KADU KURUBA

KADU KURUBA

1. BETTA/ KADU KURUBA

2. Kadu   Kuruba The  Kadu   Kurubas  are the original inhabitants of the forests of  Nagarahole  and  Kakanakote  in the Western Ghats , Southern India . " Kadu " in  K annada means forest and  Kuruba  is the tribe,  Kadu   Kurubas  are the people living in forests. After the fall of the  pallava  empire many  kurubas  settled down in south India as small land owners and farmers, some kurubas  took to hiding in the forests of south India and adopted to a lifestyle in forest, they developed their own culture and traditions different from others due to their prolonged isolation. Forcible eviction of the  Kurubas  started in the early seventies. They were driven out of their ancestral lands deep inside the forest, and forced to live on the roadside or plantations on the periphery. These indigenous people lack land rights and are remain marginalized even to this day.

3. The Kadu Kuruba live in Karnataka in India. They have lived in the forest regions. They speak in the Kannada language. In Kannada, Kadu means forest and Kuruba means tribal community. The Kadu Kuruba are Hindus. They worship their deity in a stone. They believe the stone nourishes the soil and the plants. Stone worship is linked to worshipping images of Shiva, a Hindu god. They worship ancestors also. In the past they were regarded as great soldiers and had kingdoms. In the early nineteen seventies they were evicted from the forests and made to live on the border. They have no case legally in having land to live on for themselves and are socially excluded from others.