________________
Wynad are subdivided into three broad divisions, the Mullu Kurumbers who are cultivators and hunters, speak Malayalam and wear the hair tuft in front like the Malayalee; the Bet or Vettu Kurumbers also called Urali Kurumbers, who fell trees and are artisans making all kinds of agricultural implements, baskets and umbrellas and speak a dialect of Malayalam and Kaparese; the Jain Kurumbers who had not ventured out of their huts on the mountain slopes until quite recently, and still dwell in the forests. They speak a corrupt form of Kanarese, and show close affinity to the tribe of the same name in the Mysore forests from where they must have migrated. In their dress also they are more akin to Mysore than to Malabar Kurumbers. The women wrap their body in a coarse white cloth one end of which passes under the left armpit, with the other end coming over the right shoulder, where the two ends are tied in a knot. The women wear bead necklaces and brass bangles. The men ordinarily wear a coarse loin cloth. It is apparent however on closer observation that they in common with the rest are beginning to feel the effects of the civilisation around them and are aping the manners of their superiors, cutting the hair close and using coats which are very dirty and which ill become these simple folks. Men and women have a partiality for flowers and deck themselves profusely with them. 5. Dwellings - The live in village settlements consisting each of a number of huts. Living such secluded lives out of the sight and sound of outside civilization they are keenly alive to the need for a corporate existence. Selecting a convenient slope in the hills with an abundant supply of bamboos, they clear the under growth and erect their simple structures of plaited bamboos, planted in the ground, the sides being further protected by banking up earth all round. Their huts of grass and bamboo cost next to nothing and are constructed in clusters of ten to fifteen, collectively called a hadi, forming a village. Each of the huts goes by the name of a padi. A hut usually has an open veranda in front and an enclosed room behind. No stranger is ordinarily allowed access to the huts and under no circumstances is any one allowed to enter with shoes or sandals on. This they strictly observe in common with the other hill tribes. This is ascribed to the fear of the wrath of the deity expressed through the headman, involving the offending occupant of the hut in expensive propitiatory ceremonies. The veranda serves as a place of recreation and as a kitchen, on the floor of which may be seen two or three logs of wood with a smouldering fire. A triangular frame work of bamboo is suspended by cords from the roof, over which meat or other food is cooked over a slow fire.
Tot --Fantate, 2005 C
105
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
