Innovative Researches in

Literary Works and Social

Sciences

Chief Editor
K. Muniisvaran

Editors
N. Suppiah
P. Vijaya
S. Ilangkumaran

Tamil Linguistics Association, Malaysia

1
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA

Title of the Book: Innovative Researches in Literary Works and Social

Sciences
Chief Editor: K. Muniisvaran
Editors: N. Suppiah
P. Vijaya
S. Ilangkumaran
Publisher: Persatuan Linguistik Bahasa Tamil, Malaysia
Language: English
Edition: First
Year of Publication: 2018
Size of the book: B5
Price: RM30
Subject: Literature & Social Sciences
Website: talias.org
Copyright holder: Tamil Linguistics Association, Malaysia
ISBN:

© All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the copyright holder.

2
 Chief Editor’s Note

There is no end for studies and discussions on literature and social science
topics. They are getting more and more interesting if we explore deep and
deeper. There are new theories and hypothesis keep on formed along with new
strategy and methods to do researches in the fields of literature and social
sciences.

This book discusses various topics in those fields. Many new strategies and
methods were used to explore deeper into these fields to get some answers that
definitely help to lift up knowledge of readers. A total of ten chapters included in
this book. Each chapters discussing different topics and ideas. All those chapters
divided into two main parts viz. 1) literature and 2) social science.

This book published by Tamil Linguistics Association, Malaysia as one of our

effort to upsurge research activities in the fields of literature and social sciences.
The chapters are collected from the ‘International Conference on Language,
Linguistics & Social Sciences 2018’ organized by Tamil Linguistics Association,
Malaysia and CAS in Linguistics, Annamalai University, India in Annamalai
University. I would like to extend my gratitude to those contributed directly and
indirectly to materialize this book.

Thank you.

Dr. K. Muniisvaran
Chief Editor

3
 Content

Chief Editor’s Note 3

Chapter 1 6
Status of Women in Medieval Kerala with the special reference
to Manipravala Literature
Shibina K. K.

Chapter 2 14
Cecilia’s Short Stories from Sarawak: A Study with Reader
Response
Franklin Thambi Jose. S

Chapter 3 24
Mapping the Role of Literature in Anti-Colonial Struggles: The
History of Mappilas in Malabar
K. Hathika

Chapter 4 36
The Caste and Gender Themes in Gundert’s Malayalam-
English Dictionary
Prameela P. K.

Chapter 5 44
Ethno-cultural floras used in Rituals by the Mao Naga of
Manipur, Northeast India
Losü Heshu

4
Chapter 6 59
Expression of Aggression in Kannada on Social Media
P. Gajendra

Chapter 7 65
The Role of Missions in the Enhancement of People with
Disabilities: Case of the Colonial India
Baby Rizwana N. V.

Chapter 8 79
An Introduction to Alu Kurumba
R. Singaravelan

Chapter 9 91
Marriage System of Garo Community
Biginchi N. Mark

Chapter 10 97
The Vanishing Language and Culture of the Koragas in
Kasaragod
Anjali V. Kumar

5
 Chapter 1

Status of Women in Medieval Kerala with the special reference to

Manipravala Literature

Shibina K. K.
Department of History,
University of Hyderabad,
Hyderabad, 500046
Telangana
shibina.kk1@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The present study on Manipravala literature talks about how women are depicted
in this literature. We find the presence of women only in the Manipravala
literature during the medieval perio. After the importance of Manipravala
literature diminished, there was a considerable loss of representation of women
in literature. While the mainstream literature talks about the devadasis during
these periods, the Manipravala literature talks about the ‘nagiyar’ women who
are honourably living with their husbands. From here, the present study tries to
find out the difference between the importance of the common women in the
literature and the devadasis in particular. In the Manipravala literature they only
talk about the women and their status being popular with their mothers rather
than thier fathers. Some of the characters in the Manipravala literatures are
‘Unniyachi’, ‘unnichirudevi’, ‘unniadi’ and so on. The present study attempts to
find out the status of women in medieval Kerala using the literature of
Manipravala.

6
Keywords: Manipravala literature, Medieval Kerala, Women, Devadasis,
Champu kavya, Unniyachi charita, Unnichirutevi charita, Unniyadi
charita.

Introduction
Language is a useful source to know about the socio-cultural milieu of any place,
at any point in time. It is through the language one can find the soul of society,
its people, tradition, beliefs, culture, heritage, arts and literature. European
missionaries, who set out to spread the Gospel knew this very well, and so they
developed an attitude that inspired and enabled them to learn the vernacular
languages of every land they reached. Their intellectual process and multi-
linguistic skills yielded phenomenal results. The Christian missionaries who
landed in Kerala after the intercontinental traders of earlier times also maintained
and fostered this policy. They learnt Sanskrit and Malayalam and even immersed
themselves in literary pursuits. They wrote poems, prose, grammar works and
dictionaries, contributing to the growth of Malayalam language and literature.
This led to the origin of a new stream of literature in Kerala.

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were periods of Renaissance or

reawakening in Europe. One of the significant features was its literary revival.
However, in contemporary India, especially in the southern extreme parts
including Kerala, literature was still in the conservative mold, with limited
modernization. Malayalam literature at that time was only at the early stages of
its development. It was understood only by an elite minority. Malayalam literature
has no pure prose, nor was it comprehensible to the common man. A new
intellectual awareness and cultural transition took place in Kerala during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Manipravala Literature
Manipravala is a movement that cuts down a period of transition in Malayalam
language and literature. Manipravala as termed as a mixture of Tamil and early

7
Malayalam of Kerala and Sanskrit and Tamil. Mani-Pravalam denotes ruby-coral
where mani means ruby in Tamil and pravalam means coral in Sanskrit. This
new literature composed between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries was
known as Manipravala works (Cultural Heritage of Kerala, Kerala, 2008). Thus,
in Medieval Period a new literary style developed in Kerala, which was
composed of ‘vattezhuthu’ and ‘grantha’ script. This language was a hybrid one,
composed of Sanskrit and Malayalam and it reflected a synthesis of Aryan and
Dravidian cultures. The elite community especially the Namboodiris patronized
this school of poetry. However, Manipravala literature was not palatable to the
ordinary people and only a minority could understand the literature. Manipravala
works reflected the social conditions of the people of the period and these works
aimed at pleasing the tastes of a leisured class. They also throw light on the
behaviour and morals of the upper class society of its time. A special feature is
that all these early Manipravala works deal with palace tales about courtesans
and royal family and are mostly didactic.

Ramacharitam is regarded as the earliest poetic version of the story of

Ramayana that appeared in Malayalam (Gopinathan Nayar, N. 2016).
Malayalam language got the poetic renaissance through the Manipravala
literature. Manipravala works are classified into two branches namely Chambus
and Sandesa Kavyas. The most important Chambus were written in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The temple arts like Koothu and Koodiyattam
were often performed using Sanskrit and Malayalam and these performances
caused the growth and development of Manipravala literature (Erumely
Parameswaran Pillai, 1998).

Women in Manipravala Literature

Manipravala talks about the women in medieval period, who are very beautiful
and serve in temple as devadasis. Some of the research scholars are not sure
whether they are devadasis or women who are having had high position in the
society. Manipravala not only talk about the dancers but they talk about the
8
society and also its culture. The important works of the Manipravala literature
are Unniyachi Charita, Unnichiruthevi Charitas, and Unniyadi Charita are the
examples of the former type, known by the name chambu and written in close
imitation of the champus in Sanskrit. Early champus gave importance to the
writing of erotic stories about the devadasis in that period. Ramacharita is the
early Champu-Kavya in the Malayalam literature, but we got the kavya
enlightenment through the Maniparavala literature. The early important
Champu-Kavya is Unniyachi Charita (Gopinathan nayar.N, 2016). Mainly three
champu poems gave immense importance to the Manipravala literature and from
those it has become very popular. Unniyachi Charita composed the starting of
the 14th century or in the 13th century. Unniyachi Charita was written by poet
Tevan Chirikuman (Gopinathan Nayar. N, 2016). Among these three poems
Unniyachi Charita excels in poetic beauty. It is incomplete because some parts
of it were lost. The last page of the palm leaf gave the information about the
author of Unniyachi Charita. Tevan Chirikuman was the author and the copy
writer is Raman Chirikuaman.

By the time the second important charita has composed during this period which
is Unnichirutevi Charita. The first part is visible so as to understand the model of
the poetry. The last part has been lost so we could not know the author of
Unnichirutevi Charita. The Unniyadi Charita is in better condition and we can still
read it. The main characters of the Champu-Kavya are women who played an
important role. They had high position in the society. They were also called
‘nagyar’.Most of the researchers are of the opinion that women had been treated
as a sexual objects in the Manipravala literature. But when you go through the
authentic work it says about the society, culture, cities, common people,
markets, etc.

The Unniyachi Charita talks about the common people and their lives. Their life
was miserable especially women who lived in that particular period. Poverty and

9
outbreak of diseases were common. They gave importance to a woman who
sold fish in the market. In this particular poem talks about the men who were
coming to the market to buy and to sell also pictured (Gopinathan Nayar, N.,
2016). The important women in Manipravala literatures had the higher status in
the society and they were popular through their mothers who were popular
dancers during that period. In the Manipravala poems, the role of a father has
not mentioned, except Unniyadi Charita.

Women in the Manipravala literature had intimate relationship with the landlords
in the particular period and their wives. They got the opportunity to sit with the
landlords and they got even freedom to chew betel leaf (Kunjan Pillai and Elam
Kulam 1970). Unniyadi was the daughter of the Odanatta King and the mother
of Cherukarakuta who was a dancer. Other than Unniyadi, the other two
characters’ fathers were not mentioned here. They only had mothers. Through
this, we are able to understand the nature of the upper class culture. Here, we
need to think how the women were able to secure higher status than men. We
are only able guess, because of the matrilineal system.

The higher class people like vaidyar (doctors), astrologers, the Nair soldiers,
Brahmins, etc. were engaged in the important women’s house. Even those
women had the maids who were also got higher status in the society. The
dancers or nagiyar of the Manipravala literature were rich. They even gave gifts
and donations to the temple. Elam Kulam said that these dancers were also
devadasis during this period. But we do not have authentic information regarding
this. But in the temple they had koothichikal.

The term ‘Nagachi’ which means dancing girl in the temple found in the Chera
inscription. The term ‘acci’ is the feminine gender indicating regard for the
person.

10
The Chokkur inscription talks about the nagyar women who had given gifts and
donations to the temple (Puthussery Ramachandran, 2007). So, in this we can
come to the conclusion by saying that these are those nagiyar women who lived
during when the Manipravala literature had written.

Next to the Brahmins the devadasis got the best type of education (Kunjan Pillai
and Elam Kulam, 1970). They enjoyed high social status nobody infringes to visit
devadasi’s at their residences. Special attention was given to them for their
education and proper training to the devadasi girls. Their syllabus was too tough
and it consisted of music, dancing, painting, literature, etc. Devadasis were
highly educated ladies, proficient in various forms of arts. The Manipravala
literature have not given much attention to the part played by devadasis in
promoting the progress of dance, music and other fine arts. Many records
indicate that devadasi were very trustworthy. Krishna Dev Raya of Vijayanagara
had many wives but dearest to his heart was Chinna Devi who was a devadasi.
Sundaramurthy Nayanar’s wife Paravaiyar also was a devadasi. Inscriptions
mentions these devadasis under various names, such as Tevariyal, Tevadiyal
and Adigal (Kunjan Pillai and Elam Kulam, 1970).

The heroines of the ancient Manipravala poems were mostly devadasis. There
is evidence that the devadasis liked poems being composed about them. They
and their lovers gave land grants to poets who composed poems about them.
M.G.S Narayan tries to highlight the social status of devadasis, who are often
depicted as the heroines of some of romantic poems of medieval Kerala
(Narayanan, M.G.S., 2013).

M. Sumathy tries to analyse the system of devadasis in Kerala in the general

background of the early medieval society of Kerala. She divides her study such
as, donations to temples by devadasis, management of endowments, wealth

11
and status of their clients, their relations with ruling chiefs, etc. He tries to justify
that the use of the term courtesan is more appropriate than the term devadasi.

The Medieval Manipravala literature, which is mostly written in the form of

romantic poems, was composed during the 14th and 15th centuries. It gives
valuable information about the growing influence of the devadasi system in the
Kerala society. The themes of these romantic poems were the lifestyle of
devadasis during the medieval Kerala which shows that the custom influencing
literary style. These poems also show that devadasis were enjoying a high status
in the society. The houses were described as koils or palaces frequented by
people who had high position in society (Singh, A.K. 1990).

Manipravala poems of Kerala between the 13th and 16th centuries are mostly
about dancing girls who had been attached to the temples and courts
(Narayanan, M.G.S., 2013). They must have played an important role in
popularizing the temple culture.

The very term Manipravala was the first used in the sense of description of
women. It is probable that the Manipravala movement owed the very origin to
the devadasis (Kunjan Pillai and Elam Kulam, 1970).

Manipravala literatures like Unniyachi Charita, Unnichirutevi Charita and

Unniyadi Charita became popular because of women who were devadasis lived
during that period to write the particular literatures. They are basically dasis
(maids) of Devas (Gods) and earned money for temples so in that way they got
high status in the society. It is quite natural that people would respect devotees
of Goddess who are involved in sacred rituals of temples. This would be the one
reason that devadasis got high position in society during medieval period.
Moreover some of the Rajas’ wives were also devadasis that is mentioned in
many of the inscriptions. As devadasis it was easy for them to enter palaces.

12
Some of the beautiful upper class women became devadasis for this reason. In
this way, women who are engaged in temple, especially the devotees of God got
high status in society during medieval period. The Manipravala literature lost the
importance that because it spread that the main characters of charitas were
prostitutes’. I have used three charitas for writing the status of women in
Medieval Kerala. Even though language and literature can be sources of
historical study, we should not limit confine our research to these two aspects
alone. Any attempt to substantiate on the status of women in medieval Kerala
will be partial, based on literature.

Bibliography
Gopinathan, N. (2016). Unniyachi Charitam. Kerala: Sahitya Pravrthaka co-
operative society Ltd.
Kunjan Pillai and Elam Kulam (1970). Studies in Kerala History. Kerala: National
Book Stall.
Namboodiri E. V. N. (2002). Keralabhasha Charithram. Kerala: Current Books.
Narayanan, M.G.S. (1970). Aspects of aryanisation in Kerala. Trivandrum :
Kerala Historical Society.
Narayanan, M.G.S. (2013). Perumals of Kerala: Brahmin Oligarchy and Ritual
Monarchy.Plitial and Social Conditions of Kerala under the Cera
perumals of Makotai (C.AD 800-AD 1124). Kerala: Cosmo Books.
Parameswaran and Pillai Erumeli (1998). Malayala Sahityam
Kalagatangaliloode. Kerala: Current Books.
Singh, A. K. (1990). Devadasi system in Ancient India: A Study of Temple
Dancing Girls of South India. Delhi: H. K. Publishers.
Warrier, Rahgavan & Veluthat, Keshavan (2016) Manipravalacharcha. Kerala:
Sahitya Pravarthaka Co-operative Ltd.

13
 Chapter 2

Cecilia’s Short Stories from Sarawak: A Study with Reader Response

Franklin Thambi Jose. S

Faculty of Language and Communication,
Sultan Idris Education University,
Tanjung Malim, 35900
Perak
thambijoshs@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Literature characterizes the culture and tradition of a language or people. It is in

higher art form which expresses and creates feelings in writers and readers.
Literature can be broadly classified into two, viz., oral literature and written
literature. The former includes ballads, myth, jokes, folktales, fables, etc. and the
latter includes drama, novel, poetry, prose, short story, etc. Short stories have a
long history and continue to flow as a perennial river with renewed vigour and
variety. Story telling was from the ancient times and short story writing became
popular only during the 20th century. Short story is a piece of prose fiction which
can be read in one sitting. This article tries to analyse the short story written by
Cecilia SK Ong who is one of the writers in Malaysia. Her short story ‘Sarawak
Short Stories: Death of a Longhouse and other stories’ is a reflection and
eventful life she led in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. Reader-response theory
is used to analyse the short story. It is a theory used to approach any kind of
literary work. Literary work includes poetry, essay, novel, fiction, short story, etc.

Keywords: Short story, Sarawak, reader-response, literary work

14
Introduction
Literature characterizes the culture and tradition of a language or people. It is in
higher art form which expresses and creates feelings in writers and readers.
Literature can be broadly classified into two, viz., oral literature and written
literature. The former includes ballads, myth, jokes, folktales, fables, etc. and the
latter includes drama, novel, poetry, prose, short story, etc. Written literature
usually has narrative technique, content, tone and intonation.

Lewis (1964) says, ‘Literature adds to reality and doesn’t simply describe it. It
enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides’. Of
the written literature, short stories are simple and easy to read. It is a prose
narrative with few characters (Hansen, 1990).

This article tries to analyse the ‘Short Stories from Sarawak: Death of a
Longhouse and other stories’ written by Cecilia Ong using the Reader’s
Response Theory.

Malaysia
Malaysia is an ASEAN country situated in between Singapore, Thailand and
Indonesia. The name ‘Malaysia’ is derived with the combination of the word
Malay and the Greek suffix –sia. Traders reached Malaysia during the early
periods. The first inhabitants are thought to be Negritos (En Britannica, 2012).
Later the traders from India and China settled in Malaysia in the earlier period of
first century. The kingdom of Langkasuka was established in the second century
and lasted up to 15th century. Islam spread here in the 14th century. In 1511,
Portuguese conquered Melaka and in 1641 it fell in the hands of Dutch. Later in
1786, the British Empire was established. Finally, Malaysia became independent
on 31st August 1957. Malaysia consists of different states and Sarawak is one
among them.

15
Sarawak, a state in Malaysia
Sarawak is one of the states in East Malaysia. It is situated in northwest of
Borneo Island. Kuching is the capital city of Sarawak and the major cities are
Miri, Sibu and Bintulu. Sarawak is nicknamed as Land of Hornbills. Even after
the independence of Malaysia, Sarawak was still under the colonisation and only
in the year 1963, Sarawak came under the control of the Malaysian government.

Sarawak seems to be a town or village set up. Though Kuching is the main city
of Sarawak, people live in other places too. Houses and shops are built up in the
traditional manner. The life style is also different. This is the place where many
writers such as Cecilia were shaped.

Cecilia Ong
Cecilia SK Ong is one of the writers in Malaysia. She is from Sarawak, Malaysia.
She is the fourth child of her family with two brothers and four sisters. She
completed her primary and secondary school education from Methodist School,
Sibu, Sarawak. She started writing short stories in English from her secondary
school onwards. She completed a course in short story writing. Though her
profession is nursing, she had keen interest in English Literature. Her short story
‘Sarawak Short Stories: Death of a Longhouse and other stories’ is a reflection
and eventful life she led in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia.

Short stories
Short stories have a long history and continue to flow as a perennial river with
renewed vigour and variety (Thilakavathi, 2005). Story telling was from the
ancient times and short story writing became popular only during the 20th
century. In the 17th century, short story setup changed from the earlier traditions.
The characters, plot, time, setting, theme came to exist during that time. Short
story is a piece of prose fiction which can be read in one sitting (Lewis, 1964).

16
In 1842 Edger Allan Poe has defined short story as ‘a prose narrative requiring
anything from half an hour to one or two hours in its perusal; a story that
concentrates on a unique or single effect and one in which the totality of effect
is the main objective; in the end, the form has shown itself to be so flexible and
susceptible of so much variety that its possibilities seem almost endless’
(Hervey, 1927). Allen Poe has written many essays, novels, poems and short
stories. He calls the short stories as tales. ‘The Black Cat’, ‘Morella’, and ‘The
tell-tale Heart’ are some of his short stories. The renaissance of short stories
was after his period in Literature.

Short stories from Sarawak

‘Short Stories from Sarawak: Death of a Longhouse and other stories’ is a
collection of short stories written by Cecilia Ong. There are 35 short stories in
this collection. All the short stories reflect the author’s own experiences and the
cultural background of her society. The themes of these short stories are based
on family, family relations, childhood, etc. Only six short stories were taken for
this study due to the time limit. For the audience to know about the writings of
Cecilia, two short stories are selected and brief summaries are given below:

Death of a Longhouse
The story is based upon a joined family. The story starts with the arrival of Sigat,
who comes to his house after a break of 6 years. During these years, he was
doing his higher education. He noticed the whole surroundings are silent and no
sign of human living. While he was walking he remembered the days when he
returned from school. Lots of screams and shouts from kids, aunties cracking
women’s jokes, uncles making fun of others and so on were missing in his house.
Finally, he reached the house and looked on the dim interior of the house. He
saw his father, Umpau siting on the floor at the centre of the room. Umpau
narrated that his brothers and relatives left him in this 80-door long-house. They
left to cities and other places due to their children’s studies and work. Later,

17
Umpau also left to the city with his son, Sigat who works in a Government
hospital. Now the 80-door long house is left with nothing and nobody.

The Little Ice-cream Girl

This story narrates about a little girl. Siaw Ling is the little ice cream girl in the
story. Her mother was a widow and did dhobi service in the village. She gave
her children whatever they want, though it was unaffordable. She took care of
all the children in her difficult times. Siaw Ling remembers her childhood while
she was a school girl. She went every week end to her favourite Teochew Opera
show and never forgets to have ice cream there. She completed her studies from
secondary school and later from nursing college. She married David and had a
kid. She kept her mother in her house and lived peacefully. She enjoyed with her
granddaughter Foong and saw the Little Ice-Cream Girl through her.

Reader-response theory
A literary work can be approached in various ways. For example, it can be
approached through, literary theories, principles, models, etc. Although many
literary theories in schools of thought are still in use, some radical changes came
to exist in the way one approaches the literary works.

Reader-response theory is one such theory which is used to approach any kind
of literary work. Literary work includes poetry, essay, novel, fiction, short story,
etc. this theory emerged in the year 1930’s and became familiar in the 1960’s
(Michael, 2007). It was developed in the school of literary theory which focused
on the readers or the listeners. The listeners were termed as audience. The other
schools related to literary work, the theories focused on form and content of the
work. For example it focused on the style of the writings of the writer. Reader-
response theory emphasises the reader’s reception or interpretation in
conveying the meaning from the written text. Since this theory is based on the
mind of the readers, it can come under psychology related theory.

18
The reader-response theory can be applied on the written text, only through the
visual reading. It means reading text for pleasure (Lewis, 1964). The role of the
readers cannot be omitted from our understanding of literary work. Reader-
response theory proposers’ assume that readers are active participants
(Rosenblatt, 1938). The meaning of a text, exists somewhere between the words
on the text and the reader's mind. The reader-response theory says that a literary
piece does not exist until it is read (Parekh, 2006).

Data collection
Data collection is a method of gathering information on variables of interest
which comes mostly under field work of research. It is an organised systematic
manner which allows one to answer the stated research questions, test
hypotheses, and evaluate outcomes. It can be used to analyse and apply with
any kind of theory, approach, model, technique, etc.

Data collection can be done in many ways such as questionnaires, interviews,

observations and reports. For this study, a questionnaire was used to collect
data. Keeping the questions proposed by Catherine (2010), a questionnaire was
prepared.

The questionnaire was designed with three sections namely theme, characters
and style. Theme refers to the theme of the short stories, the character refers to
the characters involved in the short stories and style refers to the way of the
authors’ writings.

Twenty school boys from Tanjung Malim Methodist School were selected for this
study. Out of twenty boys, twelve were hostel boys in Methodist Church Campus.

Six short stories from Short Stories from Sarawak: Death of a Longhouse and
other stories were selected.

19
Analysis
Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, transforming, and modelling data with
the goal of discovering useful information, suggesting conclusions, and support
decision making (wikipedia.org/wik). The collected data were analysed
according to its theme, characters and style.

Themes
The reader-response regarding the theme is given below:

Out of the 20 school boys, 18 responded that the themes of the short stories are
good and 2 said average. They also responded that the themes of the short
stories are very much related to the village tradition and were very interesting.

Theme

Good
Average

Chart 1: Reader-response of Theme.

Characters
Regarding the characters, the reader-responses were: 12 stated that the
characters mentioned in the short stories are good and lively. 8 responded they
are only appropriate.

20
 Character

Good
appropriate

Chart 2: Reader-response of characters.

Style
In this, the Reader-responses are quite usual. Style of writing is extremely good
responded by 19 informants and only one responded as it is appropriate and not
up to the expectation. All the responses are illustrated in the following chart.

Style

Good
appropriate

Chart 3: Reader-response of style.

Conclusion
This study shows that the theme, characters and style of the author are well
determined in the short stories of Cecilia. Moreover, the study reveals that the
reader-response theory can be applied very easily in literary works.

The readers of this era are interested to read only hot news and interesting
books. Moreover, they read for information and not for knowledge. When such
21
situations prevail, the writers have to focus on interesting literary work and this
is one such interesting literary work.

Apart from these, the theory reader-response is effective over the readers or
audience. In this study, majority of the readers has responded positively except
one on writing style. All the informants expressed their concern over reading
even though they don’t spend more time on reading printed books. Some of the
informants said they prefer reading e-books in their smart phones.

Bibliography
Allen, Hervey. (1927). Introduction: The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. New York:
P. F. Collier & Son.
Asher, R. E. (1982). Tamil. Amsterdam: North Holland Publishing Company.
Hansen, Arlen. J. (1990). Expatriate Paris: A Culture and Literary Guide to Paris
of the 1920’s, New York: Arcade.
Krutch, Joseph Wood. (1926). Edgar Allan Poe: A Study in Genius. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf.
Lewis, C.S. (1964). The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and
Renaissance Literature, Oxford: OUP.
Louise Rosenblatt. (1938). Literature as Exploration, New York: Appleton-
Century.
Mary Anderson. (2012). Reader-Response Theories and Life Narratives.
Alberta: AU.
Ong, Cecilia. (2004). Short Stories from Sarawak, Kuching: Jade Tree Press.
Parekh, Rauf. (2006). Reader-Response Theories theory and Plurality of
Meaning, Dawn: Newspaper.
Renuga Devi, V. (1997). Grammatical Comparison of Tamil and English: A
Typological Study. Madurai: Devi Publications.
Ryan, Michael. (2007) Literary Theory: A Practical Introduction (2nd Ed), New
York: Willey-Blackwell.

22
Sapir, Edward. (1921). Language. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.
Susan Stewart. (2006). Reader Response Criticism. In the Reading Journal,
Spring.
Thambi Jose. S, Franklin. (2016). Reader-response of Thuval. In the Literature
and Theories (Edited), Thiyagarajar College Publication Unit.
Wishart, Catherine. (2010). Analyzing Literature: The Reader-Response Theory.
New York.

23
 Chapter 3

Mapping the Role of Literature in Anti-Colonial Struggles:

The History of Mappilas in Malabar

K. Hathika
Department of History,
University of Hyderabad,
Hyderabad, 500046
Telangana
hathikakodakkatt@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Malabar in the south western India has played a crucial role, in the struggle
against colonialism in the world. In the early modern time, after the arrival of
Vasco da Gama in 1498, the Danish, Dutch, British and French colonial powers
have played their roles respectively. Since, the early sixteenth century onwards
the Mappilas started their defense against colonialism. It is clear from the literary
works produced during that period, such as Tahrid Ahlil Iman Ala Jihadi Abadati
Sulban of Zainuddi Makdum l, Tuhfath al Mujahidin of Shaik Zainuddin ll, Fat’h’
al Mubin of Qasi Muhammad and Assaif-ul Bathar of Sayyid Alawi Tangal etc.,
which intends to give inspiration to the believers to wage war against the colonial
powers. However, compared to other regions, it is observed that the
geographical area of Malabar and the community of Mappila Muslims have not
received much attention. Having such a background, the study of the literary
works, particularly Arabic and the Arabi-Malayalam literature provides a wider
opening to the study of Mappila Muslims in their struggle with colonialism.

24
Keywords: Mappilas, Literature, Colonialism-Portuguese-British-
Uprisings, Jihad-Shahid

Introduction
Historical records are there to prove that Malabar had overseas trade relations
since ancient times. The Arabs were present on the Malabar Coast from ninth
century onwards. Many of them had taken permanent residence in some port
cities of Malabar. Several foreign accounts have mentioned about the existence
of considerable Muslim population in coastal towns of Malabar between 9th and
16th century A.D. In early modern times, after the arrival of Vasco da Gama in
1498, resulted the decline of foreign trade relations of Kerala with the Arabs,
they were the pioneers of the trade in the Kerala Coast. The first European
country reached with definite intension of colonialism was Portuguese. The
attitudes of the Portuguese towards the subjects, particularly the Mappilas were
enmity and persecution. The Portuguese considered the Indian expedition as a
continuation of the crusades against Islam in the Middle East. It could be seen
that the beginning of European colonialism is traced back to the Reconquista,
which took place in the Iberian Peninsula in the 12th century. The Reconquista
is often referred to us the crusades by Christians against Muslims or the Moors
of the Iberian Peninsula (Sanjay Subramanian, 1997).

Tahrid Ahlil Iman Ala Jihadi Abadati Sulban

Since, the early sixteenth century onwards the Mappilas started their defense
against colonialism in Malabar. It is clear from the literary works produced during
that period, which intends to give inspiration to the believers to wage war against
the colonial powers. The first work written during the Portuguese period is ahrid
Ahlil Iman Ala Jihadi Abadati Sulban of Shaikh Zainuddin Senior. He was born
in Cochin in 1467 and moved to Ponnani later he died in 1522. The work was
written in the first decade of Portuguese presence in Malabar. It is commonly
known the attitude of the Portuguese towards the Muslims is enmity and

25
persecution. They found Muslims as their rivals and punished them severely. It
was the Portuguese assumed that they cannot conduct beneficial trade with
Malabar unless to destroy the power and influences of the Muslims. The work
has instigated the Mappilas to fight against the Portuguese. Particularly, the later
attacks of Kunjali Marakkars, who have been considered as the admirals of
Calicut under Zamorins is clear in their struggle with Portuguese in Malabar.
Basically, Tahrid lays the foundation for understanding the indigenous response
to the European engagements in the region.

Tuhfat Al Mujahidin Fi Bahdi Akbar-Il Burthuqaliyyin

After Tahrid, another work was written during the Portuguese period is Tuhfat al
Mujahidin Fi Bahdi Akabr-il Burthuqaliyyin (The gift to the Holy Warrior in respect
of some deeds of the Portuguese) of Shaikh Zainuddin ll, (1531-1583). He was
a revered Muslim scholar, who declared war against the Europeans. The work
intends to give inspiration to believers to wage war (Jihad) against cross
worshipping Portuguese. The Portuguese invaded the Muslim abodes and
subjected them to all kinds of oppressions. The abominable atrocities and
cruelties openly unleashed on the Muslims were countless. The Portuguese
reign lasted for more than eighty years. By that time the condition of the Muslims
had become impoverished, weak and powerless. It was in 16th century his work
tried to unite the Mappilas for a militant action against the Portuguese, relying
on the Islamic concept Jihad and the notion of the individual from outside
aggression and injustice, is an important element of Islam. Ideals of Islam, the
notion of Jihad, continued to be effective motivation for the Mappilas in their fight
against Portuguese in Malabar. Jihad was a beneficial categorization for the
fighters, also it was acted as a tool to fight imperialism and heavy oppression
along with the goal of Islamic political leadership. This struggle was waged under
the banner of Islam and the doctrine of Jihad played a significant part in it
working for the liberation of the country from the unbelievers.

26
The religious and economic persecution by the Portuguese was the immediate
and most influential factor which made the Mappilas to run in to militancy and
start a Jihad against colonialism. Shaikh Zainuddin, describes, Jihad as
compulsory upon all Muslim men, but not on women. If the unbelievers enter the
country with the intension of war, fight becomes compulsory upon all male
citizens and every one should defend by all means. He further says, the reward
for Jihad is immense, it is regarded as one of the most virtues deeds. Prophet
Muhammad observed “To spend one hour in Holy war is better than fifty
pilgrimages”. The fighters (Mujahidin) will be rewarded with paradise and they
will be saved from the terrors of grave. It is said that martyrs may be transformed
in to green birds in the paradise and there, they will fly jealously eating its fruits
and drinking its water. The punishment to those who keep away from Jihad is
hell (Husain Randathani, 2016).

Fat’h’ ul mubin
It is a famous work written by Quasi Muhammad Ibn Abdul Aziz in the late 16th
century (Qasi Muhammad Ibn Abdul Aziz, 2011) The work is interesting,
because he focuses his history on the reign of the Zamorins of Calicut, and
describes in considerable detail the joint Hindu-Muslim struggle with the
Portuguese and around Calicut in much greater detail than the work Tahrid and
Tuhfa. In fact, the Zamorin is the real hero of this history because of his support
for the Muslim in their struggle against Portuguese in Malabar. The work
effectively conveys the fight, which the Muslims felt about the aggression of the
Portuguese, and it describes in fascinating detail the close relations between
Muslims and the Zamorin, the Hindu ruler of Calicut and his Nair troops. The
work giving inspiration to Muslims to fight against the Portuguese with Zamorins
of Calicut, who loves the religion of Islam and the Muslims from all his mankind.
According to him all Muslims are his subjects, in whichever part of the country
they live. He glorifying Zamorin as,

27
 ‫فيه من النّصرة عند الحرب شي‬
‫ويجرين أموره ذا على السّدد‬
‫أن يدععوا بمثل ذا يا مسلمين‬
‫والملك المسلم ال يحارب‬
‫لكنّهم قد صالحوا للكافرين‬
‫يا أيّه النّاس بقلب حاضر‬
‫له من األلواح كالتّابوت شي‬
‫وهللا يهديه هداية األبد‬
‫فواجب على جميع المسلمين‬
‫ألنّه مع كفرهه يحارب‬
‫ألجل دينهم ودين المسلمين‬
‫فاستمعو قصّة حرب السّامري‬

He has tablets like the ark (of the covenant which contains some
charm) for victory in the battle. May Allah grant him eternal
guidance and make his affairs straight forward. It is incumbent on
all Muslims that such a one should be played for like a Muslim. For,
he is fighting against (infidels) in spite of his disbelief, which a
Muslim king does not do so. They are fighting for the sake of their
own religion and for that of other Muslims, but they (Muslim rulers)
make peace with the infidels. Ye people, listen to the tale of the
Zamorins War with an eager heart.
-Qasi Muhammad Ibn Abdul Aziz (2011)

He is narrating the history of Portuguese reign in Kerala, in 1510, the Portuguese

army men led by Albuquerque raided the land and sea. They burnt one of the
mosque in Calicut, which was built by Naquda Miskal in Kuttichira. But they were
not able to destroy the mosque completely because the Muslims and Nairs of
Zamorins militia stationed before the mosque and protected it from the blessings
of fire. The author describes, the king of Cochin, Unni Godha Varma was the
bitter opponent of the Zamorin welcomed the Portuguese Contingent Kabral and
even allowed to build a fort in India and was built in 1503 by the Portuguese
viceroy Alfonso de Albuquerque. After they constructed a fort in Calicut and
started to oppress the people, particularly their calamity was against Hajj
pilgrimages. They restricted vessels from sailing on the sea, especially the
vessels of Hajj and Umbra pilgrimages, and began to burn the cities and
mosques and made people slave to them. After creating a fort in Kodungallore
as a barrier like a wall, they had monopolized trade and imposed restriction for
movements in the sea (Qasi Muhammad Ibn Abdul Aziz, 2011). In the initial time

28
object of the Portuguese is either to convert Muslims to their religion or to kill
them. But the Zamorin were very cordial towards the Muslims, he sent letter to
the neighbouring kings by asking their help in order to protect his subjects.

The work reveals the atrocities of the Portuguese towards the Mappilas
community. It must have instigated the Mappilas to fight against them. The
Zamorins requested help from the neighbouring kings more than once, but the
Portuguese have blocked all the routes of land and sea. The author emphasizes
the Zamorins support towards the Mappilas as,

‫صاحب كاليكوت المشهورة‬ ‫ال زال من فضل الغنى المعمورة‬

‫وهو محبّ ديننا اإلسالم‬
‫ناصر ديننا زمجرى شرعنا‬
‫والمسلمون كلّهم وعيّة‬
‫وال يقوم في مينه أحد‬
‫وإنّما يقوم رأس المسلمين‬
‫مولى ملوك األرض في مليبار‬
‫والمسلمين بين ذا األنام‬
‫حتّى بخطبة على سلطاننا‬
‫وان يكن في أيّ أرض بلدة‬
‫في العيد إالّ مسلم إلى األبد‬
‫الشّاه بندر مع جميع المسلمين‬
‫ومالك ملك الجبال والبحار‬

Zamorin, the famous ruler of Calicut, may it ever remains glorious.

Who loves our religion of Islam and the Muslims from all his
mankind, who is helper of our religion and executor of our Islamic
law to the extent that he has even allowed an address (to be
recited in the name of our caliph). And all Muslims are his
subjects, in whichever part of the country they live. (The leader of
the Muslim alone) had no pagan can stand on the right side of the
Zamorin during his festivals. But the head of the Muslim
community Al-Shah Bandar along with all over Muslim stands on
the right side of the Zamorin. He (the Zamorin) is chief of all rulers
in the country of Malabar and monarch of all mountains and the
seas.
-Qasi Muhammad Ibn Abdul Aziz (2011)

With the establishment of East India Company and its dominance over Malabar
by 1792, many fundamental changes were introduced in the systematic and
29
organic form of state power. Initially, the British introduced a land settlement
throughout the province along with a judicial and revenue system that led to the
process of commercialization of agriculture and transformation occurred in
almost every sphere of political economy. The repressive policies of the British
resulted in the occurrence of a series of uprising during the 19th century. Ideology
can be noted as an important fascinating agent of the uprisings. Religious
ideology united Mappilas and played a dominant role in these uprisings. About
the revolt of 19th century, William Logan, the district collector of Malabar
comments, “there was no other association for them (Mappilas) except their
religion. The religion gave them a philosophy of action and nourished their
feeling of antagonism against the well to do land owners” (Kurup, K. K. N., 1981).
In such a context, the study of the ideological sources which leads the Mappilas
in their fight against the British government is to be explored.

Assaif Al Bathar
It was by the early decades of 19th century, the attempt was made to reform the
Mappilas community by growing a new religious consciousness against the
British conquest. It was by the arrival of Hadrami Sayyids, who tried to establish
a new spiritual authority over a dispersed and unorganized Mappilas
communities of Malabar. Among them, Syed Alawi and Syed Fazal Thangal
were prominent, they settled Tirurangadi, the Muslim populated area in south
Malabar. The real impact of the teachings of Syed Alawi was that they
established a process of revitalization and regeneration among the Mappilas. He
travelled extensively, delivering religious discourses in different parts of the
district where he helped to establish new and renovate old mosques. He
stressed the importance of unity and urged compliance with the tenants of Islam.
Syed Alawi’s son and successor Syed Fazal exerted himself even more
vigorously in the direction in his father had set. He established a Jamait mosque
at Mamburam which soon developed as the most popular religious center of the
Mappilas. Every Friday he read a Khutubah to the congregation in which he

30
assailed un-Islamic practices and underlined the Quranic tenets on which he
urged Mappilas to base their lives. These ideas were codified in the religious
works he had written, and some of them were widely circulated in Malabar. They
also issued some Fatwas regarding the social conduct of Mappilas and tried to
give a legal status to Islam in region. They were also very active anti-colonial
struggles and acted as a religious and political leaders among the Mappilas of
Malabar (K. K. Muhammad Abdul Sathar, 2012).

The socio-religious reforms of Ba-Alawi Sayyids (Syed Alawi & Syed Fazal
Tangal) succeeded to bring notable changes in the 19th century Mappilas society
in Malabar. Their reforms and preaching brought about substantial results, when
the history of Mappilas of the period is taken as a whole. As s a result of the
teachings of Ba- Alawis, Mappila masses became aware of their own socio-
religious distinct identity as well as the necessity to get rid of the exploitation of
land lords and colonial masters. This social consciousness of Mappilas paved
the way for the antagonism between tenants and land lords. When a section of
Mappila peasants are religiously refined and socially upgraded as a result of the
effort made by Ba-Alawis, they became conscious about the oppression,
exploitation and injustice on the part of land lords and colonial authorities. The
collective consciousness of Mappila tenants was the byproduct of the teachings
of Ba-Alawis (Ilias, M. H., 2007). His renowned fatwa Assaif-al Bathar, urge for
compulsory Jihad (war) to all Muslims from the moment of the Kuffar
(unbelievers) enter the country.

Padappattu (War Songs)

The ideological sources, which leads the Mappilas in their struggle against
colonialism in Malabar needs a detailed study in the history of Kerala is
concerned. The middle of the 17th century started the writing of Padappattu
literature in Arabi-Malayalam language (Arabic Script with Malayalam language).
But it became wide popularity in 19th century, because during this period Malabar

31
witnessed a series of revolts conducted by Mappilas against the British. The
Padappattu literature was written in Ernad and Walluvand taluks of Southern
Malabar, which were very popular for anti-colonial struggles. It is the reflection
of socio-religious and political condition of the Mappila community and their
discontent towards the upper caste Jenmis and British government. The
historical war like Badr, Uhd, Khandaq, Hunain etc., has led by Prophet
Muhammad and his companion (Sahabath) in Arabia was main theme for the
writing of Padapattu literature. This also gives a comprehensive history
regarding the struggle between Mappilas, such as, Malappuram Padappattu,
Omanur Padappattu and Cherur Padappattu etc. The Work Anwar-al Basara wa
Akbar-al Badr is considered as the first Padappattu literature written by Kalpatta
Muhyaddin Moulavi. Among the Padappattu literature, Cherur Padappattu
(1845) written by Muhyaddin and Mammudukutty is important. It is the story of
seven Mappilas, who started revolt against the British in Cherur and became
Shahid (Martyr). Later the British government banned Cherur Padappattu and
restricted Mappilas from visiting the Makbara (grave) of Cherur Shahids
(martyrs).

The works of Moyin kutty Vaidyar also became remarkable in this regard. The
work Badrul-Kubra (Battle of Badr) is giving a comprehensive history of the battle
of Badr in Arabia. It was a key battle in the days of Islam and a turning point of
Prophet Muhammad’s struggle with his opponents among the Qureshi in Mecca
(Moyin Kutty Vaidyar, 1926). The battle has been passed down in Islamic History
as a decisive victory attribute to divine intervention because the Muslims were
very less in number. It conveys the meaning that, the Mappilas can achieve their
victory over the British. After every revolts conducted by the Mappilas against
the British was written in the form of Padappattu literature, which was mostly to
eulogize the Shahids (martyrs) in the revolts. The government realized the
importance of Padappattu literature in the Mappila revolts and appointed a
commission to study about the Padappattus of Moyinkutty Vaidyar. Later certain

32
works of Vaidyar was translated in to English by F. Faucet in Indian Antiquary.
Nevertheless, Padappattu literature played a crucial role in the consequent
revolts conducted by the Mappilas against the British in Malabar.

Conclusion
The above discussion focus on the role of Arabic and Arabi-Malayalam literature
in the anti-colonial struggles conducted by Mappilas community in Malabar. It is
common that, the Mappilas started their defense against colonialism from 16th
century onwards. Most of the works reveals the historical events occurred in the
region with colonial engagements. The scholarly works produced during that
period, particularly the works of the religious scholars expose ferocity of colonial
authorities towards the Muslim community and it helps to generate a notion of
war against them. These works have greater impact in the history of Mappilas in
their struggle with colonialism. In Most of the revolts, the influence of ulama and
their wrings have received wider popularity among the Muslim fighters. However,
it helps us understand the undercurrents of indigenous struggle conducted by
Mappilas against the colonial intervention in Malabar.

Bibliography
____ (1977). The Islamic Frontier in South West India: The Shahid as Cultural
Ideal among the Mappilas of Malabar. Modern Asian Studies, 11, 41-
55.
____ (1885). Malappuram Madinidhimala. (Arabi-Malayalam). Talassery:
Mathlaul Uloom Press.
____ (1925). Uhd Pada. (Arabi-Malayalam). Tirurangadi: Matharul Muhin Press.
____ (2014). Mappila Kizhala Padanangal. (Malayalam). Kondotty: Centre for
Historical Studies.
Al Malabari, Shaikh Al Islam Abu Yahya Zainuddin al Makdum al Fanani. (1996).
Tahrid Ahlil Iman ala Jihadi Abdati Sulban (Arabic). Calicut: Maktab al
Huda.

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Aziz, Abdul Manjan Pazhayakath. (1888). Bdarul Ulama Padappattu. (Arabi-
Malayalam). Talassery: Mathlaul Uloom Press.
Dale, Stephen, F. (1980). Islamic Society on the South Asian Frontier, The
Mappilas of Malabar, 1498-1922. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Ilias, M.H. (2007). Mappila Muslims and the Cultural content of Trading Arab
Diaspora. Asian Journal of Social Science, 35,434-456.
K.K Muhammad Abdul Sathar. (2012). Mappila Leader in Exile: A political
biography of Syed Fazal Tangal. Calicut: Other Books
Kareem, Abdul K. K. Muhammad., & K. Abubackar. (2005). Mahakavi Moyinkutty
Vaidyar Samboorna Krithikal. Kondotty: Mappila Kala Accademy.
Kurup, K .K. N. (1981). Willima Logan: A study in the Agrararian Relations of
Malabar. Calicut.
Kutty, Muhammad. & Muhyaddin. (1844). Sarasarguna Thirutharulamala.
(Arabi-Malayalam) Tirurangadi.
Malayamma, Moin Hudawiand., & Mahmood Panangagara. (2009). Mamburam
Thangal: Jeevitham, Athmeeyatha, Porattam. Chemmad: ASAs book
cell.
Melekandathil, Pius. (2001). Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India,
1500-1663. Delhi: Manohar Publishers and Distributors.
Miller, Roland E. (1976). Mappila Muslims of Kerala: A study in Islamic Trends.
Madras: Orient Longmans.
Molla, Moideen Kutty Machilakath.Tanur. (1930). Fathu Makkah. (Arabi-
Malayalam). Tirurangadi: Misbahul Huda Press.
Moyin kutty Vaidyar, Bdrul Kubra Padappattu, (Arabi-Malayalam). (1926).
Ponnani: Noorul Hidaya Press, , pp. 2-10.
Muhammad, K. T. (1972). Karbala Yuddham. (Arabi-Malayalam). Tirurangadi:
Noorul Islam Press.
Muhammad, Qasi. (2001). Fat’h’ ul Mubin. Calicut: Other books.
Nambiar, O. K. (1963). The Kunjalis: Admirals of Calicut. London: Asia
Publishing House.

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Pearson, M.N. (1946). Merchants and Rulers in Gujarat: The responses to the
Portuguese in the sixteenth century. Berkley: University of California.
Randathani, Husain. (2001). Mappila Mulims: A study on Society and Anti-
colonial Struggles. Calicut: Other books.
Saidalavi, K.P. (1961). Puthanangadiyile Raktha Sakshikal. (Arabi-Malayalam).
Tirurangadi: Amirul Islam Lithopower Press.
Sathar Abdul, K. K. Muhammad. (2012). Mappila Leader in Exile: A Political
Biography of Syed Fazal Tangal. Calicut: Other books.
Sergeant, R. B. (1963). The Portuguese off the South Arabian Coast: Hadrami
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Subramanian, Sanjay. (1997). The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama.
Cambridge: Cambridge University.
Vaidyar, Moyinkutty. (1926). Badrul Kubra. (Arabi-Malayalam). Ponnani: Noorul
Huda Press.
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Burthuqaliyyin. Chennai: University of Madras.

35
 Chapter 4

The Caste and Gender Themes in Gundert’s Malayalam- English Dictionary

Prameela P. K.
Department of Linguistics,
Central University of Kerala,
Kasaragod, 671316
Kerala
prameela298@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The cast and gender terms itself express the socio cultural background of a
society, which shows a comprehensible relation to each other. Dictionaries
usually considered as for reference and language documentation. As a
document it records almost all vocabulary of a particular period, which gave an
idea about class, caste, gender and its restriction. Gundert’s bilingual dictionary
is compiled in 1872, which is considered as authentic dictionary in Malayalam.
The caste and gender terms express social, cultural and economic background
and the ideological evaluation of a particular period. While considering the
contextual analysis of the meaning based on the authentic details. Generally the
indication of caste and gender mostly found many Malayalam dictionaries, but
the importance is laid in Gundert’s dictionary, because he provides an
encyclopaedic information about a word, it not only provide words meaning, but
also its culture, history, heritage, proverbs, etymology and how common people
used the vocabulary and how it would be used in early literary language. It
wouldn’t find in other dictionaries. This paper deals with key note that how the

36
caste and gender as norms works out in a particular period. This paper makes
light on how these ideologies works out in dictionary.

Key word: dictionary, caste, gender, ideology

Introduction
Vocabulary is always a language property, in which phonological and semantic
changes introduced in the vocabulary, which identifies the temporal orientation
of the dictionary how it influenced by the vocabulary. Gundert’s fieldworks for the
selection and arrangement of words in different domain which emphasis the cast
and community variables. The interesting fact about Gundert’s dictionary is that
encyclopaedic information of each entry system, which emphasis the contextual
meaning and its various usage possibilities. Considering the usage fact, different
domains of information is incorporated in the dictionary which modifies its clarity.
As a social variable caste and gender manipulation of a period can be analysable
in a dictionary.

The caste ideology

In Gundert’s dictionary the social variables link caste and gender themes, this
specifies a century’s customs and patriarchal dominance. Caste system is a form
of social demarcation, in which people is distinguished by their birth, social
position and status. In the long back history of Kerala society is facing the
injustice, in the form of unacceptable rituals and beliefs, which is forcefully
regulated to lower caste. Those who violate or voice against these crimes they
punished by the higher caste. While considering the pragmatic context, the
meaning lays in the individual speakers’ linguistic repertoire and it is also
influenced by the context and situational aspects. The socio- cultural evaluation
is assumed through these vocabularies, the selection and usage label of these
vocabularies are used to distinguish its existence.

37
Here are some examples of the words from upper caste
E.g.:
akaram - a Brahmin house (p:31)
agraśala - a victual ling house, cooking place in temples-(p: 34)
agraharam - land assigned to Brahmans -?(P: 34)
agrasanam - chief seat, as in Brahminical group – (p:34)
aḍiyoḍimar - A class of Nāyers
aaḍhyan - title of class of Brahmans, the leaders in the old
aristocracy of Malabar (p: 77)
cāthiram - a peculiar performance of Brahmans ( Shāstṛa reading)
ku (p: 351)

These words specially refer to the social identity of upper class, which culturally
and socially indicate some kind of authority towards the society. As in the word
‘agraharam’ (p: 34) which refer as ‘land assigned to Brahmans, this citation of
the word give the idea that different caste have their own land, and in that land
not all caste is not allowed, the kind of high and low caste discrimination is shown
this word. Considering another word ‘cāthiram’ (p: 351) which is specified as ‘a
peculiar performance of Brahmans (Shāstṛa reading), the education is only
provided to the higher caste, so they are proficient in Shāstṛas and Vedas. The
caste bias is not only found in job but also found in the education system. As
considering another entry which itself emphasize the higher caste is aristocrat
the word is ‘Aaḍhyan’ (p: 77) the citations given has title of class of Brahmans,
the leaders in the old aristocracy of Malabar. Ideologically these vocabularies
are indicating the dominance of a particular caste, the Aryan entrance onwards
to the place makes a systemic effort to formulate the Caste hierarchy. The Aryan
Brahmin settlers who were mostly agriculturists; who had established their
authority firmly in this region- by winning over the large majority of native
Dravidian(Tamilian) through a combination of force and friendship, through a
policy of caste differentiation(Varna bheda) and caste coalition(Varna samkara)

38
(M.G.S Narayanan, 277). Early period onwards the ruling power dominated by
the higher caste and it is existence surrounded with temple and its related parts.
Caste as social marker has its roots closely linked to the educational and social
status.

The below given words refer the social hierarchy of lower caste, the land lord
and his suppression towards the working class is deliberately mentioned in these
words. The dominance of higher caste is shown in the form of forcefully taking
taxation from them. The 19th century social and economic system reveals the
dominant class, narrow minded attitude towards the working class.

aṇgacungam - royal tax (p: 7)

aḍiyarpaṇam - an old tax .paid to Jenmis (p: 16)
melkoima - sovereignty as of perumāḷs KU( p: 782)
kudichilara - tax on houses and shops( p: 262)
kudinilka - kudiirika – to submit to taxation( p: 262)

As considering these entries, which provides the output that, the working classes
have to pay the tax for their land and home to higher class. The entry of
‘melkoima’ exemplifies idea that dominance of higher caste. The entry of
‘aḍiyarpaṇam’- an old tax .paid to Jenmis which identifies the Jenmi (land owner)
and kuḍiyan (working class) relation, which identifies economically dominant
higher caste. The dominance and power, these two aspects were mostly
handled by the economically and religiously superior people; here the
relationship between people is measured with their status and position in society

The following words represent the lower caste:

aḍima (slave) - (2) feudal dependency of a Nāyer upon his patron. (p:
42)

39
 aḍimajanmam - grant of land to an inferior with reversion the granter
on failure of heirs to the grantee(Tell)
- also mort age of land by a superior to a person of low
caste W.
aḍimapaṇi chayta - Bhr. 2. Serve as slaves
aḍima yachna - immunity granted to slaves by their masters, B.
akatu carnavar Kindred - Lower Sūdras, serving in Brahmin houses.
akatatu piranavar - sons of slaves, as in Nasrani houses V1
pulayan - a caste of rice slaves.

The working class peoples identity in19th century prescribed by the higher caste,
what they do and don’t. They implement rigid beliefs and rituals the working class
to follow it, if they don’t follow they have to face punishment. The caste ideology
follows a stereotype series of norms. As considering the entry of ‘aḍimayachna’
- immunity granted to slaves by their masters. The following entry emphasis the
social position of lower caste, the term equality doesn’t find any of the contexts.
They have to face exploitation on the matter of their land, equality, identity and
self-respect.

The following entry indicates women position in a society.

antarjanam - a brahminee.
antapuram - woman’s apartment in palace.
akatama - a Nambutiri women (p; 31)
agatamar, agatavar, agataar Brahminichis as keeping within their houses.
agatan - mistress of the house.
pulapeḍiyuḷakālam - (4) the month karkaḍam during which high caste
woman may lose caste, if a slave happen to throw a
stone at them after sunset.( P: 632).

40
The entries in Gundert dictionary give the idea of how gender bias working in
that century, women is restricted in the four walls house, as in ‘akatan’ -mistress
of the house, her duties mainly intended for home and family. The restriction
towards women not one sided policy of patriarchal society, it consider some
other points such as the male formulated concept of women, from purana
onwards, and over time the society wants superiority towards women.

For woman-exploitation, caste is not a barrier, both high and low cast women’s
were in the same position. Lots of unbelievable practices such as Sati, Bala
vivaham, Dowry, in those period lower caste women’s were prohibited to wear
blouses and sambandham etc… these practices are indicating the pathetic
women situation in Kerala. The entry of ‘pulapeḍiyuḷakālam’ is an injustice, which
is specify the caste and gender strata, as in gender case women is only
considered as the object, the citation of entry describes’ the month karkaḍam
during which high caste woman may lose caste, if a slave happen to throw a
stone at them after sunset’. P: 632. In those period there was a practice by which
the males of a higher caste group cohabiting with the females of a lower caste
group through sambandham- a form of marriage without responsibility for the
offspring (M.G.S Narayanan, 277). Here the entry reveals that a woman is
treated like an object, her role and identity is prescribed by the society; the male
patriarchy in a society decided the women’s role in society.

These restrictions were also found in the literary and artistic fields, the feminist
writing of Europe like Virgina Woolf light on the theme of woman identity and her
existence. In Malayalam in during that period survival of woman writings was a
difficult task, especially of a lower caste or Dalit. Women position and
exploitation they faced in the society, these entry system reveals the women
position in the society. The balled songs were mostly about the lower caste
sorrows and dreams. They were oral songs about nature and did not consider
about the grammar and decorated usages. In education also same kind of

41
discrimination can be seen, after missionary involvement in the field of education
makes a tremendous change. They provided education to all people especially
to those who were economically and socially suppressed.

Conclusion
The vocabulary and their meaning changes over period it highlights the social
norms and aspects. A dictionary is a store house of different style and
perceptions, which constitute the language structure. The structure is flourished
by the different pattern specialties and social variables. In Gundert Malayalam
English dictionary enhance the particular period and its social variables. Each
dialect has its own features, which are differ in their mode of use, which exhibits
cultural and social variance. The semantic aspect of meaning is differing in
form& functional, in which form is more related to structural meaning and
functional meaning deal with the situational utterance of meaning. The pragmatic
analysis of meaning indicates the individual’s linguistic repertoire to achieve a
particular goal in the speech pattern. It carries the socio-political aspect of a
particular period, which is dominated by dominant class and their attitudes
towards lower caste. The caste ideology works in Kerala as caste and gender
hierarchy. The practices and belief of century makes a negative image, as a
great public intellectual and orator Swami Vivekananda called Kerala as Lunatic
asylum, because the plight of the place in which they follow uncivilized beliefs
and customs. The social reformation and renaissances spread new light on the
suppressed people. To conclude the sociolinguistic variable have strong
influence on the societal, cultural life of human being, as in the whole how should
it function, it is based on the narrow and board mind of the intelligence.

42
Bibliography
Balakrishnan, K. (2013). Herman Gundert (1st Ed.). Kozhikode: Mathrubhumi
books.
Caldwell, R. and Caldwell, R. (N.D.). A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian
or South-Indian Family of Languages. Pp.4-6.
Ganesh, C. (2016): "Shantham". Gundartde chakravalagal 30-33.
Gee, J. (2011). An Introducrion to Discourse Anlysis Theory & method (3rd ed.,
pp. 28-29). New York: Routledge.
Gundert, H. (1872). Malayalam English Dictionary. (2nd Ed.). Kottayam:
sahithyaprarthaka Sahakarna sangham.
Landau, S. (2001). Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography. 2nd ed.
Cambridge: Cambridge University, pp.365- 368.
Lysons, J. (1995). Linguistic Semantics. Cambridge: Cambridge University
press.
Mary Joseph, D. (2010). Caste - Gender Ideology in Gundert's Malayalam -
English Dictionary. Language in India, 10(1930- 2940), 589 -595
Simpson, P. (2010). Stylistics. London: Routledge.

43
 Chapter 5

Ethno-cultural floras used in Rituals by the

Mao Naga of Manipur, Northeast India

Losü Heshu
Language Technology Research Centre,
International Institute of Information Technology,
Hyderabad, 500032
Telangana
ajiheshu@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Mao is one of a major Naga group inhabiting the northern hills of Manipur,
bordering Nagaland. Making their settlement on eastern and southern range of
Mount Tenepu, and for the fact that there exists a continuous connection with
forest and its product, the people had developed a unique interrelationship with
it. One such unique knowledge of the people is the understanding of the
metaphysical connection between the plants and the spiritual kingdom. Another
physical inference as Mao and Hynniewta (2011) pointed out, is the ability to
comprehend seed sowing seasons of different crops by observing flowering of
plants. Like any other tribal of the region, different species of plants and herbs
that are available in the region are used by the Mao people for wood fuel,
clothing, cuisine, medicinal purpose, different construction work, etc. However,
an important usage of flora by the people is the usage of different parts of a plant
and different species for religious rites and rituals. The present paper is an
attempt to investigate into indigenous knowledge of the people, document the

44
eroding ethno botanical folklores and at the same time endeavours to elaborate
on the usages of plant species in different religious ceremonies.

Keywords: Mao Naga, Indigenous knowledge, flora, rites and rituals, socio-
cultural value, worldview.

Introduction
The Mao Naga is one of the tribal communities that follow its own traditional
religion which as per Anthropological studies, can be classified as animism.
Before the introduction of Christianity in the early twentieth century, the Mao
people, according to their traditional religion, worshipped the God of Gods
“oramei ra ye ttho.” However, the “supreme creator, who they believe to be the
universal God” (Lokho, 1991) has some other accompanying deities or spirits.
According to Gori, the “… Mao people believe in the existence of both
benevolent god and malevolent god. The benevolent god is believed to do good
things and malevolent god is supposed to give trouble”. The lesser Gods i.e.,
deities or spirits are belief to abide in specific places or territory such as
mountain, forest, rock, cave, lake/sea/pond, tree, etc. These deities or spirits are
each attributed with specific abilities, be it benevolent or malevolent.

The ceremonial rites and rituals are performed to show gratitude to the Supreme
God and the benevolent spirits/deities or at other times for propitiation and
appeasement to the malevolent spirits/deities. Yuhlung, C. Cheithou and Imo
Lanutemjen Aier in their forthcoming article categorically list out the motivation
for conducting rites and rituals. The main reasons according to them are:

(i) to seek blessing of fortune/ luck, (ii) to seek redemption/ pardon, (iii) to seek
help for certain personal/ family/ community’s protection, (iv) to ward off the ill-
fated problem from certain external forces or evil spirits, (v) to overcome the
emotional depression, (vi) to strengthen their faith, and (vii) to improved one’s
45
poor health by sacrificial offering of exchange (with a fowl or fish or animal) with
a belief that the captive soul of a person be released from the bondage of the
evil spirit.

Adding to the list, rituals that are specifically performed for cattle and domestic
animals (cat and chicken) are considered important to the socio-cultural and
religious life of the Mao Nagas. A ritual may be carried out by a shaman/priest if
it is for the community, a clan or a village while it is conducted by a master of the
ceremony if it is meant for a family or an individual. The main items used in these
rituals are different species of plants, soil, pieces of thatch from the roof, ash and
feather (usually primary feathers). While other items used in different rituals are
beyond the scope of the present paper, here we shall deal with different floras
used in various rites and rituals.

The Mao Naga inhabits the northern hills of Manipur, India and surrounded by
kindred tribes such as Angami, Chakhesang, Poumei and Maram. Angami and
Chakhesang are in Nagaland state while the rest falls within Manipur who all
traces back their lineage to a common ancestor. These kindred tribes very much
share a similar ways of living. Practicing agriculture, paddy is the main crop of
the people, which is also considered as wealth. Cattle rearing may be considered
as the second most important occupation of the people. Therefore, most of the
socio-cultural and religious beliefs revolve around agricultural practices. To this
effect, when talking about the cultural and symbolic value of floras in relation to
Mao Nagas, the same can safely be related to the other kindred tribes though
little variation may be there in its application/procedure.

Biodiversity has played an important part in human civilization. It provides basic

requirements to their survival. This association slowly developed into building up
a close connection between the indigenous people and his surroundings. Thus,

46
slowly different cultural values and symbolic functions were ascribed to different
floras found within the region.

Methodology
Data used in the present study were collected from different Mao villages which
were conducted during January-March 2014. Clarification and collection of more
information were again carried out during February-April 2015. Informants for
the data were elderly persons who had either carried out the given rites and
rituals themselves or had witnessed the ceremonies. Data which includes
elaborate processes of the usage of the plant during the ceremony were
gathered in the field through interviews and discussions. The same data has
been recorded using Zoom H2 in the first fieldwork and Zoom H6 handy recorder
in the second. Scientific name of the plants used for analysis is consulted using
A. A. Mao (1997) Mao to English Dictionary of Plants.

Culturally significant floras

In the present study, we analyse different floras that are used by Mao Naga in
their religious rites and rituals. In the present study, we shall give special
attention to 22 plants that are considered significant by the Mao Nagas either for
its socio-cultural value or for its denotative or symbolic representation. The
different species of flora and their usages are listed in Table 1. In order to take
the readers into the worldview of the Mao Naga community, we would like to
highlight a step-by-step process of a ritual. For this illustration, we would like to
pick up the ritual of first transplantation (odo shou karei). The items required for
the ritual are rice beer, meat prepare from prize cow or pig, rice, hoe, paddy
seedling, Chinese sumac (omosü), Cymbopogon khasianus (dzüthe) or ova (a
kind of herb) and Musa velutina (ovü vüchou) or vükra (another species of
plantain). The master of the ceremony goes to the paddy field abstaining from
food (can drink rice beer and also eat salt and ginger). On the way, (s)he plucks
some paddy seedling from a paddy nursery and selects two branches of Chinese

47
sumac having proper apical shoot and also two or three leaves of ovü vükra or
ovü vüchou. On reaching the field, (s)he cleans a spot on the paddy field ridge
for the ritual with the hoe. At the prepared spot, a branch of Chinese sumac and
a stalk of either dzüthe or ova are planted at one end and another set is planted
at the other end. This is followed by preparing a leaf cup with plantain leaf into
which rice beer is poured and libation made. The leaf cup is then placed between
the planted Chinese sumac and dzüthe/ova branches. Two small pieces of
plantain leave are laid on the prepared spot on which the meat and rice are
offered to God. The offered meat and rice are then wrapped up and buried near
the planted Chinese sumac branches. This is to prevent any animal from eating
up the offering. This is followed by spitting into the palms and planting two small
bunches of paddy seedling close to the planted Chinese sumac invoking
‘Oramei! Othe shoupe, ojü shozhu’. (O God! let the paddy seedlings endures
and the field be transplanted easily). (S)he also implores god to let the paddy
plant grow like the stalk of dzüthe/ova and the ears of grain be like the bunch of
Chinese sumac seed. The rest of the seedling is planted in a normal way. For a
newly married, instead of the offering of meat and rice, a small chick is slaughter
and buried in its place.

Discussion
The different plants that are used in Mao Naga rites and rituals are presented in
no particular order:

1. Botanical and Common name: Any of yam species

Vernacular Name: Biro
Parts Uses: Leave
Usages In Different Rituals: Flawless bottle gourd is made into receptacle and
used for every ritualistic process of fetching spring water (odzü kosü) except
for anointing during ritual of purification for man (ale). Likewise, for libation
outside one’s home, rice beer or sacrificial rice beer (zhesü) is carried in

48
flawless bottle gourd receptacles. In the ritual of unblemished bull divination,
the chief of Makhel village pours out sacrificial rice beer (zhesü) into 30
flawless bottle gourd containers and make an offering to God and to the
departed soul of ancestors. In every funeral rites, a bottle gourd receptacle is
filled with rice beer and placed beside the death body for the soul to drink in
the afterlife. As for an unweaned child, instead of rice beer, few drops of the
mother’s milk are filled in the receptacle.

2. Botanical and Common name: Zizyphus incurve

Vernacular Name: Chibisü
Parts Uses: Stem & Bark
Usages In Different Rituals: Live stem/branch is used for ceremonial
construction of hearth as a hearthstone for a newly married couple, during
infantile rites (ale ale), initiation ceremony for a boy (macha kozü), final
infantile rite (alekha) and during ritual of purification for man (ale/inhei
achokho).
The peeled bark is shaped into a small shield as a symbol of strength and
bravery for used during the naming ceremony of a male child.

3. Botanical and Common name: Chimonobambusa quadrangularis Dwarf

bamboo
Vernacular Name: Chite
Parts Uses: Culm
Usages In Different Rituals: The culm of the bamboo is used for making a
miniature bow and arrow which is used in the initiation ceremony for male child
(macha kozü) in the ritual of symbolic killing of a prized unblemished rooster
by the initiating boy.

49
4. Botanical and Common name:
Vernacular Name: Inhei nheitto
Parts Uses: Branch
Usages In Different Rituals: Water for anointing (akudzü kashe) is fetch
through the ritualistic process from the village well. Such water is brought
home using yam leaves only. The yam leaves are tied with this grass. Some
villages also practices tying the grass on one’s calf and breaking it with the
anointing water. This ritual is conducted during purification ceremony (ale).

5. Botanical and Common name:

Vernacular Name: Kokhrütto
Parts Uses: Branch
Usages In Different Rituals: In the ritual for enduring of harvested paddy
(benhei padei/benhei inu), the master of the ceremony collects the herb and
along with the anointing water and termite mound soil anoints each of the barn
stand.

6. Botanical and Common name: Solanum spirale

Vernacular Name: Kokiwu
Parts Uses: Leave
Usages In Different Rituals: In funeral rite, the master of the ceremony tears
two leaves of Solanum spirale on tomb and pronounces ‘let these bitter leaves
symbolizes the end of relation between the living and the death’.

7. Botanical and Common name: Ficus virens or Ficus roxburghii

Vernacular Name: Mara sü or Mobo sü
Parts Uses: Sprig
50
Usages In Different Rituals: A sprig of the plant is used for performing ritual
of cattle (moso toubou) on the 29th day of the ninth lunar month (Onu) each
year and also during the birth ritual of cow and buffalo (pito).

8. Botanical and Common name: bottle gourd

Vernacular Name: Ohre
Parts Uses:
Usages In Different Rituals: Flawless bottle gourd is made into receptacle and
used for every ritualistic process of fetching spring water (odzü kosü) except
for anointing during ritual of purification for man (ale). Likewise, for libation
outside one’s home, rice beer or sacrificial rice beer (zhesü) is carried in
flawless bottle gourd receptacles. In the ritual of unblemished bull divination,
the chief of Makhel village pours out sacrificial rice beer (zhesü) into 30
flawless bottle gourd containers and make an offering to God and to the
departed soul of ancestors. In every funeral rites, a bottle gourd receptacle is
filled with rice beer and placed beside the death body for the soul to drink in
the afterlife. As for an unweaned child, instead of rice beer, few drops of the
mother’s milk are filled in the receptacle.

9. Botanical and Common name: Panama grass

Vernacular Name: Okhru
Parts Uses: Stem
Usages In Different Rituals: Stem of the plant is split into thongs to weave
plate and live fowl basket for use during initiation ceremony (macha kozü).
The thong is also used to weave basket to hold bottle gourd receptacle which
is used during burial/funeral ceremony.

51
10. Botanical and Common name: Rhus javanica
Vernacular Name: Omo sü
Parts Uses: Stem and branches
Usages In Different Rituals: Two branches having branchlets with leaves are
selected and plant at one corner of the paddy field during the ritual of first
transplantation (odo shou karei). During the ritual of invocation for the spirit of
wealth (ashou kopfou), members of the community uses the branch to implore
the spirit of wealth to bless them so that their planted paddy be as fruitful as
that of Rhus. The bark of the plant is peeled and the white stem is used to lure
the spirit of wealth (iloutto) back to the village for prosperity on the community.
Such lures are set up ritualistically on every social resting place, mostly along
the paddy field path on community road repairing day. It may be mentioned
that the tender buds are eaten to kill the burning sensation of chilli and also
the spell of witchcraft. The bark is also used for ritualistic process of making
fire (mila kosü) and also for manufacturing gun powder.

11. Botanical and Common name: Alnus nepalensis Alder

Vernacular Name: Oposü
Parts Uses: stem or branch
Usages In Different Rituals: Live stem/branch is used for ceremonial
construction of hearth as a hearthstone for a newly married couple, during
infantile rites (ale ale), initiation ceremony for a boy (macha kozü), final
infantile rite (alekha) and during ritual of purification for man (ale/inhei
achokho). It may be mentioned here that for such rituals, a person can used
either Zizyphus or alder branch. Twigs (four pieces) of the plant are also
brought home by the master of the ceremony during the ritual of first plough
(toubo kottho), which is later burnt starting from the base first.

52
12. Botanical and Common name: Elsholtzia blanda
Vernacular Name: Ora kholo
Parts Uses: Stem, Branches or sprig
Usages In Different Rituals: The stem is cut into beads and string together
and worn on leg or hand of a new born after the first infantile rite (a le ale).
Flawless sprigs having proper apical buds are used in ritualistic process of
fetching spring water (odzü kosü) in all the infantile rites (ale ale), final infantile
rite (alekha), initiation ceremony for the male child (macha kozü) and
purification ceremony of male youth known as Ale or more appropriately
known as inhei achokho. For the ritual of anointing (akudzü kashe) conducted
during initiation ceremony for the male child and at every purification
ceremony of male youth flawless sprigs is used for the ritual. Sprigs of the
herb is also used in ritual of initiation to work (onho koso) for the new born.
During new month’s prayer genna (khrobvou rattho), two sprigs of the herb is
placed at the village gate by the chief of the village to ward off malevolent
spirit.

13. Botanical and Common name: Musa velutina

Vernacular Name: Oravü or Ovu vüchou
Parts Uses: Leaves
Usages In Different Rituals: Leave is torn to make a cone-shaped leaf cup
which is used in libation during rituals and ceremonies. Libation with leaf cup
is prescribe in all the initiation to work (onho koso) - ritual of initiation to work
is prescribed for newly married couple, parent of a new born and the baby,
couples who had carried out any stage of feast of merit (zhoso mozü) and a
person who is coronate/underwent procedures to be the king/chief of the
village, rituals concerning agriculture such as ritual of first plough (toubo
kottho), ritual of first plantation (odo shou karei), ritual of first harvest (odo

53
vashe karei), divine libation (lidzü), etc. Part of the leave is torn and offering
of eatables are place on it in rituals such as ritual of first transplantation, ritual
of offering for the soul of departed grandparents (kohro lokhro or orakhe
kokho), new moon prayer genna (ora mani or khrobvou rattho), ritual of first
harvest (odo vashe karei) etc. During marriage ceremony leaf-cup is used by
both the parties for libation and the same cup is exchange to symbolized
exchange of vows. The cone-shaped leaf cup is prescribed for drinking rice
beer during feast of merit and also during post-transplantation festival (Saleni).
In ritual of storing first harvest (rojüjü) few best ears of grain are carefully
wrapped in plantain leaves and brought home to be stored in the barn.

14. Botanical and Common name: Oryza sativa Paddy

Vernacular Name: Oro
Parts Uses: Ears of paddy and paddy
Usages In Different Rituals: For rituals relating harvest such as ritual of storing
first harvest (rojüjü), ritual of clearing threshing floor (thekhru karei) and ritual
of plucking (ttho), ears of paddy are used. Two sheaves of paddy are kept
untouched in the field of that family who had a deceased member that
particular year. Paddy is used in ritual of initial consumption of a filled barn
(obepi chino koto). Paddy sapling is also used in ritual of first plantation ( odo
shou karei).

15. Botanical and Common name: Cymbopogon khasiana

Vernacular Name: Oro dzüthe
Parts Uses: stalk
Usages In Different Rituals: The stalk of the plant is used as one of component
for the rituals of first transplantations (odo shou karei). Similarly, during the
ritual of invocation for the spirit of wealth (ashou kopfou), members of the

54
community uses the stalk along with a branch of Rhus javanica to implore the
spirit of wealth to bless their planted paddy to grow up like the stalk of that of
Cymbopogon khasiana.

16. Botanical and Common name: Coix lacryma-jobi Job’s tears

Vernacular Name: Oshittho
Parts Uses: Grain
Usages In Different Rituals: In the ritual for enduring of harvested paddy
(benhei padei/benhei inu), the master of the ceremony drops two pieces of
Job’s tears into each of the barn that is to be stored with new paddy for the
year.

17. Botanical and Common name:

Vernacular Name: Ova
Parts Uses: Stalk
Usages In Different Rituals: The stalk of the plant is used as one of component
for the rituals of first transplantations (odo shou karei).

18. Botanical and Common name: Bambusa sp. Bamboo

Vernacular Name: Prottho
Parts Uses: Culm
Usages In Different Rituals: The dry young culm of the bamboo is split into
several pieces and the outer layer of the skin (bark) of the plant is made into
thongs. The thong is used during the ceremonial fire making which is
prescribed during migrating to a new location, when a newlywed starts a new
home, when a hunter gets a big kill and offers a feast with its head to the
neighbourhood kids (osopi koto), during initiation ceremony of a male child

55
 (macha kozü) and during purification rituals of bachelors (ale/inhei achokho).
The split culm of the plant is used during bamboo divination (projü kopfü or
chire kopfü) for prognosticating the destiny of the community for the coming
year.

19. Botanical and Common name:

Vernacular Name: Shingei
Parts Uses: Leaf blade
Usages In Different Rituals: A bunch of blady grass is lit and dropped into the
grave before the death body is being laid into the tomb. The practice lies in
the belief that the soul could use fire in the next life. A species of blady grass
locally known as shingei ngeichou is specifically prescribed for use in the ritual
of construction of house of spirit (orapre).

20. Botanical and Common name: Quercus grifithü

Vernacular Name: Süchou sü
Parts Uses: Bark and plant sapling
Usages In Different Rituals: A sampling of the plant is used (in some villages)
by the celebrant during the naming of a ceremony. During the ritual of initiation
to work beyond the village gate (koronho/avounho) a flawless branch is
selected which is cut into two pieces to take home. On reaching home, the live
wood is burnt along with other firewood starting from basal portions towards
the other end.

Conclusion
The Mao Nagas including most of the Nagas do not worship plants or trees.
Certain big trees or for that matter even rocks are revered if the people believe
that a deity/spirit abode in that particular object. The different species of floras

56
discussed in the present study are not associated any particular god/deity/spirit
like that of the Hindu system. Further, they are not used in the rituals to attract
or welcome Gods and deities like some tribal communities of Rajasthan as
reported by Rana et al., (2016). The only plant that is directly or indirectly linked
with deities/spirits is Elsholtzia blanda (ora kholo). It is believe that this herb
“drives away evil spirits which bring sickness and other calabities to human
beings”. (Ashiho, 1999: 627) Floras, according to Mao Naga worldview, are
associated with certain rites and rituals to symbolise the socio-cultural values of
the people. Thus, oshittho, omosii, oposii and are associated with rituals related
to transplantation, harvest and newly married couple to symbolic representation
qualities such as fecundity and fertility. Likewise, chibisii, inhei, kokhriitto and
siichousii are used in infantile, naming and initiation ceremonies, purification
rituals to connote strength and valour.

It may be mentioned that during the annual rite of the departed ( krojii), which is
conducted as a final departure ritual of the death and the living, the death are
given all the seed stock that can be gathered. Apart from the seed stock,
progagule and even fruits that are found during the season are also gifted to the
departed soul.

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank UGC for providing me the grant to conduct research on Mao
languages, under the scheme for award of Post-Doctoral Fellowship to SC/ST
candidates. My special thanks to Dr. Adani Lokho for his advice and
suggestions.

57
Bibliography
Gori, G. K. (1984). Changing Phase of Tribal Area of Manipur. Delhi: B. R.
Publishing Corporation.
Hodson, T. C. (1974). The Naga tribes of Manipur. Vivekanada Nagar: B. R.
Publishing Corporation.
Lokho, P. (1991). A Study on the customary Laws of the Mao Nagas.
Unpublished Thesis submitted to the Department of Sociology, NEHU.
Mao A. A. (1999). Some symbolic and superstitious botanical folklore about Mao
Naga tribe of Manipur (India). J. Econ. Tax. Bot. 23(2): 625-628.
Mao A. A. and M Hynniewta T. (2011). Plants used as Agricultural seasons
indicator by Mao Naga tribe, Manipur, India. Indian Journal of
Traditional Knowledge, 10(3), pp.578-580.
Mao, A.A (1997). Mao to English Dictionary of Plants. Published by Ashia A Mao
and Printed at UCN Associates, Guwahati.
Rana, S.Sharma, D. K., & Paliwal, P. P. (2016). Ritual Plants Used by
Indigenous and Ethnic Societies of District Bouswara (South
Rajasthan), India. American Journal of Ethnomedicine, 3(1), 26-34.
Saleo, N. (2008). Ememei kohrü ko: Mao Naga Culture. Published by Pfosena
Union and Printed at BCPW, Lamphelpat, Manipur.
Salew, N. (2014). A Brief History of Makhrai Rabu Hrü: Makhel Race. Published
by Makhrai Rabu (Makhel) Village Council.

58
 Chapter 6

Expression of Aggression in Kannada on Social Media

P. Gajendra
Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar University,
Agra, 282004
Uttar Pradesh
gajendra.puttu@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The paper views the verbal aggression in the Kannada language, and how the
aggressiveness is expressed by using lexical items. As we are all aware of, the
human aggression is a social behaviour, and at the same time it could be studied
from many perspectives. Most of the time aggressive words are used
contextually in Kannada. Our daily life starts with aggressive words and I could
say that ‘Every word has life’, by hearing those words, we could say that they
are aggressive words or not, ex: we have certain aggressive words in Kannada,
as ‘mu:de:vi’ (lazy woman or man), ‘ha:La:da’ (useless), ‘beppu’ (mentally
retarded), ‘bo:Limaga’ (widow’s son), ‘ketta’ (bad), ‘su:Lemaga’ (bastard),
‘molla:gra’ (mad), ‘hottekichu’ (jealous), ‘gudsatti’ (prostitute), ‘changuli’
(uncivilized), ‘ha:dara’ (adultery), and so on. Aggression can be expressed
covertly (which is expressed in an implied manner and conventionalised
linguistics structure is not employed here) as well as overtly (which is expressed
in an explicit way and conventionalised linguistic structure is employed).
Facebook is mainly concerned here while collecting data (data source).

Keywords: Kannada lexical items, Verbal aggression, Covert, Overt

59
Introduction
Kannada is a Dravidian language that is spoken by Kannada people mainly in
the state of Karnataka. The language has 50.8 million (2001 census) native
speakers who are called Kannadigas. Aggression intends to hurt, break the
social identity and defame the one’s prestige. Each human language has its own
conventions to express aggression. How is aggression expressed? I would say
simply, due to factors from the environment that trigger aggression. Sometimes,
we witness quarrels. The reason quarrels occur is because of the usage of some
words. Many times we may have heard a person venting, “Had he beaten me, I
would have forgotten but he had used that word that is the reason I broke his
right hand.” By having a look at this example we come to know that how words
are powerful. There is a saying in Kannada which is translated as, “control your
tongue because it doesn’t have a bone”. There are many words to express our
aggressiveness in Kannada. We use certain lexical items to express our
aggressiveness; I wish to bring to your notice that we use those lexical items to
express our anger, demote a person, anger a person, hurt, and instigate quarrels
as well as to express happiness. We use such aggressive words (words which
stab) in different context, while we quarrel with someone, in our circle of friends.
Aggressiveness could also be expressed prosaically, usually females express
their aggression in a prosodic manner and by showing some body language
whereas males express their aggression by raising their voice and body
language. So, the aim of this analysis is to describe the different forms and
manifestations of aggression in Kannada.

Previous work
I haven’t found many sources on this topic, although I found some articles on
aggression generally. One thing I wish to bring to your notice is that aggression
can be expressed by spilling the mud with aggression words, ex: ‘Dhu:Lipata’
(destroy), ‘baDagaLe’ (it is used by female for female only), ‘lauDi’ (it is used by
female for female only) and so on. These words are used when people are

60
infuriated. Feelings such as anger, attitudes such as wishing the worst for
another, and motivations such as the desire to win or control one’s environment
may contribute to a person behaving aggressively, but are not aggression per
se. To study aggression effectively, such factors need to be clearly differentiated
from aggression and from each other’ as seen in Wayne A Warburton and Craig
A Andersons’ study (2015). ‘A better understanding of aggression and the causal
factors underlying it is essential for learning how to prevent negative aggression
in the future’ as seen in Jianghong Liu’s study (2006).

Sources of Data
The data that have been used in the paper are collected from the social media
such as Facebook and based on my observations on the language which comes
from my native speaker competency in the language.

Discussion
Aggression takes its actual place basis on the context. Sometimes aggression
can be expressed by naming non-human animal names as ‘gu:be’ (owl), ‘handi’
(pig), ‘dana’ (ox), ‘ko:ti’ (monkey) and so on. Through my collected data which
mainly focuses on the aggression, I have come across multiple expressions of
aggression. These aggressive expressions could be carved up into two
categories which can be analysed further.

Covertly aggressive
Aggressive expressions expressed indirectly and it is packed many hidden
elements, as sarcasm, polite expressions, jealous and so on. Some of the
examples are given below:

Examples:
1. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/officialtkm/
Comment: firstu....ellaru heavy talented Agok agala

61
 IPA: farstu ellaru hevi ṭyalenṭeD a:go:k a:galla
Gloss: first everyone heavy talented being never
Translation: Everyone can’t be a heavy talented first.

2. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/officialtkm/

Comment: Making chanagi madthare adre story strong iralla
IPA: me:king chenna:gi ma:Dta:re a:dre sto:ri strong iralla
Gloss: making well doing but story strong no
Translation: Making is well but story is unstrong

3. Facebok link: https://www.facebook.com/KannadaBaruthe/

Comment: Nin amma ning baidru anta pakkad mane aunty na amma
anta karitiya?
IPA: nin amma ning baidru anta pakkad mane a:nṭina amma
anta karitiya?
Gloss: your mother you scolded that next door house aunt
mother that call?
Translation: If your mother scolds you, will you call your neighbour’s
aunt as your mother?

4. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/KannadaBaruthe/

Comment: ala kumar,nam nam mane-li neer kaali agidhe anbittu bere
avra bachlige ky akbodha
IPA: kuma:r nam nam mane:-li ni:r ka:li a:gide anbiṭṭu be:re
avra bacli-ge kai a:k-bo:da
Gloss: kumar our our house-li water empty another’s gutter-
to hand put-can
Translation: Can we put our hand to another’s gutter if water which is
in our home is over?

62
Overtly aggressive
Aggressive expressions expressed directly by using a specific kind of lexical
items, some examples are given below

Examples:
1. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/TrollSandalwoodOfficial/
Comment: muchapa saaku. . .dabba movei. . . ella bard build up. . .
IPA: mucapa sa:ku........dabba...mu:vi.....ella bard build up....
Gloss: shut up enugh.......fake.....movie......all only build up....
Translation: Shut up this movie is fake and everything is only build up

2. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/TrollSandalwoodOfficial/

Comment: Hogo hajama
IPA: ho:go haja:ma
Gloss: go barber
Translation: get out barber

3. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/Khiladigalu840/

Comment: Yakro yash kandre istondu urkothira
IPA: ya:kro yaś kanDre iśṭondu urkotira
Gloss: why yash seen this much jealous
Translation: why are you firing on Yash

4. Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/Khiladigalu840/

Comment: En Dodd laud aa neenu boli Kai kaalu iralla mate
IPA: e:n doD la:D a: ni:nu bo:Li kai ka:lu iralla mate
Gloss: what big laud you hairless hand leg no then
Translation: Are you big laud? Your hand-leg will be broken

63
The words which are bolded are aggressive expressions, so there are lots of
words as these words are expressed aggressively. So aggression involves all
types of behaviour and aggressive behaviour is the outcome of the external and
internal stimuli by living beings, sometimes our physical gestures (body
language) and miscommunication may cause the verbal aggression. Moreover
the study of aggression shouldn’t be overlooked and deemed unimportant.

Conclusion
To sum up this paper, the aggressive expressions in Kannada aren’t adhered to
any particular context. A single aggressive expression can be used in different
context. Aggression requires considerable further study, because at the
moment, it is a minimally understood phenomenon. One important question that
we have few answers to, concerns the differences between social factors and
biological risk factors. Moreover how does aggression affect the society?

Bibliography
Leslie Burton, Emily Bensimon, Janaina Marega Allimant, Rachel Kinsman,
Avita Levin, Lehel Kovacs, Eleni Koskorelos, Justin Bahrami, (2013).
Relationship of Prosody Perception to Personality and Aggression.
Psychology Department University of Connecticut Stamford USA.

Liu J., (2004). Concept analysis: Aggression. Issues Ment Health Nurs.
25(7):693-714. Review. PMID: 15371137.
Wayne A Warburton and Craig A Anderson, (2015). Aggression, Social
Psychology of. This article is a revision of the previous edition article by
L. Berkowitz, volume 1, pp. 295–299, Ó 2001, Elsevier Ltd. Elsevier
Ltd.

64
 Chapter 7

The Role of Missions in the Enhancement of People with Disabilities:

Case of the Colonial India.

Baby Rizwana N. V.
Department of History,
University of Hyderabad,
Gachibowli, 500046
Telangana
babyrizvana@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This article aims to look at the rhetorical connection between Christian missions
in the colonial India and their contribution to the redefinition of the idea of
disability. It was not the colonial state, but the missionaries that took the first step
towards the inclusion of the disabled people into the society. The reshaping of
the idea of disability and social inclusion of the disabled in the colonial India, was
mainly carried out on the basis of Christian ideologies by the missionaries.
Missionaries used the Bible and other Christian scriptures to show the
significance of the disabled in religion as well as in the society. The Christian
missionaries changed the idea of disability from karma or curse into the divinity
of suffering. This paper also looks into the missionary contribution in the fields
of medicine, institutionalization, rehabilitation and the special education of the
disabled in the colonial India. The development of medicine and public health in
the colonial India was greatly contributed by the missionaries. The mission
medicine was reachable to all classes of the society, while the colonial medicine
was mainly reserved for the elite sections. The first response to the question of

65
institutional rehabilitation of disabled from the colonial missions started with the
patients of leprosy and mental illness. Institutional special education of blind,
deaf and mute also was the contribution of missionaries in the colonial India. The
whole theory of civilizing the Oriental was also connected with the missionaries.
The missionaries considered uplifting of the disabled from uncivilized and the
disembodied into the Christian, civilized and superior bodily functions was their
mission.

Keywords: Disability, Colonial India, Colonial Missionaries, Divinity of the

Suffering, Rehabilitation.

Introduction
Disability History has off late became one of the most important themes to
command attention from the academic field. Currently, India is in the forefront of
historicizing disability. This article aims to look at the rhetorical connection
between Christian missions in colonial India and their contribution to the
redefinition of the idea of disability. The historical experience of disability in India
from the earliest times to the medieval period was not different from that of any
other countries. It was mainly based on the idea of disability as a curse. Disabled
people in India have always been marginalized in one sense or another. Every
society treats their disabled in terms of different models. The major models used
by the colonial missionaries to take care of the disabled were divided into Moral
model and charity model, where disabled are treated in terms of religious inflated
care and charity.

The awareness about rehabilitation and rights of the disabled in India started
with the colonial expansion. It was not the colonial state, but the missionaries
that took the first step towards the inclusion of the disabled people into the
society. In other words, conceptualization of the awareness about the special
care for the disabled in India started with the idea of charity by missionaries. In

66
fact, it was the Christian missionaries who began the formal rehabilitation of
disabled people. This led to a disturbance in the traditional family care which
was based on the idea of discrimination and karma. According to the principles
of Christianity, the practice of charity is the path to salvation and the disabled
are represented in the Bible as the children of God who need special care.
Missionaries used the Bible as their main tool, to propagate their idea of ‘divinity
through disability’. Consequently, under the colonial rule, India witnessed the
setting up of several hospitals and charitable homes for the disabled, by the
voluntary and missionary sector, especially in the 1880s.

New Interpretation of the Disability in the Bible: The Moral Model

The reshaping of disability and social inclusion of the disabled in the colonial
India, was mainly carried out on the basis of Christian ideologies by the
missionaries. The excessive missionary works and the spread of Christian
ideologies resulted in the increased awareness of disability. The main
contribution of the missionaries was the reshaping of the idea of disability which
was hitherto viewed upon as a curse. Missionaries used the Bible as their main
tool to propagate their idea of the need of taking care of the disabled.
Missionaries went to villages and visited families and they took the responsibility
of collecting data regarding different types of disabilities that prevailed in India.
But visiting villages were not possible for the colonial officials as it took real
patience and money and especially, because of the political instability this was
a time that the colonial government had no time to be concerned about the
native’s health. Missionaries exhorted the locals regarding the importance of
care and charity in the life of the disabled.

Missionaries used the Bible and other Christian scriptures to show the
significance of disabled in the religion as well as in the society. They quoted
phrases like “you shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the
blind” (Leviticus, 19:14) to show the importance of disabled in the eyes of God.

67
They preached that cursing and doing harm to the weak is punishable by the
God’s law. The missionaries propagated the idea of love for the God’s creations
without discrimination, by quoting phrases like “mercy is over all that he has
made” (Psalm, 25:4). They gave a voice of divinity to disability and said God has
the tenderness of a father towards his children, so he loves and care that entire
he has made without exception. The missionaries advocated that those who
were suffering from any kind of disability, God is also participating in his
children’s suffering and “in all their distress he was too distressed” (Isaiah, 6:9).
They perceived disability not as an unjust condition but something that drives us
back to God when we are drift away from Him. The missionaries and priests
showed Indians the glimpse of the redemptive possibilities of suffering.

The principles of Christianity gave different meanings to disability in the colonial

India. The Christian missionaries changed the idea of disability from karma or
curse into the divinity of the suffering. Due to all these, the term ‘disability’ lost
the status of curse to God’s grace in our lives. They preached that disabled
people are created and valued by Him. They took up the positive images in the
bible to show people that disability is not a curse. They also spread the
awareness that disabled are valued and deserves respect. They took the
examples of Mephibosheth in 2 Samuel 9, Moses who had a speech defect,
Leprosy patients, Jacob who had a paralyzed arm and saint Paul, to show the
dignity and importance of disabled people who were greatly admired.

The missionaries used basic interpretation of the Bible, to create awareness of

the need of care for the disabled, among the locales. They tried to spread the
idea that everything under the God’s creation is an image of the God and all
persons have high value based on who he/she is. Further, they preached that
regardless of how people look and speak, each one is of importance to the single
unit of Christendom. For every idea they returned to the Bible for more
interpretation. They quoted passages like “The body is a unit, though it is made

68
up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is
with Christ . . . those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable”
(Corinthians. 12:12, 22). They told that, all believers are created by God and
each has a mission to be fulfilled based on his/her destiny. This ideology was
spread across, in order to advocate the importance of the disabled in the society.
The missionaries said that everyone has a role to fulfil in God’s work, thus a
body is holy, no matter what defects you have, because the body is the vessel
that will take on God’s plan. It was as the missionaries telling Indians that, ‘in a
healthy church, everybody belongs’ (Everybody Belongs. Everybody Serves. A
Handbook for Disability Advocates 2009).

The most common diseases mentioned in the Bible are blindness, deafness,
dumbness, leprosy, and paralysis. Visual impairment is the most common form
of physical disability in the Bible. Disability is often attributed to God. The healing
narratives in the Bible used the idea of theology as inclusive and liberative rather
than discriminative. The miracles that Jesus had done mainly included the
healing of the disabled, curing disability and inclusion of social outcastes. Jesus
states in the Bible "Go back and report to John what you hear and see; the blind
recover their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear”
(Matthew, 11:3, 5).

By using examples from gospel, missionaries in India showed the natives that,
no man can run away from imperfection. Each and every one is imperfect, except
God. They took the example of Jesus and said that not even the son of the God
was perfect. They equated the kindness of the Jesus to the weakness of the
mind. When God decided to perish humanity, it was Jesus who chose the
weakness of forgiving. Thus missionaries advocated that Jesus was same as
common people, for whom weakness of mind or body is the reality of life.

69
Missionaries said that serving is the first principle of humanity. People should
take care of those who need help, like how the son of the God took care of his
students. The missionaries of the colonial time advocated that Jesus advocated
the path of social inclusiveness. He warmed up to disabled, social outcastes,
women, foreigners and adulterers. They propagated that God communicates
with the people with intellectual disability. They said that the Bible accepted the
fact that God’s communication is not with words but with the minds. The God will
communicate with little children who are vulnerable to the system. Little is not in
the sense of little children but in the sense of their intellectual capacity. Jesus
states that 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have
hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little
children’ (Luke, 10:21). So they asked the people in India to treat the people
with disability in the way the Bible preaches. They should be approached with
utmost humility and ‘do nothing from rivalry or conceit and we should serve
disabled exactly as if we are serving God himself’ (Luke 3:8, 6). Missionaries
said that taking care of the disabled is the biggest goodness of all because Jesus
himself says ‘whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water
because he is a disabled, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward’
(John 9:1,3). Those who hurt or mock a person with disability will get highest
punishment, says in gospel. So it is important to treat disabled with honour and
people must go beyond mere inclusion. Missionaries advocated that disability is
seen in the Bible as something that catches the eyes of the God.

The idea of the disabled as the children of God was created by missionaries in
colonial India. They said that God gives greater importance to those who lack.
So missionaries promoted the following idea; treating disabled people well is not
only good for them, but for the giver as well. They also tried to imply that disability
is not a curse. There is an instance in the Bible. When ‘[Jesus] passed by, he
saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this
man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was not that this

70
man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him'
(Robert Eric Frykenberg, 2003). Disability then started to be considered as the
plan of God.

Contributions of Missions to the Upliftment of Disabled in the Colonial India:

Medical Missions, Rehabilitation and Special Education
The development of medicine and public health in colonial India was greatly
contributed by the missionaries. The understanding of medicine gave a scientific
outlook to the conditions of the disabled. The nineteenth century witnessed the
growth of new trends in diagnosis treatment and microscopic studies, laboratory
works, growth of immunology, and achievements in micro biology. The spread
of infectious diseases in the 19th century forced the British to take care of the
Indian scenario in health. The development of medical field in India was the
direct influence of colonialism. Even though missionaries started full-fledged
work in India by the 19th century, they were not much concerned about the health
of the natives. Many missionaries did not think of establishment of the medical
facilities as a part of mission plan. That was a big question soon to be addressed.
They believed that preaching and teaching of gospel and helping natives to
conquer heaven was much more important (Medical Missionary Journal, 1874).
The religious nature of their work forced the missionaries not to believe that
modern science and medicine could be of a greater use in future. But in 1860s
when the church started to question its own orthodox missionary works, they
understood that the medicines could be useful to spread their mission. During
this time missions started to understand that ‘the work of the doctor is to open
the door that the evangelist may enter in’ (Rosemary Fitzgerald, 1967).

As part of spreading the mission among natives more diligently, medical

missions became a trend in latter part of the 19thcentury. The mission medicine
was reachable to all classes of society, while colonial medicine was mainly
reserved for the elite sections of the society. The number of doctors and medical

71
agents sent to India by the missionary societies rose over the time. This was
accompanied by a rapid increase in the number of mission hospitals that
increased the quality of mission medicine. The early missionaries were not
medically equipped. Even then, they were provided with some basic medical
service. Chaffin was the first woman nurse who worked among disabled and sick
people. The local people approved of the nurses and medical missions were
taken as the new strategy by the missionaries.

In 1829, the slow phase of medical mission was changed. From this time,
missionaries, especially women missionaries, started to get educated as nurses
and it made a huge impact. It was not easy to penetrate into the traditional
society of rural India. But the people opened their doors to the women
missionaries. "A female medical mission may be defined to be the practice of
medicine by a lady for the purpose not merely of curing but of Christianizing her
patients. This is a key which may be said to fit every lock. She would find an
entrance where the educational missionary would find it closed, She would
soften' bigotry, remove prejudice, dispel ignorance, drive away gloom, and
unobtrusively but effectually deposit the all-pervading leaven of the gospel in
numberless hearts and homes, ..” in’ (Rosemary Fitzgerald, 1967).

They worked at the grass root level. They travelled to villages. They went to
patients’ homes rather than asking them to come to the hospital. The first change
that happened was in the realm of maternal care. Taking care of the complication
of the pregnancies reduced the birth of disabled children and induced disability
during delivery. The establishment of mission hospitals like Zenana Mission
Hospital in Amritsar and other cities and the excessive research on orthopaedic
disability and surgeries became a huge success.

Rama Mani (1988), says the family support system of disabled, changed once
the colonial government along with mission introduced the medical pathological

72
rehabilitation along with the idea of charity. Missionaries played an important
role in the institutional rehabilitation of the disabled. The first response to the
question of institutional rehabilitation of the disabled from the colonial missions
started with the patients of leprosy. 1860’s saw the rise of leprosy asylums.
These institutions mainly helped the people to get the medical care that they
needed.

These are some of the rehabilitation institutions founded by missionaries in India

and important missionaries who worked for the disabled in India. The Sarah
Tucker Institution and England Zenana Missionary Society worked for the
rehabilitation of the blind people in colonial India, especially in south India.
Askwith, Anne Jane, 1893 report from Sarah Tucker Institution in 1884 about an
Indian blind Christian young woman, Marial, who had earlier “gone out with the
Bible-woman teaching and singing to the people and they listened most
attentively to her, and especially the little ones liked her to teach them” (Anne
Jane, 1893) (Wellesley Crosby Bailey, 1887) also gives an account of the
disabled and lepers in colonial India (E. Bauman's, 1889). Account of the deaf
child Ellen also shows us how the Mission helped people to create a better
understanding and awareness of the disability in the colonial India. The deaf girl
Ellen who was found abandoned in the jungle, in a feral state, and was brought
home by the author's father, a missionary at Chupra.

Even though there were a number of hospitals available for the treatment, the
British government considered blind people as unproductive. It was the
missionaries who started working for the education of the blind and other
disabled. The Christian scripts hold a special place for the stories of blind people,
most popular being Jesus’ miracle of giving sight back to the needy. Missionaries
took the problem of blindness in Asia as the blindness of the soul which can be
cured by the Christianity. For them, blind schools were not the places where they
change the blind in to able bodies but a place to cure.

73
These residential schools were both for boys and girls. They provided education
in reading, writing, and recitation. Along with these, they also taught sewing, rope
making, gardening etc. They mainly used ‘Frames Peg Method’ that is a teaching
method that teaches blind students to read letters by using a foldable frame to
form letters which uses folding pegs to frame the words to teach other subjects.
Music was given more importance in the curriculum. It was the missionaries who
introduced various scripts like Moon script, Braille and oriental Braille. For the
missionaries, blindness presented an opportunity as well as epitomizing the
spiritual darkness of the subcontinent; a darkness that missions sought to dispel
through conversion in schools.

In 1898, Sarah Secunda Hewlett gave a detailed account of missionary activities

among blind in the colonial India. This text gives considerable details of the lives
and spiritual progress of many blind children and adults who received training at
St Catherine's Hospital, Amritsar between 1886 and 1897, with some
photographs. F. Hahn in 1890 gives an account of the leper asylum in Chota
Nagpur under Gossner's Evangelical Lutheran Mission. Bengal Military Orphan
Asylum, an organization in colonial India, took special care of the education and
re-rehabilitation of the blind. The practice of the medical model in taking care of
the disabled also highly influenced indigenous institutions.

Lunate asylums were created under the Indian Lunatic Act of 1858 to provide
medical help for the mentally impaired adults and children. Missionaries were
advised to make visit families in search of mentally unstable persons or find them
wandering in the street and take them to the hospital for care. The main job of
missionaries was to take care of these patients in regards of their daily activity
and meditation .The vaccination department under sanitation asked mission help
in creating the awareness programs among locals.

74
It was during the colonial period that the first demographic data on disabled was
gathered. In 1871, when the colonial government conducted the first ever
census, the disabled were categorized under the terms deaf, dumb, blind, idiots,
insane and those affected with leprosy. The gathering of the information on
disabled for the first time is a credit which we can give to the colonial
government, but major works like going in to the villages and collecting
information were done by the missions.

Entangled fantasies of race and disability in the late nineteenth-century were the
main feature of the debates in imperial Britain. The crux of this debate regarding
disability and race was that the ‘other’ was often racialized and identified in terms
of disability. It was believed that ‘whiteness’ was disrupted by the presence of
the apparent disability and the ‘dumbness’ of the ‘natives’ were considered as
the evidence of piteous incapacity. The term ‘crippled’ used for denoting a
Negroid person indicates that race and disability had a close connection in
imperial Britain’s thought. Race and disability were both biological and therefore,
aligning bodily difference became a symbol of race and the justification of
colonialism. The whole theory of civilizing the Oriental was also connected with
the missionaries. The missionaries considered medical rehabilitation of the
disabled, habitalising the primitive, uncivilized and the disembodied into the
Christian, civilized and superior bodily functions as their mission. They believed
that in order to come to the way of civilization, people should learn Christian way
of life (people with disability looked at as not- Christian at first).

Conclusion
The colonial period is featured with a high literacy rate, and a post enlightenment
curiosity. Even though the knowledge of the missionaries was influenced by the
religious sentiments, it was fairly compassionate when compared to the other
periods. Treating disabled as the children of God never made any sense, but it
was better at that time when people with disabilities were looked upon as a

75
curse. Taking examples from the Bible and other scriptures about the duty of the
Christian to look after others and the need of charity and care did play an
important role in making Indians understand that people with disabilities should
be handled with compassion. The role of missionaries in the work of creating
hospitals and asylums were a new start for the novel idea of rehabilitation of the
disabled. The Mission’s role of inducing medical treatment to the needy also
can’t be weighed down. Their role in introducing special education and the role
of women missionaries for the maternal care eased the pain of many families
who didn’t know how to care for an adult or child with special needs. The problem
with the colonial and the missionary understanding of disability was that it failed
to make a distinction between disease and disability.

Bibliography
Ali, Hashim Amir. (1947). Facts and Fancies. Hyderabad: The Dominion Book
Concern.
Ariarajah, Wesley. (2002). Mission in the Context of religions and Cultures.
Lalsangkima: Colonial Publishers.
Askwith, Anne Jane (1893). India's Women. The Magazine of the Church of
England Zenana Missionary Society, 4: 289-393.
Bauman, E. (1889). Deaf and dumb Ellen and how she became a Christian.
Indian Female Evangelist. 8, 241-244
Bayly, C.A. (1996). Empire and information: intelligence gathering and social
communication in India. 1780–1870. London: Cambridge University
Press.
Bellenoit, Hayden. (2007). Missionary Education, Religion and Knowledge in
India, c. 1880-1915. London: Cambridge University Press.
Craig, Albert. (1983). A Scot in Sikkim. Edinburgh: Board of World Mission and
Unity.
Crosby, Bailey. (1887). A Glimpse at the Indian Mission-Field and Leper
Asylums in 1886-87. London: Shaw publications.

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Cox, Jeffery. (2009). Missionary Education and Empire in Late Colonial India,
1860–1920. Delhi: Indian University Press.
David, M. D. (1988). Western Colonialism in Asia and Christianity. Bombay:
Himalaya Publishing House.
Dena, Lal. (1988). Christian Mission and Colonialism. Shillong: Vendrame
Institute.
Dharmaraj, Jacob S. (1993). Colonialism and Christian Mission: Postcolonial
Reflection. Delhi: ISPCK.
Downs, F. S. (1992). History of Christianity in India. Bangalore: The Church
History Association of India.
Firth, C. B. (2005). An Introduction to Indian Church History. Delhi: ISPCK.
Fitzgerald, Rosemary. (2001). A Peculiar and Exceptional Measure: The Call For
Women Medical Missionaries for India In the Late Nineteenth Century.
London: Cambridge University Press.
Fitzgerald, Rosemary (2001). ‘“Clinical Christianity”: the emergence of medical
work as a missionary strategy in colonial India. London: Sangam Books.
Frykenberg, Robert Eric. (Ed.) (2003). Christians and Missionaries in India:
Cross Cultural Communications since 1500. London: Routeledge.
Hewlett, S. S. (1898). They Shall See His Face: Stories of God’s Grace in Work
among the Blind in India. London: Bocardo Press.
Jeyakumar, Arthur. (2002). History of Christianity in India: Selected Theme.
Delhi: ISPCK.
Mackenzie, Clayton. (1993). Demythologising the Missionaries: A
Reassessment of the Functions and Relationships of Christian
Missionary Education under Colonialism. New York: Taylor & Francis,
Ltd.
Mani, Rama. (1988). The physically Handicapped in India. Michigan: University
of Michigan.
Mosche, Barasch. (2001). Blindness: The History of a Mental Image in Western
Thought. London: Routledge.

77
Neill, Stephen. (1985). A History of Christianity in India: 1708–1858. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Newbigin, Lesslie. (1974). The Good Shepherd. Madras: CLS.
Pachuau, Lalsangkima (Ed). (2002). Ecumenical Missiology: Contemporary
Trends, Issues and Themes. Bangalore: UTC.
Panicker, K. M. (1959). Asia and Western Dominance. London: George Allen &
Unwin.
Pati, Biswamoy and Mark Harrison (eds). (2001). Health, medicine and empire:
perspectives on colonial India. London: Sangam Books.
Porter, Andrew. (2004). Religion versus empire? British Protestant missionaries
and overseas expansion 1700–1914. Manchester: University Press.
Rutherford, W. (1900). Andhi: The Story of a Hindoo Waif. Delhi: Imperial Book
Depot Press.
Schumm, Darla. (2005) Out of the Darkness: Examining the Rhetoric of
Blindness in the Gospel of John. NY: Disability Studies Quarterly.
Subramaniam, V. (1979). Consequences of Christian Missionary Education.
London: Third World Quarterly.

78
 Chapter 8

An Introduction to Alu Kurumba

R. Singaravelan
CAS in Linguistics,
Annamalai University,
Chidambaram, 608002
Tamil Nadu
vatchalavelan@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present paper is to identify and describe the socio-cultural
function of Alu Kurumba dialect spoken in Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu, India,
and to explain the relationship between language use in relation to the cultural
and cognitive aspect of the Alu Kurumba people. It is assumed that language
has three main functions in the cultural milieu of the society. They are
representational function, the function of social cognition and aesthetic function.
It is also assumed that by studying and analyzing the vocabulary items belonging
to different domains, the way in which cultural groups conceive categorize and
name the concepts could be explained.

Keywords: Alu Kurumba, Language, Culture, Religious Beliefs and Life Cycle
Rituals.

Introduction
As Per 2001 Census of India, 8.2% of the Indian population comprises tribal
people, which is over 84 million people. Among these, six tribal community

79
people namely, Toda, Kota, Irulas, Paniya, Kurumba, and Kattunayakan have
been identified as primitive tribes of Tamil Nadu.

Kurumba is a one of the tribal communities of Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu. The
Kurumba settlements are located in the Nilgiris district, which is one of the
smallest administrative districts in Tamil Nadu. Nilgiris literally translates to “blue
mountains” named after the blue haze that envelops these mountain ranges with
violet blossoms of the kurunji (strobilantes) flower.

The inhospitable climatic condition of the Blue Mountains did not attract territory
invaders except for the tribal people who were primarily hunter and
gatherers. Little is known as to how or from where these tribal groups came. It
is believed that the Kurumbas are descendants of the Pallavas, whose reign is
dated to extend around the 7th century. The Pallavas then lost their power to the
Kongus and the Chalukyas. Thus, they lost their power and were expelled by the
Chola king Adondai. After this, they dispersed to various regions such as the
Nilgiris, Wynad, Coorg, and Mysore and established their settlements at these
locations. The term Kurumba exclusively refers to the Kurumba people of the
Nilgiris.

Ethnonym of the Kurumba Community

A.A.D. Luiz is the first scholar who tried to define the meaning of “Kurumba”.
Luiz (1962) stated that, “The name Kurumba is said to be originated from their
early occupation of tending Kuru (sheep). It is also possible that their name
originated from the Tamil word “Kurumbu” (mischief), because of their savage
stage that they were very arrogant and mischievous”.

Rev. G. Richter proved that “the Kurumbas of Mysore are only called as
shepherds and that no connection exists between these Kurubas and the
Kurumbas”.

80
Lewis Rice called the wild tribes as well as the shepherd as Kurubas by
mentioning that Kurubas and Kurumbas, both terms are identical and refer to
only the ethnological distinction.

Edgar Thurston, while discussing about the Kurumabs, has written that, “There
are two sharply defined bodies of Kurumbans-those who live on the Nilgiri
plateau, speak the Kurumba dialect, and wild jungle men; and those who live on
the plains, speak Canarase and are civilized”.

“Kurumba” as Ethnonym Variation

The words “Kurumba”, “Kuruba”, and “Kuruma” occur in the name of several
tribal communities. The first form is common in Tamil, the second in Kannada
and the third in Malayalam descriptions.

Kurumba are found in the adjacent areas of the Nilgiri district to the east and
north of the Bhawani, extending eastwards to Kotagiri. They are referred to as
“Alu Kurumba”.

While the etymology of the differentiation between “Palu” and “Alu” Kurumba is
not clear, it is possible that the variation may be phonetic rather than semantic.
Palu in Kannada would be “Halu,” and the aspirated “H” could have been
dropped to form Alu. The word “a:lu” in their ethnonym means milk in Kurumba
dialect, and “pal” (a variant of their ethnonym) means milk in Tamil.

Language of Alu Kurumba

Linguistic analysis of the Alu Kurumba speech reveals that there are a number
of Kannada words in Alu Kurumba language and the grammar also resembles
that of the Kannada language. Hence, it can be concluded that their language is
a dialect of Kannada. This is in accordance with the finding of Deiter. B. Kapp
(1978) that the Alu Kurumbas are a member of Tamil/ Kannada group of south

81
Dravidian family and their speech form is a dialect of Kannada. The Alu Kurumba
dialect has 30 segmental phonemes, of which 10 are vowels and the remaining
20 are consonants.

Physical Appearance
The Kurumbas are small in physique and dark-skinned in appearance. Short
describes them as having wedge-shaped faces, flat noses, and hollow cheeks
with prominent cheek-bones, slightly pointed chins, and moderately large eyes.
The hair is long and black, is grown matted and straggling, somewhat wavy, and
is sometimes tied into a knot on the crown or at the back of the head, while the
ends are allowed to be free and floating.

Division of Kurumbas
According to 1961 Census of India, the Kurumba tribal community can be
classified into five sub-groups, viz.
Betta Kurumba
Jenu / Tenu Kurumba
Mullu Kurumba
Palu / Halu Kurumba
Urali Kurumba

Each group maintains different ethnic social organizations and social designs
based on their living habitats. According to the 2011 Census of Tribal Research
Centre (TRC), the total numbers of Kurumbas are 10,353, of which 5196 are
males and 5157 are females.

Methodology
Field work was conducted at the settlements of the Alu Kurumba at the Nilgiris.
Research tools such as questionnaire and cue cards. The questionnaire focused
on collecting various linguistic and cultural information as much as possible.

82
Alu Kurumbas
The Alu or Palu Kurumbas are to be found only in the taluks of Kotagiri, Coonoor
and Kundah. From the accounts of the British travelers in the Nineteenth
century, we learn that this group resided in caves or rock shelters or huts in small
hamlets on the steep slopes of this region. The Alu Kurumbas are considered
as medicine men and faith healers who had the capacity to exploit the medicinal
properties of plants available in their habitat. Recently, the government of India
has supported the construction of small houses with bricks and metal sheet
roofs through their Hill Area Development Program.

The Kurumbas are known for their traditional role of sorcerer and priests. They
were involved in these roles not only within their tribal community but also for
other tribes of the Nilgiris, such as Irulas and Badagas. The Kurumbas were well
known for their able powers in medicine and spell, and they were respected and
often illnesses and death in other tribes were believed to be the spell of the
Kurumba. Several such instances occurred in the 19th century, when Kurumbas
were massacred by other tribes. It is also said that the Kurumbas derive their
name from the Tamil word “kurumbu” (mischief). Such a notorious reputation
survives even today although the closest they come to sorcery is in their fine
knowledge of medicinal plants.

Settlement Patterns of Alu Kurumbas

In Nilgiri district, there are 121 settlements of Kurumbas located in five taluks,
viz., 35 settlements in Coonoor taluk; 26 settlements in Kotagiri taluk; 11
settlements in Kundah taluk; 25 settlements in Pandalur taluk and 24 settlements
in Gudalur taluk. Particularly, Alu Kurumba inhabit the ‘Burliar-Coimbatore
plains’, one of the four bio-physical zones of Nilgiri district, especially on the
southwest, south, southeast and east slopes of Nilgiri Hills. And consequently,
the Alu Kurumbas are located altogether in 72 hamlets of Nilgiri district.

83
The Alu Kurumba tribal council (u:rk ku:ṭṭom) is convened by the ‘head man’
(mudali), the ‘priest’ (mannu ka:ren), the ‘assistant’ (kurutale) and the
‘messenger’ (vanda:ri). They officiate their due roles in the appropriate contexts.

The Alu Kurumba villages are mostly uniethnic Kurumba settlement occupied by
only the Alu Kurumbas. A typical Alu Kurumba village or motta (or kombai) is
made up of five to six huts scattered on the steep wooded slopes. The Alu
Kurumba traditional hut comprise one-roomed hut with low roof. The houses are
mostly located at two or three levels in the steep slope. The kitchen or ittumane
(food house) has a narrow one-foot high ledge running the length of a wall. The
sleeping room or “vaga mane” serves for all other purposes. The houses open
to flattened verandahs or tinna mane that is used for social purposes.

Economic Activities
They were originally gathers of forest produce, though their mythology and grave
goods indicate a past period when they used spears and iron-tipped weapons
for hunting and warfare. They cultivate bananas, mangoes, jackfruit, maize,
yams, chilies, and millets in clearings around their settlements. They still practice
some shifting cultivation, though this is being severely suppressed by the forest
department. They used to set traps and snares for birds and small animals, but
this source of food getting also brings them into conflict with the departmental
authorities. They collect roots and tubers, leafy vegetables, fruits, honey, bee
wax, resin, etc., from the forests. This traditional life support dependence on the
forests is becoming increasingly uncertain because of the forest protection and
wild life preservation policies of the Government.

In addition, Kurumba supplied three kinds of basket, two types of winnows, and
a large flat basket to hold grain while drying, some rare species of timber for the
making of pounders, honey, tamarind, sleeping mats made from reeds, etc.
They also served as therapists for curing ailments by herbal medicines and

84
spells, for which they earned fees and presents. They also played an important
part in the Badaga festivals.

Nowadays, the most important occupation for most Kurumba, men and women,
is as casual labor in tea and other plantations which have come up in the area.
The Alu Kurumba maintained, until very recently, active socio-economic
relations with the Todas, their neighbors, who in exchange of grains, especially
millets, bamboo, cane basket materials, etc., supplied them buffalo calves, milk
and milk products, and with Kotas, who supplied ironware in exchange of diverse
products. In the exchange of goods and services between tribes, the Kurumbas
had closest ties with the Badaga. Kurumba settlements were often located close
to Badagas communities, where they provided medicine and sorcery, together
with forest produce and woven products (baskets and brooms). This exchange
exhibited a defined set of mutual obligations. According to Kapp and Hockings
“Kurumbas are expected to supply the Badaga commune with three baskets ...
cane or reeds” (1989). In return, the Badaga would often give the Kurumba salt,
coarse sugar, cloth and grain, the latter grown on fields upon which the
Kurumbas themselves were often expected to work. The Kurumba males might
also be expected to serve as watchmen for a Badaga community.

Communicative Patterns
Alu Kurumbas are multilingual and they speak Kannada, Tamil and their own
language. The inter-tribal communication takes place in a form of Kannada
mixed with their own language, since the other tribes living there speak a dialect
of Kannada origin.

Owing to non-tribal settlements present in meeting places such as Kotagiri and

Coonoor, where business purposes have become prominent, the
communication between tribal and non-tribal takes place in Tamil and Kannada.

85
Arts and Craft
The Alu Kurumba is known for their artistic talent. Their art are mainly design
oriented, and human figures are rarely found in their art. They furnish the wall
with mud or cow dung and then manually create designs in the art.

Their art includes portrayals of various aspects of their life. Their paintings also
depict their “u:ru” tradition in which women and men dance in circles, and
elaborate methods of honey-collection are all documented in their paintings.
They also paint various occasions and rituals of their lifestyle and culture.

Religion and Rituals

Generally, the Alu Kurumbas is a more religious community and a community
with varied superstitious beliefs. Religion and worship are the deeply rooted
phenomena in their culture. Alu Kurumbas are animistic and follow Hinduism.
kumba de:varu and his consort karupadata:yi are their main deities. These two
are the principal deities of Alu Kurumbas. However, the ‘na:gara’ group and
‘beḷḷege’ group have a deity each of their own, namely, na:gara ma:de:swara
and beḷḷege ma:riyamma. In addition, the Alu Kurumba possesses fear
psychosis over the evil spirit (muni).

As cited earlier, the people of Alu Kurumbas are also identified to observe
annually 2 consecutive secret ceremonies (gove mane abba and kumba de:va
abba) within such a sacred grove wherein 5 male members of a hamlet of Alu
Kurumbas headed and guided by the priest, and “ja:tti” proceeds to the interior
wilderness of sacred grove and subjects themselves to self-excitement for 7
days, without intimating even their kindred by observing the life of celibacy,
thriving only on wild edible items such as honey, wild fruits, yams, tubers.
Further, they offer such wild produce at the “gove mane”. Such observance is
designated as ‘gove mane abba’. On the morning of 7th day, all the 7 Alu
Kurumbas proceed towards a peak located at the opposite side ( edir muḍi) and

86
observe a secret ceremony of deifying 7 pots kept in a secret enclosure therein;
As these 7 pots are referred as ‘kumba de:varu’ (Lit. “Pot Deities”), this secret
ceremony associated with them is referred to as ‘kumba de:va abba’. And such
a twin secret ceremony (of ‘gove mane abba’ & ‘kumba de:va abba’) is also
observed by the Alu Kurumbas to ensure prosperity and security to their entire
tribal community throughout the year.

Marriage Ceremony
For marriage, the bride groom’s parents along with their kith and kin visit the
bride’s house for a formal talk. The bride’s parents along with their kith and kin
receive them in a customary manner. The parents ask the bride’s father. “Is there
any young cow or goat in your house for sale?” The father of the bride
understands that they are asking for a bride, if he agrees and says ‘Yes, I have
a young cow’, then the parents of the boy after 15 days again visit the same
house and accept the feast. After 10 days, again parents along with son and
village elder visit the bride’s house. The day before the marriage, the elders from
the groom’s village including the headman visit the girl’s house. The next day,
they bring the bride to the groom’s village. Then, the bridegroom’s party sits at
a make-shift pandal and offers water containing rice and pepper by the bride’s
family. They drink water and eat a combine feast. Then, all of them assemble at
the pandal, where the bridegroom’s maternal uncle presents new clothes and
the bride price of Rs. 101 to the bride’s father. On wedding day, the bride’s
relatives along with the bride go to bridegroom’s village where the wedding is to
take a place from “jatimane”. Then, the bridegroom comes and sits by the side
of her. At the time, the bridegroom ties the ‘turmeric smeared cord’ (ta:li) around
the neck of the bride in presence of all invitees. A vegetarian feast is given to all
invitees.

Death Ceremony
The Alu Kurumbas have two death ceremonies, one at the time of death, for
which they have elaborate funeral rites, and the other is called “gurumane”,
87
which they perform once in a year or once in two years by the whole Alu
Kurumbas village for the people died during the year. Death is considered to be
a brief experience by Alu Kurumbas. The death drowns family to irreconcilable
sorrow. When death occurs in a family, messengers are sent to different places
to inform the relatives about the death. The relatives assemble at the house of
the deceased. The deceased person’s maternal uncle on arrival gives bath to
the dead body. Then, the hands and legs are tied with and piece of cloth. The
body is placed outside of the hut in such a way that deceased person’s head
always faces the entrance of the house. Generally evening is the preferred time
to take the body to the burial ground. The funeral bed is prepared by using
bamboo sticks and wild grass. After its completion, it resembles a chariot. The
bier is carried by the people of the same clan to the burial ground. The relatives
of the deceased follow the funeral procession which is accompanied by the
people who play musical instruments.

On reaching the burial ground, the funeral bed is kept by the side of the pit and
the final rites are performed. The burial rituals are performed by the eldest son
of the deceased, if the dead person is a male member, whereas the same ritual
is performed by the youngest son, if the dead person is a female member. If the
deceased person does not have any issues, the above rites are performed by
his/her brother’s children.

They bury the dead and few cremate the dead. On 7th day, the family people of
the dead person perform last funeral rites. On the 9th day, they keep a stone in
memory of the dead in village dolmen and worship the stone by offering cooked
food, tobacco, liquor and betel leaves. They observe ancestor worship at
“gurumane”, a place of dead ancestors, once in a year. The priest will invoke
most of the spirits by going into trance when the people provide music and
dance.

88
Costumes and Ornaments
Tribes are the heritage of traditional culture because most of the tribal people
still live under primitive belief. So, their cultural habits are very interesting and
they are the identity of traditional culture. The Kurumbas are said to wear silver
and bronze jewelry. However, during the fieldtrip to Vellarikombai village, only a
minimum of jewelry was noted and was of the plastic bead kind. Married women
wear ta:li, which is very often just a plain yellow thread, pendant or beads having
broken off. Soap is used to wash them, where soap nut was once used. The
Kurumba women are said to have had a few parallel lines of dots tattooed on
their foreheads traditionally. However, at present, it is uncommon to see
anybody with tattoo art on them. Alu Kurumbas wear typical dresses that are
totally different from modern culture and still strongly follow their own traditional
dresses. Normally, male members wear a medium piece of cloth around their
waist which is commonly known as be:ṭṭi (Dhoti). Generally women dress with
a larger piece of cloth or si:le (Saree).

Conclusion
Alu Kurumbas, who live in the south and southeastern slopes of Coonoor,
Kotagiri and Kundah taluk of Nilgiri District in Tamil Nadu. In this context, the
study of tribal languages and their culture is very important from the point of view
that the tribal people not only contribute to history of mankind, but also enrich
social, cultural and economic facts of human life. Hence, studies and
documentation of tribal language are very much significant especially because
they are losing their identity day by day due to the influences of major languages,
which in most of the Indian situation dominate over the minority tribal languages.
Hence, it is very essential to document the tribal language and culture not only
to preserve them but also to protect them from the danger of extinction in the
near future.

89
Bibliography
Agesthialingam, S. (1972). Tamizhaga pazhangudi makkal. Annamalai Nagar:
Tamil Linguistic Society.
Balakumar, S. (1993). Descriptive Study of Pa:lu Kurumbas. Unpublished Ph.D
Thesis, University of Mysore, Mysore.
Geetha, V. (2011). A Hand Book of Tribal Studies in Annamalai University.
Chidambaram: TSL Publisher.
Jayapal, S. (1978). Descriptive Grammar of Kurumba. Unpublished Ph.d Thesis,
Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar.
Kapp. Deiter, B. (1978) Pa:lu Kurumba Riddles Specimens of a South Dravidian
Tribal Language. Bulletin of the School Oriental and African Studies.
Vol: 12-3. P. 512-522.
Madhava Menon, T. (1996). The Encyclopedia of Dravidian Tribes. ISDL:
Thiruvananthapuram.
Robert Sathya Joseph, D. (1982). Descriptive Study of Mullu Kurumba.
Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar.
Sivakumar, M. (1988). A Descriptive Study of ‘po:ḍu’ soliga- Tamilnadu.
Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, Annamalai University: Annamalai Nagar.
Srinivasa Varma, G. (1978). Kurumba Kannada (Pudukkotai Kurumba Dialect).
Annamalai University: Annamalai Nagar.

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 Chapter 9

An Introduction to Alu Kurumba

Biginchi N. Mark
CAS in Linguistics,
Annamalai University,
Chidambaram, 608002
Tamil Nadu
walomimarak@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The Garo language belongs to the Bodo–Garo languages branch of the Tibeto-
Burman language family. The language was not traditionally written down;
customs, traditions, and beliefs were handed down orally. It is believed that the
written language was lost in its transit to the present Garo Hills. Garo
language/script was written on the skins of cows; while on the way their
ancestors faced famines so they cooked them. The written language/script was
lost. The Garos are one of the few remaining matrilineal societies in the world.
The individuals take their clan titles from their mothers. Traditionally, the
youngest daughter (nokmechik) inherits the property from her mother. Sons
leave the parents' house at puberty and are trained in the village bachelor
dormitory (nokpante). After getting married, the man lives in his wife's house.
Nokpantes are glory of the past and all children are given equal care, rights and
importance by the modern parents. Garos are only a matrilinear society but not
matriarchal. While the property is owned by women, the men govern the society
and domestic affairs and manage the property. This provides security to Garo
women. The Garo people have traditional names. However, the culture of

91
modern Garo community has been greatly influenced by Christianity. Matrilocal
family-orientation and clan exogamy rule are found to dominate Garo marriage
system. Monogamy is commonly practiced. Though rare, polygyny is practiced
with wife’s younger sisters, of course, not more than three. The consent of the
first wife is required in such polygamous assignments.

Keywords: Garo Language, Culture of Garo and Marriage System.

Introduction
The Garos are a Tibeto Burman ethenic group in Megahalaya. Meghalaya is a
state in Northeast India. The word “Meghalaya”, comes from the Sanskrit world
meaning, “The Abode of Clouds”. The Meghalaya seemed to be known as
seven sisters’ statues of Northeast India. The neighbouring states include
Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura.
Meghalaya was once a part of Assam but on 21st January 1972, Meghalaya
seemed to be formed by carving out the two states from the state of Assam. The
united Khasi Hills, Jaintia Hills and Garo Hills. The Meghalaya comprises three
tribes, the Khasis, the Garos and the Jaintias. The Garos are the second largest
tribe in Meghalaya. The other principal spoken languages include khasi, Garo,
Pnar, Hajong, Tiwa, Rabha and Biate.

The state is the wettest region of India, recording an average of 12,000mm of

rain a year. About 70% of the state area is forested. The forest are esteemed
for this biodiversity of mammals, birds and plants. The state of Meghalaya is
mountainous with stretches of valley and highland plateau and it is
geographically rich. The Meghalaya forests are considered among the richest
botanical habitats of Asia. A small portions of the forest area in Meghalaya is
under what are known as “Sacred Groves”. Meghalaya forests supports a vast
floral diversity due to diverse climatic and topographic conditions.

92
Social and cultural background
The main tribes in Meghalaya are Garos, Khasis and Jaintias. Each tribe has its
own culture, traditions, dress and language. The Garo communities followed
Christianity. A hundred years back the Garo people followed an animist which
are known as “Songsarek”. They offered and sacrificed animals in order to pacify
their deities. The Garos had the reputation of being fierce headhunters, the
social status of a man being decided by the number of heads they owned. They
became soul winners from the head hunters.

In traditional political system of the Garos, a group of Garo villages compressed

the A’King. The A’king functioned under the supervision of the village chief
(Nokma). The Nokma congregated to address inter A’king issues.

The main tribes in Meghalaya are Khasi, Garo and Jaintia people who reside in
Garo Hills are known as Garos. Each tribe has its own culture, traditions, dress
and languages. The Garo people speaks Garo language. The Garo language
consists of 12 dialects which include A’we, Am’beng, Atong, Matabeng, Me’gam,
Matchi, Matchi dual, Chibok, Garaganching, Dual and Ruga. The Garo people
spread out and live in different parts of Garo Hills. The individual communities
have their own folk songs, food and ethnicity. They are inhabited mainly by tribal
dwellers.

Traditions of Garos
A large part of Garo communities follow Christianity. A 100 years back, they
follow an animist which was known as ‘Songsarek’. In Garo community, the
youngest daughter inherits all the wealth and takes care of her parents. Till date
the new-born baby belongs to the mother’s family irrespective of sex after the
marriage. Marriage within the clan is completely prohibited as severely
punishable for both the Khasis and Garos. Till now, the institution of bachelor
dormitories known as “Nokpante”, which is gradually disappearing amongst the

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tribe of Northeastern regions are found in Garo Hills. In such dormitories, young
people stay and live together until they are married. They receive various
training in the dormitories like making various music instruments, (Doka-dama),
wrestling (an’ding oka) and making of traditional bamboo baskets.

Engagement (Nokchame gaa)

Like in all the cultures, before coming to the marriage ceremony, it should be
started with the engagement of the future groom and bride. According to Garo
traditions, there is no such match making was done by both the parents and the
elders in the immediate families. They are free to choose their own life partners.
There is no such restriction in this particular community but the marriage within
clan is strictly prohibited in this community.

Like in all cultures, the parents tend to drive the engagement a few months
before the marriage. This ceremony is a formal announcement of the impending
marriage to all friends and relatives and the start of the planning for the big event.
The girls are supposed to pay a visit.

They belong to matrillineal not matriarchal. After parents decease the legacies
are left for the youngest daughter of the family. Husband is the head of the family
and he takes all the properties and responsibilities of the family which his wife
inherited. The husband took in charge of all the family and a society as a whole
by holding position as head of the family. After mutual satisfaction and a promise
for the marriage, the brides father tells that they will plan for the ceremony at an
appropriate date in the future. Among the Garos, matrimonial proposal is sent
by the girl’s side. The father and the maternal uncles of the bride request the
father of the groom for the groom’s hand with his daughter. Both the groom and
the bride were asked a few questions by the bride’s maternal uncles. Having
confirmed that the bride’s father tells the groom’s parent to make sure that they
have not at all objections in this regards.

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Marriage (Bia)
In Garo community, the girls’ families take charge all the expenses. Both the
families decided the perfect date for their son’s and daughter’s wedding. The
marriage ceremony is supposed to be in girl’s place. The wedding ceremony
according to their religious beliefs, is a church – based union celebrated with
holy vows exchanged before God. Garo Christians view marriage as a religious
function, not only for the Garos but also for all the tribes residing in Meghalaya.
On that particular occasion, the couple receives gifts from groom’s family. In
engagement ceremony some formal gifts are supposed to be given from the
girl’s side.

After completing all the rituals, the couple exchange the engagement ring during
ceremony. After the end of the ceremony, the couple receives best wishes and
blessings from all the attendees. These are the traditions followed by the Garos.
After getting married, the husband is supposed to leave his family and has to
come and stay with his wife and her families.

Conclusion
The indigeneous Garo people are rich in culture. The Garos are minority in the
Northeastern parts of India. The present generation of the Garos forming
minorities in other states of India. They does not speak ethnic language and
follows the tradition and cultures of the Garos. So, this is a high time for the
youths of this communities to take the initiative in order to preserve and bring
back lost travel traditions and to rescue from obscurity.

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Bibliography
Dweansing Rongmithu. (1960). The folk tales of the Garos. Guwahati: University
of Guwahati.
Paullinus, R. Marak. (2005). Garo Tribal Religion: Beliefs and Practices. Delhi:
Shipra Publication.
Willy Logan. (2012). Origins of the Garos. Guwahati: University of Guwahati.
William Carey. (1919). A Garo Jungle Book. Philadelphia: The Judson Press.

96
 Chapter 10

The Vanishing Language and Culture of the Koragas in Kasaragod

Anjali V. Kumar
Central University of Kerala,
Kasaragod, 671316
Kerala
anjalivijayakumar12@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to give a preliminary study of the Koraga community in

Kasaragod with special reference to their sociocultural setting and their language
called Koraga language. Koragas are a group of primitive tribes settled in several
colonies in the Badiadka and Pulikkor panchayats of Kasaragod. Basket making
is their main source of income and being the earliest inhabitants of this land they
are stakeholders of indigenous knowledge relating to medicine, agriculture,
forest, etc. Based on UNESCO’s method of Language Vitality and
Endangerment and other Statistical reports it was found that Koraga is a critically
endangered language. Language and culture are strongly interrelated and thus,
along with their language, their culture is also dying out. The paper gives a brief
description about the Koraga community in Kasargod, the sociocultural practices
which were prevalent in the community and compares it with the current
sociocultural setting. It also discusses the factors which led to the endangerment
of the language and ends by discussing the ways through which this language
could be revived ad revitalised. This study was carried out by eliciting data from
the Koragas belonging to the Perdala colony in the Badiadka panchayat of
Kasaragod. The data was elicited by interacting with the community members

97
through casual talks and through personal interviews which included structured
and unstructured questionnaires and also through participant observation
methods.

Keywords: Linguistics, Sociocultural, Endangerment, Marginalized, Vitality

Introduction
Koragas are one among the five primitive tribal groups in Kerala. They are found
in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala.
The Koragas in Kerala are a group of aboriginal people settled in Kasaragod,
the northernmost district of Kerala. The Koragas in Kasaragod are localized in
about more than hundreds of settlements in Kanyapaadi, Bela, Kaadamana,
Manjeshwar, Kaaryaad, Enmakaje, Puthige, Vidyanagar, Pulikoor, Kumbla and
Badiadka. They have a distinct lifestyle and culture and still possess their
indigenous belief systems. They have poor living conditions and are being
deprived of from the living conditions of the surrounding mainstream society.
They consider themselves to be inferior and thus remain marginalized from the
upper sections of the society. Even after seven decades of Indian Independence,
they remain segregated and marginalized from the mainstream society and are
currently on the verge of extinction. They possess native knowledge regarding
medicines and have their own ethnic practices for healing diseases. Thus, they
are having certain knowledge systems and beliefs which should be preserved
without allowing them to perish.

Sociocultural situation of the Koragas

The Koragas have their unique social and cultural practices which makes them
distinct from the surrounding society. The Koraga habitat or settlement was
earlier known as Koppa. They are currently living in houses provided by the
Government. They have been living in this place for more than ten years and
before settling in these colonies, they were localized in tents and caravans in the

98
hilly forest regions of Kasaragod. They were migrated to their new settlement
and the Government made houses and colonies and made them shift to these
settlements. The houses have two or three rooms and in most of the houses,
there are more than six or seven members. An interesting feature regarding
these tribes is that they will remain only in colonies along with the members of
their ethnic group and will not remain isolated from their group members. If they
are being allotted houses by the Government in another place, they reject to
move to that place and remains in their place only.

Community
The community is known as Koraga by both the native people and insiders and
by the outsiders. The name of the language is same as the community name
and is called Koraga Bhasha. The Koraga language spoken in Kerala has
variation from the language spoken in Karnataka. But, still they can understand
the variety of one another. Some of the members from this group have been
converted to Christianity. These people live in the towns of Kasaragod. They live
in Seethangoli, Bela, etc. and they lead a superior life compared to others. The
tribal community has a chief who is considered as a representative of God and
he will be the one who presides over each and every occasions of the
community. The chief is called as ‘moopan’ and Battya is the main chief of the
community. Apart from the ‘moopan’ who presides over the main activities of the
community, there are also certain other representatives who deal with carrying
out other small affairs of the community. One of the most important features
regarding the community is that, though being a primitive community, the
community is female oriented and gives equal status to both men and women.
The women folk make and sell baskets earn income and they manage and look
after their families.

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Clans
The clan system of Koragas in Kasaragod is distinct from those of the Koragas
in Karnataka. The Koragas in Kasaragod are divided into four clans. They call it
as ‘bari’. The four clans are;
i. Maanadher
ii. Baadhir
iii. Kurumudhe
iv. Mundadhau

The 'bari' called Maanadher has the highest population compared to the others.
The members belonging to this clan are found in the Perdala colony of Badiadka.
The members belonging to Baadhir community are settled mostly in Kanyapaadi.
The people belonging to Kurumudhe are localized in Puthige and Nakkur. The
people belonging to the clan Mundadhau is found in Bela.

Ceremonies and Celebrations

Some of the ceremonies and celebrations related to the life cycle include;

Birth and Naming

On the third day of a child's birth, elderly members come and assign names to
the children. In most cases they will be given the names of their great
grandparents. On the third day a black thread will be tied to the waist of the baby,
after this the baby will be transferred to the cradle. Some examples of the names
in their community are Baaya, Badiyathi, Badiya, Chona, Chaniya, etc. The
naming pattern for proper names includes the assigning of first names only.
Surname or the title of community will not be given along with the names.
Nowadays, the names are changed when the children are admitted to school.
They are being given other names. In those cases, the father's name is also
given along with the first name. Some of the elderly members who haven’t gone
to school have not changed their name.

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Girl attaining puberty
The most important ceremony for the Koragas is to celebrate a girl attaining
puberty. This will be celebrated like a marriage ceremony, by inviting all the
members of the community and giving a great feast in which cooked chicken is
the main dish. As the community members are economically backward,
nowadays they have started celebrating it through sharing. If one girl has
attained maturity and there is another girl of the same age group, who is either
mature or immature, they started celebrating it together. This is because by
sharing the money the economic burden of both the families can be reduced.

Marriage
The community members are not allowed to marry from within their clans as the
members belonging to a ‘bari’ are considered to be family members. But, they
can marry from other clans within the Koraga community. Monogamy is the type
of marriage practiced in the community in which one man marries one woman
only. Based on the rules and regulations of marriage followed in the community,
Endogamy is the type of marriage practiced in which life partners are selected
from the same ethnic group. The bride's family has to pay the bride's price to the
man's family for marriage and the moopan presides over the marriage. The
community members have the freedom to choose to remain married or
unmarried. Marriages that have taken place over the last few years in the
community were love marriages. It is considered to be an offence and after the
marriage they have to offer a one rupee coin in front of their deity in the presence
of the chief of the tribe and pray and repent for it.

Death
The death is mourned by the members of the whole family and they consider it
to be a way of meeting their forefathers. After three days of death, they will
prepare dishes and offer it to everyone.

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Attire and Adornment
It was a tradition for the Koragas to wear a cap made of palm spathe. They were
considered to be the people wearing only a piece of cloth around their waist with
nothing to cover the upper part of the body. But nowadays situations have
changed and they started wearing clothes in the same way as other people do.
They were earlier used to wear ornaments made of seeds from certain plants
and bones of animals. But, nowadays the situation has changed and they don't
have anything like that. The married women wear 'karimanimala', a chain made
of black beads, which is tied by the bride to the bridegroom's neck during
marriage. The married women also wear a toe ring made of silver, which is a
part of their identity. The people from other communities donate dresses to the
Koragas. A significant change in dress pattern can be seen across generations.

Food Culture
Koragas can basically be considered as a food gathering tribe. The staple food
of the Koragas is cooked rice gruel which is followed by the community members
throughout the district. The elder generation acknowledge of eating roots, tubers
and leafs of plants earlier. The Government provides direct supply of rice, green
gram, etc. and they have rice gruel for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cooked
chicken is served on main occasions and festivals. Toddy is the main beverage
of the Koraga community and both men and women drink toddy. They also serve
toddy on special occasions. Toddy is also used to offer to their deities. Both men
and women of the community is severely addicted to alcohol and it is a severe
problem of the community today. Their food patterns lack proper nutrition and as
there are many members in a family, all the members cannot get sufficient food
which is unhealthy.

Worship and Rituals

The community still stick on to their indigenous belief system, and they do
believe in rebirth. They worship natural objects like stones and trees, and

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consider them to be their deities. Strychnine tree (Kanchiramaram) and a few
stones kept near the tree are worshipped by them. They do Pooja and offerings
to this tree. They do animal sacrifices to please their deity. They have a ritual
called 'Kalajji' performed by the members of a 'bari' in which they sacrifice a hen
before their diety. They have Gods like 'Koraga Thanniya' and a Koraga theyyam
called 'Koragajja' which they worship and do offerings to.

Native festivals and Entertainment

The Koragas have their own naive festivals and practices. During Dusshera, the
Koragas dress in black colour, wear masks and put black colour on their face
and body and they roam about in the place beating drums. The beating of Dholu
is carried out by them with the belief that the music of Koragas especially the
sound of Dholu has the ability to drive away the evil forces. The Koragas have a
flute made of bamboo piece and they also use drums. As a part of their tradition,
they apply black colour on their face and body and plays flute, beats the drum
and goes throughout houses and dance. This is known as 'Koraga nrutham' and
they call this culture as 'Koraga battund huvappa'.

Traditional occupation
Basket making is the traditional occupation of the Koraga tribes and it is their
main source of income. It is a part of their identity. The indigenous knowledge
system of the community is being reflected in the basket making. They know
which plants are used for making big baskets, small ones and so on. They use
sickles and hammers for making different types of baskets. Both men and
women go in groups to the forests and collect the creepers and plants they need
to make the baskets. The younger generations below twenty five years have little
knowledge on basket making, and they show no interest in the same. Nowadays,
they have started doing agricultural labours for small wages.

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Education, Organizations and Judiciary
The tribal folk have started realising the importance of education and most
members of the younger generation are literate and educated. While considering
the sex ratio of the educated, girls are more educated than boys. There are about
twenty from all the colonies who have completed Higher Secondary and Degree
education. Currently those who have passed Matriculation have done One Time
Registration of Public Service Commission. They have cultural organizations like
Koraga kutta sanghas and Koraga Abridhi Sanghas for ensuring the
development of the Koraga community. The community has the ability for social
control i.e. the society has the ability to regulate itself. If any dispute occurs, it
will be settled by the Chief or 'Mooppan' and he is the one who decides which
punishment or penalty should be given for the crimes.

Language
Koraga bhasha is the native language or the mother tongue of the Koragas. The
language is a non-literary language having only spoken form and no written form.
There aren’t any books published in their mother tongue apart from some
research works about the community and language. The languages which are
in contact with Koraga language are Tulu, Kannada and Malayalam and most of
them are bilinguals and multi-linguals. They can understand the languages Tulu,
Kannada, Malayalam and can also speak these languages. Koraga language is
closely related to Tulu language, and most of the speakers refer to the language
as an unrefined tougher variety of Tulu. People from Perdala colony in Badiadka
can also speak and understand Tamil and most of them are admirers of Tamil
language. These admirations have taken place because of movies and shows
in Tamil language which they watch through the Television. Those who have
gone to school can read and write in Kannada, as they have studied in schools
were Kannada is the medium of instruction. The younger generations also know
English. Though, they can’t converse well in English, they could understand
basic terminologies.

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Domains of language use: They use their own language at home for speaking
with parents, grandparents, siblings, pets, the community members, carrying out
religious activities, etc. i.e. they use their native language for Intra group
communication. They use Kannada, Tulu and Malayalam mostly for Inter group
communication i.e. for communicating with others. Choosing which language to
speak depends upon the context.

Language Attitude: The elderly members want the younger generation to be

good speakers of their native language, and do transmit the language across
generations in the society. They consider their mother tongue easy to learn or
speak when compared to the languages of Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada.
They acknowledge Kannada language to be the most difficult language to be
learnt. On analyzing the data collected, evidences show that though they speak
their mother tongue, they have a hidden inferior attitude towards their language.
This is clearly evident from the elders entertaining the younger ones when they
mix terms from other languages while speaking in their mother tongue. They also
encourage the children if they are speaking in other languages. They think that
learning other languages improve their knowledge level.

Language loss and Maintenance: The community members think that if the
current situation pertains, their languages will not be used after twenty years
from now. Though they believe that, the younger generations will continue
speaking in their language and transmit it to their younger generations, they also
suspects that they will be forced to shift to speak in Tulu or Kannada in future.
Most of the elder ones feel that their language is dying. Though the present
generations speak their language they don’t speak it in such a way as the elder
ones. If given opportunities, they are interested in learning their language.

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Language prestige: The languages spoken by Perdala and Kanyapadi villagers
are considered to be the most prestigious form of Koraga language. This is
because, these colonies are isolated from others and thus, there is only less
influence from outsiders. Mostly other mother tongue speakers cannot learn
their language. But, those from other community who could mingle freely with
them learn their language. An instance is the Promoters of the tribe, being
appointed by the Government belonging to other ethnic groups, speaking their
language.

Being minority language speakers, as a result of the language contact situation

in this region, they are forced to leave apart their language and are forced to
speak in other languages to the mainstream society. This gradually resulted in
the death of their Language. Language and culture are strongly interrelated and
thus, along with their language, their culture is also dying out. The vitality of
Koraga language is in a threat as the individual speakers are abandoning it and
shifting to other languages. This leads to the disappearance of the language,
and thus, the knowledge systems and beliefs possessed by both individual
speakers and the speech community is lost.

The Government has provided many schemes and have taken many measures
for the upliftment of this community. Some are; the Government have given them
a status of Primitive Vulnerable Tribes after seeing a decline in their population.
Various developmental programmes have been implemented by the central and
state governments, which includes; Housing programmes, providing bathroom
and toilet facilities, free health check-up, financial aids and scholarships. A Multi
grade Learning Centre School was set up by the Government at Perdala colony
to provide primary education for the children. They also supply free food
materials and provisions to the people. They have also appointed Tribal
promoters in every colony, to cater their needs and ensure that these policies
are benefiting the community.

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Thus, this paper presents a preliminary study and provides a short description
of the general condition and sociocultural features of the Koraga community with
respect to the various clans and their geographical placements and their
language.

Bibliography
Kallar, V. (2017). Echil Jeevitham. Cherupuzha: Kozhikode: Pusthaka Bhavan.
Mohanty, P. K. (2004). Encyclopedia of Pimitive tribes in India Volume 2. Delhi:
Gyan Publishing House.
Niju, P. (2013). Primitive Tribals in Kerala: Struggle for Survival. Indian Streams
Research Journal, 3(6), 3.
Ramakrishna T. Shetty. (1978). Koraga Grammar. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis,
Poona University, Poona.
Thurston, E. (1909). Castes and Tribes of Southern India: Volume 3 by Edgar
Thurston. Chennai: Madras Government Press.

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