© JHE 2020 J Hum Ecol, 69(1-3): 10-14 (2020) PRINT: ISSN 0970-9274 ONLINE: ISSN 2456-6608 DOI: 10.31901/24566608.2020/69.1-3.3164 Environmental Anthropological Analysis of the Kurichiyan Tribes of Kannavam Forest in Kerala
M.S. Mahendrakumar
Department of Anthropology, Kannur University, Thalassery Campus, Palayad, Kerala, India Mobile: 9447380663, E-mail: [email protected]
KEYWORDS Ecological Anthropology. Man-environment Interactions. New Ecological Anthropology. Non Wood Forest Products. Subsistence Activities
ABSTRACT The present paper is an attempt to study the man-environment interaction among the Kurichiyan tribes of Kannavam Reserve Forest of Kannur District in Kerala. The Kurichiyas are living in the forests from the time immemorial. The Kurichiyas are one of the Scheduled Tribes of Kerala. They were living with subsistence economy and finding resources from the forests earlier. They used to collect fruits and tubers from the forest and also collected Non Wood Forest Products (NWFP). At present, they have stopped many of their traditional subsistence activities and are engaged in various new economic activities. Most of them have turned into agricultural labourers and/or wage labourers today. The changes in their economic activities also reflected in the life and culture of the Kurichiyas and it has altered their man-environment interactions. This paper tries to analyse the major changes in their interaction with their surrounding habitat and the environment within the Kannavam Reserve Forest.
INTRODUCTION tal racism, and the role of the media, NGOs, and environmental hazards in stimulating ecological Environmental Anthropology is a rede- awareness and action. While recognising that signed as well as a modified version of Ecolog- local and regional systems are permeable, the ical Anthropology with an augmented cover- new ecological anthropology must be careful not age of interest in its purview of studies. The to remove humans and their specific social and term Ecological Anthropology was coined by cultural forms from the analytic framework.” Roy A. Rappaport in 1968. Then, Kottak (1999) The very inconsistency in the use of ecolog- provided a fresh thinking and introduced the ical anthropology and environmental anthropol- New Ecological Anthropology. While introduc- ogy continued almost into the first decade of ing the New Ecological Anthropology, Kottak the 21st century. The very discipline was later has used the term “Environmental Anthropolo- called, commonly, as Environmental Anthropol- gy” for the first time but he was not consistent ogy. Kopnina and Shoreman-Ouimet (2013) in using the very term “Environmental Anthro- pointed out that the environmental anthropolo- pology” and he was emphasising on the usage gy “studies current and historic human-environ- of “New Ecological Anthropology”. Kottak ment interactions.” The synchronic analysis of (1999) says that “the new ecological anthropol- ecological anthropology persisted for a long time ogy, or environmental anthropology blends the- since 1968 with its functional interpretations and ory with political awareness and policy con- finally when it comes to environmental anthro- cerns. It attempts to understand and devise cul- pology, which provides a diachronic analysis to turally informed solutions to such problems/is- the present version. With this perspective, the sues as environmental degradation, environmen- present study analyses the man-environment interaction of the Kurichiyan tribes living in the Address for correspondence: Kannavam Reserve Forest for centuries. Crate Dr. M.S. Mahendrakumar and Nuttall (2016) have pointed out that the an- Associate Professor Department of Anthropology thropologists have always seen climate [envi- Kannur University ronment] as fundamental to understanding hu- Thalassery Campus man-environmental relations. Palayad P.O., Kannur Dt. PIN 670 661 The Kurichiyas are one of the Scheduled Kerala State, India Mobile: 9447380663 Tribes of Kerala and they are the second largest Email: [email protected] tribes in the state. In the official list of Sched- ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE KURICHIYAN TRIBES 11 uled Tribes of Kerala (2003), the name of the Kalimpong subdivision of Darjeeling District in tribe is given as “Kurichchan (Kurichiyan)”. The West Bengal. The study has pointed out the Kurichiyas were shifting cultivators and hunt- impact of felling of trees of a part of the forest on ers. Thurston (1906) has pointed out that in 1906 the village people and their cattle rearing. The “they subsist mostly by punam (shifting) culti- forest was the most important source of fodder, vation”. The Kurichiyas have conducted shift- which was destroyed with the felling of trees. ing cultivation up to 1950s. At present, they are The study has identified the cause-effect rela- settled cultivators and also engaged in various tionship of a human intervention in a forest. other economic activities. The Kurichiyas of the Subramanyam and Veerabhadrudu (2013) Kannavam Reserve Forest were not engaged in have conducted a study of among the tribes of agricultural activities, as it was not possible to Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh, which has cultivate agricultural products such as paddy analysed environment and sustainable devel- opment. The study has discussed issues like and millets in the forest. However, they are en- tribal ecology, livelihood, shifting cultivation and gaged in the cultivation of some of the horticul- deforestation and their traditional knowledge tural products and vegetables in their home- about the protection and conservation of natu- steads. The man-environment relationship ral resources in the Eastern Ghats. among the forest dwelling tribal groups is differ- The above studies have been conducted ent from the tribes living outside the forests. from the perspective of ecological anthropolo- Studies on Indian tribes in relation to the man- gy, ethno-ecology and environment and sus- environment interaction show significant differ- tainable development. The environmental an- ences with its idiographic and nomothetic rep- thropological perspective emphasises on the resentations. The environmental determinism, studies of current and historic human-environ- possibilism, cultural adaptation and ecological ment interactions. In this context, the following perspectives have been the focus of ecological objectives are framed for the present study. anthropology. However, the studies with envi- ronmental anthropological perspective are very Objectives of the Study limited as it emerged recently. In the Indian con- text, some studies have analysed the tribal cul- 1. To study the forest dwelling Kurichiyan ture in different ecological settings. tribes with regard to the man-environment Mishra et al. (1996) have made an analysis of relationship. psychological characteristics of the tribal peo- 2. To analyse the past and present cultures ple of Bihar, namely, Birhor, Asur and Oraon, in of the Kurichiyan tribe living in the Kanna- relation to their eco-cultural context and the ex- vam Reserve Forest of Kerala. perience of acculturation. The Birhor is a no- madic tribe, the Asur is a hunting gathering and METHODOLOGY agriculture tribe, and the Oraons are in between these two tribes. Anthropological research methods, namely, Sarkar and Dasgupta (2000) have conducted household survey, observation and interviews a study on Indian tribes and attempted to anal- were conducted among the Kurichiyan of the yse how natural environment plays an impor- Kannavam Reserve Forest to accomplish this tant role in the formation of tribal culture in dif- study. The interviews have helped to know the ferent eco-settings. The conservation of biodi- earlier situation of the Kurichiya life and culture. versity and the cognisance of their environment Secondary data regarding the life and culture of are portrayed in terms of the ethno-science of the Kurichiyan tribes was also collected to un- the tribal people of India. They studied the sub- derstand the changes happened among the Ku- sistence and economic activities of the tribes richiyan tribes over the years. and their habitats. The study concluded that the ecology plays a very important role in shap- RESULTS ing the tribal economic life. Subba (2000) has made a study entitled The present study is conducted among the “Man-Environment Relationship in a Hill Vil- Kurichiyas of Kannavam Reserve Forest in Kan- lage”, which deals with the Tanek village in nur District, one of the northern districts of Kera-
J Hum Ecol, 69(1-3): 10-14 (2020) 12 M.S. MAHENDRAKUMAR la state in India. The Kurichiyas inhabit the for- 64.7 percent, the agricultural labourers consti- est area and their settlements are 8 kilometres tute 56.0 percent and the wage labourers con- away from the Kolayad urban centre. Very limit- sist of 30.0 percent. The cumulative percentage ed facilities are available in the forest area and show that the 86.0 percent of the Kurichiyas are they have to go to Kolayad’s urban centre for either agricultural labourers or wage labourers everything such as for the purchasing grocery and it is shown in the Table 2. Within the forest items, stationary items and cloths. The tribal way environment, they do not get such occupations of life within the forest environment is curtailed and therefore they are going to other places for with the forest laws. such occupations. In every year, some of the The area selected for the study is the Peru- tribal members belonging to the category of wage va region of the Kolayad Grama Panchayat in labourers go for jobs under the forest depart- Kannur District. The Peruva region is the most ment to prepare fire lines on both sides of the tribal concentrated area within the Kannavam forest roads. Reserve Forest. A survey was conducted among Table 2: Traditional economic activities of the the Kurichiyan tribes of Peruva region in 2019 to tribes study the current and historic human-environ- ment interactions among them. With regard to S. No. Economic activities % Cumulative % the present topic, the major changes that have 1 Agriculture labourers 56 56 occurred among them is that they have devel- 2 Wage labourers 30 86 oped a lot in terms of education, employment, 3 Agriculturist 16 100 housing, electrification of houses and more. At Total 100 the same time, they are still maintaining many of their traditional means of living such as agricul- Although, the 64.57 percent tribal members ture labour, wage labour and agriculture. The are following their traditional occupations, they economic activities are considered a major pa- have completely stopped the collection of NWFP rameter for analysing the man-environment rela- from the forests, which was one of their eco- tionship in the present study and the present nomic activities of early days for income gener- status of economic activities and occupational ation. Instead of that they have become agricul- status of the Kurichiyan tribes of Peruva region tural and wage labourers. Earlier, they used to have been analysed here and the Table 1 pro- collect NWFP from the forests and sold it to the vides its details. Tribal Co-operative Society at Nedumpoil town, As per the data, 64.57 percent of the tribes which is 14 kilometres away from the tribal settle- are following their traditional economic activi- ments. A general picture of the present economic ties whereas 26.53 percent have entered into new activities and occupational status of the sample or modern economic activities. In spite of these, population and the categories of traditional eco- 8.9 percent of them have obtained various gov- nomic activities are analysed in this paper. ernment jobs such as that of clerks, peon, line- As per the survey, only one household is man in KSEB, attender and assistant. Among rearing cattle and they find it difficult to rear the traditional economic activities, out of the cattle in the forest area, as they cannot send
Table 1: Economic activities and occupational status of the tribes
S. No. Economic activities and occupational status Category %
1 Agriculture labourers, wage labourers, agriculturist, Traditional Economic Activities 64.57 cattle rearing 2 Bakery worker, small petty business,carpentry, masonry, Modern Economic Activities 26.53 building construction workers, timber industry labourers, timber loading in forest dept., cleaner in buses, driver 3 Government employee Government Jobs 8.9 Total 100
J Hum Ecol, 69(1-3): 10-14 (2020) ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE KURICHIYAN TRIBES 13 their cattle to the forest for grazing due to the yas are not disturbing the forest environment. restrictions in the forest and also due to the oc- The present finding is compatible with one of casional attack of wild animals. In the case of the findings of Subramanyam and Veerabhandu agriculture, they find it difficult as porcupines (2013) and they have studied the environment and wild boars eat or destroy their vegetable and sustainable development among the tribes cultivation. However, they construct fences to of Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, which has prevent their cultivation from wild boars and pointed out that the tribes of Eastern Ghats have porcupines. These animals destroy the fences a lot of empirical knowledge on the basis of their also. The collection of NWFP from the forest is experiences while dealing with the forest and its also stopped as they find that agricultural la- resources. bour or wage labour give immediate payment However, the patterns of man-environment whenever they go for such jobs outside the for- relationship of the Kurichiyan tribes show the est. Therefore, a considerable portion of the tribal changes in their interaction patterns in many members is engaged as agricultural as well as areas of their life and culture. The perspective of wage labourers. ecological anthropology with its synchronic The developments of the mainstream popu- analysis is inadequate to explain the historic or lation have made some impact among them due diachronic man-environment interactions. The to culture contact. At present, the Kurichiyan environmental anthropological dimension is ca- tribes have started to enter into such modern pable of providing the diachronic analysis on economic activities. Most of the tribal members the past and present life of the Kurichiyan tribal go outside from the forest areas to engage in community living in the forest environment. such modern economic activities. There is only Environmental anthropological perspective one member in each category, which shows the is applicable in analysing the man-environment very beginning of changes of a society. interactions of the Kurichiyas during past and present. In the early phase of the life of the Ku- DISCUSSION richiyas, the environmental determinism is ap- plicable and now the environmental possibilism Earlier, around 10 years ago, the Kurichiyan is applicable as they were completely depend- tribal people used to go to interior forests for ing on the forest environment in the past where- collecting Non Wood Forest Products (NWFP) as the environment is passive in shaping cul- and such man-environment interactions have tures of the Kurichiyas up to a considerable ex- ended up with the mobility of the forest dwell- tent at present. Their forest dependence was ing tribal people to modern economic activities curtailed earlier with the forest laws but now as well as their search for daily wages. they are accustomed to the social mobility at par The qualitative analysis on the houses of with the mainstream population outside the for- the tribal people show that all houses are either est habitat. The diachronic perspective, of tiled or RCC types, which have been constructed course, can be one of the dimensions of analy- through various housing schemes. Earlier, they sis in environmental anthropology. The very were constructing huts with the materials avail- sub-discipline, environmental anthropology, is able in the forests such as bamboo, grass, wood getting emerged into a more conspicuous area and soil. Now, they construct houses with later- within anthropology without discarding the vir- ite stones, sand, cement and steel, and all such tues of ecological anthropology and its forma- materials are brought from outside the forest. tive nomothetic endeavours. At present, the major area of man-environ- ment interaction is taking place in the collection CONCLUSION of firewood. The tribal people are still collecting firewood from the forest, for which they go to The present study has identified that the trib- the forest in small groups. In the summer sea- al people have a limited access to the Reserve son, they go to the forest and collect as much Forest. However, they are living in the forest firewood as possible for the whole year. In the area demarcated for them within the Reserve case of the collection of firewood, the Kurichi- Forest. The Kurichiyan tribal people are the tradi-
J Hum Ecol, 69(1-3): 10-14 (2020) 14 M.S. MAHENDRAKUMAR tional inhabitants of the forest area from the time dwelling tribes may be given permission to col- immemorial and they were completely dependent lect the firewood and NWFP from the forest with- on the forest for their livelihood. But, at present, out damaging the forest environment and also most of them are engaged as agricultural or wage without much strict rules. labourers outside the forest area. Their interac- tion with the forest has declined considerably in REFERENCES the areas of finding out sustenance, subsistence, and also for economic activities. They cultivate Crate Susan A, Nuttall Mark (Eds.) 2016. Anthropolo- vegetables in their own homesteads within the gy and Climate Change – From Actions to Transfor- mations. New York: Routlledge. forest. At present, their main interaction with Gazette of India 2003. List of Scheduled Tribes of Ker- the forest is for collecting firewood whereas the ala. From
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