Bits of Anecdotes on Paliyar Tribe

I am now interning with ATREE’s Agasthyamalai Community Conservation Center that is doing a beekeeping feasibility study in villages in core and buffer regions of Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve.

As part of this, on 31st July, visited 3 of the Paliyar(Puh-li-yuh-r) tribal settlements.

• Kalaimaan Nagar Settlement - (Marked as Kalian Paliyar Settlement of GMaps: 9.133265625960096, 77.3125315608872)
• Kottaimalai Settlement - (Unmarked on GMaps: 9.224629692225914, 77.33039149180881)
• Thalayanai Tribal Settlement (9.296548898152583, 77.35578430367686)

Admittedly, 1 day is not nearly anywhere close to enough to learn or understand anything about anything. But still, some of these are not available anywhere online. Which is why I am putting the information here.

One elder we spoke to said the people of this tribe do not agree to work as labourers under anyone (which I think is a reason why they are still not too dispersed). BUT Wikipedia mentions otherwise, SOOO I have noooo clue. However,(From Kalaimaan Nagar) they are called to protect farms from elephant attacks at night since they know how to handle these animals very well. They are also called temporarily during harvest season to lift weights (although not everyone goes). Due to the high involvement of CSI, many of them have converted and as a result, some of their natural forms of worship and culture are fading.

The Paliyar Tribe apparently recieve less government support than the tribes in Tiger Reserves. But the government support that they HAD received was surprising to me. The Tribal Welfare Department had built these:

And the government also had plans to build solar fencing for the settlement at Kalaimaan Nagar. The people at Kalaimaan Nagar have been in this “temporary” settlement for 30 years waiting for the government to let them go back to the forests.

Acknowledgements: ATREE- ACCC Team, Co-ordinator M. Mathivanan, people from the Paliyar Tribal settlements.