 | ||
Irula is an ethnic group of India. They inhabit the area of the Nilgiri mountains, in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, India. A scheduled tribe, their population in this region is estimated at 25,000 people. People of Irula ethnicity are called Irular, and speak Irula, which belongs to the Dravidian family.
Contents
Etymology
Irular means "dark people" in Tamil and Malayalam, from the root word irul, meaning "darkness", in reference to their dark skin complexion.
Anthropology
Early 20th century anthropological literature classified the Irular under the Negrito ethnic group.
Culture
Unlike the Negrito tribes in the Andaman Islands who have retained their language, Irular speak the Irula language, a Dravidian language that is closely related to Tamil, Yerukala, Sholaga and other Tamil languages.
Distribution
Irular live in two south Indian states – Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu they live in the Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Erode districts. In Kerala they live in the Palakkad district and Attapady and Walayar panchayats.
They live in four taluks in Coimbatore district, namely Coimbatore South, Coimbatore North, Avinashi and Madathukulam. The Coimbatore district houses 4254 Irulas in 40 settlements comprising 139 villages. Nearly 100 Vettakada Irula settlements are found in the forest areas or in the deep mountainous jungles. There are 4 tribal settlements in the Siruvani Hills comprising 14 villages.
The Census of Kerala identified 756 Irulan individuals from 189 families, who lived in 9 settlements covering .23 km² in the state.
Economy
Traditionally, the main occupation of the Irulas has been snake and rat catching. They also work as labourers (coolies) in the fields of the landlords during the sowing and harvesting seasons or in the rice mills. Fishing is also a major occupation.
Rats destroy a quarter of the grain grown on Tamil Nadu-area farms annually. To combat this pest, Irula men use a traditional earthen pot fumigation method. Smoke is blown through their mouths, which leads to severe respiratory and heart problems.
Masi Sadaiyan and Vadivel Gopal from the Irula tribe of Tamil Nadu were brought in, along with two translators, to work with detection dogs earlier this month to track down and capture the giant snakes in Key Largo, Florida. $70,000 were paid by the state of Florida to hire the Irula men and their translators. They’ve bagged 14 pythons in less than two weeks.