நலகர வழ படடக கறமபர பழஙகட மககளன சமக வழவம பணபடம / Social Life and Culture of the Pedda Kurumbar Tribal People of the Nilgiris

India hosts the world's largest population of indigenous communities. The Nilgiri district, which is known as the Blue Mountains, is situated at the meeting of the Western and Eastern Ghats. It is recognized as Tamil Nadu's Tribal District and is home to six ancient indigenous groups such as Toda, Kota, Kurumba, Paniya, Irula and Kattunaicker tribal groups. They reside in this region and the documentation of these indigenous communities helps to reveal their distinctions from normal populations and their unique role in social evolution. Among them, the Pedda Kurumbas are the very important ones who have cultural antiquity and are subdivided into four subgroups. Palkootaram is a novel written by Aattanathi (Dhandapani) that depicts the life of the Pedda Kurumbar tribal community in the Nilgiris. Aattanathi’s novel “Paal Kudaaram” serves as a socio-literary representation of the Pedda Kurumbas in the Nilgiris. Notably, the Pedda Kurumbas comprise a distinct subgroup within the Kurumba community and maintain social isolation from other Kurumba sub-sects to preserve their unique socio-cultural practices, cultural systems and traditions. They have their own social and cultural values. Therefore, this article examines the occupational patterns, marriage customs, social organization, cultural practices, forest-based knowledge and food-gathering techniques of the Pedda Kurumbas in the Nilgiris.