Primitive Tribal Groups ofNilgiri District (PTGS)

Tamil Nadu, one of themajor states of the southernzone in lndia, consists ofimportant tr ibal grou ps.According to 2001 census,theScheduled Tribe population inTamil Nadu is 651321 (328917males and 322404 females)constitutes 1.04 per cent ofthe total general populat ion.There are thirty six ScheduledTribes of varying numericalstrengths in the state. Most ofthe Scheduled Tribes live inhilly and remote areas byprimitive subsistence I ivingand a large number of themare food gatherers bytradition and they are widelydistr ibuted in al l thir tydistricts in Tamil Nadu state.The literacy rate of the tribesis 41 .53 per cent.90.31 percent of the tribals live in hilly /rural areas and 9.69 per centof them live in urban (town)areas. Tribal communities livein about 1 5 per cent of the

country's areas, in variousecological and geo-cl imaticconditions ranging fromplains, forests, hills andinaccessible areas.

In Tamil Nadu, out of 36Scheduled Tribes,theGovernment of Indiaidentified six tribalcommunit ies as PRIMITIVETRIBAL GROUPS (PTGs) on thebasis of 'a pre-agriculturelevel of technology, a stagnantor decl ining populat ion,extremely low literacy and asubsistence level of economy.These six PTGs are

l.Todas2. Kotas3. Kurumbas4. l ru las5. Paniyans6. Kattunayakans

Surprisingly, all these sixPTGs are found in the NilgiriDistrict. Each of these tribes

maintaining unique culturaltraits. Because of these PTGs,the Ni lgir i Distr ict has becomean important ' tr ibal ethniczone' in the world ofindigenous heri tage.

According to 2001census,the total population ofthe Ni lgir i Ditr ict is7.64lakhs,out of which the totalpr imit ive tr ibal groupspopulation is 28,373,constituting 4.32 per cent ofthe total general populat ion.The tr ibal populat ion in Ni lgir iDistrict is not evenlydistributed in the six taluks.32.08 per cent of them arel iv ing in Pandalur ta luk;24.10per cent of them are l iv ing inKotagiri taluk; 14.33 per centof them are in Gudalur taluk;1 3.1 6 per cent of the tribes arel iv ing in Udhagamandalamtaluk and remaining 6.96 percent are l iv ing in Coonoor andKundah taluks.

Dr. Jakka Parthasarathy Ph.D.,Cu ltu ra I Anth ropologist.

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The Government of lndiaidentified the Toda as one ofthe six Primit iveTribal Groups(PTGs) of Tamil Nadu. Todasspeak a dialect, which is anindependent language of theDravidian family. The Todavi l lage is cal led a mund,meansa herd of cattles and people.Toda mund is usual ly acollection of five to ninehalf-barrel shaped huts, eachhut with a smaller doorway,measuring only 32 inches by18 inches. Besides the huts,the mund has another hutwith a smaller doorway, calledtirierior dairy temple. ln thevicini ty of the mund is thebuffalow open shelter, calledas pen. The uniqueness oftheir half-barrel shaped hutsgiven speculat ions to theresearchers regarding theirorigin ranged from Rome toSumeria. But the Toda adultinformants always assuredthat they had always been onthe Ni lgir i hi l ls. The tradit ionalgarment of a Toda is known asput-kuli,a thick white cottoncloth with red and blue stripswhich is embell ished furtherembroidery bytheTodawomen, is thrown around the

body by men and women l ike'Roman Toga' (Shawl). Metalornaments, known as'Todajewellery'is worn by bothmen and women.Todas aretraditiona I ly lacto-vegeta ria ns.

TheToda community isdivided into two endogamousdivisions known as teivolioland torthorol, which arefurther divided into fourteenexogamous clans. They avoidmarital al l iance within a clan.In the past,theToda followedadelphic type of polyandry, aform of plural marriage, butnow they strictly followmonogamy. The life cyclerituals are markedly differentfrom other tribes. During thedead body cremation, theysacrifice a buffalow. Rules ofinheritance restricted to thesons only.Todas were purely apastoral people. The care ofbuffaloes and the dutiesconnected with the dairyformed the sole work of theToda men. The Toda tribalcounci l is not permanentbody but only a group ofelderlyToda males selected bycommon consent for aparticu la r dispute. The

Government of Tamil Nadu,recently included a Toda manas a Member in i ts 'Tr ibalDevelopment Boardi TheToda concept of religion isassociated with a highlyr i tual ized dairy andbuffalow-cu lt. They havepriests to perform rituals. Thegoddess tokisya is honouredby them as their pr incipalspirit.Todas have uniquefolklore embedded withvariety of songs, proverbs,myths etc., and theirtradit ional dance is anexclusively ceremonial. A fewTodas have embraced toChristianity. Todas who areliving nearer to towns havejoined the main streamdevelopment. A few of themare working in theGovernment and privatesectors. Anth ropologistsconsiderTodas asinternational ly popu lar eth niccommunity, because of theirrare cultural traits likepolyandry, social paternitythrough bow and arrowceremony, vegetarian ism,buffa low sacrifice, priesthood,sacred diaries etc.,

- Dr.Jakka Parthasarathy Ph.D.,Cu ltu ral Anthropologist.

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NilgiriTribes Kotas

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ln lndia, Kota tribalgroup are found only in the'Ni lgir i Distr ict of Tamil Naduand they inhabited only inseven villages. According to2001 census,the totalpopulation of the Kota is 3122( 1548 males and 1574females) and their l iteracy rateis 67.31 per cent. The Kota areknown by several names likeKoter, Kotharu, Kothewar andKohatur. Kotas are one of thesix Primitive Tribal Groups(PTGs) of Tamil Nadu. Theorigin of the name'Kota' isderived from the Dravida rootword'Koi meaning mountain.The Kota speak a dialect,mixed with the words ofKannada and Tamil words.Kota village is called aKOKKAL, represent a lineartype, fourty to sixty houses,with three or four streets,caf led as keris. Kota traditionalgarment is known as'vorad',awhite bed-spread cloth, isthrown around the body bymen and women. Kodk,traditional ear-ring ornamentare used both by men andwomen. They arenon-vegetarians.

The Kota have no broadsub-divisions but the most

striking feature is their kerisystem. Keri, a street acts asan exogamous unit and itsdecent is uni l ineal in the maleline, which regulates themarriage pattern. Monogamyis the most common form ofmarriage. The life cycle ritualsare marked with purity andpollution. They follow themale ult imogeniture mode ofinheritance. The Kotas are theonly art isan community onthe hi l ls of the Ni lgir is. As Rev.Metz (1864) aptly remarkedthat,"Kotas in the olden dayswere the only one of all thehill tribes who practiced theindustrial arts and they weretherefore essential almost tothe very existence of the othertribes and castes of theNilgiris'l Kotas have beensmiths in gold and silver,theya re carpenters, blacksm iths,potters and musicians. TheKota women are experts inpottery work. The Kota wereliving in symbiosis with othercommunities, viz., the Todas,the Kurumbas and theBadagas. Later in the processof hill area development,Kotas gradually adaptedhorticulture and vegetablescultivation. The Kota tribal

council, called as' Koo(,maintains customary norms inthe community. The Kotafol low animism and worshipKambatroyan andKombotiswari in the names ofAyyanor and Ammonor,intemples located in a separatesacred complex adjacent to aKota settlement. Kotas havemany tales to tell to theiryounger generation. Kotasusually dance to the tunes oftheir music during theirfestivals, and also whilecelebrating life cycle rituals.The types of their dances areka I coose aat, th i ri g o n o at,pippaoloot ond koinaat. Thenames of their musicalinstruments are Kob, Kolu, PurandThobok. Because offormal education and theirpositive perception onmainstrea m development,most of the Kotas are joinedsuccessful economicdevelopment path. Atpresent, the Kota com m u nityhave proudly represent onemedical officer (MBBS degreeholder), five Eng i neers, twentyone graduates, besides oneKota youth studying in othercountry.

- Dr.Jakka Parthasarathy Ph.D.,Cu ltu ral Anth ropologist.

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NilgiriTribes Kurumbas

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The Kurumbas of Ni lgir iDistrict are entirely differentfrom other names likeKuruman, Ku ru mba, Kuru baetc. Because of ethnicdifferences between thesenames, to avoid confusion, theGovernment of India declaredthat, those Kurumbas who arel iving only in Ni lgir i Distr ictare categorized as aScheduled Tribe and includedthem in the list of PrimitiveTribal Groups (PTGs). As per2001 census,the totalpopulat ion of the Kurumbas is5498 (2707 males and2791females) and their l iteracy rateis 49.03 percent. A.A.D Luiz(1962) stated that,"it ispossible that their nameoriginated from the Tamilword,'kurumbo' (mischief ),because in their savage statethey were very arrogant andmischievous'i This statementis not accepted by the youthof the Kurumbas. In his study,Jakka parthasarathy (2003)identified five d isti nctiveKurumbas in the Ni lgir i distr icton the basis of region ofresidence, language spoken

and variety of cultural traits.These groups are named asAlu (or) palu Kurumbas, BettaKurumbas,Jenu orTeenKurumbas, Mullu Kurumbasand Ura l i Kurumbas.AluKurumbas are found in thetaluks of Coonoor andKotagiri; Betta Kurumbas andJenu Kurumbas are inhabit ingin Mudumalai sanctuary;Mullu Kurumbas are found inPandalur taluk whereas Ural iKurumbas are distr ibuted inthe taluks of Gudalur andPandalur. The Kurumbassett lement is cal led asmottom, represents cluster ofmany huts inside the forest.They are non-vegetarians.

The Kurumbas aredivided into two endogenousdivisions, which are furtherdivided into many clans. Theypractice cross cousinmarriage. Their l ife cycler i tuals are simple and theyfollow rigid pollution. Theyfollow the custom of burialwith elaborate funeral riteswhich differ according to sex,age and rank. They follow thepatr i l ineal rule of succession.

The Kurumbas were hunters,forest food gatherers, shiftingcu ltivators, effective sorcerersby which they heal thediseases. Now the Kurumbasadapted labour work on theforms of coffee, tea andvegetable. A few Kurumbasalso become experts in basketwearing. They recognize acommunity headman cal led' moniyagoro' who presides theKurumba tr ibal counci l . TheKurumbas were animists andtotemists, now believe Hindureligion and worship' Kumbadeva ru' and' Ka ru pod e th ayi'.Kurumbas have oral traditionthat flows through songs,tales and rhymes. Theirdances are two types; gantesottom and yenna attam andtheir musical instruments arereferred by them as kolu,tambate, ore, bugiru etc.,Kurumbas women are bodytatooers. One Anthropologistlamented that,"it is certainlyironic that whi le theKurumbas were the f i rst Ni lgir icommunity to become knownto scholars, they were the lastto be studied at all closely'l

- Dr.Jakka Parthasarathy Ph.D.,Cu ltu ra I Anth ropologist.

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l rula or l rulas, aScheduled Tribe, are one of

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the major tribes of Tamil Naduand are distributed in twelvedistricts which includes theNilgir is.The lrula totalpopulat ion in Tamil Nadu,according to 2001 census, is155606 (77942 males and77664 females) and theirliteracy rate is 34.30 pecent.lnTamil nadu,the lrula areknown as several names likelrular, I ru l igaru, l rul iga, I ruvan,Vill iar, Kadu Poojaris etc., butthe lrula people who aredwell ing in Ni lgir is distr ictprefer to call themselves as' l rulas' .The name lrula issupposed to be derived fromthe Tamil word'/ruli meaningdarkness, which may refer totheir black skin complexion.The Government of India,identified the lrula as one ofthe six pr imit ive tr ibal groupsofTamil Nadu.

ln Ni lgir i Distr ict , l rulasare spread over in four taluks,Kundah, Kotagiri, Coonoor andUdhagamandalam and theirtotal populat ion in Ni lgir iDistrict as per survey (JakkaParthasarathy' 2003) was8714,total famil ies 1913 andthey are inhabit ing in 67

vilfages.They speak irula, adialect which is a southDravidan language of theTamil- Malayalam sub group.lrula sett lement is cal led aso rol, represent ma ny housesbui l t contiguous to eachother.Typical man wears ashort piece of cloth aroundthe waist and a towel on hisshoulder,woman wearsthundu, (a piece of cloth)around the waist incombination with the modernblouse.They arenon-vegetarians.

The lrulas in Ni lgir iDistrict have three socialdivisions known as Mudumars(southern lrulas of Kotagiribase), Kasabas (northern irulasof Masinagudi base) and Ural ilrulas of Attapady (Karala)base.lrulas are further dividedinto seven exogamous groupscalled kuloms,which regulatetheir mari tal al l iances.Theypractice cross-cousinmarriges. Monogamy is thecommon form of marriage.Chi ld marriages are common.They are rigid regardingtaboos connected with pre -delivery, post-del I ivery,tonsu re ceremony, pu bertyand death.They follow the

male equigeniture mode ofinheritance. lrulas were hntersand gatherers. Shortt (1868:62) wrote that,"lrulascollected wild fruits, herbs androots to appease hungeralong with beeswax, drugs,dyes, gum, honey andmedicinal herbs.The gatheredprod ucts were excha n gedwith lowlanders for cloth orfood'iNow most of the lrulasare wage labourers working inTea Estates.The lrula haveheadman cal led' moniyokora',who presides over their tribalcounci l .The lrula are part lyHinduized, but have their ownautochthonous- indigenousrel igious system. An lrulapriest performs rituals atfamous Rangaswamy templeof Rangan peak in Ni lgir i hi l ls.As mentioned elsewhere(Jakka Parthasarathy : 2003)lrulas are suffering because ofmuch interference ofnon-tr ibals into theiraesthetic, social and culturalunchanged preserves.According to someanthropologists, the lrula ofthe Nilgiirs afford a case forthe study of modes ofadaptation, accu lturation andmodernization.

- Dr.Jakka Parthasarathy Ph.D.,Cu ltu ral Anth ropologist.

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The Paniyan or Paniyas.are found in southern part oflndia in the states ofKarnataka, Kerala and TamilNadu. lnTami l Nadu, thePaniyan tribal people,identified as a ScheduledTribe and also as one of the sixprimitive tribal groups, arefound only in the Ni lgir iDistrict, in the taluks ofGudalur and Pandalur.According to 2001 census,thetotal population of thePaniyans in Ni lgir i Distr ict is9121 (4532 males and 4589females) and their l iteracy rateis 30.81 per cent.The term'Paniyani literally means a'worker'is the modified formof the Malayalam wordPanikkar (Labourer).ThePaniyan people resemble theAfrican tribes in their curlyhair and thick l ips.There arenumerous speculat ionsregarding the origin of thePaniyans. A.A.D. Luiz (1962:21 8-219) mentioned that,"some are of the opinion thatthey are an African tribe thatcame into India after ashipwreck on the west coast.Their cephal ic and nasalindicate a resemblance to thelong armed African Negroes.

At one time in the past theywere the principlestock-in-trade on the westcoast,and i t is possible thatthey were imported fromAfrica and sold in Malabar'j

The Paniyan speak'Paniya bashei mixed withMalayalam and Tamil words.The Paniyan settlement iscalled as Paddi, represent afew huts built in rows in onecorner of the agricultural farm.The Paniyan are black incolour, being short, strongbui l t and curly haired. Menwear a mundu (a piece of longcloth) around their waist andlong towel around their body,women tie a white clothwound round twice over theabdomen l ike a belt .Thewomen wear base metalbangles and bracelets in theirwrists and they embed leavesand seeds into the dilated earlobes.They arenon-vegetarians.

Paniyan society isdivided socially into differentlineages known as illoms,which is traced in thematernal l ine. Monogamy isthe most common form ofmarriage. Chi ld marriages

were common but changed toadult marriages.They observestrict taboos and ritualsduring chi ld bir th, namingceremony, pu berty, ma rriageand death.They bury the deadand celebrate the funeral riteselaborately with the help oftheir priest, ottali.Rules ofinheritance is restricted tosister's children.Their chiefoccupation is agriculturallabour.They subjected to asubtle form of bonded labourby the local non-tribal landlords.The Nilgir iAdministration released a fewPaniyan bonded laboureresand rehabi l i tated them inGovernment run farms.ThePaniyan tr ibal counci l , cal ledKottaniis a permanent bodywith a group of elderlyPaniyans called' muppanmars'.They follow the religious cultof animism and worshipgoddess' Kottu Bhagavathy'. Afew Paniyans embraced toChristianity.The Paniyans inNilgir i Distr ict are becomingthe true survivors of thedisappeared Malabercivilization.They are stil Isearching the old meanings ofthe Malabar Culture andprimitive ethos.

- Dr.Jakka Parthasarathy Ph.D.,Cu ltu ral Anth ropologist.

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