Tribes of Tamilnadu The Soligas & The Uralis
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The Soliga tribe has originated from the Biligiriranga Hills in the south-eastern corner of the Mysuru district, adjoining Tamil Nadu. Today, they reside in the hilly forested areas of Salem, Erode, Namakkal, and Nilgiri districts of Tamil Nadu. The word, ‘soliga’ is derived from the Tamil word, ‘solai’, which means thickets. Although some believe that their name was derived from ‘swamiga’, which refers to Mahadeswara Swamy, their most favoured deity. Their language, Soliga, is a Dravidian tribal language, which includes several Kannada words.
The Soligas live in single-room huts, built of bamboo and mud. Their staple food is ragi, which they cultivate themselves. They celebrate the harvest of the new ragi in October and November in the festival ‘Hosa Ragi Habba’. The Soligas believe in coexisting with the environment and have indigenous ways of using nature to make unique utility products, such as the ‘jottai’, which is a cup made out of leaves. They use natural medicines made out of medicinal leaves and turmeric to fight diseases. Monday is the weekly village holiday, during which they take a bath, clean their house and visit their temples. The gods that are popularly worshipped are, Rangaswamy and Mahadeswara. They believe that all humans have two souls, big and small. They have a unique way of worshipping the dead, which is known as ‘Sethavanga Saami’.
The Solagi tribe has a ‘Kula Panchaiti’ or ‘Jathikoota’, with a ‘Yejaman’ as an elected head. The tribe celebrates the onset of the puberty of girls where the maternal uncle constructs a puberty hut for his niece. The tribe recognizes marriage by force, elopement, service or arrangement. They have a simple marriage, which is performed by the village headman. They observe a ritual known as ‘allushastra’, which is the casting of castor seeds before any auspicious occasion.
The Uralis are found in the Satyamangalam Taluk of the Periyar district of Tamil Nadu, in the tri-junction of the hills of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. Uralis derive their name from two words, ‘Ur’ meaning ‘that locality’ and ‘Ali’ meaning ‘to rule’. They speak a mixed language of Tamil and Kannada. Their settlements are known as ‘podu’ which means ‘shifting cultivation. Generally, the Uralis have twelve clan divisions, and each village usually has members of only one clan. They live in huts called ‘kure’, which they build together out of grass, mud, and cow dung. They earn their livelihood by collecting forest products, or by working as agricultural laborers. The cash crop of their land is ‘kuchi kelangu’ or tapioca, which is also part of their staple diet. Similar to the Soliga tribe, the Uralis also favor ragi.
Their folk dance forms include ‘kummi’, which is performed by women on important occasions, and ‘ponaruthattam’, which is accompanied by the music of traditional instruments, such as the ‘halage’- drum and ‘kombu’- brass trumpet. As it can be observed, both these tribes living in hilly areas share several similar traits in their lifestyle and culture.