Tribal people are very keen about conserving their culture and tradition.  In this way, they also lead a simple life, that is environment friendly and that do not cause any danger to the ecosystem.  As their main occupation is farming and cultivating, there are very much dependant on forest lands.  The main concentration of Tribes of Tamil Nadu is seen in the district of Nilgiris.  The major tribal groups here are the Kotas, the Todas, the Irulas, the Kurumbas and the Badagas.  Kattunayakan and Paniyan are the other groups.

Todas are engaged in milking and grazing their herds of buffaloes.  They have a traditional way of dress up.  Their clothing include thick white cotton cloth with patterns on them made in red, blue or black.  Both men and women dress up in this.  Women have long locks of hair hanging on either side of their face and the remaining hair also hanging in curls.  They wear ornaments made of iron and silver.  Men have closely cut hair.   Their dwellings were also typical.  They were huts in the shape of a half circle, with thatched roofs and sides.  There was a small door in the front, through which they can only crawl into.  This is to avoid animals getting into the houses.  Usually there were no windows.

But recently they too have started living in concrete houses which are like any other house.  Their settlements are called Munds.  They have a sacred thatched temple in each mund named boa which is constructed in their traditional manner.  These temples have a ditch surrounded with stones.  Recently Todas are getting educated and they start living in the town. 

Badagas are not classified as tribals.  They are well-educated and they live sporadically in the Nilgiri district.  Their village is known as hutty and there are many hutties in all the four towns in the Nilagiri District.  Their main occupation is agriculture. They celebrate many festivals like Dodda Hubba, Hethe Huabba, Jadeswami Hubba, Deva Hubba etc.  They also celebrate the important Hindu festivals like Diwali, Ayutha Pooja, etc.

Kotas are found in Tiruchigadi area in the Nilgiri Hills.  Their occupation is producing handicrafts.  Kurumbas are tribal people who live in the valleys and forests and they were famous for their black magic and witchcraft.  They work as labourers in coffee and tea estates now.   Irulas of Tamil Nadu are concentrated mainly in the base of the Nilgiri Hills.  They have many similarities with that of the other tribes of Nilgiris.  Nowadays they are engaged in catching snakes and collecting snake venom.  Whichever tribe they belong to, the people are now adapting to town life and are coming close to the mainstream civilization. 

Article Posted By : Nisha Hassan  On July 15, 2012lView All Articles

Love travel, nature and reading. Writing is my passion.

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/the-tribes-of-tamil-nadu-article-846.htm

Keywords :
tribes , Tamil Nadu , Nilgiris