also found in these districts.

According to the 1991 census, the total scheduled tribe

population in this district is 25,048, which constitute 15.98% of the total tribal population

of the state.

The Kurumba houses known as "GUDLU" are temporary constructions in the

forests. The traditional occupation of the Kurumbas is food gathering, like collection of

honey and forests produce. They are also cultivating millets like ragi and samai on a

small scale mainly on hill slopes and mountain ridges. Honey fetches considerable

remuneration for the Kurumbas. It is relished much by the public. Honey is collected

mostly in the summer months from the cliffs, rocky crevices and the branches of giant

trees. The supplement their usual diet with ample quantity of honey. Kurumbas are

known to possess keen eyesight, gained possibly from constant watching of the honeybee

to the hives. Now, they are mainly engaged in agriculture and those who do not own

lands work as casual agricultural labourers. The Kurumbas are hard working people, but

the economic condition of the Kurumbas is very poor.

Chapter III

KURUMBAS OF THE NILGIRI DISTRICT

Kurumbas of Nilgiris fall into several categories and live mostly on the bordering

slopes of the district. These habitations are usually suffixed with the terms of kombi (or

kombai) and Oor (or Ur) the religion of Alu Kurumbas is essentially an ancestor cult. The

peaks of the hills surrounding their settlements are identified with certain deities.
Traditionally, Alu Kurumbas were hunter-gatherers, slash, and burn cultivators. Now

they are fully dawn into the plantation of the Nilgiris either as small growers of Coffee

and Tea or as wage laborers in large Tea and Coffee plantations. Gathering of roots,

tubers, herbs and collection of honey is still pursued by many of them has seasonal

activity in their neighborhood forests. Day to day needs of vegetables and green to get

from their kitchen gardens. They identify and use a variety of plants from the forests for

various purposes, like, house construction, firewood, medicinal items and for magico-

religious purposes.263 The Kurumbas must be regarded as very old inhabitants of this

land, who can contest with their Dravidian relatives the priority of occupation of the

Indian soil. The two rival tribes have in reality become so intermixed with each other,

that is according to the temporary superiority of the one or the other, the same district is

at different times know as valanadu or kurumbanadu, while in some instances, when both

tribes are living apart from each other.264

Concentrated the Nilgiri district of Tamilnadu, they prefer to themselves

kurumbar, while others refer to them as Kurumba, Kuruba, Kuremna and Kuruman.

Etymologically Kurumba means one who tends sheep. Though there are some Kurumba

living in the plain area of the state, they have not been notified as a scheduled as a

263
D. Venugopal., The Nilgiris Documentation Centre ,Nilgiris, 2011, p.20.
264
Gustav Oppert., On the Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa or Indian, Madras 1894, p.216.
Scheduled Tribe.265 Only those who are living in the Nilgiri district of Tamilnadu are

included in the list of the Scheduled Tribes. The 1891 census report states that the

Kurumba or Kuruba are the modern representatives of the Ancient Kuruba Pallava, who

were once powerful throughout Southern India. They live on hilly terrain covered by

forests. It may be noted that the community under discussion differs in many ways,

especially in their customs, from the Kurumba who inhabit the plains. They speak among

themselves as a dialect of Kannada, The South Dravidian language, and Tamil spoken

with others. They use the Tamil script.266 A powerful race called Kurumbas or Pallavas,

about whom much has conjectured but little known once held sway over much of South

India but was over thrown about the ninth century C.E., by the Chola dynasty of Tanjore.

It is usually supposed that the scattered communities of Kurumbas of kurubas which are

found in many parts of the [Link] descends of refuges belonging to this race,

who fled other wilds form their conquers, but there is no real evidence that this is so. The

Kurumbas of the plateau reside in rude hamlets known as mottas or kambais, which is

usually place on or near the slopes and mud dethatched with grass. This word kambai

forms part of the names of several villages on the edges of the plateau and apparently

denotes that these were once Kurumba settlements.267 Their language has a great many

265
K.S Singh., The Scheduled Tribes , National Service Vol 3 Oxford University Press, Mumbai 1997,
pp. 668-669.
266
[Link], Ruggles., Kurumbas on the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India, Mankind Quarterly, 1 (4),
1961, pp.258 -76.
267
[Link]., Madras District Gazetteers The Nilgiris, Madras, 1908. pp.153-154.
words belonging to, and seemingly borrowed from, the Toda a race doubtless due merely

to their local position midway between that race and the Irulas, who strange mixture of

the various low country languages forms of another portion of the Kurumba vocabulary.

They have no written character and their tongue is rather a slang of corrupted dialects

than a language.268 They speak among themselves a dialect of Kannada, South Dravidian

language and Tamil is spoken with others. They use the Tamil script. [Link] appears

, he says that, in the low country they are called kurubas or curubaru and are divided into

numerous families, such as the ane or elephant,naya or dog, male(malai) or hill

Kurumbas. Such a distinction between mountain Kurumbas and plain kurubas cannot

establish.269 The Rev.G. Richter will find it difficult to prove that the Kurubas of Mysore

are only called so as shepherds, and then no connection exists between these Kurubas and

the Kurumbas. Lewis Rice calls the wild tribes as well as the shepherds Kurubas, but

seems to overlook the fact that both terms are identical and refer only to the ethnological

Kurumba.

Divisions of Kurumba Tribes

There was a lot of confusion and uncertainty in identifying the district divisions

among the Kurumbas. While expressing their opinion Dieter [Link] and Paul Hockings

(1986) of the subject of divisions among the Kurumbas stated that, “confusion about

268
[Link] King., Aboriginal Tribes of the Nilgiri Hills, London, 1870, pp.41-42.
269
Kapp, Dieter., Alu-Kurumbaru Nayan: Die sprache der Alu-Kurumba. Grammatik, texte,
[Link] : Harrassowitz. 1984. p.42.
divisions within the Kurumba tribe or tribe has characterized nearly all subsequent

account of them.270three classes among the Kurumbas, they are:

1. Mullu Kurumbas

2. Naya Kurumbas

3. Pania Kurumbas

Breeks further271 expressed that in 1871 census which counted 613 Kurumbas under (12)

categories. There are:

1. Botta kurumba

2. Eda kurumba

3. Karmadia Kurumbas

4. Kurumba Okkiliyan

5. Male Kurumbas

6. Mullu Kurumbas

7. Anda Kurumbas (pal Kurumbas)

8. Naya Kurumbas

9. Kurali Kurumbas

270
A. Aiyappan., Report on the Socio-Economic Conditions of the Aboriginal Tribes of the
Provinces of Madras, Superintendent, Madras Government Press, Madras ,1948, p.12.
271
P.K. Misra., Jenu Kuruba., Bulletin of the Anthropological Survey of India, (1969) printed in
Delhi, 1975, pp.183-245.
 10. Malsar Kurumbas

11. Pania Kurumbas and

12. Jain Kurumbas272

In the present century of the census of India has identified at least five divisions

among the Kurumbas. They are:

1. Alu (or)Pal Kurumbas

2. Jen Kurumbas

3. Urali Kurumbas

4. Betta Kurumbas

5. Mullu Kurumbas

Kurumbas as very old inhabitants of the Nilgiri hills. The origins of the different

Kurumba groups are still mystery and debatable but Kurumbas of Nilgiri district claim

that they trace their origin and migration with the boarders of Wynaad (Kerala state)

Gundalpet(Karnataka state) and Attapady (Kerala state) in and around Nilgiri

plateau.273In Nilgiri district, the Kurumbas are living in the Taluks of Coonoor, Kothagiri,

Kundha, Gudalur and Pandalur,Taluk wise distribution of Kurumbas settlements and their

different sub-groups communities’ these 35 Kurumba settlements are located in Coonoor

272
Jakka Parthasaathy., Kurumbas of Nilgiri district Tamilnadu, HADP TRC, Ooty, 2003, pp.20,21.
273
Gutsav Oppert., [Link]., p.234
Taluk.26 Kurumbas settlements are located in Kothagiri Taluk;11 settlements in Pandalur

Taluk. 24 settlements in Gudalur taluk.274

Kurumba Kinship System

The Kurumba kinship model struggles to retain the interactive dynamics of a local

and patrilineal social formation. The composition of average Kurumba family is nuclear

oriented with the husband, wife, and unmarried children.275 The average size of

Kurumba families is four to five [Link] common practice is to have an

independent household immediately after marriage for the husband and wife.

Alu Kurumba

Alu Kurumba of Tamilnadu. Alu Kurumba and Hal Kurumba are their synonyms

and often they are referred to as [Link] speak a dialect of the Dravidian language

Kannada among themselves, but in Tamil with others.276 They read and write in Tamil.

A separate population figure of them is not [Link] men drink toddy (kallu) and

distilled liquor.277The Alu Kurumba have several exogamous clans, namely Nagara,

Kaigery, Irapane, Gobeada, Bellega, Beeraga, Bellare, Masole, Macole and Ballaku.

The first four clans from a Phratty. The last five clans from another group. These Phratty

274
[Link]., Kurumbas of Nilgiri district Tamilnadu, HADP TRC, Ooty, 2003, pp.20-21.
275
Ibid., p.22.
276
K .Zvelebil., Problems of Identification and Classification and Classification of Some Nilgiri
Tribes in Anthrops., Vol. 76,USA, 1981, pp.467-528.
277
D. Kapp. And [Link]., The Kurumba Tribes in Blue Mountains the Ethnography and
Biography of A South Indian Region, Delhi 1989. p.31.
groups exchange [Link] this community, one can marry his mother’s brother’s

daughters or his father’s sister’s [Link] get married after attaining puberty.

Monogamy is the [Link], toe rings (menji), nose stud (mukuthi), ear rings ( kadiku)

are the marriage symbols for women. Earlier married men used to wear an ear stud (kattu

kadiku). Bride price paid the form of cash and cattle. Divorce is permissible and either

spouse can initiate the proceedings.278 Divorce can be granted by the village council (ur

panchayat), widowed and divorced person of either gender are allowed to remarry.

Women

The Alu Kurumba women generally do household work and assist their men in

economic activities. The majority of the women are engaged as plantation laborers. They

graze the cattle on hill slopes and collect roots. In addition, tubers as well as other minor

forest [Link] ethnic groups recognized as Kurumbas were foragers and food-

gatherers mostly residing in the southern and eastern part of the Nilgiris. Their dwelling-

place, as the name Kurumba, meaning ‘jungle-dweller’ in Badagu suggests, is typically

in isolated jungle areas. Previous accounts describe them hunting and snaring birds,

mammals and fish and gathering wild foods from the jungle. Like the Irula, sharing is

commonplace. Food, tools, articles of clothing and even money is shared among kin

according to need, able to be subject at any time to the (mutual) obligation of sharing,

property is potentially a common rather than private [Link] obligation of sharing

278
D. Mandelbaum., Cultural Change among the Nilgiri Tribes, American Anthropologist 43, 1941,
pp.19-26.
practiced also by a Kurumba sub tribe the Nayakas (northwestern Nilgiris) and described

by Bird-David279 as a constant “idea that one should share space, things and actions with

others”, is for the Kurumbas, more kin and less community-orientated. Kurumbas’

mutual obligation of sharing generally stops at kin [Link] Irula, in contrast,

appear to stand in between Kurumbas and Nayakas in this respect.280 The practice of

sharing also stands as a counterpoint to the sense of indebtedness engine economic

transactions with outsiders. Having received payment in kind in advance or a loan of

goods, Kurumbas and Irulas, are link by debt to certain outsiders, and often exhorted to

repay by labor or minor forest produces. In the exchange of goods and services between

tribes, the Kurumbas had closest ties with the Badaga. Kurumba settlements were often

located close to Badagas communes, where they provided medicine and sorcery, together

with forest produce and woven products. This exchange exhibited a defined set of mutual

obligations. According to Kapp and Hockings, “Kurumbas are expected to supply the

Badaga commune with three baskets cane or reeds” In return, the Badaga would often

give the Kurumba salt, coarse sugar, cloth and grain, the latter grown on fields upon

which the Kurumbas themselves were often expected to work. The Kurumba males might

also be expected to serve as security guards for a Badaga commune, performing both

guard duties against malign sorcery, and occasionally curing Badagas ailments. For these

279
Edgar Thurston., Kuruba or Kurumba?, Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum, vol. 2,
Madras, 1897, pp. 38-43.
280
Burton, Richard Francis., Goa, and the Blue Mountains; or, Six Months of Sick Leave, Richard
Bentley, London repr., New Delhi,1991, p.123.
reasons, Kurumbas were considered ‘associates’ of the Badaga, although some consider

bonded-labor a more accurate term.281 The marriage is solemned at the bridegroom’s

house by the tying of the Thali a vegetarian feast is given to all invitees. They bury the

dead body, each hamlet of Alu Kurumba has a separate burial ground, and each family

has a specific burial place [Link] malose clan members cremate their dead and dispose

of the ashes and bones in a nearby steam.282 Alu Kurumbas have two death ceremonies,

one at time of death, they have elaborate funeral rites and another called ‘Gurumane’

which they perform once in a year or once in two years the whole Alu Kurumbas of that

village for the people died during the year.283 The Alu Kurumbas believe in two souls,

one is the big soul (dodda ujevu) and small soul (kunna jevu). At the occurrence of

death, the big soul along with the visible shadow leaves the body while the small soul

along with the invisible shadow lingers in the dead body until the moment of cremation.

Then the small soul is said to quit the body and take up its home in a long water-worm

people, which after every death is placed by the Alu Kurumbas inside a dolmen (nalupdi),

located near the cemetery. Here, the small dwells, but it may also leave its abode and

hover around, although not hover around, although not however beyond the boundaries of

the cemetery. The separation of the small soul, which is bounds to the earth, from the big

281
Paul Nicholas Anderson., Commodification, Conservation and Community: An Analysis and a
Case Study in India, Edinburgh, 2000, pp.32.
282
Ibid., p.33.
283
[Link]-David., Animism’ revisited: Personhood, Environment, and Relational Epistemology.
Current Anthropology, University of Chicago press, USA, 1999, pp.67-91.
soul lasts until the celebration of the dry funeral and them the small soul and the invisible

shadow to form and inseparable unit forever.284

Livelihood

The Alu Kurumba is mainly dependent on the forest for their livelihood. Some of

them own small area of land, on which as they have planted tea, coffee, and mulberry

with the support of government agencies and voluntary [Link] of these

people are plantation laborers. Some of them have taken up sericulture, bee keeping, and

horticulture. 285

Houses and Food

A typical Alu kururmba village or motta (or kombai) is making up of five to six

huts scattered on the steep wooded slopes of the Nilgiris. Individually huts stand alone

on a flattened piece of land and are home to a nuclear family. Constructed from a

bamboo backbone with walls made of criss-crossing bamboo strips and grass, that is

often fortified with mud and cow dung and support a tiled roof. A small partition, a

meter deep and a meter high, divides the interior space into the kitchen and the living

room.286 The kitchen or ittumane(food house) has a narrow one foot-high ledge running

the length of a wall. This ledge holds the fireplace and the utensils. Steel vessels have

284
Jakka Parthasarathy., Kurumbas of [Link], Ooty, 2003, p.48.
285
B. Taylor Edward., Primitive Culture. 2 Vol., London: 1871, p.31.
286
C .Tharakan George., The Mixed Economy of the South Indian Kurumbas. Ethnology, Newyork,
2003, XLII: pp.4: 323- 334.
placed the traditional bamboo vessels and leaves used flattened verandhas or

thinnamanne that is use for social purposes. The Kurumba ancestors gathered honey and

cultivated small patches of raagi, saamai and other grains for food and survival.287

Economy

They collect tubers, leafy vegetables, fruits, medicinal herbs, bark and roots,

honey, beeswax, resin, vines and timber. Possessing a detailed knowledge of medicinal

plants, which, together with (highly esteemed) honey that they prefer to collect, they

developed a specialized high-value, low volume foraging [Link] of their

sustenance derives from the Forest and from modest [Link], their

agriculture, once slash-and-burn, was never practiced in the systematic manner

characteristic of more sedentary tribes. They also keep a few poultry and goats, although

less so than the Irulas.288

Ornaments

Advanced metallurgical techniques are evidenced in the jewelry: repose, casting,

wiredrawing, soldering, granulation, filigree, and stone setting. Gold, carnelian, bronze,

and agate were all used in the varied items that have been found. One in the British

287
NFSC Public Programme July-August 2002. Chennai, p.1-2.
288
Ibid., p.30.
Museum parallels our own small specimen of gold wire: "A fragment of broken loop-in-

Loop chain".289

Religion

The Kurumbas had originally no special god, nor idols, not any peculiar religious

belief of their own. Their earliest object of religious worship, however, appear to have

been rough rounded stones, which in some way inspired them with a belief as

representing the great super human [Link] weird aspect of the imposing

immovable stone hills, which braved the strongest storms amidst torrents of rain and

flashes of lighting impressed most probably these children of nature to such an extent,

that mountains, rocks and even smaller pieces of stones appeared to them the most

appropriate representation of the [Link] may be perhaps added, that such kind of

material is most easily set up and does not require any art of adjust it. This stone worship

has survived among the Kurumbas to the present day. A stone to which is worship is paid

stands often-in caves or in the middle of circles, likewise formed of stone, but it must not

linga. The stone circle is with its centered piece is known among the naive as Kurumba

Kovil or temple of Kurumbas. This stone is called as Hiriyadeva or great god.290 Stones

washed and moulded in the steams are picked to represent their clan gods or kulla deva,

the adopted Hindu gods as Kali Amman as well as the spirit of their ancestors. Although

the kulla gods were probably born out of primal fears and respect for their environment,

289
Paul Hockings., Paikara: An Iron Age Burial In . South India., Received 6,Chicago, June 1974,
pp.29,30.
290
W.J. Breeks., The Tribes And Monuments Of The Nilgiri, Madras, 1908, pp.225,52,55.
through the years forged an association with saivate beliefs. The two important festivals

are that of the harvest festival and pongal, in the month of karthikai and sankaranthi on

pongal day the new crop is offered the kulla god before being shared between the

villagers. On the religious day of sankaranti they worship their deceased. A yearly

worship is conducted on stream banks for those who have passed away during the year.

The Alu Kurumba accept water and cooked food form other groups of the Kurumba,

Toda, Badaga, and Irula, as well as from to the local communities but not form the Kota.

Some Kurumba are the officiating priests at Badaga hamlets and fields291. Each Badaga

district has its own Kurumba priest, who comes up at the plough season, and sows the

first handful of grain and at the harvest time.292

Sorcery

The Kurumba religion is said to animistic but included ancestor worship. Rocks,

trees, animals, and spring water are worshipped and from a focal point for songs,

folklore and legend in which, as an oral culture, much of the Kurumbas collective

memory is stored. The enactment of folklore, legend, and song there by reminds the

Kurumba of his or her past, encouraging a sense of belonging, at the same time as it

reaffirms his or her connection with the forest and spirits that are integral to their

291
D.P. Kapp., And [Link], The Kurumba Tribes , In [Link] (Ed), Blue Mountain, Delhi
Oxford University Press1989, pp.232-48.
292
Rough Notes of a German Missionary, The Tribes Inhabiting the Nilgiri Hills, Madras
Publication, 1856, p.104.
meaning.293 Particularly, renowned for their society, the Kurumbas, and the Badagas

believe to be the most effective of all south Indian sorcerers: he can kill people as a

distance with a spell, can secretly remove internal organs from the living can rape women

without their knowledge, can enter a locked door and can change into and insect or any

sort of Mammal.”294 Because of Kurumbas were, often held in fear and suspicion by

neighbouring tribes. Early descriptions refer to the Kurumbas “having fear of the

Kurumbas thus by no means prevented them from attacks by other tribals” and references

to the Kurumbas are often with accounts of Badaga and Kota attacks on individual

Kurumba families, which continued as late as the beginning of this century.295

Funeral Ceremonies

Their Funeral ceremonies of the Badagas, they call their relatives together at the

last, and those who can afford it administer a small gold coin (the Birianhana ) to the

dying man. After death they erect a small teru(car) hung with cloth, and place the corpse

under it. Round the car, they dance to the flames. Nothing is burn with the body, the car,

293
[Link]., Voice in the Forest: The Field of Gathering among the Jenu Kurumba. In
Hockings (ed.), 1997, pp.164-191.
294
G. David Mandelbaum., In Hockings, ed., The Nilgiris as a Region, 1969, Mumbai, pp.1-
19.
295
Paul Nicholas Anderson., Op. cit., pp.31-32.
and the cloth. After cremation, it was not usual to take further trouble; the ashes and

remains are left to the jackals and the winds.296

The ideographic designs of the death ceremonies of the Kurumba community,

primarily, are derived from the matrix of a regenerative ethno culture. The passage from

life to death is seen as a Tran’s figurative process from a lower plane or a super level of

reality occupied by the spirits of ancestor-gods of animistic [Link] pre burial

and the post burial rites are symbolic indicators of a collective unconscious embedded

with strategies of real communications.297 The lie collectively of the community evolves

a cultural modeling system though their rituals and dance song recitals to enter in to the

realms of imaginative or unconscious [Link] is still a custom among the

Kurumbas to retrieve the right clavicle of the buried person on the fifth day after the

burial. There will be an elaborate post burial collective ceremony on the fifth day.298 A

dance ritual known as nikaluneru koothu to make the ancestral gods to receive the dead in

to their domain accompanies keeping the dead body for three days before burial. There

will be collective feasts on all the three days.299 The belief that the spirits of the dead

296
J.W. Breeks., Op. cit., p.54.
297
Nurit Bird-David., “Animism” Revisited., Current Anthropology Volume 40, Supplement, February
1999, p.S.67.
298
Nurit Birrd David., “Inside’’ and ‘‘outside’’ in kinship usage the Hunter-Gatherer Naiken of
South India. Cambridge Anthropology, 1983, pp. 47-57.
299
[Link].,‘Teaching Social Relations to Inuit Children,’ in Hunters and gatherers: Oxford
Berg,1988, p.312.
ancestors live on a hill known as nikalumalai malikai still hangs on to Kurumba

psyche.300

The Art

The Kururmba art is an expression of its socio-religious fabric. The male members

of the temple caretakers traditionally practice the art, or pries to the Kururmba village.

The women of the family contribute to the decorations at home in the form of borders

around the door and windows and kolams on the floor. Other Kurumbas are not allowed

to practice the [Link] canvas for the painting is the outer wall of the temple and the

[Link] figures representing their gods and the Kurumba man express Kurumba beliefs

and the milestones of the village and the tribe. The artist also draws inspiration from his

life. The figures are made up of lines are minimal in style. Lines, independent and

concentric, drunk and simple geometric figures are the basic elements. The figures also

stand free of any depiction of their natural environment. The define context is the surface

on which they are painted. Four colors are used traditionally: Red (Semma Manna) and

White (Bodhi Manna) are soils, black is obtained from the bark of a tree (kari maram)

and green from the leaves of a plant(kaatavari sedi). A piece of cloth is use to apply the

colors onto the cow dung prepared walls.301

Jenu Kurumbas

300
[Link] Mokeri., Adivasi Kurumba Corpses Perform their own Burial, Calicut
University, 2000, p.5.
301
NFSC Op. cit. pp.2-3.
 A Kurumba or Kurumba group who derive their name from Jenu or honey which

they used to collect from the forest.302 They inhabit a plateau area, which is characterized

by moderated climate, low humidity, thin forest, and medium rainfall. They speak

locally called Jenu Nudi, is a dialect of Kannada, one of the South Dravidian languages.

They speak to others in Kannada. They use Kannada script. 303 The Jenu Kurubas derive

the name from their occupation. They are traditionally honey gatherers. 'Jenu' means

honey and 'Kuruba' means tribe. These people roam the forests in search of honey, edible

tubers, fruits, etc. History has it that the Jenu Kurubas used to supply elephants to the

Chola and the Pallava Kings. The Todas dread the sorcery of the Kurumbas more than

that of their own sorcerers. They believe that the sorcery of the Kurumbas is much more

dangerous and cannot be remedied. If, it is found that a Kurumba has made a man ill, the

only thing to be done is to kill the Kurumba. The belief in the magical powers of the

Kurumbas probably arose from the fact that the slopes of the hills on which the

Kurumbas lived were extremely magicians and it often happened that a visit to a

Kurumba village was follow by an attack of fever of a severe kind.304

Marriage Ceremony

302
V. Zvelebil Kamil., Jenu Kurumba: First Report on a Tribal Language of the
NilgiriArea,Chennai,1980, pp.111-119.
303
K..S. Singh., Op. cit., p.675.
304
Kikkeri Narayan., Space and Cosmology of Jenu Kurubas, Mysore, 1995, p.2.
 Marriage with ones father’s sister’s daughter, the mother’s brother’s daughter and

the elder’s sister’s daughter is practiced among them, adult marriages preferred and

alliances are generally made through negotiation. A few cases of marriage by elopement

have been report. The people are monogamous. A marriage pendant and toe rings are the

marriage symbol.305

Tatoos and Painting

The Jenus bear Tattoos on their arms and most of their Tattoo patterns are natural.

They include leaves, bugs, snakes, animals and things that can be associated with their

once rustic tribal lifestyle. Parvati, a Jenu woman, informs that the Tattoos are done in

remembrance of loved ones. The Jenus do not Tattoo by themselves; there are fisher folk

who come to do the job for them. The Jenus do not have the concept of “Painting”; at

least not Painting in its traditional today’s usage. They draw animal pattern and leaf

patterns on the walls, and do not have any specific reasons for their art.306 Apart from

floral patterns that the author saw on some walls, the only other pattern that met the eye

was from a picture of an Onam flower pattern that Parvati proudly showed. One

exception however was in the Maanemule Hadi where one of the houses sported a proper

305
Satish Kumar., Genetic Profile of Jenu Kuruba, Betta Kuruba and Soliga Tribes of Southern
Karnataka and Their Phylogenetic Relationships, Karnataka, 2008, pp.11-20.
306
[Link]., Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Government Press, Madras, Cosmo
Publications, Delhi, 1909, Vol. IV, pp.155-176.
“Kolam” (a pattern created with dots and lines) as it is known in Tamil Nadu.307 The

walls of the Jenus however sported patterns of another kind. Ever wall was adorned with

arc-like waves that were made using a stick; some houses even had patterns of a dog’s

paw overlapping the waves. When asked of the patterns served any purpose, the Jenus

answered in the negative. They believed it was only for attractive purpose. Perhaps the

real reason is lost to them today. The Jenu children also carved figurine toys out of wood

that can be considered functional arts for their women.

Mullu Kurumba

Mullu Kurumbas : The word Mullu means arrow or thorn, but can also be related

to the word mula (bamboo), which grows profusely in this area and is an intrinsic part of

their culture and occupation.308 The Mullu Kurumbas are bowmen and hunters, who

consider that they belong to the Veduvar (hunting) tribe.309 Traditionally, the Mullu

Kurumbas were a forest people dependent on food gathering, hunting of small game,

extensive fishing carried out mostly by women, and slash and burn agriculture. Today

they have become settled agriculturists cultivating either their own land or work as

labourers for big landowners and Coffee and Tea plantation owners. As marginal

farmers, they cultivate both dry and wet lands. In dry fields, they raise spices such as
307
P.K.. Misra., Jenu Kuruba, Bulletin of the Anthropological Survey of India, 18(3):New Delhi,
1969, pp.183-245.
308
[Link]., Kurumbas of the Nilgiris. TRC & HADP, Udhagamandalam, 2003,
p.14.
309
Jakka Parthasarathy., Tribes and Inter-Ethnic Relationship in the Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu.
Udhagamandalam: TRC & HADP, 2007, p.24.
pepper and ginger and crops like Coffee and plantains.310 They cultivate paddy in the

swampy wetlands. A very small percentage is employed in the private and public sectors,

and a few Mullu Kurumbas run petty [Link] Mullu Kurumbas speak a Kannada

dialect called Kurumba bhasha with an admixture of Tamil and Malayalam words.311

They live in Uni-ethnic settlements in the Wayanad district of Kerala, and there are 10

settlements of theirs in Pandalur Taluk with 8-12 households in each settlement. Their

houses are neat, clean, and aesthetic with a colour wash to the walls and designs. They

are arranged in a planned manner around one or more quadrangles at the centre of which

is a temple house, called deiva perai or koil veedu (god’s house). This is of the same

design as the other houses and its walls are decorated with various designs drawn and

inscribed by the men at the time of its construction. A separate shed for husking

harvested grain is also put up near the temple.312

The elders’ council is called Mumpanmar kuttam (meeting of the elder men). The

Porvu-nnavan, a religious ritual head, and the Veliccapati, who acts as a diviner during

council meetings, assist the hereditary chief, Mumpan. This council settles all cases of

310
K..S Singh., (ed.)., Tribal Movements in India, New Delhi,1983, Vol. 2.
311
Paul Hockings., (ed.)., Blue Mountains: The Ethnography and Biogeography of a South India
Region. New Delhi, 1989, p.3.
312
T.G., Jacob., Wayanad: Misery in an Emerald Bowl, Mumbai: VAK, 2006. Keystone Foundation:
Honey Trails in the Blue Mountains. Kotagiri: 2007, p.35.
violation of social norms and maintains social solidarity. With the breakdown of

community life and values, the authority of this council has been considerably eroded.313

Ethno-Geography of Mullu Kurumba Settlements

Maintaining a strong identity and homogeneity, the Mullu Kurumba even today

reckon their distribution over Wayanad and Nilgiri districts in terms of certain traditional

territories which cut across vast areas of plains, forests and hills of this region.

Colloquially they say ‘Naalu Naadu (four countries), Moonu Kunnu (three hills), and

Thekkum Koor Aruvadhu (sixty villages in the south)’comprise their traditional territories

which presently fall over a large portion of Wayanad and a small portion of lower

[Link] term Naalu means four; Naadu denotes country; Moonu means three; Kunnu

means hills; Thekku means South and Aruvadhu means [Link] traditionally

recognized four countries are 1. Paakka Naadu 2. Kaara Naadu, 3. Kellu Naadu, and 4.

Neria Naadu. The three hills inhabited by the Mullu Kurumba from time immemorial are

1. Kottur Kunnu 2. Yedur Kunnu and Madur Kunnu. The other region covering the sixty

Kuruman i.e. Mullu Kurumba villages fall mainly close to Tamil Nadu and some of the

villages include, Kappala, Erumaadu, Thayyakunni, Kaappu Kunnu, Palliyara, Aalatthur,

etc. It is reported that, each Naadu i.e. country had a Kaaranamar as its chief and each

Kunnu had a Mooppan or Talachil as its chief. For every Mullu Kurumban village, a

headman exists with the title Porunnavan. Tribal communities in Waynaad live in uni-

313
Pranjali Bandhu., Glimpses of Adivasi Situation in Gudalur, The Nilgiris, Frontier Autumn
Number Vol.43, No.12-15, October 3-30, Mysore, 2010, p.p 5-6.
ethnic as well as multi-ethnic settlements now, owing to the prevailing production,

ownership and dependence patterns in the predominant plantation economy of this

region. Distinct names exist for the uni-ethnic settlements of these [Link] Kurumba

settlements are termed Kudi Poraththavan who usually happens to be the younger brother

of Porunnavan. After the demise of Porunnavan, automatically the Poraththavan becomes

the head of the settlement and he shifts to the Velia Pirai to live.314

Religion

The religion of the Mullu Kurumbas is animist and their principal deity is

Boothadai Deivam or god Kirathan.315 They worship other deities like Thambirathi,

Malam-puzha, Deivam Kali and Mariamma. With their integration into mainstream

society, they have also begun to observe festivals like Vishu, Onam and Sankranthi.316

Though the traditional beliefs and ritual practices of the Mullu Kurumba largely surround

their ancestor-cult based at their Velia Pirai (or Theiva Pirai), they are at the same time

have been greatly [Link] Mullu Kurumbas say that in Wayanad district, a

number of local deity sites of the tribal people have gradually taken over by the Devasam

Board and these were turn into Hindu temples. Priests belonging to the Embrandiri

community periodically visit these temples and conduct the fairs and festivities as per the

314
B. Kapp, Dieter. and Paul Hockings., The Kurumba Tribes in Blue Mountains, Delhi, Oxford
University Press, 1989, p.56.
315
H.V Nanjundaya., and [Link] Iyer., The Mysore Tribes and Castes, Mysore, 1931,
vol-1, pp.68-75.
316
Ibid., p.76.
Hindu [Link] Mullu Kurumba perform their unique religious practices, centred

around ancestor worship (Kaaranamaaru Vazhipaadu; Kaaranamaaru-ancestors and

Vazhipaad- worship), only within their own Velia Pirai. Similar situation persists with

the other tribal communities living in Wayanad. For instance, a Siva temple called

Veliamban Kotta exists near a Mullu Kurumba settlement called Munda Kuttri. In the

Manuscript of Mckency (1810 C.E) this was mentioned as a fort. Now it is a Siva

temple, worshipped by all the tribals and non-tribals of this area. On the Sivarathri day, a

grand festivity is conduct in this temple and it is now managed by the higher castes,

Wayanadan Chettys and Nayars.317An another grand religious event which takes place

now-a-days in Sulthan Bathery with the large-scale participation of Mullu Kurumba,

Paniyan and other tribal people is Mariamman Koil Thiruvizhaa i.e Mariamman temple

festivity. It is conducted usually in the last week of February every year. In the past, the

tribals were not allowed to take part in the Vilakku (Lamp) procession of this festivity.

But, now-a-days along with the women from Nayar, Tiyya, Wayanadan Chetty and other

caste Hindus, women from the Mullu Kurumba, Paniyan and Betta Kurumba tribal

groups also join the Vilakku procession and carry the coconut-lamp in their hands.318 The

Hindu Religious Missions who actively involve tribals in the Hindu temple festivities say

that they are doing so to counter the Christian missionaries who have a strong presence in

these two districts. An instance pertaining to a place name in Wayanad Wildlife

denotes a creeper or wine in the Mullu Kurumba [Link] place was therefore

known as Gnaam Valli. Some time ago, a Hindu temple has been constructed at Gnaam

Valli. The spot is now known as Ram Palli and it has been transformed into a small

religious spot in the middle of the jungle route between Mysore and Sultan Bathery.319

Social Organization

Every Mullu Kurumba settlement has a head referred to as Porunnavan. The

Porunnavan lives with his wife referred to as Porunnathi in the Velia Pirai i.e. the temple

hut. The Velia Pirai is also termed as Theiva Pirai because the ancestors are believed to

live inside this hut as ‘spirits’.320 The Porunnuvan, besides exercising social control as a

settlement head also performs the role of a religious specialist while performing certain

rituals inside this ancestral hut. All the members of a settlement, especially those families

having strong consanguine ties and bondage are organized under this elderly man

(Porunnavan). Next to him in authority within a settlement is termed Poraththavan who

usually happens to be the younger brother of Porunnavan. After the demise of

Porunnavan, automatically the Poraththavan becomes the head of the settlement and he

shifts to the Velia Pirai to live.

319
C. R. Sathyanarayanan., Scheduled Tribes of Nilgiris District’, a Report prepared under the
“Socio-Economic Survey of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu”, Ooty: Tribal Research Centre, Govt.
of Tamil Nadu. 2011, p.13.
320
T. S. Natarajan., Tribal Habitats of Nilgiri District, Udhagamandalam , Nilgiri,1985, p.34.
 In the past, when the Mullu Kurumbas lived according to their own traditional

territorial and geographical categories, they were organized under the Mooppans who

were heads of territories called Kunnu which comprised several Kudis i.e. individual

settlements. Now such higher traditional political offices like, Erumadu Mooppan,

Appaadu Thalaichil, Edur Mooppan, etc., have lost significance among the Mullu

Kurumbas. Only the settlement head i.e. Porunnavan has some authority over the

members of his settlement.321The Mullu Kurumba society divides into four Kulams i.e.

exogamous clans. Wherever, the Mullu Kurumbas live, the members should be belonging

to any one of the four Kulams, namely, Vadakka Kulam, Villippa Kulam, Kaadiya Kulam

and Venkata Kulam.322 Marrying within their own Kulam is prohibited. The woman who

marries a man belonging to the same clan (or Kulam) is termed Kola Ponnu (Ponnu-girl)

and is excommunicated. Similarly, when a man commits this ‘breach’ of communal

norm, he is termed Kola Kuruman and excommunicated. It is said that such couples went

and formed a separate settlement of their own, called Vaaladu, which falls near Ayyan

Kolli.

Identity and Tradition: Hunting

Mullu Kurumban community in Nilgiris, they are actually Vetans(Vedans or

Vedars) i.e. hunters, from the Tamil speaking regions who took refuge in the jungles of

321
C. R. Sathyanarayanan., Nirmal Chandra., Traditional Life, Livelihood among the Mullu
Kurumba, Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India Volume: 61(2) & 62 (1) July-
Dec, 2012 & Jan-June, 2013. pp. 607-608.
322
E. Thurston., [Link], pp.133-177.
Wynaad, a few hundred years ago. As they fled to these jungles from the ancient

Kurumba(ra) Nadu ( the term Kurumba (ra) denotes the name of the country and Nadu

literally means ‘( country’), they were known here as Kurumban. About acquiring the

prefix ‘Mullu’ with their name ‘Kurumban’, they say that their name was actually Ulla

Kurumban meaning ‘existing’ or ‘remaining’ Kurumban. According to a legend, when

they lived in the jungles as hunters under their own chief Veda Raja, the local king, for

personal reasons attacked and killed many of their people. A few survived the massacre

and were called as Ulla Kurumban or Ulla Kuruman (Ulla means ‘remaining’ or

‘existing’). In course of time, Ulla Kurumban pronounced as Mulla Kurumban and

Mullu [Link] to the ban imposed on hunting and due to their full-time

engagement is plantations and agriculture, the Mullu Kurumbas almost gave up the

practice of hunting wild animals some decades ago. However, as a ‘ritual’, hunting is

performed on certain festive and ceremonial occasions.323

Pride and Prestige: Cultivation

In the past, the Mullu Kurumba identified two categories of dry land based on the

distinct methods of cultivation they followed namely, Vettu Parambu and Uzhavu

Parambu. The term Vettu Parambu denotes the lands used for slash and burn cultivation;

Vettu denotes’digging’ or slashing or cutting; Parambu means ‘land’ generally.324 Food

crops, such as ragi (paandi) and saamai were mainly cultivated along with chilies and
323
Ibid., p.178.
324
R.L. Rooksby., The Kurumbas of Malabar, London, 1959, p.42.
tobacco in the past on the Vettu Parambu i.e. on the swidden lands on the slopes of the

hills, by slash and burn method. About thirty years ago, swidden cultivation almost came

to be discontinued among the Mullu Kurumbas as they found new use of these hill slopes

for planting pepper, areca-nut, coffee and tea.325Though by tradition the Mullu Kurumba

is hunters, they are also, by and large a community of small cultivators. They have their

own land classifications and land-use practices. Along with the Wayanadan Chettys, the

Mullu Kurumba also reported to have cultivated vast areas of the fertile Wynaad

plains.326 Now they are either small farmers or agricultural labourers. Before going into

the lands use practices of the Mullu Kurumbas.

Betta Kurumbas

Betta Kurumba is a Dravidian language spoken in the Nilgiri Mountains of the

state of Tamil Nadu and in adjoining areas of the states of Karnataka and Kerala, in

Southern India. Exact information on the number of speakers of Betta Kurumba is not

available because census surveys in India do not accurately distinguish between several

ethnic groups in this region who call themselves ‘Kurumba’.327A section of the Betta

Kurumba community continue to live in separate hamlets within the forest, called paadis,

which consist of a group of 6-8 houses surrounding a small central meeting hall. Three

325
[Link]., Report on the Socio-Economic Conditions of the Aboriginal Tribes of the
Provinces of Madras, Superintendent, Madras Government Press, Madras , 1948. p.53.
326
Satish Kumar., Op. cit., pp.11-20.
327
Nurit Bird-David., An Introduction to the Naikens: The People and the Ethnographic Myth,
Britain, 1969, pp. 249-80.
such hamlets at Theppakadu, within the government-run forest reserve. Houses within

the hamlets was constructed with bamboo and grass; but in recent years, the government

has built concrete houses with zinc sheet roofing, partly as a “developmental” effort and

partly to reduce the Kurumbas’ use of forest materials.328 Thus, the Betta Kurumbas are

being induced to gradually give up their self-reliance. Other traditions in the community

are also in a state of flux: women vary in whether they adopt the mainstream practice of

wearing Sarees or maintain their traditional clothing, a cloth wrapped around the body

stretching from the armpits to the knees, and a short shawl to cover the shoulders. The

community maintains several of their traditional religious practices, but has also adopted

some of the local practices of mainstream Hinduism, such as the annual pilgrimage to the

Ayyappa temple at Sabarimalai in Kerala.329 Betta Kurumbas are also referred as kattu or

kadu Kurumbas. At local level, Betta Kurumbas are referred also a forest dwellers and

friends of wild elephants. They used to live interior forest area, even inside stone caves

or near river stream. Most of the Betta Kurumba are found at the tri-junction of

Karnataka, Kerala and Nilgiri district of Tamilnadu. They speak Kannada with others

and use the Kannada script. Their social divided into three Ane(elephant), bevina(neem

tree), and kolli (fire). They are normally monogamous, prefer to cross cousin and uncle

niece marriage. The symbol of married status for women is the tali with black beads and

328
Paul Hockings., The Nilgiri tribal system: A view from below, London, 1997, pp.5-22.
329
[Link]., Kannada Clause Structure. Yearbook of South Asian languages and linguistics,
New Delhi, 2000, pp.11-30.
residence after marriage is part local. Family type is nuclear. All his sons share the

property of diseased person equally.

Women in the Society

The women of this community participate in all domestic, social, and economic

activities. The birth of the first child takes place at the natal home of the mother, away

from the main house. Pollution caused by birth is observed for seven days, whereas the

postnatal restrictions last for three to five months. The tonsure ceremony for children is

observed after one year. The puberty rite muttu, is observed for girls. The marriage is

performed at the bridegroom’s residence where the bride and bridegroom exchange

acacia nut and betel leaves and the bridegroom ties a Thali on the brides’ neck. The

primary occupations of the kadu Kurumba or cultivation, agricultural labour, basket

making and rolling of beedies. Some of them have received agricultural land on lease

form the government.330 Yajman is the hereditary headman of their traditional community

council. This council deals with intercommunity disputes and imposes cash fines on

those who violate social norms. They are Hindus and have faith in local deities like

mugappaji, bomma devaru and madappa. The sacred specialist’s serving them is from

his or her own community. The observe most of the Hindu festivals. They use magic,

sorcery, and witchcraft for the treatment of ailments.331

330
A. Aiyappan., [Link]., p.54.
331
H.V. Nanjuddaya., and L.K. Ananthakrishnan Iyer., [Link]., pp. 68-75.
Urali Kurumba

They are Kannada-speaking Kurumbas who have migrated from Mysore, where

larger numbers of them live. Earlier they used to live in the depths of jungles and were

hunters, musicians and artisans; but nowadays they live adjacent to big villages and

towns and are hence called Urali Kurumbas, the word ‘ur’ meaning village.

Alternatively, they may live close to their non-tribal property owners or near their own

cultivable fields. Their community headman is called Mudali or Ejaman, and their

traditional tribal council is called Oorukoottam. Their religion is also animistic and they

worship spirits like Kuttichathan and the goddess ‘Bhagwati’ in stone form. But, some of

them also visit faraway sacred centre’s of Karnataka like Dharmasthala, Udupi,

Mookambika and also Tirupathi. Their community has an oral tradition with much

folklore and many folk songs. They have wind and percussion musical instruments and

both men and women participate in the dances. The Urali Kurumbas are more integrated

into mainstream life and culture than the Mullu Kurumbas.332

Like the Mullu Kurumbas and through a similar process the majority of them

today are agricultural and tea and spices plantation labourers. A few have lands and

cultivate Spices like ginger, pepper, and cardamom. Some are occupied in animal

husbandry, or in the collection and sale of minor forest produce, while others continue to

hunt small animals and wild birds, which they sell in the market. Alternatively, they live

332
Jakka Parhasaathy., Socio-Economic Appraisal of the Paniyans and Kurumbas of Nilgiri
District, Ooty, 2007, p.24.
by carpentry and black smithy and the practice of traditional handicrafts such as basketry,

pottery, or the making of bamboo mats and [Link] of the women work as

domestic house cleaners, while some Urali Kurumbas are permanent employees in public

and private sector undertakings.333

Pottery

The utensils manufactured by the Uralis are for the limited local markets and for

those naives of wynaad who have a fancy for local goods. Larger vessels are beyond the

skill of the Uralis and are usually supplied from the plains or by non-Wynaad potters
334
who have settled recently in that area. The clay is usually taken from the fields and is

grayish –white in color. It is beaten well with a wooden pestle till it is wax like in

consistency, and then it is made into lumps of approximately the same size as the vessels

that are to be make for them.335 No temporal material is added the lumps clay are then

given, by hand, the rough shape of the vessels to be made, and then rounded by beating

with a wooden mallet. Pot making among the most primitive tribes is women’s work, but

it was taken over by men after the discovery of the wheel. Among the wheel-using Tamil

potters, the decoration a painting of the pottery are the special tasks allocated to the

333
Pranjali Bandhu., [Link]., p.45.
334
W.A. Noble., Nilgiri Dolmens, In Anthrops, Madras, 1976, 71 : pp. 90-128.
335
K. J. John., Early man in Wynaad. Journal of Kerala Studies, II, 1975, pp. 125-131.
women, men doing the rest of work, but among the Uralis only women work as potters in

conformity with the primitive sociological norm.336

Habitat and Settlement

Trees of the top canopy occasionally grow to 30 to 40 meters and most of the trees

are large evergreen species with dense foliage and straight trunks covered with epiphytic

orchids, ferns, mosses, and creepers.337 The secondary stratum of the forest comprises

small trees with an average height of 10 to 20 meters, followed by dense shrubby stratum

and a less continuous herbaceous stratum. The annual rainfall varies from 500 mm from

the Coimbatore side to 1200 to 1500 mm in the dense evergreen forest in the western and

southern part of the valley. The Kurumba ‘hamlet’ (ooru) is a cluster of 10 to 30 ‘huts’

(koorai), with 60 to 200 patrilineal related individuals. There is considerable long-term

stability of group membership and relatively long occupation of settlement. The Kurumba

are mainly hunter-gatherers who also subsist on shifting cultivation on hill slopes.

Though the Kurumba inhabit different habitats, there is no consequential ecological

difference in environment, and they share and exploit the same forest biomass and similar

ecosystem within the Nilgiri forest.338 The two tribal groups are similar in many respects

336
[Link]., Handmade Pottery of the Urali kurumbas of Wynaad, South India, Royal
Anthropological Institute of great Britain and Ireland, vol. 47 (Apr., 1947) pp.58-59.
337
S. D. Bahuchet., McKey, and I. DeGarine. Wild Yams revisited: Is Independence from
Agriculture Possible For Rain Forest Hunter-gatherers? Human Ecology, 1991, pp.19, 213-243.
338
R.C. Bailey., G. Head, M. Jenike, B. Owen, R. Rechtman, and E. Zechenter. Hunting and
Gathering in Tropical Rain Forest: Is it possible? American Anthropologist, 1989, pp.
91, 59-82.
in spite of speaking different dialects, and they intermarry and are bound together in

socio-cultural mutualism that is quite ancient. Kurumba exhibit features such as close

residence and trade relation with agricultural communities, as well as very specialized

exploitation and inhabitation in secondary forest, both common to the hunter-gatherer

groups of India.339

Kurumba huts are relatively small and constructed using simple materials like

bamboo and strong vines or bark strips for tying the poles and rafters. A hut typically

consists of one living room, which is also the place where cooking is done. Every hut has

a rectangular earthen base with a ‘linear front porch’ (deetti). Huts of close kin are

erected in linear rows attached to one another with a ‘long single joined porch’

(ottideetti). The sloping roof structure is built of split bamboo rafters tied with vines

overlying the cross [Link] walls are made of split bamboo interwoven like basketwork

and plastered on the inside with clay. The floor is neatly plastered with a mixture of cow

dung and clay and is cobbled with water-worn pebbles.340 The interior of the hut is

divided into two roughly equal parts, vettara, a more secular space towards the entrance,

and ullara, a more sacred space near the fireplace where large slow burning logs are kept

during cold winter nights.

339
N.K. Bose., Some Observations of Nomadic Castes of India. Man in India, Asia Publishing
House, Bombay1956, pp 36:1-6.
340
[Link]., Bari, Swidden Gardens: Crop Segregation Patterns. Human Ecology,
Pennsylvania 1983, pp.85-101.
The Kurumba Economy

The Kurumba economies are a flexible mixture of activities, like most indigenous

societies, mainly depending on shifting cultivation supplemented by hunting, gathering,

collection and trade of forest produce at the times, working as wage laborers for

outsiders. This situation can be seen as one of the opportunistic changes in subsistence

strategies evidencing changing conceptions of the problem of making a living in the

forest, especially concerning limited carbohydrate resources and relations between

foragers and non hunter- gatherers.341

Hunting

The other major component of the Kurumba diet is the meat and fat provided by

hunting. The hunting territory can be divided mainly into two types: a) the farmland

(kadu) is surrounding the hamlet where they occasionally trap small animals like rabbits,

mongoose, large bush rats, wild fowls, and few other varieties of small birds and b) forest

(sole) where they hunt animals such as wild boar, deer and antelope. Hunting is mostly a

male activity where groups of men, both agnates and affine, gather and proceed into the

forest in search of game for one or two days.342 The Kurumba do not usually hunt in

large groups. The number of men in a hunting group usually varies from two to six. Even

when a group of six men hunts together, they do not use collective techniques such as
341
[Link]-David., The giving Environment: Another Perspective on the Economic system of the
Gatherer-Hunters, Current Anthropology,USA, 1990, pp.31, 189-196.
342
R. Bergman., Amazon Economics: The simplicity of Shipibo Indian wealth, Ann Arbor, MI:
University of Microfilms Int, 1980, p 21.
driving or surrounding the [Link] proceed into the forest in the evening along with

provisions of rice, red-gram, tea-powder, sugar, and salt for consumption during their

stay. Sometimes, they depend on wild fruits and tubers or on small animals and birds.

Once they enter the forest, they move with extreme patience and silence. Hunters

communicate only through whistling sounds. They do not usually spend more than a day

in the forest and always intend to return to the hamlet by dawn. During the night, they

hunt with the help of powerful headlights with which they can easily notice the

movements of animals and identify them from their glazing eyes. The shape and the

distance between the eyes help them identify game. The game is shared equally among

all those who participate in the hunt and if the game is sizable, a share is given to all other

households in the hamlet.343Apart from the normal share, the inner meat (i.e., heart and

liver) and a thigh go to the person who shot the animal. A small portion of the inner meat

is offered to the hamlet’s ancestral spirit (pattan) and to the spirit in whose name he has

used the weapon (arivu). The animal is carried to a suitable place, usually close to a

stream not far away from the hamlet, where the butchering or slaughtering takes place.344

Social Organization of Hunting

Among the Kurumbas, it is the corporate group, the clan, which owns the land and

has primary rights over its plant and animal resources. However, people from other

343
Bird-David., [Link]. p.47-57.
344
R. Hames., Monoculture, Polyculture, and Poly Variety in Tropical Forest Swidden
Cultivation, Human Ecology , Washington DC,1983, 11(1):pp.13-34.
groups and hamlets are never restricted from hunting and gathering in the clan’s territory.

At times, hunting groups were also composed of husband and wife. Further, kin

composition shows that the sharing of labor and cooperation in economic activities are

not restricted to the household or the close agnatic circle, but also includes closely related

affined residing in the hamlet thereby reducing the occurrence of economic units strictly

on descent [Link] and food exchange among the Kurumba is a highly

institutionalized daily activity. It is necessary that those who obtain game share with

those who did not. The Kurumbas believe that even small game should be shared among

all members of the hamlet to avoid the craving (daham) they feel for meat.345However,

small game is often shared only among the members of the hunting party and their close

kin. Large game animals are always widely shared. In such cases, the unit of sharing

widens to include more relatives other than the regular food-sharers (beetekarar). The

Kurumbas, like their neighboring caste groups, manage to raise smaller livestock like

goats and cattle. Almost all the households rear dogs and chickens. Other than the animal

protein from chicken eggs and the occasional goat and chicken they slaughter, the

Kurumba largely look to hunting and fishing to provide them with the animal protein they

need. With the exception of a few kinds of creatures like frogs, snakes, monkeys, jackals

and dogs, they regard any animal as edible. Thus, as Dwyer and Minnegal observed for

the Kubo, the success of Kurumbas hunting depends on various components of its

345
N. Bird-David., The Giving Environment: Another Perspective on the Economic System of the
Gatherer-Hunters. Current Anthropology, 1990, 31:189-196.
organization such as broadly based prey selection, diverse strategies, role specialization,

sharing of meat, and absence of major sanctions associated with hunting.346

Shifting Cultivation

Though the Kurumbas resort to hunting and gathering, these activities never

override or interfere with shifting cultivation, their primary source of food. Although

food is widespread in the Kurumbas environment, such foods are seasonal, insufficient

and have high production cost. Land is abundant and one can cultivate any extent of land

according to his or her capacity; thus, agricultural produce is the major source of

carbohydrates. The method of cultivation by clearing and burning fresh field is karikadu

krishi, and the usage of previously cultivated plot is pakkakadu krishi (‘old field-

cultivation’). Ownership of land is collective, in the sense that all the patrilineal

descendants of the founding ancestor are the joint owners of the hamlet and its

territory.347 Regarding the right to land, it is not the absolute freedom of the individual or

the family that matters, but the consent of the council members especially the ‘headman’

(moopan) of the hamlet. Close families, when in need, may come and reside along with

their wife’s father, wife’s brother, or maternal kin, and cultivate a portion of their land.

In some cases daughters use their father’s land throughout their lifetime. Nevertheless,

346
[Link]., and M. Minnegal. Hunting in Lowland, Tropical Rainforest: Towards a Model of
Non-Agricultural Subsistence., Human Ecology, 1991, pp.19, 187- 212.
347
[Link]., [Link], pp. 267-278.
the above should not be taken to conclude that these are amorphous units with fluid

composition and vague social boundaries.348

The Kurumbas represent a transition between forager and cultivator exhibiting

features of both social organizations. Though they are Patrilineal by descent, the system

shows bilateral tendencies of a flexible and loosely structured system. This shift from a

complete forager to that of a forager-grower is reflected in the change from the use of

land as a ‘subject of labor’ which fosters an immediate-return system allowing a process

of sharing representing an egalitarian type, towards use of land as an instrument of labor

resulting in a delayed-return system. expansion of cultivation implies control over both

land and people leading to more structured forms with family and lineage as productive

units. The forager-farmer subsistence pattern is not a mere transition state between two

ways of life, “rather, it is an adaptation to certain environments in which it arises and

persists, and the people who exhibit this adaptation share many features of subsistence

style with societies described as hunter-gatherers or foragers. The entire membership of

the hamlet prefers to cultivate in the same area and they shift from one area to another

collectively. They usually cultivate an area for 2-3 years and the fallow period may be

around 8-12 years, which is sufficient for the forest recovery.349 Expansions are an

adaptive subsistence economy in tropical forest environment as long as population

348
K .Endicott., and P. Bellwood., The Possibility of Independent Foraging in the Rain forest of
Peninsular Malaysia, Human Ecology, 1991, pp. 19:151-185.
349
R .Hames., Op. cit,1983, 11(1):13-34.
density is low and sufficient land is available for active cultivation and shifting from one

area to another. First year gardens, newly cleared from the forest, have a higher level of

fertility than second or third year gardens, since their burning returns nutrients to the soil,

Moreover, as Flowers at all. Note, “High biomass, higher level of fertility, soil moisture,

and sufficient organic matter in the soil are the conditions suitable for slash-and-burn

agriculture.”350 Predominant crops cultivated by them are finger millet, little millet and

red gram. Also grown in small quantities are amaranth, bean, cow- pea, mustard, and

several varieties of [Link] planting pattern involves poly-culture or mixed

cropping. Since often there is a single predominant crop, their development can be said to

be a ‘millet field’ or a red-gram field. However, this “helter-skelter” planting of crops of

different varieties and heights does not necessarily result in a “canny imitation” of the

tropical forest as Geertz, and others speak out, it nevertheless helps in protecting the soil

from leaching by heavy rains and limits weed growth and nutrient loss due to heat by

partially shading the [Link], maize, dry-land rice, etc., are planted as a single

crop in separate gardens. Small quantities of taro, yam, banana, sorghum, tapioca, and

maize are grown near their [Link], backyard plantings often are a source of

emergency rations.351 In shifting cultivation, household members cooperate with one

another in almost all its phases from clearing the trees and bushes till the harvest. Certain

350
N.M Flowers., D.R. Gross, M.I. Riffer, and D.W. Wener. Variations in Swidden Practices in Four
Central Brazilian Indian Societies, Human Ecology, 1982, pp. 10:203-217.
351
C. Geertz., Edited by A.P. Vayda., Berkeley., Two Types of Ecosystems, in Environment and
Cultural Behaviour: Ecological Studies in Cultural Anthropology, The Natural History Press,
USA, 1969, pp.3-28.
activities in the cultivation process however are sex-linked and need special skills. The

various seasonal activities involved in shifting cultivation. Men are responsible for

clearing the early set of fields and the women are responsible for most of the subsequent

care of the fields, though men and women may assist. Clearing of fields (kadu saveral)

involves cutting small trees, clearing bushes and shrubs, and collecting branches and

twigs into piles for burning when they are dry. This is done at the onset of summer,

usually by mid-February or early March. The major part of shifting ‘cultivation’ (kadu

pani), such as cutting furrows in the soil, sowing (kethal), weeding and harvesting are

done mainly by women. Normally women of closely related households (beethekarar)

collect for these activities, especially weeding and harvesting.352

Since clearing is tedious work and needs more labour, most fields are cleared

communally with the help of kinsmen or beethekarar. However, individual families do

sowing seeds in prepared fields. Red gram (tuvari) seeds are sown in shallow holes dug

with sticks. Three holes spaced three inches apart in a triangle form a unit, and the units

are spaced at an average distance of three feet apart. After a week, when the red gram

seedlings are about 4-6 inches in height, the other seeds (finger millet, little millet,

mustard and amaranth) are mixed together and scattered helter-skelter in the field.353 This

is called kora-same kethal. Kora and same seeds are mixed in a ratio of 6:1 liters per

352
[Link]., and P. Hockings., “The Kurumba Tribes”, in the Blue Mountains: The ethnography
and biogeography of a South Indian region. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1989, pp. 232-248.
353
Demmer, Ulrich. Voice in the Forest: The field of Gathering among the Jenu Kurumba, In
Hockings (ed.), 1997, pp. 164-191.
acre along with a handful of mustard and amaranth seed. Then they cut furrows in the

soil, turning it over with a hoe (kothu) so that the seeds sown are covered by soil. Amara

(‘pea’) is also sown simultaneously so that the creepers can climb on to the red gram

plant and grow. Occasionally, men slash the tall shrubs, which grow among the tuvari

(‘red gram’) crop, down. Hoes (kothu or kuntali) with narrow blades or hook shaped

branches of small trees are the most frequently used implements in soil preparation,

which is done mainly by women. Small sickles (kora-kathi) used for harvesting. Men

use knives (kathi) for slashing and cutting of shrubs and trees.354

The Ciru

According to Kurumba tradition, the concluding post-burial ceremony of Ciru is to

be conducted on the occurrence of every 101 deaths in a settlement. Hence,the time-span

between two Cirus will be more or less to 10 or 20 years. This traditional norm is no

longer respected and a time lag of 20 or 30 years between 2 Cirus is a common

occurrence now, because of the huge expenditure entailed in celebrating it. The Ciru of a

settlement is decided by the tribal council of that settlement in consultation with the

Muppan and the tribal council of the Todikki Kurumba settlement who are the chief ritual

354
D. Kass., Polyculture Cropping Systems: Review and Analysis, Cornell International
Agriculture Bulletin No.32. 1978, p.65.
functionaries in matters regarding Ciru in any Kurumba settlement of Attappadi.355 It is

the prerogative of the chief functionaries of the Todikki hamlet to decide the date of the

Ciru after ensuring that the customary offerings to Karudaivam (the Kurumba deity) have

been made and the necessary nominal daksina of either 11/2 or 51/2 rupees has been paid.

It is particularly important that the Ciru is to be conducted in the months of April-May on

a date before the onset of the monsoon and after the sowing activities in all settlements

have been finished.356 It is imperative that all the Kurumba settlements should be invited

to take part in it for which messengers are sent after fixing the date of the Ciru.

Kurumbas have kin-relatives (because in recent times both the tribes have started

intermarrying) and the nearby Irula settlements are invited. The heavy expenditure of the

ceremony met from the mandatory contributions collected from every household of the

settlement. A very important preliminary rite of the Ciru is the Kallukku Rayi Attu,

performed a week before the commencement of the Ciru, in which the Muppans and the

Mannukkarans of the 16 Kurumba settlements, along with all the other functionaries and

the elders of the host settlement, take part. They pound Ragi on a big grinding stone to

prepare a pastry so that this may be offered to Karudaivam of the settlement at the house

355
Kamil Zvelebil., A Plea for Nilgiri Areal Studies, International journal of Dravidian linguistics,
USA, 1980, p. 9:1-22.
356
Kamil Zveleil., Bettu Kurumba: First report on a tribal language. Journal of the American
Oriental Society, USA, 1982, p.102, 523-7.
of the Mannukkaran. This offering to Karudaivam is known as Math Vekkal. On the

seventh day after this rite, the Ciru should invariably begin.357

Medicinal Plants

Achyranthes aspera L. (Amaranthaceae), “Nayurvi Geeda”. An erect herb with terminal

inflorescence, common Decoction of whole plant with root is given for ease Child Birth

and to mitigate labour pain.

Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asteraceae), “Nasar soppu”. An erect, annual herb flowers

pale-blue white, common leaf juice is orally given as a cure for cough and cold.

Erythroxyium monogynum roxb. (Erthoroxylaceae), “Jeevadalli maram” A Small

branched tree with white flowers, common in Mudumalai wild life sanctuary. The oil

extracted from the wood and stem bark is used to cure all types of acute skin disease.

Passiflora foetida L. (Passifloraceae), “Narati chedi”, A climbing herb, flowers bright

pink common. The plant made into paste with water and applied externally on joints to

sure from arthritic problems.

Tectona grandis F (Verbenaceae), “Thekku” Large deciduous tree with white bark

flowers yellow planted. Hot water decoction of powdered bark is given to pregnant

women to ease childbirth and to mitigate abdominal pain during labour.

357
Manjula Poyil., Farewell Ritual and Transmigrating Souls: Secondary Funeral of the Attappadi
Kurumba, Anthropologist, 11(1): 31-38 (2009), p.103.
Oxalis corniculata L. (Oxalidaceae), “Pulichen segae”, A small hirsute herb with yellow

flowers, common in waste place. The whole plant extract in water is orally given for piles

and used as a febrifuge.

Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae). “Koyyapazham” A branched tree with white flowers,

cultivated for its edible fruits unripe fruits with equal quantity of mango bark (Mangifera

indica) are powdered and decoction made with hot water is orally given for abdominal

discomfort gastric troubles and ulcers in stomach.

Side cordifolia L. (Malvaceae), “Arathae” A woody, branched herb or sub-shrub flowers

yellow, common. Leaf past is applied on the site of snakebite as an antidote to get rid of

poison.

Tectona grandis L. (Verbenaceae) “Thekku” A large deciduous tree with yellow flowers,

planted. Hot water decoction of powdered bark is orally given to pregnant women to

ease childbirth and to mitigate abdominal pain during labor.358

Chapter IV

ECONOMIC LIFE OF KURUMBAS

Tribals are mainly distributed in the forest areas of the country through the ages.

From time immemorial, tribal communities constitute an important segment of Indian

358
Ibid., p.17.