Kodavas of Kodagu

 

KODAVAS (COORGIS) OF KODAGU REGION

Kodagu (Coorg, as the British called it and as Kodava Naadh by Kodava people) the smallest district in Karnataka, is perched on the Western Ghats at a height of about 1000m above sea level. It is known for its breath-taking scenery – rugged hills, dense tropical forests once teeming with wild animals, lush coffee plantations on hill slopes, green rice fields in the valleys, winding streams and rivers, and cascading waterfalls. About a third of the district is covered by forests fed by monsoon rains that lash the region for nearly four months in the year. The river Kaveri (Cauvery), revered as their mother goddess by the people of Kodagu, takes birth in Kodagu.

 It is the Place with deep History of Kings and Rulers, the culture here completely different by other parts of the Karnataka State. There are total 22 ethnic Kodava speaking community along with Are bhasha Kannada speaking Gowdas and Yeravas.. The Swords and Guns are ritually worship by the Kodagu people; Coorg peoples are born fighters from time of Kings to nowadays.

Languages of Kodagu: 

Kodavas speak Kodava Takk Language, which is also called Coorgi, it belongs to Dravidian family and its spoken by 22 communities like Kodava / Kodava Kshatriyas, Ammakodava, Peggade / Heggade, Iyari, Koyava, Koleya, Hajama, Madivala, Golla kodava, Baaniya, Kaniya, Kodava Nair, Panika, Maliya, Banna, Kudiya, Medha, Kembatti, Maarangi, Boone pattama, Kaapala, Kodava Mappilla.

 Apart from Kodava, a dialect of Kannada called Are Bhashe is spoken by Are Gowda community and The Ravula community who are called Adyar in Malayalam and Yerava in Kannada speak Yerava language in Kodagu Region, other major languages spoken are Kannada,  Malayalam, Tulu, Beary and Tamil.

The language of the Kodavas – Kodava thakk (language) – has been established by linguists as an independent Dravidian language, with words and vowel sounds that are unique to it. Research indicates that Kodava thakk broke off from the Proto-South Dravidian group of languages about 3000 years ago. Over time it has borrowed words from the languages spoken in the neighbouring areas – Kannada, Tulu and Malayalam.

Kodava Culture:

Culture is defined as ‘a way of life of a people or community’, in this case the Kodava community, comprising the many aspects that together make that ‘way of life’ – their dress, language, social structure, ancestral homes, religious practices, customs, festivals, songs and dances. Those aspects of Kodava culture that are ‘unique’ and strikingly ‘different’ from that of the neighbouring cultures will be high-lighted, focusing on ‘what’ these unique aspects are, rather than on ‘why’ they came about. Changes that have occurred over time in some of these cultural aspects will be noted.

the Kodava community has retained its unique culture and maintained its identity and its distinctive way of life over many centuries. This is a culture that has survived despite the inevitable influences of the cultures of the neighbouring areas, despite being ruled by non-Kodavas until Independence (by the Lingayath kings and the British), despite the turbulent periods in its history, and despite the demands of modernity in today’s world. There have been inevitable changes, but these have not been significant enough to alter the culture substantially.

Dressing Style:

Women’s in Kodagu wear Saree which completely in different way compared to other linguistic groups and people.

The first thing that strikes one as ‘different’ about Kodavas is their traditional dress. The Kodava woman drapes her sari in a distinctive style with the pleats tucked at the back of the waist and the pallu (loose end of the sari) drawn under her left shoulder and secured over the right – a very convenient style, with the hands free for agricultural and other work. On her head she wears a vastra (long veil) tied back at the nape of her neck.

 The Kodava man’s attire is a kupya (long black or white wrap-around tunic) secured with a red gold-embroidered silk chele (sash), into the front of which is tucked a peeche kathi (dagger sheathed in an ornate scabbard of silver and gold, ivory and wood). A white mande thuni (turban) or a red chouka (checked scarf, much like the ones worn in the Middle East) is tied around his head. An odikathi (war knife with a broad blade) is fixed to a thodang (silver girdle) at the back of a bridegroom’s waist.

Kodava Deities:

The Kodavas worship a number of deities, Kaveramma is the main Goddess of Kodavas, besides the Goddess Kaveramma, they idolize Igguthappa, Muthappa, Bhagwathi, Mahadeva, Bhadrakali, Subramani swamy and Ayyappa.

 

 

 

Kodagu Festivals: 

The Culture in the the festivals like Puthari, Kailmahurtha and Kaveri Sankramana goes with rich tradition before the events starts. The culture is almost same both for Kodavas and Arebhase gowdas and celebrates festivals such as Puthari, Kailmahurtha, Kaveri Sankrama and Dasara.

 The three main Kodava festivals, Puthari, Kail Polud and Kaveri Sankramana are linked to the seasons and to rice cultivation. Puthari, the harvest festival, is the grandest of these. It is celebrated in November/December when the first sheaf of paddy is cut ceremoniously on a moonlit night and brought home with devotion and joy. We have heard that nowhere else in India is the auspicious cutting of the first sheaf of the harvest conducted at night.

 Kodava weddings:

Weddings are conducted by elders and not by priests. A striking feature of Kodava weddings is the way they honour the groom’s/bride’s family – with a baale birudu. A representative of the groom/bride accepts the honour and cuts the banana stumps specially erected for the purpose with an odikathi. It is said that this tradition symbolises a member of the warrior class defeating competing suitors to win his bride.

 The Hindu rituals of sapta padi and kanya daan are not followed in Kodava weddings. The most important legally binding ritual in a Kodava wedding is sammanda kodupa conducted by elders and witnessed by the assembled relatives and guests. That is when the traditional rights of the bride in her husband’s okka are enumerated. These rights include her right to return to her natal okka if there is a problem with the marriage.

 One of the unique ceremonies among Kodavas in the past was the Nari Mangala (lit., Tiger Wedding) – a ceremony to honour a man or woman who has killed a tiger. The person being honoured was dressed as a bridegroom or bride and blessed by all the assembled people, as in a wedding, while seated next to the slain tiger hung from a bamboo scaffolding. The Wild Life Protection Act of 1972 prohibits hunting and this ceremony is no longer held, except on the rare occasion when a tiger strays into a residential area and is killed in self-defence.

Kodava Traditions:

Kodava festivals and ceremonies are celebrated with much joy, singing of folk-songs and dancing to the beat of drums, and end with sumptuous feasts that include non-vegetarian dishes and liquor.

Many of the Kodava rituals related to death are unusual. Each okka has its own burial/cremation ground on its jamma land. Four men seated near the corpse sing the funeral song. Women accompany men to the cemetery. In contrast to the custom among Hindus, the wife lights her husband’s funeral pyre and vice versa.

Weapons play an important role in Kodava customs and rituals. The birth of a baby boy is announced by a single gun-shot fired in the air. (A gong is struck to announce the birth of a baby girl.) A tiny bow and arrow are placed in a baby boy’s hands when he is born – proclaiming the birth of a warrior. A bride uses her groom’s peeche kathi (dagger), and the mother of a new-born uses her husband’s peeche kathi to cut open a coconut during the Ganga puje ceremony. Weapons are worshipped as part of the Kail Polud festival.

 Kodagu cuisine:

Coorg People prepare many kind of special dished on festivals and special events, the dishes are Kadumbutt, Koogalet, Paputt, Pandi karri and ext.

 

 

Thanks and Regards,

Know Your Indian Roots