DigitalResources Electronic Survey Report 2015-029 Tribes of Idukki, Kerala Bijumon Varghese and Jose P. Mathew Tribes of Idukki, Kerala Researched and compiled by Bijumon Varghese and Jose P. Mathew SIL International® 2015 SIL Electronic Survey Report 2015-029, December 2015 © 2015 SIL International® All rights reserved 7 Abstract This sociolinguistic survey of selected Scheduled Tribes in the Idukki district of Kerala was sponsored and carried out by the Indian Institute for Cross-Cultural Communication (IICCC), which is interested in developing mother tongue literature and promoting literacy among the minority people groups of India. This report tells about the social and unique linguistic features exhibited by the different tribes found in Idukki district. The project started in December 2001 and fieldwork was finished by the middle of May 2002. The report was written in October 2002. [This survey report written some time ago deserves to be made available even at this late date. Conditions were such that it was not published when originally written. The reader is cautioned that more recent research may exist. Historical data is quite valuable as it provides a basis for a longitudinal analysis and helps us understand both the trajectory and pace of change as compared with more recent studies.—Editor] Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 Geography 1.2 People 1.3 Languages 1.4 Purpose and goals 2 Tribes of Idukki 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Muthuvan 2.2.1 Geography 2.2.2 History 2.2.3 People 2.2.4 Language 2.3 Mannan 2.3.1 Geography 2.3.2 History 2.3.3 People 2.3.4 Language 2.4 Mala Arayan 2.5 Urali 2.6 Ulladan 2.7 Mala Pulayan 2.8 Paliyan 2.9 Mala Vedan 2.10 Mala Pandaram 3 Dialect areas 3.1 Lexical similarity 3.1.1 Procedures 3.1.2 Site selection 3.1.3 Results and analysis 3.1.4 Conclusion 3.2 Intelligibility testing 3.2.1 Procedures 3.2.2 Site selection 3.2.3 Intelligibility testing results and analysis 3.2.4 Conclusion 4 Language use, attitudes and vitality 4.1 Procedures 4.2 Sampling distribution for questionnaire subjects 4.3 Muthuvan questionnaire results and analysis 4.3.1 Language use 4.3.2 Language attitude 4.3.3 Language vitality 4.4 Observations and informal interviews 4.5 Conclusion 4.6 Mannan questionnaire results and analysis 4.6.1 Language use 4.6.2 Language attitudes 4.6.3 Language vitality 4.7 Observations and informal interviews 4.8 Conclusion iii iv 5 Bilingualism 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Recorded Text Test 5.2.1 Procedure 5.2.2 Site selection 5.2.3 Results 5.3 Self-reported bilingualism in Malayalam 5.3.1 Questionnaire procedures 5.3.2 Demographic profiles 5.3.3 Muthuvan questionnaire results 5.3.4 Mannan questionnaire results 5.4 Observations of community bilingualism 5.4.1 Muthuvan 5.4.2 Mannan 5.5 Conclusion 6 Summary of Findings 6.1 Muthuvan 6.1.1 Lexical similarity study 6.1.2 Dialect intelligibility 6.1.3 Bilingualism study 6.1.4 Language use, attitudes and vitality study 6.2 Mannan 6.2.1 Lexical similarity study 6.2.2 Dialect intelligibility 6.2.3 Bilingualism study 6.2.4 Language use, attitudes and vitality study 7 Recommendations 7.1 Muthuvan 7.1.1 For literature development 7.1.2 For literacy work 7.2 Mannan 7.2.1 For language development 7.2.2 For literacy work 7.3 Other tribal groups 7.3.1 Mala Arayan 7.3.2 Urali 7.3.3 Ulladan 7.3.4 Mala Pulayan and Paliyan 7.3.5 Mala Vedan and Mala Pandaram Appendix A: International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Appendix B: Wordlists Appendix C: Recorded Text Test (RTT) Appendix D: Language Use, Attitude and Vitality questionnaires (LUAV) Appendix E: Village Information Questionnaires (VIQ) and Language Information Questionnaires (LIQ) Appendix F: Tribal population of Idukki District (ITDP report: 1999) References 1 Introduction 1.1 Geography Idukki, one of the largest districts in Kerala, is politically divided into four tahsils1 (Devikulam, Udumpanchola, Pirmed and Thodupuzha), eight blocks, 51 panchayats2 and 64 villages. This charming district is flanked by the Western Ghats and is bounded by Trissur district of Kerala and Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in the north, Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu in the east, Pathanamthitta district of Kerala in the south and Kottayam and Ernakulam districts of Kerala in the west. The district headquarters is located in Painavu. Idukki, the most mountainous district of Kerala, gets its name from the Malayalam word ‘Idukku’, which means ‘a narrow gorge.’ The district consists of majestic mountains and green valleys. About 1,500 square kilometres of reserved forest area is a sanctuary for charming wildlife and unusual plants. Anaimudi, the highest peak of southern India, is found in Idukki. A landlocked district, Idukki is one of the most nature-rich areas of Kerala. Three main rivers (Periyar, Thalayar and Thodupuzhayar) and their tributaries gird high ranges and wooded valleys. The river Pamba also has its origin here. The area is also famous for hill resorts and the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. The natural sandalwood forest sanctuary of Kerala is in Idukki. Idukki is an industrially undeveloped district. It has no air or rail connections. Tea production is the main industry of the district. Besides that pepper, coffee, cardamom, and rubber are the most important commodities produced in and exported from Idukki. Map 1 displays the location of Idukki district. Map 1. Location of Idukki District Source: Includes geodata from www.worldgeodatasets.com and Esri. Used with permission. 1 A tahsil is a district administration in India (“tahsill.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2015. http://www.merriam- webster.com (10 March 2016)). 2 A panchayat is a village council in India (“panchayat.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2015. http://www.merriam- webster.com (10 March 2016)). 1 2 1.2 People The inhabitants of Idukki district have migrated there at different times. Several tribal groups, as well as people from the plains, are found in Idukki. It is believed that the tribal groups migrated from Tamil Nadu and other parts of Kerala in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Europeans entered the area during the first decades of the nineteenth century and started tea plantations. A major migration of people from the plains (Tamil Nadu and other parts of Kerala) to this area occurred between 1950 and 1970 (Manoj 2001:40). Many of those migrants came and settled as cultivators and estate laborers. According to the 2001 census, the total population of Idukki district is 1,128,605 with a literacy rate of 89%. The people profess Hinduism, Christianity, Islam and tribal (animistic) religions. The 1981 census records about half of the population as Hindu, about 40% as Christian, and a small minority as Muslim. Idukki has a large population of tribal people who belong to the Proto-astroloid race (Manoj 2001:40). It appears that only a few of Idukki’s tribal communities are keeping their ethnic uniqueness vital. Education has brought many changes into the lives of these tribes. Their cultures and languages have been very much influenced by migrants from the plains. 1.3 Languages Malayalam, Tamil and several tribal languages are spoken in Idukki district. Malayalam is the language of wider communication. Some of the tribal groups, such as Muthuvan and Mannan, still speak their languages among themselves. However, education in Malayalam and frequent contact with Malayalis may eventually cause, or be in the process of causing, language shift in some other tribal groups. It appears that language shift has taken or is taking place towards Malayalam among the Mala Arayan, Ulladan and Urali. It is believed that the younger generation among these groups does not know about their group’s traditional language and may only know a few words. The Mala Pulayan and Paliyan are believed to speak languages related to Tamil, but conversely with others in Malayalam or Tamil. One member among the Mala Vedan in Idukki has reported that they have not spoken their traditional language since they emigrated from their original home area. Menon (1996:141) reports that the language of the Mala Pandaram is a mixture of Tamil and Malayalam. 1.4 Purpose and goals The purpose of this sociolinguistic survey among the tribes of Idukki district of Kerala was to investigate the need for language development and literacy work among them for the welfare of the community. The goals of the project, along with the research methods used, were: 1. Investigate the speech varieties currently spoken among the tribes of Idukki and their relationship with the languages of wider communication, Malayalam and Tamil. (Wordlists, published materials and questionnaires) 2. Assess the degree of variation within each speech variety of Idukki district. (Wordlists, Recorded Text Test (RTT) and questionnaires) 3. Evaluate the extent of bilingualism among minority language communities in Kerala’s state language, Malayalam. (Malayalam RTT, questionnaires and observation) 4. Investigate the patterns of language use, attitudes and vitality. (Questionnaires and observation) 3 5. Ascertain the difference between the scheduled tribe and scheduled caste3 Mannan in terms of language and people. (Wordlists, published materials and questionnaires) 6. Find out what materials are available about the tribal groups of Idukki district. (Questionnaires and library research) 2 Tribes of Idukki 2.1 Introduction People of different tribal groups live in Idukki district. The 1991 census listed the population of 30 different tribal groups in Idukki. However, 16 of these groups have less than 100 people. According to the reports of the Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP), nine major tribal groups are found here.