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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