List of Scheduled Tribes in Tamilnadu
ADIYAN
ARANADAN
ERAVALLAN
IRULAR
KADAR
KAMMARA
KANIKARAN
KANIYAN
KATTU NAICKAN
KOCHUVELAN
KONDA KAPUS
KONDA REDDI
KORAGA
KOTA
KUDIYA
KURICHCHAN
KURUMBA
KURUMANS
MAHA MALASAR
MALAI ARAYAN
MALAI PANDARAM
MALAI VEDAN
MALAKKURAVAN
MALASAR
MALAYALI
MALAEKANDI
MANNAN
MUDUGAR
MUTHUVAN
PALLEYAN
PALLIYAN
PALLIYAR
PANIYAN
SHOLAGAR
TODA
URALI
NARIKORAVAN , KURUVIKKARAN
NariKuravas
Although all vagirivala or kuruvikarar come under one roof based on their common clan name nari-kuravars they were broadly sub-divided into two sub-divisions: the buffalo-sacrificers and Nandevala
or goat-sacrificers.
But they are commonly classified based on the region they originate from. The Seliyos have only one sub-sect, the Vithiyo.
Customs and practices
Each Narikurava clan has a bundle of clothes called sami-mootai meaning "God's bundle".It is filled with blood of animals sacrificed by the Narikuravas and clothes dipped in them. The sami-mootai of one clan must not be touched by members of another clan. On the death of the head of the family, his eldest son inherits the sami-mootai.The prestige a clan-leader holds, depends on the antiquity of his sami-mootai.
There has been discrimination of Narikuravas since ancient times. Due to their consumption of the Golden Jackal, which is forbidden by settled Hindu communities and other habits, they are not to be touched and are excluded from streets inhabited by upper castes
Book on kuravars
Writer: Kavi Priya
Kavi Priya
Aug 26, 2022
4 min read
Updated: Feb 21, 2023
'Sitrilakkiyam' not only depicts the Kuravan way of life in a novel manner, but also centres around the Kuravars, unlike other works that centre around the powerful sections, depicting Draupadi as a 'Kurathi' and presenting a powerful form of alternate narration. Adivasi Awaaz creator Kavipriya, provides an insight into this work belonging to the 17th or 18th century.
Kuravars are indigenous people who live in the hilly areas of Tamil Nadu. The word Kuravar implies 'hill dwellers' or 'hunters'. Historically, they have been considered as 'untouchables'. Their primary occupation includes farming and sheep rearing. Hence, Kuravan literature often depicts the glory of ploughing.
'Sitrilakkiyam' was first published in 1937 by the Poomagal Vilasa Printing Press, Chennai Publication. However, it is anticipated that the book belonged to the 17th or 18th century. It has been argued that this book illustrates the lives and way of living of the Kuravars. The book talks about pallu and kuram. The origin of these words can be traced back to the ethnic groups Pallars and Kuravars. While describing these groups, the book discusses the joys of ploughing, depicting farming as an important occupation. It also illustrates the lives and traits of the Kuravars and the prosperity of their region.
The book details the individual as well as the community lives of the Kuravars. It gives great importance to 'Kurathi' (soothsaying, astrology, etc usually by a woman) and at the same time focuses on the cultural aspects of the Kuravan community like songs and dances. The book also talks about the Kuravan national wealth. Sitrilakkiyam, is considered an important literature by the Kuravars, as the protagonist 'Draupadi' is depicted as a Kurathi. Kurathi has been an important way of life for the Kuravars. This is considered to be the novelty of the book. The book also details other civilizational aspects of the Kuravars. Works like 'Silappathikaram' have talked about the lives of Kuravars. We also get to know about the Kuravan life through songs of the 'Kurinji Land'; but none of them discussed the nomadic life of the Kuravars. They all depicted the Kuravars as merely farmers and agriculturalists. While farming has been an important occupation for them, their way of life remains incomplete without Kurathi. The omission of Kurathi, has omitted the nomadic history of the Kuravars. Hence, Sitrilakkiyam becomes an important piece of literature for them.
Draupadi in Sitrilakkiyam, is depicted as a devotee to Mayavar (Tirumaal), who receives the blessings of the divine in the form of a kuri or basket. The book illustrates Draupadi as carrying a basket on her left hip supported by her left hand, an infant on her back and a stick in her right hand. According to Sitrilakkiyam, Draupadi not only received the basket as a blessing but also the child. A translated excerpt from the book, which describes Draupadi and her works, is provided below:
“She (Draupadi) put mountain neem and nuts for medicines in the kuri ;
The tiger's claws and special roots,
Fox teeth and herbs,
Drugs, which charmed men and women,
And medicines for youthfulness of old men and women ”
ree
Kuravar Sculpture depicting a woman carrying a basket and a child; Source: Photographed by Aprameya Manthena
The book further mentions that Draupadi specialized in medicines to treat convulsions, abdominal pains, joint pains and the like. She always carried kilukiluppai (toy), kodikayiru (rope), thampukayiru (Tethering rope), brimanai (a wisp placed under a pot), summadu, prabangkol and oil jars with her in the kuri.
Draupadi; Source: https://flickriver.com/photos/137129299@N07/48050211432/
She is depicted questioning men and kings about the status of her caste, while they are mesmerized by her. She asks, "Isn’t our caste the worst caste?" In another passage of the book a Kuravar states, "Our caste is the worst caste. We are the lowest caste among the seven castes.” Clearly then, the Kuravars were seen as inferior during those times. Their services as Kurathi, workers and labourers were taken by men of all castes and the kings, however, they did not have dignity in the society. In one of her prophecies Draupadi declares that the war for Bharat was forthcoming and Duryodhana was going to perish. The painter in the palace wept on hearing this. Arjuna disguised as a Kuravan also lamented. The process of Draupadi prophesising is intricately detailed in the book. From mixing raw rice with coconut to lighting incense sticks and lamps, the book carefully outlines the entire process in the ritual of soothsaying, implying the importance of this culture in the Kuravan life as well as in the lives of others during those times. Furthermore, the book talks about the arrest of Draupadi and other Kuravars present with her due to her prophecy about Duryodhana perishing. But the ministers of the palace reasoned that they would all fall if the Kuravars gather and thereby convince the king for their release. This reveals that while the socio-economic and political status of the Kuravars was poor and inferior, they had their strength in numbers and unity. It is perspectives like these which make Sitrilakkiyam, a narrative of the lower sections of the society; a narrative of powerful women from marginalized societies and a narrative of alternate histories.
ree
Literature, mythologies folklores and the like to a large extent are storehouses of histories and narrations. While they are based on imaginary characters, their stories are derived from real lived experiences. This makes narrations powerful tools to influence future generations. It also decides the kind of knowledge that would be transferred to them. Usually, it is the powerful who narrate and in their narration there is a distinct dichotomy between the 'good' and the 'evil'. The 'good' is always depicted through 'brahmans', 'kshatriyas', 'beautiful obedient women' and the like who belong to the upper strata of the society, while the 'evil' is always depicted through the 'asurs' and 'rakshasas', who are predominantly derived from the lower castes and class. Hence, literatures like Sitrilakkiyam hold a lot of importance for the lower sections of the society as they present alternative forms of narrations, placing the marginalized at the centre.
Nomadic tribes
about 150 years ago, a large number of tribal communities were still nomadic, and were considered useful, honourable people by members of the settled societies with whom they came into regular contact. A number of them were small itinerant traders who used to carry their wares on the backs of their cattle, and bartered their goods in the villages through which they passed. They would bring interesting items to which people of a particular village and a little further away - spices, honey, grain of different varieties, medicinal herbs, different kinds of fruit or vegetables which the region did not grow, and so on.
Almost invariably, nomadic people were craftsmen of some kind or the other and in addition to their trading activity they would make and sell all sorts of useful little items like mats and baskets, brooms and brushes or earthenware utensils. Some like the Banjaras or Lambadis functioned on a larger scale, and moved in larger groups with pack animals loaded mainly with salt, and their women in addition to the salt also bartered the exquisitely crafted silver trinkets with settled villagers.
Some nomadic communities also became cattle traders, herdspeople or sellers of milk products, since they bred their own cattle for carrying their merchandise. The nomadic communities were not just useful to the villagers on a day to day basis - they were also acknowledged for averting the frequent grain shortages and famine like conditions in villages where crops failed. In addition, among them were musicians, acrobats, dancers, tightrope walkers, jugglers and fortune tellers. On the whole, they were considered a welcome and colourful change in routine whenever they visited or camped near a village.
There were several reasons for these communities first becoming gradually marginalised, and finally beginning to be considered useless to the settled societies. First, the network of roads and railways established in the 1850s connected many of the earlier outlying villages to each other as also to cities and towns.
The scale of the operations of the nomadic traders was thus drastically cut down to only those areas where wheel traffic could not yet reach. This was the single most important reason for the loss of livelihood of a number of nomadic communities. Further, under newly imposed forest laws, the British government did not allow tribal communities to graze their cattle in the forests, or to collect bamboo and leaves either, which were needed for making simple items like mats and baskets for their own use and for selling. These two developments had disastrous consequences for the nomadic traders.
There was one other major historical factor responsible for the impoverishment of a very large number of nomadic communities. The nineteenth century witnessed repeated severe famines - during each successive one the nomadic communities lost more and more heads of cattle which were the only means of transporting their goods to the interior villages. The cattle were in fact becoming more crucial than ever, as with increasing network of roads and railways these communities had to travel longer distances to sell their wares. Loss of cattle meant loss of trading activity on an unprecedented scale.
The British government gradually began to consider nomadic communities prone to criminality in the absence of legitimate means of livelihood. There was a parallel process taking place all along. A number of tribal chiefs, especially in the north, participated in the 1857 events, and earned the title of traitors and renegades with the British government. Elsewhere, hill tribes determinedly resisted the attempts by the British to annexe their land for establishing plantations, and to try and use them as plantation labour. A number of tribal communities, thus, would not yield to the British armed forces and consistently fought back, though whole habitations were burnt down in retaliation by the frustrated British officers deputed to co-opt them. Generally, it began to be felt that most tribal communities, including nomadic ones, were dangerously criminal. The Criminal Tribes Act was born in these historical circumstances.
A large number of communities were officially declared criminal tribes from 1871 onwards. The British government subsequently ran special settlements for them where they were chained, shackled, caned and flogged while being surrounded by high walls under the provisions of the Criminal Tribes Act. In the name of the homegrown science of "curocriminology" it was declared that they would be cured of their criminal propensities if they were given work and such an understanding had an obvious corollary: the more they work, the more reformed they would be. They could be thus forced to work for up to 20 hours a day in factories, plantations, mills, quarries and mines all through the first few decades of the twentieth century.
Ref: Dishonoured by history. Dr. Meena Radhakrishna
Doma tribes
Individuals who live by singing and music were referred to as Doma in Tantric scriptures. According to historian M.P. Joshi, the word Duma is connected to the sound of a drum.
A theory propounded in 1966 by Werth and Fraser, authorities on the "Gypsies" of Europe, that the Domar are the ancestors of the Romani people and, therefore, the Narikuravas are related to the Romani
During the reign of the Chand dynasty and Gorkha, all service castes were referred to as Doma and were prohibited from wearing gold and silver ornaments. They had to work as palanquin bearers, but they were prohibited from using palanquins at their weddings. They had to live in separate villages with different cremation sites and water sources. They had to bury the dead cows of others of which they ate flesh.
During the British period, the British prohibited these discriminative practices. Social activist Lala Lajpat Rai and dalit leader Khusi Ram sought to reject low caste status and introduced the term Shilpkar to replace the pejorative Doma. They conducted purification rituals of Arya Samaj in which shilkars wore sacred threads (Janeu) and were allowed to use a palanquin in their wedding. Since then, in Uttarakhand, the Shilpkar replaced Dom in the official category. But it has done little to reduce the social stigma in the central Himalaya region.