Hakkipikki/ Pardhi
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'Hakkipikki' is one of the major tribal communities in Karnataka. In the Kannada language, the word 'Hakki' refers to 'bird' and 'Pikki' to the verb 'to catch'; therefore, the community name literally means 'bird catcher,' as trapping birds was their traditional occupation. However, some scholars consider the word 'Hakkipikki' to be mostly used as an echo form. The Pardhi/ Hakkipikki community migrated from Northern India, and the alternate names used to refer to the Hakkipikki community include Haranashikari, Pardhi, Adavichencher, and Shikari in Karnataka, as per the available materials. Few among the population prefer to use the name 'Pardhi' to refer to their community. The population is mainly concentrated in Shivamogga, Davanagere, and Mysuru districts of Karnataka. Though the community lives in Southern India and is surrounded by Dravidian languages, they speak Indo-Aryan.
The SPPEL has undertaken the documentation of the language spoken by the Hakkipikki/Pardhi community, and a pilot survey has been carried out. For the pilot survey, fieldwork was conducted in the Hakkipikki community, and approximately 2500 words and 350 sentences were recorded with an audio recorder. The slicing of sound files and transcription work of around 2400 words has already been done. Presently, the analysis of the recorded data for writing grammar and entering data along with sound and pictures into FLEx software for making a trilingual electronic dictionary is in progress.