Indigenous People Groups 

  Within Tamil Nadu there are 36 scheduled tribes, many of which can be found within the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve. Of those who are considered as part of the scheduled tribes in Tamil Nadu, there are six groups that are approved as Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs), all of which can be found in the NBR: Kattunaickens, Kotas, Kurumbas, Irulas, Paniyans, and Todas. The characteristics of a PTG include: “a pre-agriculture level of technology, a stagnant or declining population, extremely low literacy, and a subsistence level of economy” (P.5, Paniyans of Nilgiri District Tamil Nadu). When defining a tribe there can be a multitude of answers. On description from the Tribal Cultural Documentation sources a definition from anthropologist T.B. Nayak that directly states – “A tribe is a social group with territorial affiliation, endogamous, with no specialization of functions, ruled by tribal officers, hereditary or otherwise, united in language or dialect… following tribal traditions, beliefs and customs illiberal of naturalization of ideas from alien sources, above all conscious of a homogeneity of ethnic and territorial integration” (p.1, Paniyans of Nilgiri District Tamil Nadu) In the NBR, and even as small as the Nilgiri district within, there are multiple tribes, each with their own…
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Honey Collection Method

Honey Collection Method   The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is comprised of the Blue Mountains and home to numerous unique features, the practice of honey hunting being one of them. The handful of indigenous people groups who partake in this ancient tradition have developed unique methods and materials best suited for both honey collection from cliff overhangs and large trees. This tradition is found among multiple tribes (ex: Kurumbas, Irulas, Sholigas, Todas) and some tribes have honey collection methods unique to their communities (i.e. Todas utilizing only their breath to move bees from a hive instead of irritants like smoke). This ancient practice goes back many generations, even thousands of years with various rock paintings depicting the antiquity of this practice, such as those from Andra Pradesh that date back to 6000 years ago. And even in the midst of the change of time and the exponential movement of modernization, much of the aspects of the honey hunting tradition remain steadfast. The honey hunting season is often between the months of April to June, and can start as early as March depending on the abundance of flowering plants and rains that happened months prior. Sometimes during the months of October to…
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Traditional Practices

Traditions that incorporate conservation practices The practice of wild honey collection, even when done with the utmost regard for the environment and natural systems, still has a negative impact on the honeybees in the end. The very apparent harmful impact is the fact that the honey is the main source of food for the honeybees, especially for the brood. Honey hunting is even more harmful when it is done out of complete disregard for the honey bees. For instance, some honey hunting has involved the destruction of an entire hive by putting direct fire on the comb, thus much of the brood and adult bees will be killed. However, there are ways in which the varying tribes of the Nilgiris have sought to make their practices more sustainable. For example, most honey hunters nowadays will only put smoke near the hive to encourage them to temporarily abscond the nest, as opposed to directly burning the colony. Since the honeycombs on cliffs are at a 45 degree angle, only part of the hive attached to the cliff will have the honey. Thus, with proper dexterity (of course, while dangling from a cliff) a skilled honey hunter can stab out only the…
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Narratives

  These are the stories of the Honey Hunters of the Nilgiris, the Blue Mountains, of Tamil Nadu. The honey hunters hail from the various tribal groups of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve and for several of the indigenous groups their histories and traditional practices have been recorded, albeit with some missing information but nevertheless documented. However, the purpose of these anecdotes is to show the personal narratives of each honey hunter and their own distinct experience; to go outside the limitations of textbook information and read about personal accounts. To understand a certain group of people it is necessary to have anthropological information and it is equally important to know the stories of individuals within that group. A few of the simple questions that were asked included: What is your favorite/most memorable moment from honey hunting? Why do you continue honey hunting? Will this tradition continue? Have you noticed any changes in this practice? Below are the summations of their answers; sometimes there is a common thread response and other times an individual gives a completely unique account.   Irulas Jadayan Although now living in a village called Kethoni at the outskirts of Kotagiri, he is originally from the village Kanakarai that is…
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