Paliyan

The Paliyan, or Palaiyar or Pazhaiyarare are Adivasi Dravidian people living in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are traditional nomadic hunter-gatherers, honey hunters and foragers. Yams are their major food source. In the early part of the 20th century the Paliyans dressed scantily and lived in rock crevices and caves. Most have now transformed to traders of forest products, food cultivators and beekeepers. Some work intermittently as wage laborers, mostly on plantations. They are included in the List of Scheduled Tribes in India.

Past studies

Paliyan woman & children

"Thurston,[1](1909) quoting from the writing of Rev. F. Dahman.[2](1908) describes Palians as nomadic tribe, who for the most part rove in small parties through the jungle clad gorges (Sholas) that fringe the upper Palnis plateau. Pate (1916) describes Paliyans as a "Very backward caste who live-in small scattered parties amid the jungles of the upper Palnis and the Varrushanadu valley". Gardner describes Paliyans as moderately dark in complexion, short in stature, and their physical characteristics fall within the range of South and South East Asian.[3][4]

- To learn subsistence skills with minimal formal verbal instruction.
- To ascertain themselves what others denote by terms – in the face of substantial interpersonal knowledge variation.
- To "know" by testing empirically the validity of theories (e.g., on the condition of a hunted animal)[5] [6] .[7]
He summarizes: "The Paliyan prescription for a good life - residing in a natural setting, cultivating a mature and independent self, respecting all others and fostering a peaceful society".[8]

Displacement

Diet

Social controls

Peter M. Gardner (2000) studied the Conflict resolution and nonviolence among recently sedentary Paliyan foragers. According to his research, Paliyan foragers in south India remain relatively nonviolent when becoming sedentary. Successful Paliyan peacekeeping may be due in part to both the multiplicity of their safeguards, the prevention of positive feedback and retreat from conflict. In the long run, however, altered treatment of children foreshadows change.[16]

Destruction to nature by them

The Paliyan are not very willing agents of all this destruction; but with their traditional hunting - gathering economy no longer a practical proposition, they are dependent on forest produce collection for a living. As such, they have been directly responsible for the destruction of many species, including the cinnamon through bark collection. But now with only a small population of cinnamon trees surviving deep in the core of the forest, the Paliyan have informed the contractor that 'the cinnamon has been exhausted, and leave these trees alone'

Ethnomedicine

References

  1. Thurston, E. 1909. Castes and Tribes of South India. Vol IV. Government press, Madras
  2. Dahmen, Rev. F. 1908 The Paliyans, a hill-tribe of the Palni Hills (south India), Anthropos 3: 19-31
  3. Gardner, P. M. 1972. The Paliyans. In: Bicchieri, M. (ed.,). Hunters and Gatherers Today. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. pp. 404-447
  4. D. Winfred Thomas, Department of Botany, The American College, Madurai – 625 002, Tamil Nadu., E. D. I. Oliver King, M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Taramani, Chennai – 600 113, Tamil Nadu., J. Soundrapandi, Department of Botany, Madras Christian College, Chennai – 600 059, Tamil Nadu. and D. Narasimhan???, "Evolution of Livelihood strategies among Geographically isolated hill tribes of South India", 2003 Paliyan overview, full text
  5. Gardner, P. M., Bicultural Versatility as a Frontier Adaptation among Paliyan Foragers of South India, Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, New York, ISBN 0-7734-7819-1, 2000.Gardner, 2000
  6. Gardner, 2000,Excerpts
  7. Lee,Richard B. & Daly, Richard Heywood, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Hunters and Gatherers 1999, Cambridge University Press, pp 61-64. "The Paliyan", Peter M. Gardner, University of Missouri, Abstract chapter
  8. Gardner, Peter M., "Journeys to the Edge In the Footsteps of an Anthropologist", ISBN 978-0-8262-1634-2, University Of Missouri Press, 2006, page 207.Gardner, 2006
  9. SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK, Livelihood strategies among forest-related tribal groups of South India: Contextual analysis of local livelihood strategies, Interdisciplinary Conference at the Centre for Indian Studies, Mysore, India, 17–19 October 2003.Conference, 2003
  10. Norström, Christer, "Individualism, Collectivism and Flexibility: A Paliyan Ethos for Securing Autonomy", Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University, Sweden Norström, Draft, full text
  11. Norman,T. Selvan Jebaraj & Dakshinamurthy,V.," A case Study of Paliyar Tribe of Sirumalai Hills", The Center for Future Studies, Gandhigram Rural Institute, Deemed University, Gandhigram, Dindigul, 624302, Tamilnadu, India
  12. Selvakumar, V., "Hunter-gatherer adaptations in Madurai Region, Tamil Nadu, India: from c. 10,000 B.P. to c. A.D. 500.", Asian Perspectives, 22-MAR-02,full text
  13. the Hindu,Southern States - Tamil Nadu, Monday, Mar 03, 2003, "Paliyar tribals driven out, land taken over" News
  14. Gardner, Peter M. "Dimensions of subsistence foraging in South India," Ethnology, Vol 32, 1993, pp. 109-44
  15. Tamilarasi Murugesan, P. & Ananthalakshmi, A.: Dietary Practices of the Paliyar Tribal Group and the Nutrient Content of Unconventional Foods Consumed. The Indian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics. Dec. 1991. 28(12). p.297-301. Location: SNDT Churchgate Diet, full text
  16. Gardner P.M., Blackwell Publishing, The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Volume 6, Number 2, June 2000, "Respect and nonviolence among recently sedentary Paliyan foragers", pp. 215-236.full text
  17. Ignacimuthu, S., M. Ayyanar, and Sankara Sivaraman K. 2006. "Ethnobotanical Investigations among Tribes in Madurai District of Tamil Nadu ( India)." Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2:25.full text
  18. Ganesan, S. & Suresh, N. & Kesaven, L., "Ethnomedicinal survey of lower Palni Hills of Tamil Nadu", Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge, Vol.3, July 2004, pp. 299-304. Ethnomedicine
  19. Dakshinamurthy,V. & Normen, T. Selvan Jebaraj, "A Case Study of Paliyar Tribe of Surumalai Hills" Center for Future Studies, Gandhigram Rural Institute, Deemed University, Gandhigram, Dindigul, 624302, Tamil Nadu. cover image
  20. D. Winfred Thomas, 2003.Paliyan overview
  21. Gardner, Peter M., "Illness and response among South Indian foragers," Medical Anthropology, Vol. 16, 1995, pp.119-139
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