Living Through COVID-19: The Kattunayakans of Wayanad, Kerala

The unprecedented outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the lives of people worldwide, giving rise to apprehension and heightened concerns over the “new normal.” In India, the pandemic impacted all sections of society, though not equally, for the socially and economically marginalized groups endured it disproportionately. Studies of the impact of the pandemic on the Adivasis/indigenous people are still limited. Many Adivasis depend on wage labor and selling forest products for their livelihoods. The pandemic-induced lockdown halted this revenue and affected their everyday lives. Nonetheless, some Adivasis demonstrated extraordinary survival skills by relying on their traditional knowledge, enhancing intercommunity networks, and taking advantage of government concessions to support their well-being. This article explores how the Kattunayakans, an Adivasi group of Kerala’s Wayanad district, accessed the formal supply system and assistance during the pandemic, and how the pandemic impacted those who relied heavily on the external informal labor market. This article further argues that because the Kattunayakans’ way of life is closely intertwined with the forest and its resources, those who relied entirely on the forest resources had an advantage and could better cope with the pandemic than those who relied on the “outside” to earn a living.