People of Karnataka

The people of Karnataka have been living in intimate and mutually beneficial contact with all their immediate neighbours namely, the Marathas, the Andhras, the Tamilians and the Malayalis. Adi Shankara established one of his principal monasteries at Sringeri. Sri Ramanuja made a sojourn of several years at Melukote. He brought the families of several Srivaishnava devotees along with him. There is a group known as Sanketis, speaking a Tamil dialect. They migrated into Karnataka from Tamil Nadu from a place called Shencottah. The names of other group indicate the place of their origin. Badaga Nadu means people who came from the North.

The Okkaligas have maintained their identity for over a thousand years. They have existed as a separate class from the time of the Gangas of Talkad. The Voddas (masons) once classed as a criminal tribe, came originally from Orrisa. The Lambanis were camp followers of the invading Maratha armies in the 17th century. Hyder Ali encouraged gardeners called Tigalas to migrate from Tamil Nadu to Bangalore and thus, helped in the laying out of Lal Bagh.

A large number of Malayali families have migrated into the Mysore district. Tradesmen (Byaris), priests and plantation labourers from Kerala have always found lucrative jobs in Coorg and South Kanara. The Kannada spoken in this area is influenced considerably by the speech habits of the southern neighbours. The public sector industries established in Bangalore attract thousands of skilled workers from Kerala.

Aborigines

The Kurubas inhabiting the forests of the Karnataka and Coorg districts have Negroid features. They are primitive in every respect. They are gatherers of food, hunters, and nomads. If they build thatched huts, it is only to set fire to them and go in search of a new habitation, the following year.

They practice agriculture as a subsidiary occupation. Instead of ploughing the field, they scratch the surface with a sort of bamboo spear. They reap the ears of corn and allow the neighbouring villagers to collect the hay. They have no use for fodder, for they have no cattle.

Their dress and food were of the simplest kind. The women did not know of the existence of an upper garment. The men were content with a loin cloth. Their principal meal consisted of a ball of cooked ragi-flour together with roots and fruits gathered by the women and the flesh of birds and small game hunted by the men. The Government allowed them to wander freely all over the forest area in return for planting a few teak saplings annually in the plots occupied by them.

In the past, the Jenu Kurubas were mostly dependent upon shifting cultivation and collection of honey etc. But now most of them have given up their traditional occupation and they earn their livelihood by working in forests on daily wages.

The Bewttada Kurubas have been more successful in implementing government schemes. Their economic position has also considerably improved. The Social Welfare Department have several schemes to civilize these primitive tribes. These tribes has a number of manual skills such as planting timber with a primitive implement (Malu), weaving baskets, carving canes etc.