriages and social gatherings. Keeping a pure line of buffalo breed is for rituals and the sacred dairy is strictly adhered even today.

The Todas have the unique practice of gathering Apis cerana honey from natural tree cavity in the forest using a system that has evolved over generations. Such cavities are bequeathed to heirs as property.  Keystone Foundation has been working closely with the Toda community on initiatives like forest restoration, creating a nursery of native forest species, documenting plant diversity, creating a forest bee sanctuary and preserving traditional handicrafts. With respect to the last, Keystone has been instrumental in acquiring the Geographical Indication of Origin for their embroidery.

Sources: 1. Nath et al. (2007). Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains. Keystone Foundation
2. Wikipedia

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Paniya

The Paniya are one of the five ancient tribal communities of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.  Paniya tribes are one of the major tribal communities residing in different parts of Kerala. They are categorized as scheduled castes and they dwell in different hill and forest areas of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Various districts where the Paniya tribes have built their settlements include Kozhikode and Malappuram. The word ‘Paniya’ is derived from ‘pani’ which is a Malayalam word meaning work. The people of this tribal community are mostly labourers and their past history also suggests the same. In fact, the Paniya community is among those tribal peoples who have worked traditionally worked as bonded labourers in ancient days. Thick lips, dark complexion and curly hair are the typical physical characteristic of the Paniya people. There is some resemblance between the Paniya people and African natives, and some scholars are of the opinion that the Paniyan people may be of African origin. According to some scholars, Kapiri (Africa or the Cape) is the land of origin of the Paniya tribes.

The Paniya tribes are mainly concentrated in the northern part of the Western Ghats, Wayanad district, and the eastern regions of Kozhikode (Calicut), Malappuram and Kannur districts. Some are found in Gudalur and Pandalur area of Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu and in southern part of Kodagu district of Karnataka.  Wage labour, small game hunting and collecting forest produce are the main means of living for this community.  However, their movement within the forest has also been restricted by legislations designed to protect wildlife and biodiversity.  Small scale traditional mixed millet food farming is practiced which includes exclusive varieties of little millets and maize other than pulses, cereals, greens, vegetables and tubers.

Sources: 1. Nath et al. (2007). Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains. Keystone Foundation
2. Wikipedia