Cultural terms of Mullukkurumba Tribes of the Nilgiris District

Abstract

 This study investigates the role of explores the intricate network of traditional beliefs, linguistic expressions, and socio-cultural practices that define the Mullukkurumba community, one of the indigenous tribal groups inhabiting the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu. Belonging to the larger Kurumba cluster, the Mullukkurumbas have retained a unique cultural identity deeply connected with nature, land, and ancestral traditions. Their dialect, derived from Dravidian linguistic roots, reflects influences from Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam, forming an essential medium through which cultural and ecological knowledge is transmitted across generations. The research investigates how cultural terms within the Mullukkurumba language embody their worldviews, oral narratives, and ritual practices. These terms often encapsulate their environmental ethics, kinship relations, and spiritual cosmology, emphasizing a strong bond between human existence and the natural environment. Socially, the Mullukkurumba community is organized into four major clans or kulams -Villappa, Kathika, Vadakku, and Vengada - which govern marriage alliances and social interactions, reflecting their exogamous kinship system.  Cultural expressions such as folklore, songs, and material crafts play a vital role in preserving their intangible heritage. Traditional occupations like hunting, gathering, basket weaving, and shifting cultivation embody practical ecological wisdom and form a linguistic repository of specialized terminology related to flora, fauna, and seasonal cycles. In recent decades, modernization and ecological restrictions have challenged the continuity of these cultural practices. Despite welfare initiatives promoting language and art preservation, the younger generation’s shifting livelihoods have resulted in diminishing use of indigenous terms tied to traditional life. The study concludes that preserving these terms; researchers can illuminate the tribe’s cognitive and ecological philosophy, providing valuable insights into how language, culture, and environment interconnect in Indigenous world views.