Cholanaikkan Tribe

Cholanaikkan Tribe Latest News

Recently, members of the Cholanaikkan tribe came out from the forest to receive essential government documents at an event organised by the district administration in Kerala. 

About Cholanaikkan Tribe

• Cholanaikkans are an ethnic tribal community distributed only in the Nilambur valley of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats of Kerala state.
• The Cholanaikkans (coolanaaykkan) are called the Cavemen of Kerala.
• These people are regarded as one of Asia’s last surviving cave-dwelling indigenous communities.
• They call themselves as Malanaikan or Sholanaikan. Shola or chola means deep thicket in the forest and naikan means king.
• They live deep in dense forest, mostly in rock caves called Kallulai (Kallu – rock, aalai – cave), near the banks of streams.
• They are divided into smaller groups called Jenmam. They have no fixed dwellings but prefer to live close to water sources.
• Language: They speak the Cholanaikkan language, which is categorised into the Dravidian family by linguistic experts,
• Occupation: They are largely depending on collecting forest produce for their livelihood, rarely coming out of the forest.
• They are classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).

Source: TP

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