Kattunayakar are a designated scheduled tribe in the Indian states of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. The word ''Kattunayakar'' means ''the king of the jungle'' in Tamil and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

. The Kattunayakar are one of the earliest known inhabitants of the Western Ghats, who are engaged in the collection and gathering of forest produce, mainly wild honey and wax. The men wear short dhotis and half-sleeved shirts. The women attach a long single piece of cloth round their body just below the neck, leaving the shoulders and arms bare. Child marriages were common before the 1990s, but now the girls marry after attaining puberty.

Monogamy Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time (serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., polyg ...

is the general rule among the Kattunayakar community. Kattunayakar believe in Hinduism and have a language which is a mixture of all Dravidian languages. The main deity of the tribe is

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hi ...

and

Nayakkar The Nayak is a historic Indian title conferred on Sardars, who were governors of feudal states in the Middle Ages. Today it is also a surname. Nayaks are mostly Hindu and few Sikhs, who follow Hinduism and Sikhism respectively. As a surname To ...

under the name of ''Bhairava''. They also worship animals, birds, trees, rock hillocks, and snakes, along with the other

Hindu deities Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolve ...

. Kattunayakar are fond of music, songs, and dancing. They are also called ''Cholanaickar'' and ''Pathinaickars''.

Kattunayakar in Kerala

Kattunayakar are one of the five ancient tribal groups in Kerala. They live very much in tune with nature. Hunting and collecting

forest produce Forest produce is defined under section 2(4) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927. Its legal definition includes timber, charcoal, caoutchouc, catechu, wood-oil, resin, natural varnish, bark, lac, myrobalans, mahua flowers (whether found inside or broug ...

are the two main means of living for the Kattunayakar tribe. However, the restrictions to protect native forest and wildlife have forced them to find work outside the forests. Although willing to work for very low wages, unemployment and poverty are very severe among the Kattunayakan. Another important factor for the tribe is the medicinal system and its close association with the culture. They use traditional medicines for common ailments, but they use modern medicines in an emergency. Even then they only use modern medicine after seeking consent from "God" by the chieftain or priest (generally both roles are taken by the same person), through a well-defined set of traditional rituals or ''poojas''.

References

{{reflist Scheduled Tribes of Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Tribes of Karnataka Scheduled Tribes of Kerala Scheduled Tribes of Tamil Nadu