Kodava people


The Kodavas, also called Coorgs, are an endogamous Dravidian ethnolinguistic group from the region of Kodagu in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, who natively speak the Kodava language.
Kodavas worship ancestors, nature, and weapons such as swords, bows, arrows, and later guns.
They are traditionally land-owning agriculturists and patrilineal, with martial customs. Originally small landholders, they gained relative prosperity with the advent of coffee cultivation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The Kodava tribe forms the single largest caste in the district of Kodagu; they are reportedly over 30% of Kodagu's Hindu population, and play a major role in deciding the political candidates and winners there. The Kodava tribe also forms more than 60 percent of the Kodava-speaking population.
Kodavas are the only ethnic group in India permitted to carry firearms without a license.

Etymology

Derived from Kodava √koḍa "western", -vë "person".

Origin

The words Kodava and Kodagu come from the same root word 'Koda' which means "Mist" But some claim it means 'hills', others say it means 'west' but both relate to the Western Ghats' location. Kodagu is called Kodava Naad in the native Kodava language. The word "Kodavas" was anglicized to "Coorgs" by the British Raj. For centuries, the Kodavas have lived in Kodagu cultivating paddy fields, maintaining cattle herds and coffee plantations, and carrying arms during war.
Puranic association
The Hindu Puranas claim that Chandra Varma, and son of Emperor of Matsya Desha, was the ancestor of the Kodavas. An ardent devotee of Goddess Mahalakshmi, he had gone on pilgrimage to several holy places all over India. Chandra Varma had a privy army who escorted him on his campaigns until he came into Kodagu. Coorg, the source of the River Kaveri, was uninhabited jungle land when he arrived to settle here. Thereafter he became the first Raja of the Coorg principality. He had 11 sons, the eldest among them was Devakantha who later succeeded him as Raja. They were married to the daughters of the Raja of Vidarbha.
  • Kannada inscriptions speak of this region as being called Kudagu nad as well. Both the name of the natives and of the region are synonymous.
  • In 1398 AD, when the Vijaynagara Empire ruled southern India, Mangaraja, a Kannada poet, wrote in his lexicon about the Kodavas saying that they were a warrior people who were fond of hunting game for sport.
Historians agree that the Kodavas have lived in Kodagu for over a thousand years, hence they are the earliest agriculturists and probably the oldest settled inhabitants of the area.

History

Ancient period

The earliest mention about Coorg can be seen in the works those date back to the Sangam period. The Ezhimala dynasty had jurisdiction over two Nadus – The coastal Poozhinadu and the hilly eastern Karkanadu. According to the works of Sangam literature, Poozhinadu consisted much of the coastal belt between Mangalore and Kozhikode. Karkanadu consisted of Wayanad-Gudalur hilly region with parts of Kodagu.

Rajas

The Kadamba ruled North Karnataka along with Goa and parts of Maharashtra while the Gangas ruled South Karnataka and parts of Andhra and Tamil Nadu prior to 1000AD. The regions of Hassan, Kodagu, Tulunad and Waynad were ruled between them. Later the cholas entered Karnataka to rule, but it was short lived. The Hoysalas succeeded them and ruled Southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu. In the aftermath of the Delhi Sultanate invasion of South India the Vijaynagara Hindu Empire arose to rule South India until their downfall in the 16th century. From around 1600 until 1834 the Haleri Rajas ruled over Kodagu.
Samadhis were built for army chief Biddanda Bopu, who was the commander-in-chief for the army of Dodda Vira Rajendra, and his son Biddanda Somaiah. On the samadhi of Biddanda Bopu, there is a plate carved in Kannada praising him for his bravery shown in the wars fought against Tipu Sultan.

British Raj

Coorg War

In 1834 the last of the Haleri Rajas Chikka Vira Raja fell out of favour with the East India Company who then intervened by launching an invasion Kodagu. A short but bloody campaign occurred in which a number of British soldiers and officers were killed. Near Somwarpet where the Coorgs were led by Mathanda Appachu the resistance was most furious. But this Coorg campaign ended quickly when the Raja sent his Diwan Apparanda Bopu to surrender to the British and lead them from Kushalnagar into Madikeri. After that, Kodagu was annexed by the British, and the Raja was exiled. Apparanda Bopu and Cheppudira Ponnappa were retained as the Dewans of Coorg.

Freedom Struggle

The Coorg rebellion of 1837 actually occurred in Sulya which was separated from Coorg Province in 1834 and attached to South Canara district of Madras Province. Led by Guddemane Appaiah Gowda, and others it was not supported to Gowdas alone nor opposed by all Kodavas. "A large number of people from Coorg settled in Lower Coorg also participated in the revolt... There are no reliable sources which prove such a bitter hatred among the Coorgs and the Gowdas of Sullia." In fact, Kodavas from Nalkunadu led by Subedar Mandira Uthaiah and Subedar Nerpanda Madaiah, Subedar Kollira Achaiah, Chermandanda Subbaiah Chottemanda Poovaiah and Subedar Cheeyakpoovanda Devaiaha actively participated in the revolt.
A British officer, Colonel Green, entered Mangalore by ship from Kannur. A detachment of troops under his command participated in numerous battles against Coorg forces.
The two Coorg Diwans Apparanda Bopu and Cheppudira Ponnappa were great diplomats. Apparanda Bopu was first suspected by the British who first wanted to throw him into jail. But the two stopped Col Green and convinced the British to spare the lives of Kedambadi Rame Gowda, Chetty Kudiya, Mandira Uthaiah, Shantheyanda Mallayya, Subedar Nerpanda Madaiah and Subedar Kollira Achaiah and other rebel leaders. However they were unable to save all the leaders. In this manner all the Lingayats, Gowdas, Kodavas, Bunts and others who survived have to thank the two Coorg Diwans for convincing the British not to execute them.
During the period of British rule, Coorgs entered politics, government service, medicine, education, and law. Under British protection, Kodagu became a State with nominal independence. The British recognised the exceptional martial abilities of the Kodavas and used them in the Indian Army. Many Kodavas fought in the two World Wars. Dewan Bahadur Ketolira Chengappa was the last Chief Commissioner of Coorg in 1947. In 1950 Coorg was recognised as one of 27 different states of the Indian Union but in 1956 the state of Coorg was merged into Mysore.
There were many freedom fighters among the Kodavas as well, like Iynanda P. Kariappa, who was a leader of the INC and was sent to Delhi Jail by the British, he later on became the first MLA of Coorg State, and was also the District board President. Pandyanda Belliappa, Kollimada C. Carumbaiah, C.M. Poonacha, Chekkera Monnaiah, Mallengada Chengappa, Ajjikuttira Chinnappa, Ponnimada Machaiah, Kalengada Chinnappa, Chokira Madappa, Pandikanda Madappa, Kotera Accavva, Balyatanda Muddavva, Mukkatira Bojamma, Machimanda Medakka, Appanderanda Kalamma and others. It is noteworthy that there was an army of freedom fighters from the Kodava community such as Puliyanda Subbaiah from Maggula village.

Culture

Attire

A Kodava woman is called Kodavathi Kodavas have distinctive dresses, the men wearing wraparound robes called the Kupya, and the women with a distinctive style of wearing the sari. The Kodava woman wears a sari with the pleats at the back and the loose end pinned at the right shoulder. The men have many distinctive practices such as carrying ceremonial knives, and martial war dances.

Emblem

The Kodava/Coorg Emblem was created by Muckatira Ponnappa Mandanna aka Pimmu in the 1960s. What was designed as a logo for the then "Coorg Rifle Club" became synonymous with Kodagu/Coorg itself, with the symbol being used everywhere from cars and name boards to websites and tattoos. Souvenirs of various materials such as metal, plastic and wood are commonly available all over Coorg and in cities such as Mysore and Bangalore. The Kodavas are a martial race and the objects in the emblem are the "Odi Kathi" or machette, the "Peeche Kathi" or dagger and a shot gun.

Cuisine

  • Boiled rice is a staple food of the Kodavas for lunch and dinner.
  • Coconut,
  • Jackfruit,
  • Plantain,
  • Mango and
  • Other fruits and vegetables
are widely used. Ghee is used in well-to-do families and on festive occasions. Rice in the form of:
  • Kanji or
  • Koolu
is served at meals along with curries and other additional dishes. Meat and alcoholic drinks are not prohibited:
  • Pork,
  • Chicken,
  • River Fish and
  • Varieties of bush meat
are commonly consumed. The famous 'Pandhi Curry' is a Kodava pork curry dish common in most households. It is served along with 'Kadumbuttu'. Sweet dishes like Akki Payasa are prepared during festive occasions. Other special dishes include:
  • Otti,
  • Paaputtu,
  • Thaliya Puttu,
  • Noolputtu served with traditional Coorg chicken curry dominated by coconut and other masalas,
  • Bymbale,
  • wild mushrooms,
  • various leafy vegetables,
  • ferns,
  • crabs,
  • thambuttu,
  • raw mango curry,
  • butter fruit or avocado,
  • tender jackfruit curry,
  • jackfruit seeds curry,
  • traditional sauce, etc.

    Society

Organizational structure

Kodava settlements in Coorg are in the form of Okka family groups that are scattered across agricultural and forested holdings, where traditional Ainmane houses form focal meeting points in the rural landscape. The emergence of townships, as such, has been a relatively recent phenomenon and many of the main towns in Kodagu are inhabited by recent migrants and non-Kodavas.