Mythologies of the Paliyan Tribe

The Paliyan, or Pulliyar, Palaiyar or Pazhaiyarare, are a group of around 9,500 formerly nomadic Dravidian tribals living in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are traditional nomadic hunter-gatherers, honey hunters and foragers. Yams are their major food source. In the early part of the 20th century the Paliyans dressed scantily and lived in rock crevices and caves. Most have now transformed into traders of forest products, food cultivators and beekeepers. Some work intermittently as wage laborers, mostly on plantations. They are a Scheduled Tribe. They speak a Dravidian language, Paliyan, closely related to Tamil. "Thurston, (1909) quoting from the writing of Rev. F. Dahman. (1908) describes Palians as nomadic tribe, who for the most part rove in small parties through the jungle clad gorges (Sholas) that fringe the upper Palnis plateau. Pate (1916) describes Paliyans as a "Very backward caste who live-in small scattered parties amid the jungles of the upper Palnis and the Varrushanadu valley". Gardner describes Paliyans as moderately dark in complexion, short in stature, and their physical characteristics fall within the range of South and South East Asian. Atrocities against Paliyar tribal families, living in remote villages of lower Kodaikanal Hills, have come to light. The families, living for a long time at Vellakavai, Chinnur and Periyur villages, had been engaged in cultivating common millet, ragi, coffee and oranges. Owing to persistent threat from encroachers, many of them would not like to go back to their villages. There was also constant threat to a few tribals who challenged the encroachers. Fifty-eight tribal families, belonging to Paliyar community, who had been living for generations on the Sathuragiri hills in Madurai district allege that they are being driven out of their 'motherland' by Forest department officials. Having learnt to live with nature's fury, these families lived on the hilltop but came down lured by the 'promises' of Government officials of getting group houses two decades ago. They now feel that they are losing their rights over the forest and its produce.

Nearly 5,000 Paliyans live in the forested hills of western Tamil Nadu state in southern India and in villages in the nearby plains. Gardner (2000b) studied Paliyan conflicts, and the resolution strategies they employ, in numerous settlements in the forested mountains and in the plains villages, especially in one village at the edge of the mountains that he called Cempaka Tooppu, near the town of Srivilliputtur. Cempaka Tooppu is now called Shenbagathoppu (with various spellings). It is still a Paliyan village and is a major entry point for the enormous Shenbagathoppu Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary. The 2001 Census of India lists the people variously as Palleyan, Palliyan, or Palliyar. Some Paliyans still subsist on gathering food and other products in the forests, which they supplement with wage labor for plantations and farms in the nearby valleys. Many have settled in the plains and have taken up farming near their Tamil neighbors. Some of the people who live in Shenbagathoppu have jobs helping care for the endangered giant grizzled squirrels in the Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary. The economies of some of the Paliyan families depend, in part, on bartering forest produce such as honey for manufactured goods such as tools, pots, clothing, and ornaments. Gathering honey from wild bee colonies remains an important economic resource—and cultural inspiration—for the Paliyans. They also continue to gather and use wild plants from the forests, particularly for their medicinal values. However, many of them live in poverty and are exploited by nearby Tamils. In 2015, forestry officials in Tamil Nadu trained 16 Paliyan youths as trekking guides in the mountains near their settlement. The Paliyans have a very atomistic, anarchistic society, with each individual making his or her own decisions. They have a strong desire for autonomy, which shows up in their psychological structures. They refrain from forming emotional ties except within their nuclear families. Ties with other relatives will be friendly but not effusive. They emphasize their autonomy through their code of nonviolence—and they will express their belief that one should turn the other cheek if one is struck in the face. A blog post in 2012 indicated proudly that the peaceful structures still persist in their society, though they are threatened by corrupt outsiders. A different Paliyan blog post indicates that while they cherish their traditions, many adapt to modernity and are settling into stable village life.

The Paliyan, or Pulliyar, Palaiyar or Pazhaiyarare are a group of around 9,500 formerly nomadic Dravidian tribals living in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are traditional nomadic hunter-gatherers, honey hunters and foragers. Yams are their major food source. In the early part of the 20th century the Paliyans dressed scantily and lived in rock crevices and caves. Most have now transformed to traders of forest products, food cultivators and beekeepers. Some work intermittently as wage laborers, mostly on plantations. They are a Scheduled Tribe. They speak a Dravidian language, Paliyan, closely related to Tamil. The Paliyan are not very willing agents of all this destruction; but with their traditional hunting - gathering economy no longer a practical proposition, they are dependent on forest produce collection for a living. As such, they have been directly responsible for the destruction of many species, including the cinnamon through bark collection. But now with only a small population of cinnamon trees surviving deep in the core of the forest, the Paliyan have informed the contractor that 'the cinnamon has been exhausted, and leave these trees alone'.