TRIBES IN KERALA

TRIBES IN KERALA Tribes in Kerala are known as Advises locally meaning early inhabitants of the area and are distributed mostly in the Western Ghats and low – lying hills. In Kerala tribes are mostly seen in Waynad, Idukki, Palakkad and Kasarkode. In other districts tribal population either around 5% of the total population or below. Kanikkars are a group of hill tribes inhabiting the mountains of south Travancore (Trivandrum district) being chiefly found in the Taluks of Nedumangad and Neyyattinkara. Table 1:1 District – wise Distributions of Tribal in Kerala Districts Males Females Total DT.ST Population as state’s ST population Thiruvananthapuram 7860 8321 16181 5.04 Kollam 1943 1941 3884 1.21 Pathanamthitha 3459 3463 6922 2.16 Kottayam 8902 9094 17996 5.62 Alappuza 1407 1394 2801 0.87 Ernakulam 2551 2390 4941 1.54 Idukki 25512 24757 50269 15.66 Thrissur 1990 2061 4051 1.26 Palakkad 17927 17538 35465 11.05 Malappuram 5213 5342 10555 3.29 Kozhikode 2654 2753 5407 1.69 Wayanad 57386 57583 114969 35.82 Kannur 9167 9076 18243 5.68 Kasargode 14841 14442 29283 9.12 Total 160812 160155 320967 100.00 According to 1991 census there were 3.21 lakes Scheduled tribes in the state. This constitutes 1.10 per cent of the total population in Kerala. Wayanad district accounts for 35.82 per cent of total Scheduled tribe population. The sex ratio is 996 only when the sex ratio is 1040 in the general population. There are 35 tribal communities in Kerala. Of these 5 are considered as primitive tribal groups. In addition to this 15 other communities are identified as other eligible communities who can avail the educational concession like the tribals. Tribal literacy rate is 57.22 per cent while the general literacy rate is 91 per cent. 96.51 percent of the tribals live in rural areas. The agriculture sector provides them the main means of livelihood. Among the workers 55.47 per cent depends on agriculture and 16.66 per cent constitute cultivators. The tribes engaged in household industry are below 1% (0.75%) and other workers among tribes constitute 21.24% (Tribal Sub Plan: 1992:2) The earliest inhabitants of Kerala were a black people, the Negritos, who were at the hunting and gathering stage of human civilization. They were, later jointed by the proto-astroloids.These two races got distinguish mixed up so that the present anthropologists find it difficult to distinguish it one from the other. The Negritos and proto-astrologist were the aborigines of Kerala. They had a highly developed civilization. (Vallat: 1977: 18-19) The major tribes in Kerala are Adiyan, Arandan, Eravalan, Hillpulayan, Irulan or Irular, Kadar, Kammar, Kanikkar or Kanikkaran,Kattunayakan, Kochuvelan, Kondakapuss, Kondareddy, Koraga, Koda, Kudiya or Melakudi, Kurichiyan, Kuruman,Kurumban, Mahabalaser, Malaria, Malapandaram, Alameda, Malakuravan, Malaseer, Malayan, Mala arayar, Manna, Marathi, Muthuvan or Mudugar or Muduvan, Pallayan, Palliyar, Paniyan, Ulladan, Uralli. The main stray of their economy was agriculture. They were cultivating crops such as rice, coconut and areca nut, breeding cattle, and rearing fowl and pigeons. They used to cook their food their food in pots made by stone and clay. This civilization continued to exit till the Dravidian people of the Mediterranean region invaded the aborigines sometimes around 1800 B.C. The aborigines could not withstand the invasion as the Dravidians were superior to them were fighting with iron weapons while the weapons of the aborigines were the stone. As the Dravidians were convinced of the might of aborigines, they were always afraid of them. Hence for greater protection the erected walls around their settlement. Though the Dravidian suzerainty was well established in Kerala, by 1500 B.C., they felt absolutely secure only after the coming of the Aryans, who established their regions and technological superiority in Kerala. Thus the tribes of Kerala, though speak the Dravidian dialects are not full blocked Dravidian blends. They have kept themselves aloof from contact with the Dravidians and Aryan intruders and have, therefore the Negroid strain and other primitive non-Aryan traits. They were never subjugated and therefore, remained outside the pale of caste system. Hence they used to be considered as animates. (Ananthakrishna: 1909:3) The tribal communities of Kerala do not only differ from one another but also from the non-tribals. These differences relate to languages, social organization and means of subsistence. Two tribes speaking different dialects belonging to the same linguistic family may sometimes vary in their means of subsistence where as there may be two tribes more or less the same economic pursuits who no linguistic affinities. Most of the tribals live in the heart of the forest are in a miserable condition, isolated from other people in the plain. Many of them are in poverty and they are ignorant about the changes taking place in the world because they are illiterate and there is no other way of communication for them. Their backwardness never indicates that they are backward in their culture, religion, social organization etc. Each of the tribal community has their own approach toward life and posses stronger aims. Reserved by C.K.Rakhesh. 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