Yelagiri Hut Shelters 200 Years Of Hill Tribe History

Relevance: GS 1 - Indian Heritage and Culture; Diversity In India

(Source: The Hindu, 08/14/23)

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Why in the news?

• This article highlighted how the Malaiyali tribe's traditional way of life has transformed over the past two centuries in Yelagiri Hill. The clay huts have been replaced by concentre structures.
  • More than 200 people from the Malaiyali tribe constructed clay huts on Yelagiri hill, forming a self-contained ecosystem for various needs like shelter, storage, farming, and cattle rearing.

Yelagiri Huts

• Malaiyali were foragers, settled in the upper Nillavur region of Yelagiri, and began cultivating its tabletop peak for food.
• The people, initially residing in temporary makeshift huts, later utilized abundant red loam clay from the hills to build simple, 16 by 22 feet one-room structures as a permanent housing solution.
• These one-room homes were built with teak wood frames covered in red clay, with a distinctive 12-foot thatched roof made of bamboo leaves and cow dung wax to withstand the monsoons.
• Despite the modest appearance, these houses accommodated eight individuals and featured an attic (paran) for storing household items.
• Elevated on teak wood stilts to deter flooding and rodents, these homes also represented agricultural reverence, as grains occupied dedicated spaces.
• The red clay played an important role in the lives of yelagiri tribes, it was used to construct huts for living and for the burial of deceased members.

Malaiyali tribe

• The Malaiyali is a tribal group found in the Eastern Ghats of northern Tamil Nadu.
• The Malaiyali tribe – Malai meaning “hill” and Yali meaning “people”, denoting an inhabitant of the hills.
• They are the largest Scheduled Tribe in Tamil Nadu, with a population of around 358,000.
• They are divided into three groups:
  • the Periya Malaiyalis ("big" Malayalis) who live in the Shevaroys,
  • the Nadu Malaiyalis ("middle" Malayalis) from the Pachaimalais, and
  • the Chinna Malaiyalis ("small" Malayalis) from the Kollaimalais.

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FAQs

MCQ

Question: With reference to ‘The Changpa Community of India’, consider the following statement: (UPSC-2014)

1. They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
2. They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
3. They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3