Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills By Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D) Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare, Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, T

Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills - Mach 2004

Driving Forces and the Process of Transition
in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills

By

Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D)
Researcher,
Tribal Research Centre,
Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu,
M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris.
sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com
March 2004

The history of Kollimalai took a major change with the arrival of “Malaiali” community.
There are very little historical evidences regarding the movement of the Malaiyali into
Kollimalai. The myths connected to the migration of the Malaiyali community into Kolli Hills
has been well described by Thurston (1909). These descriptions have been corroborated by the
oral history of some of the hereditary leaders such as pattakaran, sadhi koundan and kangani.
According to Thurston (1909) the word Malaiyali denotes inhabitant of the hills (Malai = hills).
Malayali believe that they are Vellalas who migrated to various hills including Kolli hills from
Kanchipuram. Thurston (1909) does not consider Malayalis as tribals. He argues “ The
Malaiyalis have not… like Todas of Nilagiris, any claim to be considered as an ancient hill tribe,
but are Tamil speaking people, who migrated from the plains to the hills in comparatively recent
times”. Many authors including Thurston have shown that Malayali do not have tribal qualities.
The Malayalis call themselves as “Malai-Vazh-Makkal” (people of hills) and not as “Pazhang-
Gudi-Makkal” (Original people). However, they have been recognized by Government of India
as Scheduled Tribe due to their social and economic backwardness and they are entitled to all the
rights and benefits provided for Scheduled Tribes.

The history of Kollimalai shows that prior to Malaiyalis, Vedars or Vettuvars (hunters) were
the predominant group in the Kollimalai. The sangam literatures as well as the myths prevailing
among Malaiyalis refer to the succession of the migrants over Vedars. The period prior to
Malaiyalis probably could have been characterized by pristine ecosystems in which the Vedars
who were essentially hunter-gatherers lived. The appropriation of resources with minimal
manipulation is the essential characteristics of hunter-gatherer groups. The invasion and the
settlement of Malaiyalis is a crucial point in the ecological history of Kollimalai in which the
pristine ecosystem must have changed to partially altered ecosystems. Malaiyalis brought
agriculture to Kollimalai, which led to periodic manipulation with partial domestication of
resources.

Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D), Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com

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Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills - Mach 2004

Kolli Hills: Geography and Landscape History

Kolli Hills is a small mountain range located in central Tamil Nadu in India is situated in the
Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu. Some part of the eastern portion of the hill lies in the
Perambalur district. Kolli Hill (Kollimalai in Tamil) has an area of 282. 92 sq.km. It stretches 29
kms from north to south an 19 km from east to west. Kollimalai is a part of the Talaghat stretch
and Eastward of the hill lies Pachamalai. Kollimalai and Pachamalai are divided by a broad
valley. Kollimalai on the western, eastern and southern sides rise abruptly from the plains and on
the northern side ascend to the plains by numerous long and gently sloping spurs. Kollimalai is
also called as Sathuragiri or square hill. But the hill contains of high rising peaks and ravines.
The highest point in Kollimalai is 4663 feet above sea level, but the general level of the upper
surface of the hill is not more than 3500 feet (1000 m). Its eastern and northeastern flanks drain
either into Thurayur valley or the valley of the Periyar. Kollimalai has a total geographical area
of 28293 ha. Forest occupies 44 % of the total geographical area and agricultural activities take
place in 51.6%. The other activities occupy less than 5% of the total geographical area. The total
population of Kolli Hills is 33,888 living in 6840 households, as per 1991 census.

Flora and Fauna

The wilds of Kolli Hills are known for their medical herbs and plants. The vast expanse of
forests of Kolli Hills boasts varieties of rare medical plants and these are regular sources for the
preparation of indigenous Indian Medicines. Major tree species are Neem,Veepaloai,Usil,
Velvel, Neermathi, Tamarind, Seetha Odai, Naval, Illupai., Silver Oak etc. Lemon grass is also
prominent in most of the Reserve Forest areas. Wild animals like Rabbit, Wild boar, Bear, Hare,
Peacock, Jackal, Jungle cat, Monkeys and variety of birds are seen in forest.
Forests and Conservation Measures by Malayalis
Le Fenu manual (1883) has estimated the area of forests in Kollimalai around 216 sq miles.
The trees described in the manual are Pterocarpus marsupium, Connarus latifolia, Dalbergia
latifolia, Terminalia chebula, Tamarindus indica, Atrocarpus heterophyllus, Sandalum album
etc. Hemingway (1907) points out that in Kollimalai the inaccessibility prevented the
transportation of better wood from higher slopes which in turn prevented any trade. It notes that
at the top of the slopes and in the ravines the forest is deciduous. At the foothills, the growth of
the trees were poor due to frequent intervention of the population. The lower slopes were
covered with acacias, Usilai, sati-wood and Prosopis spicigera with Strychnos Nux-Vomica near
the streams. In the higher up, Tectona grandis, Pterocarpas marsupium, Anogeissus latifolia and
Hardwickia binata. There were few bamboos in the east and west slopes. According the
Gazetteer the best forests were found in the Karavallikombai reserve. The reports of Thurston
Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D), Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com

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Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills - Mach 2004

(1909) suggest that Malaiyalis were regularly travelling between Kollimalai and Pachamalai in
Trichy district. The interaction was at individual as well as family level. Similarly, they were
also visiting Namakkal regularly. The selling of Kollimalai sarakku (Produce of KolliHills) in
the plains offered scope for Malaiyalis to gather information regarding various development-
taking places in the region. Malaiyalis also worship Srirnganathar at Srirangam and they
regularly visit major temples in the plain. The interaction with the sanskritised form of religion
shows that the community is not a closed-one.

The forests at Kollimalai underwent a major change during the last century and the early part
of this century. From a pristine ecosystem, it became partially altered ecosystem in which
periodic manipulation of the resources through forest management. Plantations, introduction of
exotic spices and varieties led to partial domestication of resources. As elsewhere in India, the
people of Kollimalai and the Forest Department developed a social distance and in this forest is
seen as government resources rather than the responsibility of the community. Though, people
realize the negative consequences of deforestation, they believe that it is far beyond their control.


The strong linkages of the Malaiyalis with forest and trees can be seen in the context of Sami
Solai or sacred groves. Certain beliefs and faith have helped to protect certain patches of land
with good tree cover. It is a common feature in Kollimalai that one finds a group of villages
worshipping a particular deity who usually is found in the interior of the forests or on the
periphery of it. Some of these areas fall under reserve forests. Rituals on big scale are conducted
periodically to these gods. The groves very often harbors remnant of the past vegetation of
landscape. Some of the forest patches are considered as the abode of four or five goddesses and
gods. These deities are housed not far from each other. Arangathappan, Odaiyar, Kannimar, Kali
and Ilayamachi are housed amidst trees like Syzigium cumini, Ficus racemosa, Ficu bengalensis,
Artocarpus integrifolia, Mangifera indica, Michelia campaca, Persia micrantha, Melia dubia,
Terminalia chebula, Terminalia bellerica,Myristica dactuloides and several medicinal plants.

Agriculture and Food Habits

More than 50 % of the geographical area is under agriculture. Major portion of the
agricultural lands is managed under rainfed conditions. Generally the mixed cropping has the
following crops. The seeds of all these crops are sown together. Thinai is harvested first followed
by mustard, ragi, maize, cucubits and avarai. The earheads of thinai, ragi and maize are removed
and the stubbles are left behind which serves as mulch and also decomposes to form manure.
Avarai, which is harvested last is a nitrogen fixer and helps in improving the soil fertility. The
tender leaves of Amaranthus sp are harvested and used as vegetable. The flower of Amaranthus
sp is used for decorations during Pongal festival celebrated during the month of January. Crop
rotation is widely practiced in Kollimalai. The rotations are as follows.
Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D), Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com

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Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills - Mach 2004


Crops
Botanical name
Duration (days)
Ragi
Eleusine coracana
150-160
Thinai
Setaria italica
100-110
Maize
Zea mays
125-130
Avarai
Purpureus lab lab
190-240
Cucubits
Cucumber spp
150
Amaranthus Amaranthus spp
60-70

Many fruit crops seem to have been introduced during the last six to seven decades.
According to the time studies pineapple was introduced sixty years back. The villagers also felt
that the area under banana has been increasing. The introduction of Tapioca and other cash crops
and slow decline in the traditional crops such as minor millets and the disappearances of certain
land races have bearings on the agrobiodiversity of Kollimalai. The studies of Ehrenfels (1943)
of the economy and daily life of Malayalis describe the food habits of the tribe. Since,
subsistence economy was strongly prevailing; it could be assumed that the food habits reflect the
agricultural pattern. Minor millets, occupied a substantial area under their cultivation and
provided different varieties of grains to the people of Kolli Hills for their food. In almost all the
villages, under their traditional agricultural system it was quite common to have at least three
types of little millet and Italian millet with different morphological and agronomic traits.
Presently not only the different types in these crops, the crops as such do not find any place in
most parts of Kolli Hills.


There has been a sharp decline in the production and consumption of these minor millets. As
a result their cultivation and eating habits have undergone changes. Their qualities both
nutritional and agronomic are appreciated by the farmers yet they are marginalised and have
become neglected crops. Their use is minimal today in Kolli Hills. The influence of modern
agriculture and cash crops are so strong that people have been brought to a situation to
compromise on the food and nutritional security of the household in favor of remunerative crops
and high yielding food crops. The Malaiyalis own cattle for ploughing but they do not milk the
cows with a view to preserve the stock. There are several Shandies on almost all the days of the
week at the foot of the hills at Nadukombai, Sendamangalam, Thammampatti, Belukurichi,
Pavitram (Tiruchirappalli district) to which the tribes carry the jack fruits, pine-apples, beans,
grains and wheat along bridle paths and footpaths and exchange them for clothes and essential
provisions like oil, jaggery and salt.

Impact of Modernization

Many studies have reported that Kollimalai is changing or has changed in social and
environmental sphere from as early as 1930s. Malaiyali community is an agricultural
Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D), Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com

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Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills - Mach 2004

community, which is moving from subsistence agriculture to semi-commercial and commercial
agriculture. Tapioca has spread to large area of agricultural land and thus the outflow of
resources from Kollimalai to other parts of the region is rapidly increasing. Middlemen have
emerged as a strong force and the cash crops are sold to the agro-industries in Namakkal and
Salem district. Though the transition has not been uniform across the community, the impact of
the transition is felt in many parts of Kollimalai. The transition from subsistence agriculture to
semi-commercial and commercial agriculture represents the change in the ecosystems: from
partially altered ecosystem towards artificial ecosystem. The forest area which was around more
than 70% of the total geographical area before 1900 (Le Fanu, 1883) has been reduced to less
than 45% of the total area.

Another important issue is the self-sufficiency. Ellen (1983: 272) argues that “the breakdown
of local-self sufficiency marks a key ecological transition, while human evolution and history,
overall, indicate a movement towards increasingly more inclusive and complex systems”. For a
long time Kollimalai people never went to outside for buying food items. Local people admit
“we used to go down to sell our ‘Kolli sarakku’ and to buy vital items such as salt which were
not available in Kollimalai”. They added that the increasing population pressure forced people of
Kollimalai to find food grains from the plains. During 70s and 80s two major interventions made
a substantial impact in the social life and ecological issues of Kollimalai. The introduction of
full-fledged road and transport system and introduction of state sponsored public distribution
system. This system with emphasis on sale of rice at subsidized price has a major impact in the
agricultural pattern. The confidence of the regular supply of a primary cereal at a low price by
the government undermined the character of the local agriculture as a food-producing
subsistence system. On the other hand, the villages which are inaccessible to transport and public
distribution system (PDS) still have high degree of cropping diversity.

Three to four decades back, the food consumption of Malaiyalis was mainly based on minor
millets, pulses and vegetables. The agriculture produced food grains for household 14
consumption. Rice was considered as an item specifically meant for religious and cultural
occasions. Thus rice was always given a higher cultural value and was treated as a symbol of
higher social status. The offerings for most of the deities are still food items made up of rice.
However, samai and thinai with ragi (called as ariyam) were the staple food in Kollimalai for a
long time. One of the impacts of changes in the structure of the economy is the replacement of
minor millets by rice as staple food. Minor millets have substantial proteins and micronutrient,
which was able to give sufficient nutrient status. When rice became the major food, it was not
complimented with sufficient pulses, vegetables and other food items for balanced diet. Ellen
(1983) argues that “Demands, for matter or energy, on local system by an external one may
destabilize traditional organizations (including adaptive mechanisms) which have evolved over a
long time span. If subsistence arrangements can no longer regulate the major articulation
between the human population and the ecosystem, internal control may be lost….. The loss of
self-sufficiency therefore leads to loss of the possibility of regulatory autonomy…. (1983:272).
Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D), Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com

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Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills - Mach 2004


In Kollimalai, such a trend can be discerned if one observes the pattern of agriculture. In the
traditional system, the village leader defined the pattern of cropping, time of sowing, time of
hunting etc. With the semi-commercial and commercial agriculture, market dictated the time of
sowing, pattern of cropping etc. As the scale of a system expands incorporating other systems,
the parts of the system become more specialized in terms of economic production and social
relations. New types of organizations emerge to integrate and manage the wider differentiation of
its parts. The emergence of government institutions, party politics, new associations and groups
including cricket teams show the emergence of new institutions. Some of the younger
generations of the Malaiyali families have started entering into the formal sector using the
provisions allowed for Scheduled Tribe by Government of India. Many of them are in Railways
and are entering into new institutions such as labour unions in the formal sector.

Greater scale and specialization reduce the diversity of local system and hence the extent of
flexible response. A new scheme for reservoir and the increasing mining activities for bauxite in
Kollimalai are bound to create impact on biodivesrity and environment. However, the
community is yet to debate and respond to these issues. The standard response is that “the
outside people from plains have started destroying Kollimalai”. But this view has not been
institutionally shaped and hence, the responses of the people of Kollimalai have not been
properly organized. However, in the agricultural sector, certain trends are visible. People, who
have been experiencing the vagaries of semi-commercial and commercial agriculture, have
started building self-sufficiency concept in their semi-commercial agriculture, by growing food
grains and minor millets for their household consumption.
With the formation of a separate Block Development office and a panchayat Union on the
hills and with the opening up of regular bus routes to the hills, the lot of the tribes has
improved. About fifty converts to Christianity from the tribes have already received their
education in the plains and many of them have become teachers and midwives. As the English
vegetables like cabbages, beans, knolkhol, tomatoes and potatoes thrive well on the hills, the
Horticultural Assistant and his staff distributes free of cost, not only the vegetable seeds but also
potatoes plantain suckers, pineapple suckers, jack and citrons seedlings to the hill tribes,
fertilizers are also supplied. The Government of India has given a grant of 10 lakhs of rupees for
the development of the hill tribes. The National Malaria Eradication Programme has brought
about a significant reduction in the incidence of Malarial fevers. More and more facilities for
improved living are also made available to the hill tribes. These facilities have generally
improved the outlook of the Malayalis and their estimate of life and activities. It may also be
hoped that in the near future Kolli Hills may develop itself into a very healthy summer
resorts. With these possibilities for the development of Kolli Hills the future for the Kolli
Malayalis is also no doubt bright.

Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D), Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com

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Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills - Mach 2004

Process of transitions in Malayali Tribes of Kolli Hills

Dynamics of increasingly open systems are complex and cannot be subsumed under closed
tribal cultural pattern. As the study argues, Kollimalai is not a closed-tribal system. It is an
agricultural system which is moving from subsistence agriculture to semi-commercial and
commercial agriculture. It is a society marked by the breakdown of local self-sufficiency.
Positive moving towards increasingly more inclusive and complex systems. It is a system that
has used conservation for livelihood security and survival strategy. With the emergence of new
avenues for livelihood security, will conservation be a relevant strategy for the community?. In
the path of sustainable development, conservation plays a major role and creating an economic
stake in conservation could be viewed as a major strategy for sustainable development.

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Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D), Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com

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Driving Forces and the Process of Transition in The Malayalis of Kolli Hills - Mach 2004

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Nanjan Siva M.A.,M.Phil.,D.C.,(Ph.D), Researcher, Tribal Research Centre, Department of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare,
Government of Tamil Nadu, M.Palada, Udhagamandalam, The Nilgiris. sivananjan@rediffmail.com & sivavisab@gmail.com

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