Jenu Kuruba

Jenu in Kannada means honey and kuruba is the caste. As the name suggesta Jenu Kurubas are honey gatherers. Like the Kadu Kurubas, Jenu kurubas are the original inhabitants of the forests of the Western Ghats , Southern India.

Origins

According to one theory, after the fall of the pallava empire many kurubas settled down in south India as small land owners and farmers, some kurubas took to hiding in the forests of south india and adopted to a lifestyle in forest, they developed their own culture and traditions different from others due to their prolonged isolation.

Lifestyle

They live in small settlements calles Hadi or Hatti. They have traditionally been food-gatherers, practicing shifting cultivation, leading to a nomadic existence. More recently, they have taken to living in larger hamlets, with government interventions. They practice agriculture as a subsidiary occupation. Instead of ploughing the field, they scratch the surface with a sort of bamboo spear.

External links

* [http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/grhf-asia/suchana/0507/mutharayappa.html/ Study]
* [http://www.greatkerala.com/karnataka/krantkpeoplecul.htm/ People]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/08/12/stories/2002081201810400.htm/ News]
* [http://www.southasianmedia.net/profile/india/history_india_languages.cfm/ Language]