Chapter 3

THE TRlBALS OF PALAKKAD

As discussed In the previous chapter, the total populatlon of Scheduled Tnbes in

the Palakkad dlstnct is 35,465. Out of the total ST populatlon, 68.3 lper cent IS llvlng in

Integrated Tr~bal Development Project area, Attappady. The major tribal cornmumties

llving In Palakkad dlstrlct are. Eravallan, Irular, Kadar, Kununhan, Malayan, Mudugar

and Paniyan We propose to discuss the socio-cutural and economic profile of these

trlbals In this chapter to facilitate our understanding of their polit~cal development.

Eravallan

Eravalans are found mainly at the Chittur toluk of the Palakkad dlstrict They are

also found In the nelghbouring Co~mbatore distnct of Tamilnadu This tnbe was

originally known as Vzllu-Vedan ( hunters uslng bows and arrows) The present name

may be the cormptlon of an early name 'Eravan' (beggar), because some of them

subsisted by begglng ' Eravallans clam that they are the offsprings of Incarnated Gods,

but have nothing definite to narrate regarding these Gods. They had Kulams (clans) in

the11 early soclety and had observed the rule of exogamous mamage 2 At present no

body 1s found to know about the Kulams and the rule of exogamous mamage Among

themselves, they speak a language of their own hut to commumcate w t h others they use

Malayalam

Eravallans were mmlsts and totemists of the highest order The primitive belief

that their surroundings are full of bhooorams (demons) ready to harm them, is still

fostered, and much time and resources are spent in prop~tiating and conclllating them to

avert evll. They worship Valyamurth r(Subramania), Kalr, Kannrmars (seven sisters),

etc , for this purpose

Propitiation of Gods is imperative before commencing agriculture, building a

new hut, and pnor to undertaking any new venture They celebrate Onam, Vishu, Mattu

and Pongal festivals The institution of the headman that exlsted in their early society

has disappeared, but in most of their settlements they have a Pujarr ( priest ), who is

much respected, and probably the Pujarr performs the duties of the headman as we11.3

Their settlements are calledpalhi, and were once situated In the forests The huts

(chala) are built w th the floor level with the ground, of mud walls, and with roofs

thatched wlth palmyra leaves. The main single room is pamtioned into two, one portion

serving as the kitchen One slde of the roof may be extended towards a side, formlng a

shed for cattle, ~f the fam~ly keeps them4 Many Eravallan families have at presentpakkn

houses constructed under tnbal development schemes They build extensions to even

concrete houses w~th palmya leaves as shed for cattle Most of the Eravallan families

have live stocks hke chicken, goats and cows Earlier days, most families had a

murrachala ( segregation hut) about 10 to 20 meters away from the main hut Nowadays

muttachalas are found rarely in Eravallan settlements

Eravallans were used to be bonded labour attached to the farmers in the

nelghbourhood 5 Nowadays, since bonded labour has become tllegal, they have become

landless agncultural labour In addition to the agncultural wages they earn , they do

animal husbandry, fishlng, e tc , for the11 subsistence Eravallans of the Chubar dam

area were provided fish~ng nets and tmning for fishing by the fisheries department.

' Ibld, p 49 T Madam Mcnon, The Encyclopasdta of Drovtdion rrrbes. ( Th1ruvananthapurm,l996). vol2 p 46

5 L A Krlshna lycr . The Trrbes andcasles q/Cochm (Rcprmt) ( Delh~. 1981) p 49

At the onset of puberty, a g ~ d is lodged in the mutruchala for seven days, when

only g~rls of her age keep her company, no grown up person should go near the isolation

hut for fear of pollution. Her food is supplied to her at the muttuchala On the 8th day ,

she takes a punficatory bath and then friends and relatives are treated to a feast During

the monthly penods, women have to lodge themselves for three days in the muttuchala,

returning to the man hut only after the punficatory bath on the fourth day morning 6

These practices are however rarely found nowadays. D u n g early days, delivenes also

took place in the murruchalas solat at ion huts), but nowadays most of the delivenes take

place in the hospitals and dispensaries

After the death of a person, the body is washed, oil is applied and ~t is covered

with a new cloth. It is then taken on a bamboo bier to the common bunal ground, in a

solemn procession It is buned with the head to the south . Pollution lasts for 5 days,

the eldest son, or In h s absence, the deceased's brother is the chef mourner. On the fifth

day. the chief mourner shaves his face, takes a bath, and offers boiled nce, plantain

fm~ts, fowls, etc., to the spints. Annually, the splnts of the departed are worshiped, and

a feast is glven to the tnbesmen.7

Eravallans did not have any tnbal assembly to settle disputes or to enforce the

norms, but dlsputes seldom occur among them.8 The families were patriarchal, w t h the

father's authonty supreme.

Madava Menon, n 4 p 48 7 1bld

1yer.n 5 p 47

Irula

Communities called "Irula" are found in the eastern half of the anappady valley

in the Palakkad distnct of Kerala, in the Walayar area across the Kearala-Tamil Nadu

border In the Palakkad and Colmbatore dlstncts, the Gudalur, Coonoor and Kotagirl

raluki of the Nllgin dlstnct and In the Eastern Coastal distncts of Tamil Nadu Their

name is reported to have originated from their very dark complexion (iml - black,

dark) 9

According to the lmla informants of Anapady, they believe In the tradition that

they once lived in the plains and hills east of the Nilgins and used to be led by a heroic

chief named, Koya, as an lrula natlon, a confederation of tnbes until Koya died 10 The

centre of their confederacy was" Koyamrnutturu" which later became Coimbatore

Afterwards, they became disorganized, one went up the Nilgins (melenadu), another

went to the outer forest (Vettekadu,vlz , Anapady); a thrd went into the jungles ( cole - shola) and became the Sholegas, and a fourth became the Kasaba, so called because they

were In a state of total confusion (kacambu)

The Imla can be classified lnto sub-groups based on l ingu~st~c and soclal

variations melenadu, kasaba, vettekkadu, urali and and villiyan The first four sub-

groups share ethnic and lingu~stlc features and speak M a dialects; the Villiyan are

different, speaking Tamil 1 1

The Irulas claim that they are descendants of a Rlsh~ (holy man) who lived after

the Yuga Pralayam (great deluge) and was under the malignant Influence of a curse. The

R~shr, who was in sympathy with the tribe, started livlng wth them, and had several

Edgar Thurston, Castes & Trdes qldouthern Indlo, "012 (New Dclh1.1909) lo Zvelcbxl , The lrulas oflhe Blur Movntaim (Syracuse Unlvcrr~ty. 1988) pp 51-54 I I Mcnon. n 4 p 55

chlldren Another legend states that a Goddess was Interested to create people, who

could collect honey wlthout being stung by bees, and she created one out of her sweat,

who was successli~l In collecting honey wlthout being stung 12

lrulas have a five stage hlerarchlcai system of admtnlstrat~on wlth the Uru

Mupan [Tnbal chelftaln] as the head The other oftices are Bhondar~, Kurufhalo.

Dalapathy and Mannukaran The Uru Mupans words were final ln relatlon to all soclal

conflicts and issues No body was courageous enough to question the declslons of the

Mupan To enter In the uru the perm~sslon from the Mupan was requ~red

Bhundarr assists the Mupan In overall supewis~on and admln~strat~on, and

enforce hls orders Kuruthaia was the messenger through whom Mupan send messages

to and rece~ved news from, the nelghbounng urus. He conducts ceremonial funct~ons

llke marriage death etc Dalaparhy manages all the mlnor problems of the uru, he will

report to the Mupan Issues whlch he could not solve Mannukaran 1s entrusted \nth the

duty of looking after the agncultural affalres of the uru The agncultural works of the

uru will begln only after the Mannubran sow the seeds with the perm~ss~on of the

Mupan after maklng offenngs andpujas

Generally, all these oftices are hereditary, but an incumbant may be chosen rf

need arlses 13 There are seven clans for the Irula's namely, VeNaga, Kararrrka Sambar,

Karunagar, Devannar, Arurar, Parachellar. The modem h l a s know only httle about

their clans At present, they talk of clans only when marriages are bemg negotiated so as

to estabhsh that the contact 1s exogamous. Nowadays the11 usual age of mamage 1s 18-

20 The girls have full freedom In selecting thelr bnde groom Usually they glve money

as d o q , some t~mes they glve land also After the marriage, the children prefer to live

separate and don't care for the parents.

Irulas are good agriculturalists They cultivate paddy raggi, dhal, plantains,

chill~es glnger and turmeric, etc., In large quantity Both men and women take an active

part in agricultural works Many of them have the11 own cultivations either in own land,

lease-hold or government lands. Some of the lrulas of Attappady have 15 to 20 acres of

land holdlngs

The lrulas of attappady worsh~p God Slva m the name Malllswaran They have a

sacred hill known as Mdl~swaran hill, where normaly no body is permited to enter

During the Bvararr~, which they celebrate, the Poojans @riests) of Pettikallu, Abbannur

and Chemmannur uru go to the peak and light a lamp their The tnbals of other uru and

outs~ders are not permitted to enter this sacred place Ancester worshlp 1s also prevalent

among the tr~bals of Attappady

Kadar

The word 'Kadan' in Malayalam, means the dweller in a forest. The t r~be

obv~ously got the name because they exclus~vely l ~ v e In forest The "Kadar land" lles

between 10 degree 20 minutes and 48 minutes North and 76 degree 30 mlnutes and 55

minutes East, at the trijunct~on of the Colmbatore distnct of Tamil Nadu and the

Palakkad and Thrlssur d~smcts of Kerda l 4 The Kadars of Cochm, however, is different

from a community known by the same name living in Wynad area In appearance,

phys~cal characteristics, both the sections have nothing in common

Kadars are of average height, robust, deep-chested, longarmed, dark In colour,

sllghtly flat-faced, have platyrrhne noses and curly ha~r. Some are st111 seen with filed

or ch~pped teeth though the practlce is fast disappearing I 5

Nothing 1s known about the origin and history of the Kadar They narrate a

legend to establish that they are the progeny of a Mala Vedan and Mala Korafhy who

I~ved In a cave near Kanmalagopuram .I6 Kadars of Cochin state are the most pnmltlve

of the south lndlan forest tribes They show more traces of Negr~to ancestry than any

other tnbe '7

Regarding their prlmltlve customs, it 1s reported that they generally gathered

food In the forests and Jhuming was the only form of agriculture they practised They

llved In leaf huts followng nomadlc customsl8 They keep dogs which accompany them

on then paths of Jungle19 Even nowadays, Kadars llve In leaf huts In deep forests dunng

the11 camps for forest produce collect~on. They also keep dogs whlch accompany them

In the11 tnps to the forest

Kadars had a very good relat~on w ~ t h the erstwhile Cochn ~ l e r s Whenever the

Raja toured In the forest, they follow him, carry hlm from place to place In 'Manjals' and

In fact d ~ d everything for him His Highness In turn was much attached to them, fed

them, gave them clothes, ornaments, combs and looklng glasses Above all, he treated

them w~th great affect~on uslng always kind words to themz0

I S LUIZ. n I , p 59 l 6 lbld. p 60 l 7 J H Hunon, "Racial Afinltxer of the People of Ind~a". Census oflndra 1931. (Delhl),vol 1 & 3,1986 ( Reprint) I 8 Thurston .n 9. "013, p 29 19 U R, Ehrenfelr. Kador oJCochm. ( Madras. 1952). p 8 20 lycr, n 5 vol I , p 21

In Kerala Kadars are now found m 15 settlements of the Palakkad and Tnssur

d~stncts. Kunarkutty, Parambikulam dam slte. Parambikulam earth dam, Thekkady,

Kalchady, Chemnelli, Thal~yakallu are the settlements in Palakkad district. Their total

number IS 1594. They are of low literacy level. Famlly is the basic m t of soclal

organlzatlon among Kadars A person with hls wlfe and chldren live in a hut of h ~ s

own The parents rear the chldren 1111 they are grown up. Aner marnage, the doughters

with the11 spouses stay on In the same hut. All the members work together and

contnbute thelr share of maintenance. When a person 1s capable of putting up a separate

hut, he along wlth h ~ s w f e and children, may shin to the newly built one. There is no

clan system among the Kadars. For the purpose of marnage, settlement was taken as a

unlt and settlement exogamy was stnctly followed But nowadays tt was found that they

do nor stnctly follow any such rules.

A Kadar settlement 1s known as 'Pathy' and generally consists of 10 to 40 huts

Ihe cholce of a settlement slte depends on many factors. It should be near a

watersource, generally a stream or rewlet and In the forest. All the Kadar settlements

are e~ther In the deep forest or In the forest boundiuy Earher, Kadars were nomadlcs

and had no permanent settlements slnce they had to wander in the forest for collection of

forest produce Today, most of them lead a settled llfe in pukka houses constructed

under tnbal development schemes But still a few are leadlng thelr old nomad~c l ~ f e In

the forest In every settlement, there are a few seclus~on sheds (Theendarrchala) for the

menstruating women.

From time ~mmemorlal, Kadar inhabit the w ~ l d forests exploltlng ~ t s resources

Their primary occupation was collection and gathering of forest produce Collection and

gathenng 1s known in the local parlance as 'thetram'. It is a very well organized affalr

and 1s subject to certain understand~ng and conventions. Every Kadar settlement has a

well-defined conventional junsdictlon for 'rheffam' Knowingly, a group dare not

tresspass into the 'domaln' of another group.

The mlnor forest produce collected can be categorised into two, one meant for

consumption and the other meant for sale in the grrgan service cooperative societ~es

Consumable artlcles include roots 11ke Noa~a, Thalr, Nara, Chandara, Chel, kanmlra,

chuvaia and frults 11ke jack, cashew, mango, etc Articles meant for sale are honey, cane,

glger, pepper, cardamom, turmeric, wax, mustard murt~pal, Thelly, Chlnrkka,

rnchupuilu, arrow roof, Nelhkka, flowers of Parhtrr plant, lemon grass, Kanj~rakuru,

Kukkankaya elc

The skill of Kadar In collect~ng honey 1s proverbla1 The season for collecting

honey 1s March to May. Kadar collect honey from tall trees and preclpltous mountaln

rocks w~thout much d~fficulty Kurumlhen. Kurrmrhen, Kolrhen, Perzmthen and

Cheruthen are the various names given to the drfferent types honey collected durlng

d~fferent months and from the hives of dlstinct specles of bees

Malayan

The Malayans are manly found in the hilly reglons of the Palakkad and Thnssur

d~strlcts of Kerala Ethnically they are same group with the Kadars The ongln of their

tribe name IS from 'AP (people) of the 'Malas' (hills). They are of medium helght, dark,

long armed and have slightly dilated nostrils and thick lips 2' Malayans are non-

vegetarians, they eat beef and are fond of Ilquor. In the opinion of some of the elder

Malayans, Kadars and Malayans belonged to the same community and l~ved in the

forest The Malayans were excommunicated by Kadars for enting beef. So they came out

of the forests and senled In the villages. However, their is no evidence m support of this

story.

The Malayans of Kerala are early Dravidians. There are a number of myths

prevalent about their ongln. One story is that they are descended from Siva and Panati,

when they had sojourned from in the forest In order to grant the divine mow,

pa&uputayastra to Arjuna Another story traces their origin from Surpnakha, the victim

of Lakshmana's anger 22

The name of the headman of Malayans 1s Mupan, who settles d~sputes, officiates

at mamages and funeral funct~ons He was respected and obeyed by all The new

generntlon of Malayans are not ready to obey the Mupan. Many of them are members of

trade unions and polit~cal parties and do not believe In old customs and practices

The name of the hut of Malayans is called chala Nowadays many of the

Malayans have reasonably good houses w ~ t h tiled roof. Formerly, they had the means of

l~vel~hood by collecting forest produces, bamboo,timber, etc. But now they are engaged

111 many occupatlons. There are government employees, agricultural workers, Plantation

workers, head load workers, and rubber tappers among them Only very few go to the

forest to collect forest produces

Malayans are followers of Hindu dharm, Veerabhadran and Bhadrakalr are the11

favourrte d e ~ t ~ e s Some are devoted to Marramma. 'Kathirulsovam' 1s a major exclusive

celebration of the Malayans. They celebrate 'Nemmara Vela'also. The Malayans have so

many superstitions, dances and songs Inspite of all the developments that took place

among them, some of the Malayans even today believe that diseases are caused by

malrgnant rnfluence of bhoorams ( devils), so they consult the Mantravarr for treahnent

Among the Malayans, a glrl attaining puberty is isolated for five days, women

durlng the11 periods are also isolated for seven days, in separate segregation huts

Mamage in the past could take place before a girl attuned puberty, but nuptials were

only after puberty 23 Marriages are arranged by the parents of the boy and the girl, often

wlthout reference to the couple concerned A thread smeared wlth turmeric 1s tled round

the neck of the girl by the mother or slster of the groom to mark betrothal On an

ausp~clous day, the groom and his party go to the bnde's house, on the11 arnval, she is

handed over to the groom by her parents All are treated to a feast 24

After the death of a person, the corpse is washed, covered wrth new cloths and

buned, wlth the head faclng nonh, after the chlef mourner, usually the nephew, places a

few grams of rice In the deceased mouth. The grave 1s usually in the northern slde of the

hut Stones are placed on it to mark it Pollut~on 1s for 15 days Nowadays, Instead of

bunal, creamatlon 1s belng increasingly adopted Today most of their tradltlonal customs

have disappeared as the Impact of modernizat~on among them

Kurumba

"Kurumba" is a common name applied to drfferent ethnlc commumtles m and

around the N~lglrls area The different Kurumba communities are. Palu Kurumba

(Attapady), Alu Kununba (Nilgins). Betta Kurumba, Jenu Kurumba and Kadu Kurumba

(Known as Kattu Nakkan in Kerala ) The Kurumba of Attappady ( Palakkad) are called

"Palu Kurumba" to distinguish them from the "Alu Kurumba" of the Nilgms.

Kurumba (Attappady) IS listed as a 'primitive' tribe since they are still in a pre-

agr~cultural stage of development Then hamlets are found in both sides of the Bhavani

rlver after ~t falls over the precipitous slopes of the Avalanche peak The Kurumba

hamlet at the highest elevation is Thuduklu, at about 4,500 feet, followed by gal as^,

Kadukumanna, Anaval, Murukala, Thadikundu, Gottikarkandi, Kurukathikal, Yedavani

and Pazhayur, all ~n the Reserve Forest, and Moolakombu, Soottara, Bhoothayur, etc.,

outs~de the reserve forest25

Anava~ 1s considered by them as the11 onginal settlement The word could mean

the 'Mouth' (vay~) or the way of the elephant They belleve that the first living thrng that

emerged on earth was a primordial elephant whch manifested itself at this place, the

Kummbas followed Like the Muduga, the neighbowing tribe wlth whom they have

been freely ~ntermarry~ng both ways for several generations now, they prefer to site

thelr hamlets In such a way as to command a view of the needle shaped Malleeswaran

Peak They belleve that the peak IS the vtslble God who took thls fonn after having lived

among them.

Kurumba's staple food was rag], but now a days rice is replac~ng it as ~t is

available from the ratlon shops However, most households keep a reserve of rag],

chama, red gram, etc. Taproko 1s cultivated or obmned from the markets, and

suppllments the roots and tubers they collect from the forest. They had a unique system

of sh~ftlng cult~vation, which may be described as the " dlg and scratch " methode, In

contrast to the universal "slash and bum" system. The plots they use for cultivation is

called 'kothukodu' They used to clear the under growth from a selected area, and stack

the matenal along the slopes Wlth a d~gging stlck, they would just dig enough to d~bble

the seeds or plant the seeds. Thls was a vely "eco-friendly" system, which optlmlsed the

energy input They generally cult~vate a plot for three years and then abandon it to return

to it after 18 years- sufficiently long enough for d to be restored to near pnstine

condition in the ever green sltuatlon

Nowadays the cultivation of ganja (Cannabis sativa) is spread in the kurumba

heartland by the well organized gangs. The kurumbas who plant the ganja for these non-

tribal outsiders are paid falrly l~berally Thls researcher himself is an eye winess of t h ~ s

Our lnvest~gating team vis~ted the Anavai during the month of December 2000. We

found that the Kununbans were engaged in preparing and drylng the ganja plant Since

we had w t h us some local tribal leaders, who assured them that the11 vis~tor came only

for study purpose and was not a government of i icd, they pemited us to enter then

colony

The Kurumbans have an exogamous dual orgmzation conslstlng of thamayan

lhampi ("brother-brother") and maman macha ("uncle-brother-ln-law") moities They

are subdlv~ded as follows : the first moiety has four clans, Velieko. Arar, Chempaka,

und Upprlr, and the second, Karunaga, Devana. Peradara and Karalt~ka. The clans are

called Kulam A member of a clan may chose a wife only from one of the clans of the

other molety 26

The K m b a s belleve in sorcery and magic, The mantravodrs among them

clalms that they perform both 'black' and 'white' magic Thls occult art 1s also used as the

26 PRG Mathur, The TrrbalStluorron mKeralo (Tnvandrum, 1977), pp 5 6 57

56

mystlc foundation for their medicinal systems The other tnbes l ~ k e lmlas and Mudugars

also approach them for sorccry and rnaglc.

After the death of a person, dead body 1s kept in a small decorated panda1 In

front of the deceased's house The Mupan adjudicates whether the deceased owed

anythlng to any The dues have to be pad before the body can be removed If some dues

are there to any one, relatives, fiends and strangers can contribute to the cleanng of

these dues Then the body 1s removed to the place of burial and buned.

Muduga

Mudugars are Inhabitants of the Palakkad dlsvict of Kerala. They are settled

around the Malleeswaran Peak in Attappady and adjacent areas of the Palakkad d~stnct

They have been cofused with Muduva, an ent~rely separate community livlng tn the

Htgh Ranges of the Idukkl Dlstnct of the same state because of the slm~lanty in the

Engl~sh spelllng of the names of the two tnbes. They consider themselves as equal to the

Kurumba w ~ t h whom they enter Into mter-mamages both ways They feel that Irula are

~nfertor They accept food of all types from Kurumba, but not Erom Imla2'

The Muduga hamlet usually consists of about 10 to12 households arranged in

two rows facing each other When the number of houses ( b r a ) becomes larger, a third

row at r~ght angles to one one of the other's IS formed, which on further expansion of the

hamler, IS jotned to the opposlte stde to form a hollow rectangle For the houses in the

front would be a narrow Veranda, openlng to an outer room for guests by means of a

very low door The Inner room has a msed platform for sleeping, a coolung place w t h a

grrassr or platform suspended over it on which grains could be preserved because of the

smoke from the fire place, and small hole in the ground in whlch they could be pounded

In some houses, the relics or household deities will be kept in baskets suspended from

the ceiling. There will he a back veranda where women in their penods could shelter

Traditionally Mudugan were depending for their livelihood, shftlng cultivat~on,

trapplng of small animals and collection of minor forest produces For shift~ng

cultivation they used the "dig and scratch" method rather than the universal "Slash and

bum" method The present condition of the Mudugars is not encouraging, since the

forests have been natlonalised, shifting cultivation 1s severely put down, hunting and

trapprng of animals are pun~shable offences now. The virtual disappearance of natural

vegetation has destroyed the ut~lity of the remaining forests as reservoirs of minor forest

produce

Even though some of them own agncultural lands, whch they cultivate, others

depend on agncultural labour provided to them by the setlers Earlier they had plenty of

uru bhumr or communal lands whlch 1s now in the possession of the outsideres who

cheeted them by givlng some liquor or money Most of the Mudugars at present found to

be lazy and slmply wasting thew time dnnking liquor Starvation and quarrels are

common In the Mudugar urus Some of the Mudugar ladles even cornplaned to us about

thrs condit~on

Trad~tionally, each hamlet had a regularly const~tuted hierarchy of social

funtionanes. At the top was the uru Mupan, or the head man; the office was usually

hered~tary and devolved from father to son. Next in status was bandarr who was the

cashier cum accoutant for the hamlet The third was kuruthale who funct~oned as a

messenger and general servant Another important funct~onary was mannukkaran. He

decided on the tlme of sowing, the crops to be sown and the area in the shifting

cultivation circuit where the years cropping was to be done Crop protection by means

of ritual and maglc was his special field of competence Nowadays Mupans authority

has been seriously eroded due to social, economic and political changes

Maniages are usually negot~ated by common Wends and later pursued by the

parents of the boy The dec~sion of the parents is final. Tying of the Tall seems the most

Important part of the ceremony. The pyarr (priest) and the parents place the Tali on the

bndes neck and the bride groom completes the tying28 Mudugars bury the dead but

there 1s very little solemnity in the dlsposal of the corpse. Some wash the corpse, but

most of them just wrap the dead in a mat and lower 11 into the grave and fill w ~ t h earth

They mark the location of the grave w t h a heap of stones

Paniyan

Panlyans are habitants of the Wyanad, Kozhikode, Kannw and Palakkad dismcts

of Kerala They are the largest slngle Scheduled Tnbe m Kerda In the Palakkad dlstnct

they are found near Malampuzha dam area, and the11 number is only 304. Panlyans

speak a language of the11 own; it has been identrfied as as a member of the south

Dravidian family, closely related to Malayalam, with borrowings from Kannada and

'I am11 29 They are abonglnal agrestlc slaves of the sol1 who live at high elevations where

there are plantations and other cultivations. The name 1s modified form of the

Malayalam word Pan~kkar (labourer) 30

Paniyans are a danng tnbe famous for hunting tlgers and panthers wtth spears

and net, and in these operations they n v d the Hamron lion hunters of Ahca31 They

resemble the Afncan tribes In the11 curly hair and thick Ilps. There are numerous

speculations regarding the orig~n of the tribe Some are of the op~nlon that they are an

Afrlcan tnbe that came to India after a ship wrcck on the west coast At one time m the

near past, they were the principal stock-~n -trade for slave trade on the west coast, and it

1s possible that they were imported from Africa and sold in Malabar32

The establishment of feudal administration by the Raja of Kottayam (Malabar)

was the "culmination of the process of colonizat~on of the Wayanad plateau by peoples

of the plams", which had started as early as the begning of the 5th Century." The

Pan~yans as a very pnmltive ethntc stram, are llkely to have been autochthones of the

area who sought shelter In the wilds of Wayanad when enslavement of the11 lunsmen

was golng on In the plans .. They could not sustain the11 freedom . for the master

class followed them Into Wayanad to explolt the land w t h the enslaved Pan~ya

labour Wlth the establ~shment of the feudal order under the Rajas, the Nair cheftans

and their retamers parcelled the ava~lable land among themselves and the Pan~yans lost

of freedom"33

Pan~yans were cosidered to be lnclined to criminality ; A~yappan recalled that

his non-Paniya fr~ends m Wayanad warned him fifty years ago that the "Pmyans would

not hes~tate to murder a man to get h ~ s loin cloth" 34The inst~tut~on of slavary had been

of long stand~ng In Kerala It was customary for the master to exerc~sejusprrma noctis

on the newly marned serf women35 Dunng these penod, several castes and

communltles ~ncludlng the Paniya formed part and parcel In the deeds of sale of landed

properties

'' lbld

32 Ibld. p 219

33 A Alyappan. The Ponlyons, an ex-slave Tmbe c,flfSoulh India. Calcutta. 1992. p 8 34 Ibld, p 10-11 35 lbld pp 30-41

\ In 1975 when the bonded labour system was abolished by a federal enactment,

the lmmedlate Impact was misery for the Paniyans, as several landlords denled them

work and wages But the provisions of the Kerala Land Reforms Act prevented them

from bang evlcted from their homesteads

The headman of the Paniyans is called Kuttan He 1s usually selected by the

landlord on whose farm they are settled His major resposibility was to account for the

actlons of everyone in the settlement Among some groups the offlce of the headman

was hereditary The Kuttun was consulted before venturing on any new undenalung and

concluding mamage negotiations

They Many after puberty and monogamy is the general rule Negotiations are

lnltlated by the parents of the bndegroom after gettlng the formal aproval of the

headman When negotiations have been concluded and the amount of bride pnce has

been settled, the bridegroom has the option to serve the parents of the bnde in case he 1s

unable to pay the agreed bnde prlce For the mamage ceremony, the couple are seated

before the same platain leaf and served with some food whlch they taste. Then they are

send to the pandul where they listen to the advise from elders The glrl 1s taken to the

grooms house immediately thereafter on amval, the eldest member of the household

gets the afflatus of the family deities, waves a coconut over the head of the couple and

breaks ~ t , the water is poured on thetr feet, the old man catches the hands of the couple

and conducts them mto the house, they lnturn touches the feet of the elders36

Panlyans bury the11 dead. There are cases of conducting creamatlon also. On the

seventh day, they have folk dancing and singlng at the grave Pollution connected with

death lasts for sixteen days during which period most of them bathe tw~ce a day,

reframfrom work and avo~d eating fish and meat. The son of the deceased 1s the chief

mourner and he ties a consecrated thread round h ~ s arm, waist and legs so that he may

not be harmed by the spint of the dead

Economic Profile of the Tribals of Palakkad

The results of the survey conducted among tnbals reveals that only 5 per cent of

thcm are w~thout residence No one from among Malayans, Mudugar, Pan~yan and

Kurumba 1s w~thout houses 29 per cent of the Kadar, 6 per cent of lrular and 3 per cent

of Eravalar are not havlng o w residence 16 per cent of the tnbals are livlng In thatched

roof mud wall hut, 75 per cent In t~led roof houses and 4 per cent In concrete houses 14

per cent of Kadars, 11 per cent of Eravnlar and 9 per cent of Mudugar Ilve in concrete

houses All the tiled roof houses and concrete houses are constructed under some tribal

development schemes

TABLE - 3 1

HOUSE TYPE

Source. Survey data

29 per cent of the tr~bals are landless, 30 per cent of them have lands up to 10

cents, 5 per cent have 11 to 50 cents 14 per cent have 51 to 1 Acre, and 22 per cent

among them have more than 1 acres of Land. 34 per cent of the Imlar, the most dominant

tnbals of Attappady area of Palakkad have more than 1 acres of land, and 32 per cent of

the Mudugar another major tribe of Attappady also have more than 1 acres of land

None among the respondents belonging to other tribal cornmuties have more than 1

acres of land

Even though 90 per cent of Kurumbas live In t~led roof houses constructed under

tnbal development schemes, no one have ownership m land, since there settlements are

~ n s ~ d e reserve forest 28 per cent of Eravalar, 31 per cent of War, 43 per cent of Kadar,

22 per cent of Mudugar and 13 per cent of Paniyans are landless None among the

Malayans were found to be land less

TABLE-3 2

LAND ASSETS

Source. Survey data

46 per cent of the mbal houses are elecmfied and 54 per cent not electrified

100 per cent of the Kadar and Kurumba houses, and 93 per cent of Eravalar houses are

not electrified 86 per cent of the houses of Mudugars, 54 per cent of Irulars, 34 per cent

of Malayans and 25 per cent of pmyans and 7 per cent of Eravalars are electrified

TABLE- 3.3

ELECTRIFIED HOUSES

Source Survey data

Domestic Articles

I - Own -Four wheels, Fridge, Washng machme

I1 - Own - Blke, Televrsion

Ill -Own any three of the followrng Televlslon, , Furnrture, Bicycle, Radio

IV- Own- any four of the followrng. Coat, Table, Bench, Chair, Rad~o, Clock

V- Oun any two of the followng Coat, Table, Bench, Char, Radlo

VI- Own less than two of the follow~ng furniture Coat, Table, Bench, Charr

None of the tnbal households come under the First category, I e , no body own

a four wheel vehlcle, Washlng machlne or Frldge 4 per cent of Malayans come under

second category 5.6 per cent of the tnbals come under category three, 19 8 per cent

come under category four, 44 6 under category five, and 29 6 come under category

six The ownership of domestic articles IS a standard Index for measuring qual~ty of

life Malayans and Imlars come m higher categories than the other tnbal communities.

The Malayans, who Own only lesser land property than Mudugar, enjoy a better

qual~ty of l ~ f e than them None of the Malayans come under the lowest category In

ownership of domestlc articles. The tnbal house holds of the Palakkad dlstr~ct are

gaded to six categories on the basis of owner shlp of the following domestlc articles.

HOUSE HOLDS GRADED BASED ON OWNERSHIP OF DOMESTIC ARTICLES

Paniyan I - 1 - I - 1 60 1 40 1 - 1 100 Total I - / 0.4 1 5 6 1 19.8 ] 44.6 1 29 6 ( 100

Source survey data

9 per cent of the tnbals have only a monthly Income below 300 Rupees, 29 per

cent have an Income In between Rupees 301 to 600 25 per cent among them have an

Income in between 601 to 900, 30 per cent have In between 901 to 1200 and 7 per cent

have an income above Rupees 1200 Malayan and lrular tribes are in a better posltlon

than other tnbal communities In monthly income

MONTHLY INCOME IN RUPEES

Eravalar M a r 100

71 I nn Kurumba Malayan Mudugar Paniyan . Total Source. survey data

77 3 11 6 9

23 7 51 37 29

- 26 26 50 25

51 9 7 30

13 3

7

100 100 100 100 100

8 per cent of the tnbals are hav~ng the occupation of nwfp (non wood forest

produce collect~on), 22 per cent agriculture, 49 per cent coolie, 2 per cent skilled

workers and 3 per cent Government employees 16 per cent are unemployed Other than

the Government employees, all others suffer from unemployment, slnce their works are

only seasonal 5 per cent among Irulars and 4 per cent among Malayans are Government

employees Unemployment rate 1s low among Malayans and Irulars 17 per cent of

Malayans are skilled workers

TABLE- 3.6

OCCUPATION

Source. survey data 1 nwfp collect~on, 2 Agnculture, 3,Cool1e(labourer), 4 Slulled worker, 5 Government employee, 6. Unemployed

An analysis of the datas on economlc cond~tlons of the tnbals d~scloses that

Malayan and Imlar communltles are in a better posltlon than other tribals Kurumba,

Mudugar and l ~ l a r tnbes have good houses constructed under tnbal welfare schemes

snce they res~de in ITDP area (Table-3.1) Most of the Imlar and Mudugar houses are

electr~fied due to the same reason (Table-3 3) Imlar, Mudugar and Kadar have more

land properties than other tnbals (Table 3.2)

Other var~ables l ~ k e income, occupation, and possess~on and utlllzat~on of

domestic articles glve a more realistic picture of the economlc profile of the uibals

Malayans and Imlar are In the higher income group and Kadar, Kurumba and Mudugar

are In the lower income group (Table 3 5 ) Among them in fact Mudugar have more

land and better houses than most of the other tribals Since most of them are addlcted to

l~quor and ganja and are lazy to work, then economic condition is weak

The possession and utlllzation of domestlc art~cles 1s a vely Important Index of

economic cond~tion Malayans and Irular are at a higher grade In the possession and

util~zation of domestic articles Kadar, Kurumba, Mudugar and Eravallar are at lower

grades In this regard (Table 3 4). There are Government employees among Irular and

Malayan tribes, and there are sk~lled workers among Malayans who earn more income

than others The number of unemployed among Mudugar, Eravalar, Kadar and

Kurumbas are h~gh (Table 3 6) Occupations l ~ k e nwfp collection are seasonal, and so

those tnbals who are employed in thls sector suffer severe unemployment during ralny

seasons

Geographical isolation of the tribals

A major hindrance to tnbal development 1s the geograph~cal lsolatlon of the tnbal

hab~tats, from other commun~ties, and public places and utility servlces The results of the

survey reveals the extend of geograph~cal sola at ion of the tribals The variables analyzed

here are dlstance to nearest non-tribal residence, distance to nearest shop/ market,

d~stance to the bus rout, d~stance to the primary health center, dlstance to the nearest

educational instltutlon, proxlmlty of Balawady and d~stance to the nearest t o w .

7 per cent of the tnbal settlements are more than 4 k m away from non-tnbal

res~dences 100 per cent of Kurumba settlements and 57 per cent of Kadar settlements

are more than 4 km away from non-tribal resldences. None of the Eravalar, h l a r and

Malayan settlements are more than 4 k m away from non-tribal residences.52 per cent of

Eravalar settlements, 5 1 per cent of lrular settlements, 43 per cent of Kadar settlements,

64 per cent of Malayan settlements and 91 per cent of Mudugar settlements are below 1

k m away from non-tnbal residences 41 per cent of the tribal settlements are 1 to 2 k m

away from the non- tribal resldences, 5 per cent 2 to 3 k m and 15 per cent 3 to 4 k m

away from non-tribal houses.

TABLE-3 7

DISTANCE TO NEAREST NON-TRIBAL RESIDENCE

Source s w e y data

7 per cent of the tnbal residences are at a distance of more than 4 k m from

shops or market 15 per cent of the settlements are at a distance of 3 to 4 k.m, 5 per cent

2 to 3 k m, 41 per cent 1 to 2 k m and 32 per cent with in a dlstance of 1 k.m from shops

or market 100 per cent of K m b a settlements, 57 per cent of Kadar settlements, 37

per cent of Pan~yan settlements and 9 per cent of Mudugar settlements are at a distance

of 3 to 4 k.m from shops or markets. Malayans, lrular and Mudugar residences are

nearer to shops and markets.lOO per cent of residences of Malayans, 91 per cent of

resrdences of Mudugar, 75 per cent of residences of Irular are wlthln 2 k m. distance

from shops and market.

TABLE- 3.8

DISTANCE TO NEAREST SHOP1 MARKET

Source survey data

100 per cent of Kurumba and Paniyan settlements are at a distance of more than 4

k m from bus rout. 43 per cent of Kadar, 27 per cent of Eravalar. 26 per cent of Mudugar

and 10 per cent of lmlar reside at a d~stance of more than 4 k rn from bus rout 64 per cent

of the Malayans.39 per cent of lrular and 74 per cent of Mudugar resrde at a d~stance of less

than 1 k m from bus route

TABLE- 3.9

DISTANCE TO THE BUS ROUTE

Source survey data

100 per cent of Kununba settlements, 90 per cent of Eravalar settlements, 86 per

cent of Kadar settlements and 40 per cent of Mudugar settlements are at a dlstance of above

4 k m from primary health center.49 per cent of lmlar and Mudugar settlements and 33 per

cent of Malayan settlements are w t h n 1 k.m distance from pnmary health center.

TABLE- 3 10

DISTANCE TO THE PRIMARY HEALTH CENTER

Source survey data

100 per cent of the Kadar and Pamyan settlements, 39 per cent of Eravalar

settlements, 24 per cent Imlar settlements and 7 per cent of Mudugar settlements are at a

d~stance of above 4 k.m from educat~onal inst~tutions 100 per cent of Malayan and

Kurumba settlements, 49 per cent lrular settlements and 29 per cent of Mudugar

seitlements are withln I k.m d~stance from educational institutions

TABLE-3 1 1

DISTANCE TO THE NEAREST EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

Mudugar 1 29 1 11 1 32 121 1 7 1 100 PanlYan I - I - 1 - I - I100 1100 Total 141 117 113 1 3 1 26 ( 1 0 0

Source survey data

86 per cent of the tnbal settlements have a Balawady withln 1 k m d1stance.100 per

cent of Kurumba , Malayan, Mudugar settlements have a Balawady within 1 k.m dlstance

But 43 per cent of Kadars have to travel more than 4 k.m. to reach a Balawady. Generally

In almost all tribal settlements the Government run a Balawady.

TABLE- 3.12 PROXIMITY OF BALAWADY

Source survey data

All the tnbal settlements are generally near to forest area away from towns All the

Kadar and Kurumba settlements are lns~de or at the boundaq of the forest 100 per cent of

the Kadar, Kunrmba and Pan~yan settlements are at a distance of above 4 k m from town.

40 per cent of the total tribal settlements are above 4 k.m away from town 17 per cent are

dt a d~stance In between 2 to 3 k m, 14 per cent 1 to 2 k.m, and 29 per cent below I k.m

from town 66 per cent of Malayans, 23 per cent of l ~ l a r and 71 per cent Mudugar res~de

w~thin a d~stance of 1 k rn from town

TABLE-3.13 DISTANCE TO NEAREST T O W

Source survey data

The extent of geographcal isolat~on among the tnbals are thus revealed by the

results of the survey conducted by us for this study. The variables analyzed here are

dlstance to nearest non-tribal residence, dlstance to nearest shop1 market, dlstance to the

bus rout, d~stance to the pnmary health center, d~stance to the nearest educat~onal

Instltutlon, proxlmtty of Balawady and d~stance to nearest t o w .

In the dlstance from non-tnbal residence, Kurumba and Kader tnbes @nmltlve

tr~bes), who 11ve In forest or forest boundaries are more isolated than others Malayan,

Imlar, Mudugar and Eravalar are less Isolated from non-tnbal houses (Table 3.7) In the

distance from shop and market also Kadar, Kurumban and Pamyans are more isolated,

where as Mudugar, Malayan and Imlar are resldlng at less dlstance from shop and market

(table 3 8) In the d~stance from bus rout Kurumba, paniyan and Kadar are at the

d~sadvantage, where as Malayan, Mudugar and Imlar are res~dlng much nearer to bus rout

(table 3.9) h l a r , Mudugar and Malayan have better proximity to health center than

Kurumba, Kadar and Eravalar (table 3 10) Malayan, Kurumba and Imlar have better

proxlmlty to educat~onal institutions than Kadar and Panlyan (table 3 11) Malayan,Imla

and Kununba have better proxim~ty to balawady than Kadar (table 3.12) Malayan, lrular

and Mudugar have better proxlmlty to town than Kadar, Kui-umban and Panlyan (table

3 13)

The analysls of the soclo-cultural environment, economlc profile and detalls of the

geograph~cal ~solat~on of the tnbals In thls chapter provide us a background for the

analys~s of polrtlcal culture and soc~alivlt~on among the tnbals of palakkad In the next

chapter