They have herbal remedies for most of the diseases prevalent among them. Some practitioners, like the century-old Mudda Mooppan of Anavayi, and Valliyammal of Mukkali, had become famous, with large clientele among non-tribals also. They knew the migratory paths of elephants and other wild life, and adjusted their migrations accordingly, minimising conflict with the animals. They had an ingenious method for avoiding crop raiding by elephants. They would stack a collection of plant materials like pseudo-stems of plantains on elephant migratory paths leading away from their settlements, so that the animals would move off.
They never developed hunting technologies, and have no bows or arrows. But they are expert in devising traps, especially for wild pigs. They would also scavenge the kills of wild dogs, by driving off the packs of these predators, and recovering the carcases of their prey. They used to distribute the meat among their families in a traditional, equitable manner, so that everyone got some. The only animal they feared was the bear, because they would sometimes come on one by surprise, in the common quest of man and beast for honey.
Shifting cultivation: But it was their shifting cultivation practices that were most remarkable.
It may be described as "Dig and Scratch" in contrast to the universal "Slash & Burn" method. They used to clear the undergrowth from a selected area, and stack the material along the slopes. With a digging stick, their only traditional agricultural implement, they would dig enough to dibble the seeds or plant the seedlings of the cultivated plant species. This operation was done just once, for all the species, irrespective of their maturation time. The harvest was ‘sequential', as each became ripe for it. This was very ‘eco-friendly', and ‘energy-efficient'. The cultivated crops grew along with the natural vegetation, and there was a natural selection of the optimum varieties. This ensured sustained optimum productivity. As the density of the cultivated plants was not very much higher than that of the natural growth, it did not attract animal raiding.
By ‘conventional wisdom', Forest Departments all over India had declared war on "Shifting Cultivation", and decided to wean "tribals" away from it. In Attappady, the Department tried a series of measures, including planting teak in the fields traditionally used for the shifting circuit of Kurumba culture. Instead of selecting their allotted 5 acres of land themselves, the Department demarcated areas for the purpose. The shifting circuits were broken. Inevitably, the productivity of the land fell, and more land was required to be brought under cultivation. The Kurumba changed from Dig & Scratch to the more labour efficient Slash & Burn as a result. In some areas, this led to degradation of the edaphic conditions. With the enactment and the mechanical implementation of the Forest Conservation Act 1980, the Department tightened its screws still further.
The result was that the sporadic cultivation of low value survival crops ceased to be viable. But the Kurumba technology and expertise in managing forest conditions came in useful for the great international Ganja mafia. On the lookout for alternative areas for growing this crop, the Kurumba homeland became an instant choice. It was remote, access was difficult, the forest department headquarters far away, and the terrain very rugged. The climate was ideal. The mafia now engages the Kurumba as a sort of bonded labour, working on forest clearings to cultivate the crop surreptitiously. The same "Dig & Scratch" technology that the Kurumba had perfected over the millennia is now found ideally suited for the fugitive minimal tillage involved in cultivating the illegal crop. The crop is so valuable that the portion paid to the Kurumba by the mafia is substantial. Kurumbas now live affluent life styles, some having built their own houses, or rebuilt those built for them by Government. But they are enslaved - there have been murders and unexplained deaths among them, the mafia being suspect.
The Kattunaikkar
Also known as the Jenu Kuruba in Karnataka, they live in the forests on the border of Kerala and Karnataka. They shared the habitat with the wide variety of wild life and vegetation native to that region, but their special interaction was with the elephants. LK Ananthakrishna Iyer described in 1988 (IV, 72):
"Their manner of driving away elephants is by running against them with a burning bamboo torch. The animal sometimes waits till the Kuruba comes close up; but these poor people, taught by experience, push boldly on, dash their torches against the elephant's head, when it never fails to take to immediate flight. Should their courage fail, and should they try to run away, the elephant would at once pursue and put them to death. They have no means of killing so large an animal".
The erstwhile Government of Mysore hired their technological expertise for the famous Khedda operations for capturing wild elephants. Along with the sister tribe Kadu Kuruba, they were the unsung heroes who risked their life, drove the wild elephants unerringly into the narrow openings of the stockades, and made them fast once they were inside. They then continued to minister to the elephants, and tamed each individually. Even now, they are recognised as the best mahouts of the departmental elephants.
