Scheduled Tribes of Kerala

Scheduled Tribes of Kerala 1. Adiyan District: Wayanad Taluka: Mananthavadi Villages or Gram Panchayats or Thirunelly, Mananthavady, Settlements: Panamaram and Pulpally Population*: 11196 Adiyan literally means ‘slave or serf’ in Malayalam. The community call themselves as ‘Ravulavar’. About 99.80% of the Adiyan population is settled in Wayanad District alone with only a few families / individuals having moved to Kottayam, Idukki, Kozhikode and Eranakulam Districts. The Adiyans are bilingual. They speak a dialect of Kannada known as ‘Adiyabhasha’. The Adiyans worked as bonded labour until the enforcement of the Abolition of Bonded Labour Act of 1976. They are now marginal agriculturists and the majority migrate to Karnataka to work as agricultural labourers. The community is divided into a number of clans called ‘Mantu’ or ‘Chemmam’ and the clan head is known as ‘Chemmakkaran’. The children take their mother’s clan. ‘Chemmakkaran’ regulates the life cycle rites of the clan. The hamlets are uniethinic and the head is known as ‘Kuntumoopan’ who settles disputes among members. The religious rites are officiated by ‘Kannaladi’. The ‘Nadumoopan’ or ‘Peruman’ controls the regional affairs of the community. ‘Gaddika’ is a famous art form of Adiyan community. 2. Aranda District: Malappuram Taluka: Nilambur Villages or Gram Panchayats or Muthedam, Vazhikkadavu, Edakkara, Settlements: Pothukallu in Nilambur Block Panchayat, Amarambalam, Karulai, Kalikavu and Chokkad in Kalikave Block Panchayat Population*: The Aranadan community resides solely in the Nilambur forests of Malappuram District. The community name is derived from two local terms,‘Aravam’ means snake and ‘Nadan’ means countrymen. Numerically one of the smaller tribal communities of Kerala, they speak a language that is a mixture of Malayalam, Tamil and Tulu. Aranadans are endogamous with subdivisions called ‘Villa' (clan). Each settlement has a headman called ‘Chemmakkaran’ who settles disputes and 1 officiates in the rituals connected with their life cycle. ‘Kalladikaran’ acts as the priest cum healer. Believed to be the original inhabitants of the erstwhile Eranad Taluk of Malappuram District, the Aranadans were expert hunters and food gatherers with little interest in agriculture and cattle rearing. They used to hunt pythons and extract oil, which was used as a remedy for leprosy. They also collect minor forest produces. Backward in both social and economic terms, deforestation and the strict enforcement of Forest Laws now threatened their livelihood pattern. 3. Cholanaickan District: Wayanad Taluka: Villages or Gram Panchayats or Amarambalam, Karulari and Settlements: Vazhikkadavu Population*: The Cholanaickans reside only in the hills of Karulai and Vazhikkadavu forest ranges of Nilambur Valley of Malappuram District. They have been geographically isolated and continue to live within a dense tropical rain forest environment. ‘Chola’ means shade and ‘Naickan’ or ‘Nayakan’ denotes leader. They speak a dialect of their own having a mixture of Kannada and Malayalam. The community inhabits ten hamlets located deep within the forest. A hamlet is called ‘Jemmom’ and each ‘Jemmom’ has a leader called ‘Jemmakkaran’ who performs both socio political and religious functions. The families associated with each Jemmom do not trespass the rights of other Jemmoms. They practise Jemmom exogamy. Among the Scheduled Tribes of Kerala, the Cholanaickans are the community who depend solely on non-timber forest produce, both as a source of food, and income through sales to other communities. They spend most of their forest life in natural rock shelters. 4. Eravallan District: Palakkad Taluka: Villages or Gram Panchayats or Muthalamada , Perumatty, and Settlements: Kozhinjampara Population*: The Eravallans were also known as ‘Villu Vedan’, which means hunters who use bows and arrows. In early Dravidian Language ‘Eravan’ is a term related to agricultural serfs. Eravallans are landless agricultural labourers were previously attached to the local landlords. Over time, the institution of the headman is called ‘Talaivan’ lost relevance and the ‘Pujari’ (priest) now performs the duties of headman. 2 Eravallansare experts in ploughing dry lands for the cultivation of various crops. They speak a crude dialect of Tamil along with Malayalam. Caste discrimination is common in their region of settlement. 5. Hill Pulaya District: Idukki Taluka: Devikulam Villages or Gram Panchayats or Kanthallur, Marayur Settlements: Population*: Hill Pulayas are early immigrants to Kerala from Tamil Nadu. They are divided into three endogamous sects, viz; Kurumba Pulayan, Karavazhi Pulayan and Pamba Pulayan. Kurumba Pulyans consider themselves superior in social status to the other two sects and the settlements of these three groups are separate. Kurumba Pulayans reside only in the ‘Anchunad’ area of Devikulam Taluk of Idukki District. Kurumba Pulayans live in forest areas while the Karavazhi Pulayans are found in plain areas of Marayur and Kanthallur Grama Panchayats. Pamba Pulayans reside in Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary area in Idukki District. All of them speak a dialect of Tamil with a few Malayalam words. Kurumba Pulayan community has their headman called ‘Arasan’. The headman of Karavazhi Pulayan is ‘Kudumban’. He has assistants and executives known as ‘Varijan’ and ‘Kolkkaran’ respectively. Kurumba Pulayan were food gatherers and hunters who practised slash and burn cultivation. They cultivate lemon grass and extract oil besides being experts in sheep rearing. Karavazhi Pulayans are landless agricultural serfs. They believe that dancing pleases the Gods and today they perform their folk songs and dances in national forums. Currently these two sections are engaged in casual labour. 6. Irular District: Palakkad Taluka: Villages or Gram Panchayats or Agali, Sholayur and Pudur Settlements: Population*: The Irular community reside mainly in Kerala's Palakkad District, particularly the Attappady region and in Tamil Nadu. They speak ‘Irula bhasha’, which is a dialect with affinity to Tamil. Their traditional social organisation includes various functionaries, namely; ‘Ooru Moopan’ (Chieftain),‘Bhandari’ (Treasurer), ‘Kuruthala’ (assistant to Chieftain) ‘Mannukaran’ (soil expert), ‘Marunnukaran’ (healer) etc. These positions are hereditary, with son taking 3 over from father and play a important role in the social organization of the Irular community. Earlier the Irular were hunters, gatherers and shifting cultivators. Today, they practise settled agriculture and work as agricultural labourers. Attappady falls under rain shadow region and they undertake dry farming of ‘Ragi’, ‘Chama’, ‘Thina’, ‘Cholam’, ‘Thuvara’, ‘Kadala’ etc. erecting temporary huts close to the fields during the cultivation season. Irular songs and dances speak about the forest, cultivation and emotions. They community has been empowered by the activities of the ‘Thaikula Sangham’, exclusively for women and ‘Ooruvikasana Samithi’ organised under the Attappady Hills Area Development Society. However, their livelihood has been affected due to the influx of non tribal population into the region from both Kerala and Tamil Nadu. 7. Kadar District: Wayanad, Kozhikode Taluka: Manathavadi (of Wayanad) Villages or Gram Panchayats or Thariyode , Vellamunda, Thondarnad Settlements: ,Edavaka , Pozhuthana and Padinjarethara Population*: The Wayanad Kadar community is a new addition to the list of Scheduled Tribes following the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Orders (Amendment) Act, 2002 (Act 10 of 2003). The community resides in Wayanad District with a few families settled in Kozhikode District. The Wayanad Kadars are marginal farmers and agricultural workers. Being a small community they are yet to shape their future development vision. 8. Kanikkaran District: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam Taluka: Villages or Gram Panchayats or Vithura, Peringammala, Tholikkod, Settlements: Pangode, Amboori and Kulathupuzha Population*: Kanikkar reside mainly in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam Districts and in the adjoining regions of Tamil Nadu. They were said to have been named ‘Kanikkar’ by the Sage Agastya, signifying ‘hereditary proprietor of the land’. ‘Kani’ means land and ‘Karan’ means owner. Their spoken language is a mixture of both Malayalam and Tamil. The Kanikkar historically pledged allegiance to the Travancore Kingdom and they visited the Raja annually to present hill produces and in turn receive gifts. The ‘Kanikudi’ or ‘Kanipat’ (settlement) is the basic unit of social, economic, political and religious organisation for the Kanikkar. Each ‘Kanipat’ is headed 4 by a ‘Muttukani’ (headman) who enjoys great powers. The ‘Vilikani’ (Convener) is the headman’s assistant and in some areas the headman is known as ‘Muthalpat’. The ‘Plathy’, next in hierarchy, is the magician cum medicine man. Earlier the community subsisted on hunting, minor forest produce collection and cultivation. Now they practise settled agriculture, cultivating of rice and tapioca along with cash crops like arecanut, pepper, ginger, turmeric, cashew etc. The ‘Agasthyakoodam’ peak that falls within their lands is a bio diverse region with several medicinal herbs and plants. The community's traditional knowledge system is noteworthy for its identification of appropriate herbs for curing almost all diseases. Kanikkar living in the plain areas along with other communities have improved much in their lifestyle while those living in the interior forests called ‘Malamkanis’ are still deprived of the basic

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