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Kodava (koDava) is the language spoken by the native inhabitants of Coorg which is now a small district of Karnataka. It was an independent state before its integration with Karnataka in 1956. The natives of Coorg have an indigenous culture of their own and their language is a repository of that culture. The language is known as ‘koDava takk’ by the native speakers. Some of the alternate names are kadagi, khurgi, kotagu and kurja. It is spoken by about 122000 people according to the 1997 census.

1. INTRODUCTION
This paper presents a global ethnolinguistic view of the Kodavas, a minority community in south India. It deals with the ethnolinguistic aspects of the language spoken by this community from the point of view of communication, identity, and social reality. The paper presents certain problems that the language and the linguistic community face, and the future prospects for the development of the language.
The Kodavas or Coorgis are a minority community with a population of 97,011 persons according to the 1991 census. (There were 79,172 persons who claimed Kodava to be their mother tongue in the 1961 census.) The majority of the Kodavas live in the Kodagu (Coorg) district situated on the Western Ghats in Karnataka, India. The Kodavas have maintained a distinct identity in terms of customs, rituals, dress, food, and language from the neighbouring peoples for a very long time.
2. HISTORICAL AFFINITY
Some historians suggest that the Kodavas might have migrated into their present area in the Coorg district around the 3rd century A.D. The Yeravas, Kurubas, Male-Kudiyas and Holayas also are found in this area (Richter, 1987).
There are different theories about the origin of Kodavas. One view is that the Kodava culture resembles the culture of the ancient trading stock of Araba (Moeling 1855). Another view is that the Kodavas are descendants of Scythians (Connor 1870, Rice 1878). According to yet another view, the Kodavas belong to the Indo-Scythian race. Kodavas have no resemblance to any other people group of South India since their average cephalic index is 80.6 and the nasal index is 65.2. This may prove that the Kodavas are the descendants of the Brachycephalic stock who entered into the Indus Valley during the Mohenjodaro period and migrated to the Coorg region (Hutton, as quoted in Balakrishnan 1976). These are all theories, and we do not have any definite clue or evidence to prefer one theory over another.
3. KODAVA LANGUAGE
The origin or the root of the Kodava language, however, is easily traceable. Comparative Dravidian studies have shown that Kodava belongs to the South Dravidian Language group. The following figure shows the family tree:
Pre-South Dravidian group
(Krishnamurti 1969).
Though Kodava language belongs to the Dravidian family, some have claimed that the Kodava people themselves may not be of Dravidian origin. If this theory or belief is accepted, then we need to explain how the Kodava people group has a language that clearly belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. We do notice that people groups could give up their language over a period of time and adopt another language as their own. Kodavas might have given up their language and shifted to a new language. Such a language shift is a common phenomenon throughout the world. In India, Khasis belong to the Mangoloid group physically, but their language belongs to the Austro-Asiatic group. The Gonds are a Dravidian tribe, but a section among them has shifted to the Indo-Aryan language, Chatti-gadhi. While the Bhils have been considered sometimes as belonging to the Dravidian family and sometimes belonging to the Munda stock, they speak an Indo-Aryan language called Bhili. These cases of the entire ethnic group switching to another language show that there is no inherent or necessary link between the language group and its ethnicity. It also clearly shows that no group can ever claim to be belonging to a pure race. In a sense, the entire Indian demography is one of racial admixture. It is only the language that may be used to distinguish one group from another.
Linguistically, Kodava shows some deviations from the rest of the Dravidian languages. To cite one example, Dravidian languages have 5 short and 5 long vowels. In addition to these vowels, Kodava has two more vowels, namely, /ï/ high central unrounded vowel and /ë/ mid central unrounded vowel which are also distinguished as short and long. (Balakrishnan, 1976).
These peculiarities and distinctness of Kodava had attracted the attention of the scholars even in the sixteenth century. However, they did not consider Kodava as an independent language. It was always considered as a dialect of Kannada, closer to Tulu (Ellis 1816), or closely related to Malayalam and Tamil (Moegling 1855). It was in early 20th century that the philologists and linguists recognized Kodava as an independent language.
Kodava/Coorgi is also the mother tongue of some other communities such as Airi, Male-Kudiya, Meda, Kembatti, Kapal, Maringi, Heggade, Kavadi, Kolla, Thatta, Koleya, Koyava, Banna, Golla, Kanya, Ganiga, and Malaya, living mainly in the Coorg region. Many of these communities have migrated into Coorg from Malabar during the period of Haleri Dynasty. There is no research done so far to find out the variation in Kodava language in terms of these communities.
4. NO MARKED VARIATION AT THE SOCIAL LEVEL
An important aspect of Kodava language behavior is the role played by the speech variety used by the speakers in conveying information about the background of the speaker. People from different social and geographic backgrounds use different varieties of the Kodava language. These varieties could be regional variations, namely, Mendale takka (North Coorg Variety), and Kiggaati takka (south Coorg variety) (Rajyashree 1972).
Kodava does not show a marked variation at the social level. However, the social differences can be observed through code-mixing and code-switching. Code-mixing is observed while speaking/writing one code or language, mixing vocabulary of another code/language. Code-switching is resorted to by the speakers when they switch to another code or language, while speaking/writing one code. In the case of Kodava population, the code mixed or switched is often English, though the use of Kannada, Hindi or Malayalam is also seen rarely. The Kodavas residing outside Coorg show more code-mixing and code-switching than those who live in Coorg. The Kodavas from the higher middle class, and those who are highly educated show more mixing of English or code-switching to English, while those belonging to the lower middle class show more mixing of other languages. However, there are no marked social variations in Kodava.
5. SIGNS OF STANDARDIZATION
Kodava also shows the phenomenon of standardization. The speakers of Kodava from the South Coorg area switch over to the north Coorg variety for inter-group communication. The socio-cultural reason behind it may be that the administrative center of Coorg, Mercara (Madikeri) is situated in north Coorg. Apart from being the Center or seat of the district administration, Mercara has been the capital of Haleri Kings (17th century) and has been the center of education in the Coorg district since the British period. The emergence and acceptance of a standard variety of Kodava has been stabilized by the use of that variety in the Kodava literature.
Even today, after having considerable written literature and two newspapers published in Kodava, the issue of a suitable script for the Kodava language is still being debated. At present the Kannada script is used to write Kodava.
6. KODAVA LANGUAGE - A SYMBOL OF IDENTITY
The Kodava people have a very strong affinity with their language 'Kodava'. Wherever they happen to meet in the world, they speak in their mother tongue only among themselves. They resent if a Kodava speaks to another Kodava in a language other than Kodava. Kodava has the status of a written minority language, but its use is restricted to the domain of home and for informal and formal community gatherings. It is generally recognized that their language function as a symbol, a rallying point for the community, and that it continues to be used for the special functions and in specific domains.
Indeed, the loyalty a people group feels and exhibits toward their language that is spoken only in the restricted domain of home makes that language an integral part of its ethnicity. Such a language becomes more resistant to change, since its restricted use makes it the least visible entity in the mainstream society. Moreover, the restricted home use of this language does not hinder the participation of its users in the mainstream society. Although this language has lost its function in a wider communicative context in the mainstream society, sentimental attachment to that language may survive for a long time and this sentimental attachment will ensure the continuity of that language. Kodava is a fine example of this situation. If a language can survive in this fashion, it can also be resuscitated to its original instrumental communicative function in their society when appropriate socio-political and economic conditions arise.
The restricted use of Kodava language for intra-group communication under the conditions of contact and acculturation for many generations indicates that the community has strong commitment to maintain its language. The strength of this commitment should be seen in the fact that the Kodava language is so much associated with tradition, community life, rituals, and religion that it has come to be perceived as an essential determinant of group solidarity and group identity. It is the carrier of a cultural heritage and a religious tradition.
7. COMMUNICATION AND CONTACT WITH OTHER LINGUISTIC COMMUNITIES
In domains other than home and community gatherings, Kodavas use other languages. Like most minorities, Kodavas show a high percentage of bilingualism. All along history, Kodavas have been in constant contact with Malayalam and Kannada. Kodavas had trading contacts with the Malayalam speakers for a very long time. Coorg has a common boundary with Kerala in the southwest and even today majority of the plantation labourers, artisans like carpenters and masons, and Mapilla cloth traders come to Coorg from Kerala.
The contact of Kodava language with Kannada is also of equally long duration. Kannada became the court language of Coorg with the ascendancy of the Haleri Dynasty from the beginning of 17th Century to 1834. In 1834, after the establishment of the British rule, schools were established in Coorg with Kannada as a medium of instruction (Mysore State Gazetteer 1965 pp. 403).
In 1955, the States Reorganization Commission in its recommendation for the merger of Coorg with Karnataka stated that, "Kannada-speaking people form the largest linguistic group in the Coorg, accounting for 35 per cent of its population; Coorgi or Kodagu, which is spoken by about 29 per cent of its people is akin to Kannada and is regarded by some authorities as a dialect of Kannada" (Mysore state Gazetteer 1965:82).
Apart from these facts, Census also shows that Kannada speaking population has been numerically dominant in Coorg.

Distribution of various mothertongue speakers in Kodagu 1971-1991

Language	Census 1951	Census 1971	Census 1981	Census 1991
Kannada	80,410	1,55,838	1,65,345	1,70.000
Kodava	66,642	64,461	81,564	97,011

Muslim cloth merchants from Bhatkal and Honnavar and other tradesmen from Mangalore speaking Konkani/Tulu have also settled in Coorg. For all of them Kannada is a link language. However, most of them speak Kodava also for communication across the communities.
The contact with Kannada is qualitatively different from the contact with Malayalam. Malayalam is mostly the language of the plantation labour and of trade. Kannada, on the other hand, is not only a language used for trade, apart from being the language of the numerically dominant people, it is also the language of education and administration.
8. LINGUISTIC ACCULTURATION
The contact of Kodava with Kannada and Malayalam speaking communities has led to acculturation. Religious domain is a case in point. Kodavas do not owe allegiance to any religious head. Their language of religion is Kodava and the family/community members perform all the rituals. However, having come under the Lingayat regime, some of the Saivite practices are absorbed by the Kodava people. Along with the temples of local deities like Aiyappa, Povvadi and Kallamma, every village has temples for Mahadeva or Bhagavati. The interesting thing is that the temples of local deities do not have Kannadiga priests, while the sorcerers who perform black magic are invariably Malayalam speakers. Thus, in the religious domain Kodava shows acculturation. The distribution of the languages according to the rituals performed and the deities worshipped makes it clear that the Kodavas are conscious of what constitute the native elements in their culture and what constitute the outside traits. They have absorbed the outside traits and elements into a co-existing system which is essentially separate and distinct from the native system. The same phenomenon is found in the linguistic acculturation process. In the core vocabulary of Kodava culture there is no influence of outside language.
Another language that has some contact with the Kodava language is Hindi or Hindustani. Most of the Kodavas prefer jobs in the defence establishments and almost one person from each Kodava home gets a job in the military. Hindi or Hindustani is the language of non-formal gatherings in the Indian defence establishments. Kodavas acquire it as part of their careers and socialization in the armed forces. Apart from this, Hindi is taught in the schools and also in Military education, which has led to elite bilingualism in Hindi.
Another language, which is learnt by the Kodavas, is English. English is acquired through schooling. Thus Kodavas show a high degree of bilingualism of both types, bilingualism through socialization and bilingualism through schooling or elite bilingualism. English is an example of total elite bilingualism; Kannada and Hindi are acquired partly through schooling and partly through socialization and Malayalam exclusively through socialization. The mode of acquiring languages seems to have reflected in the attitudes of the Kodavas towards these languages, and the use of these languages. Kodavas attach prestige to the use of English and have positive attitude towards the acquisition of English. Code mixing and code switching are observed more in English. Kannada has considerable positive value but comes only second on the scale for choice of learning. It is viewed more as a functional choice as Coorg is a part of Karnataka state with Kannada as the state official language. The acquisition of Malayalam has no prestige. No Kodava would like to adopt Malayalam as a language of education or would like to learn it formally or would use it in formal conversations. It is always considered a language of the labourers since the Kodavas often learn it from them and use it exclusively with them. Thus the attitudes of Kodavas towards English, the state language- Kannada, and Malayalam show the general trend of the minority language speakers in India towards other Indian languages.
After examining the language use and attitudes among the Kodavas, two aspects, namely, language as the means of communication and language as a symbol of identity, are seen most clearly. Language defined from the point of view of the ethnicity experience is much more than 'a means of communication'. The third aspect of language is equally important, i.e. 'language as a reflection of society'.
9. KODAVA LANGUAGE AND SOCIETY
Language and society have an interesting relation. Both reflect each other. Society gets reflected in its language in many ways. Firstly, there are many examples of the physical environment of a society being reflected in its language, normally in the structure of its lexicon - the way in which the distinctions are made by means of single words. For example, whereas English has only one word for snow, the Eskimos have several. The reasons are obvious. The Eskimo people have to be able to distinguish efficiently between different types of snow. Kodavas live in thick forests where varieties of snakes are found. Most Indian languages distinguish snakes by two or three names, but the Kodavas distinguish at least twenty different varieties of snakes, such as bale muriya, kati murki, kere pambu, volle kidiyi, billandi murki, pilli pambu, pave pambu, etc.
Secondly, the social environment can also be reflected in the language and can often have an effect on the structure of the lexicon. For example, a society's kinship system is generally reflected in its kinship vocabulary and this is one reason why anthropologists tend to be interested in this particular aspect of language. For example, in Kodava language mava could be father-in-law, mother's brother or father's sister's husband; mayi could be mother-in-law, father's sister or mother's brother's wife; and bava could be husband's elder brother, wife's elder brother, sister's husband, father's sister's son or mother's brother's son. These kinship terms throw light on the marriage system of the community. Kodavas show a slight variation from the other Dravidian communities. In Kodava, cross-cousin marriage is possible, but uncle-niece marriage is not possible.
Thirdly, in addition to the environment and social structure, the values of a society can also have an effect on its language. The most interesting way in which it happens is through the phenomenon known as taboo. Taboo is associated with things that are not said and, in particular, with words and expressions that are not used. In practice, of course this simply means that there are inhibitions about the normal use of the items of this kind - if they were not used at all they could hardly remain in the language. Generally, the type of word that is tabooed in a particular language will be a good reflection of at least a part of the system of values and beliefs of the society in question. For example, expressing sorrow for killed animal is a taboo in Kodava culture. It being a martial community and hunting being one of the most respected activity of the community, killing an animal is considered a bravery, an act to be rewarded. Because of these values, expressing any feeling for the killed animal is considered to be a bad omen.
10. LEXICON AND CULTURE
Apart from taboo words, total absence of certain words from the lexicon of a language shows that the practices meant by these words are not culturally important in the particular community. For example, there are no words for dowry and prostitution in the Kodava language. In the folk songs and folk tales of Kodavas these words are not found. The report in the gazetteer (Graeter 1870) supports this point. It says, " among the Kodava, there is neither dowry nor bride-price. However, the bridegroom presents the bride a small bag containing silver or gold coins according to his wish and capacity before he taker her to his house." (Mysore State Gazetteer 1965, pp.111). It further says, "Social evils like prostitution are not in evidence in Coorg. There has not been any community of prostitutes in Coorg at anytime. As the general level of culture and education among women of Coorg was higher than that in the neighbouring districts and as the people were economically well off, women knew their rights and were treated well in the family" (ibid pp. 120).
To understand some particular words and phrases, the knowledge of the culture of a society is necessary. For example, to understand the word mangala in Kodava, one has to be well versed with the norms, values, customs and traditions of Kodava culture. There are ten types of "mangala" - auspicious occasions - in the Kodava community. These mangalas can be categorized in five major groups.

1. First category: when "mangala" is used in the regular sense of "conjugal relationship," which is called kanni mangala. Another mangala which comes under this category is ku:davali mangala or widow marriage.
2. Second category: when mangala ceremony takes place to reward a person or in the sense of felicitation. For example, Nari mangala "tiger marriage." A marriage ceremony is performed for a tiger killer, may it be a man or a woman. Another mangala under this category is payta:ndki alapi mangala which is performed to honor a woman who gives birth to ten children.
3. Third category: when mangala is celebration. Kodi mangala is celebrated when a child is born after long longing, or kemikutti mangala is the ear-boring ceremony of a male child.
4. Fourth category: This mangala is a ritual to ward off the evil. Bale mangala is performed after the consecutive death of wives, when the widower is married to a plantain tree before he marries again.
5. Fifth category: This mangala is performed for the sanction of rights - either of inheritance, legitimacy or changing the family. These mangalas are called parije. For example, Okka parije is conducted when the only heir of the family is a woman. According to this marriage, the man ceases to be a member of his natal family and becomes a member of his wife's family and their children become the members of the mother's natal family. Another marriage in this category is makka parije. By this marriage, the husband does not become a member of the wife's family as in Okka parije but their children have rights of inheritance only in their mother's family. The third marriage in this category is kutta parije, which is performed when an unmarried girl becomes pregnant and her partner refuses to marry her. In such cases, the marriage of the girl is performed and the child can take the mother's family name, and the rights of inheritance. This shows that to understand a word mangala one has to understand the whole gamut of values and norms of Kodava society.

11. TRANSMISSION OF HERITAGE
It is clear from the above discussion that, apart from being a strong token of identity, the Kodava language is a valuable means for transmitting cultural heritage to successive generations. In the last decade with a strong wave of resurgence of culture, the Kodavas felt a strong need to unite and preserve their identity. Such a need for the resurgence of culture is seen throughout the country. For example, after the linguistic reorganization of states and the declaration of a state language as the language of administration, etc., the minorities in almost every state have started to revive their culture and linguistic identities. After the declaration of Assamese as the state language of administration, etc., the Bodo movement gained momentum. Even Mizoram was formed as a separate state, which formerly was a part of Assam state. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya were formed, when the identity of minorities was perceived to be threatened by the dominant state language speakers. Konkani speakers felt a need to preserve their identity with the fear of the imposition of Marathi.
Among the Kodavas, this movement did not focus on achieving a separate political identity because it is a very small community. It did give a strong direction towards preserving the community's separate cultural identity. But a political struggle by a few groups to achieve a distinct political identity for the community through the restoration of the autonomy they enjoyed before the linguistic re-organization of the states continues even today. As a result, 'Kodava takka parishad' - Kodava Language Committee was established in 1978. Two Kodava weeklies Jamma nangada and Brahmagiri were launched. This Parishad conducts elocution and written competitions in Kodava and distributes awards. This patronage has motivated Kodavas to a great extent and a lot of creative writing is published. Last decade has seen accelerated pace of development of Kodava language. Now, there are two weeklies in Kodava, many amateur groups perform Kodava plays, a movie was made in Kodava, and many audio cassettes are brought out on Kodava folk songs and folk tales. The Kodavas are enthusiastic about the development of Kodava. What is needed is a proper understanding of the language planning processes.
12. FUTURE PROSPECTS
There are two major issues in the development of any minority language, namely, the selection of a standard variety, and the selection of a script. I have dealt with these two issues already. The third issue concerns the vocabulary expansion and the development of suitable forms of discourse. There has to be extreme caution while undertaking this task. There has to be a balance between borrowed vocabulary, coinage, and preservation of native items. There is likely to be an influx of borrowings in Kodava, from Kannada, Hindi and English. If Kodava heavily relies on borrowing in the expansion of the lexical stock, it may create a feeling of inferiority and inadequacy among the speakers. This may also hasten the process called "alloglottisation" which involves the influx of vocabulary from the dominant language (Dua 1985). On the other hand, if Kodava places too much emphasis on the native resources for lexical expansion, it may widen the gap between Kodava and the majority languages. Taking all these factors into account, preparation of a dictionary of Kodava language needs to be undertaken.
Another important aspect of language development is the expansion of its domains of use. The use of minority languages in education, mass communication and administration poses serious ideological and practical problems.
One of the major problems of use of Kodava in education is the attitude of Kodavas. Majority of Kodavas consider Kodava as a language of culture rather than education. They feel that Kodava is not adequate enough to be a medium of education even at the primary level. Majority of Kodavas prefer English as the medium of education, and those who can afford it, send their children to English medium schools.
People with a positive attitude towards Kodava language, also do not advocate for Kodava medium as they feel that it will not be feasible economically. Financial resources, textbooks, availability of the teachers, etc., are the major problems according to them.
It should be made clear first that learning through a language other than the mother tongue creates interpretative thinking while the education through the mothertongue develops creative thinking (Shrivastava et al 1984). It also helps the preservation of minority language and culture, which adds its colour to the linguistic and cultural mosaic of India and ensures economic and political viability of the nation by the democratic participation of every community, irrespective of their numerical strength and status. Therefore, education through the Kodava medium at least for pre-primary education and with a bilingual transfer model is the best alternative.
However, the years of education through the mothertongue, textbook preparation, etc., are technical problems, and research in these areas suggests that the Bilingual transfer model, which is based on the sound educational principle of knowing the unknown through known is best suited for the minorities (Annamalai 1973).
We should make the selection of topics, values, and norms with great care when we wish to prepare materials in the minority language in order to use it as the medium of instruction. It is essential for the minority communities to strike a suitable balance between the selection and transmission of the contents of the two cultures when conflicting demands are made on it (Dua 1985).
For the use of Kodava in mass media, already launching two weeklies in it has made a beginning. Feature films in Kodava are produced. Kodava is one of the languages in which broadcasting takes place from the All India Radio Mercara and Mysore stations, and some programmes in Kodava are telecast through the television. It is likely, that the programmes in minority languages may be overshadowed by the quality and range of the programmes broadcast or telecast in the majority languages (Dua 1985). However, if planned with care, these media could be used more effectively in promoting the use and development of Kodava, in transmitting the knowledge and values of the Kodava culture, in strengthening the cultural identity and literary creativeness, and in developing political awareness and group solidarity.
One of the most significant contributions of the Government of Karnataka in this context is the establishment of Kodava Akademi to help the development of Kodava language, People and culture.
A scientific sociolinguistic survey and an ethnolinguistic survey of the Kodava speech community or communities will help us in the preparation of dictionaries, textbooks, and other materials to be used in education and mass communication .
Thus, in order to further strengthen its identity and make a contribution to the multilingual, multicultural, and multiethnic fabric of the country, a careful planning for developing the complementary roles of both Kodava and majority languages in various domains is necessary. Also given the right conditions and commitment on the part of Kodavas, they would be able to meet their aspirations for the development of Kodava language and the preservation of Kodava culture.

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REFERENCES

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Courtesy : K. S. Rajyashree, Ph.D.
Central Institute of Indian Languages
Manasagangothri
Mysore 570006
India

The district of Kodagu has approximately 346 ‘devara kadu’s (sacred groves). The drop in the number of such groves has been cause for concern in recent times. Some environmentalists blame it on the proliferation of coffee estates, observe M G Chandrakanth and M G Nagaraja

These are ancient groves that are deeply revered by the communities that live in their vicinity. The groves, which are hubs of biodiversity,  are called devara kadus, found largely in the State’s Kodagu region. The belief that people of the region have in these groves has ensured forest conservation. The concept of sacred worship of trees is unique and nurtures nature conservation with people’s participation and management. India’s first IG of Forests Sir Dietrich Brandis, who influenced and mentored Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of US Forest Service, recognised devara kadus of Kodagu in 1868. Every village in the district has at least one devara kadu. The tradition of tree worship has its roots in the Vedas, where the ficus tree has been described as housing the fertility spirits of the mythical gandharvas and apsaras. Over the years, Kodagu has lost more than 50 per cent of its devara kadu (755 in 1,900 to 346 at present) with a forest cover loss from 10,343 acres to 4,184 acres. Kodagu currently has an approximate 346 devara kadus spread over 4,184 acres. The size of the grove varies between one cent and 1,000 acres. For the nature-loving Kodava community, the devara kadu is a place of worship to appease its favourite deities. The drop in the number of devara kadus has been attributed to encroachment of the forest area for cultivation of coffee. While sacred groves are found all over the State, for instance, Bidirammana gudi (Tiptur), Salumaradamma (Tarikere), Hongelakshmi (Tumkur), Kadamba (dynasty of Mayuravarma who ruled Kodagu), the Kodagu district is special because it has a devara kadu in every village. Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts have naga banas in most villages. Kodagu is dominated by forests interspersed with valleys. In the west and north, there are peaks ranging from 3,800 feet to 5,724 feet high. The district is peppered with coffee, orange, cardamom and other spice plantations. Each devara kadu has a temple committee which conducts the annual devara kadu festival with participation from Kodagu families and the village community. The oldest devara kadu of Kodagu (dating back to 1,000 BC) is in Kolathode-Bygode en route to Hathur-Kaikeri in Virajpet taluk. The grove has a prehistoric cone-shaped menhir, about 12 feet high and five feet deep, another menhir ten feet high and three feet deep and a dolmen with a U-shaped porthole near the menhirs. In Yedur and Choudlu in Somwarpet taluk, in the ajji bana (ancient grove), stones are arranged in the form of capstone with stone circle, which is a megalithic practice, for worship even to this day. This is held during the suggi katte festival. At the foot of the big menhir, a stone axe dating back to the Neolithic era, is still worshipped. An open well, about 50 feet deep, has been dug to meet water needs during worship. The menhirs are unique when compared to the menhirs at Heggadehalli and Doddamolathe in North Kodagu. For, villagers are known to have offered earthen images, such as that of a dog, child, horse, elephant and other forms to appease the deity, a prehistoric practice. During 1990, a compound was built around both the menhirs by Muruvanda family with the help of Kelappanda, Maletira and Chappanda families. At present, the deva thakka responsibility is shouldered by the Muruvanda family. The name Kolathode-Bygode indicates existence of a rivulet Golagundi joining the river Barappole (as thode implies rivulet). Linked to family festivals The tradition of devara kadu conservation by Kodavas is very closely linked to their family festivals, both involving the appeasement of the same deity. The festivals are known as karana kodupa, puttari, kailpod and Cauvery Sankramana (theerthodhbhava). As part of the karana kodupa ceremony, the head of the family and relatives assemble in the Iyenmane (ancestral home) to offer meedi (food) to the ancestor/s. In Puttari, the harvest festival, the first harvest of paddy crop is offered to the karana (ancestor) seeking a good harvest. In the kailpod or kailmurtha (upon transplanting paddy), hunting weapons and agricultural implements are worshipped. In the Cauvery (Tula) sankramana, river Cauvery, the goddess of Kodagu is worshipped, as Cauvery takes its birth in the Brahmagiri hills at Talacauvery. Policy implication The size of the devara kadu is not crucial, but the code of forest conservation that every community or village in Kodagu teaches by way of preserving its devara kadus is a key lesson for the world. Each devara kadu has three common features: the deity, the temple forest and the sacred tank. Tree diversity as well as ancient trees are high in sacred groves attract diverse flora and fauna. In recent times, silver oak, an exotic tree from Australia is becoming a popular shade-giving tree in coffee plantations, because planters need not obtain felling permit from the Forest Department. This however is affecting diversity of flora, fauna and contributing to climate change.  It is crucial that the Forest Department takes the initiative to demarcate devara kadus as devara kadu reserve forest and not merely as ‘reserve forest’ in the forest / land revenue records, as this practice will protect devara kadus from gradual loss. A survey of all devara kadus is necessary to demarcate, preserve and protect devara kadu area and numbers. The Forest Department and all the temple forest committees which met under the leadership of Prof CG Kushalappa of Forestry College, UAS Ponnampet have the potential to jointly protect this unique tradition of forest conservation, and hold it as a shining example for the world to emulate. (M G Chandrakanth is Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Agricultural Sciences, while M Nagaraja is Hon Secretary, Mythic Society) SOURCE: DECCAN HERALD Tuesday 17 May 2011

Known as 11th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry in the Madras Army
Known as 71st Coorg Rifles in the Indian Army

The 71st Coorg Rifles were an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army. They could trace their origins to 1767, when they were raised as the 15th Battalion Coast Sepoys.
The regiment served in the Third Anglo-Mysore War but saw no more active service during the nineteenth century. In 1901 as the 11th Madras Infantry, it was reorganised and the basis of recruitment changed from Madrasi to Coorg soldiers. The restructured regiment was renamed the 71st Coorg Rifles in 1903, and given dark green uniforms with scarlet facings. Most unusually in the Indian Army, red fezs are reported to have been worn. They were disbanded in 1904 because of insufficient recruits^[1] and the mess funds and silver were bequeathed to the newly raised 2/9th Gurkha Rifles^[2].
In 1942 Coorgs were again recruited into the newly raised 1st Coorg Battalion. Like the 71st Coorg Rifles, the new battalion had a badge incorporating crossed Coorg knives. In 1946 it was converted to the 37 (Coorg) Anti-Tank Regiment of the Royal Indian Artillery.

Chronology

• 1767 formed as 15th Battalion of Coast Sepoys
• 1769 became 12th Carnatic Battalion
• 1770 became 11th Carnatic Battalion
• 1784 became 11th Madras Battalion
• 1796 became 2nd Battalion, 9th Madras Native Infantry
• 1824 became 11th Regiment of Madras Native Infantry
• 1902 became 11th Coorg Infantry
• 1903 became 71st Coorg Rifles
• 1904 disbanded

References

Barthorp, Michael; Burn, Jeffrey (1979). Indian infantry regiments 1860-1914. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-307-0.

C P Belliappa locates the tombstone of Victoria Gowramma, the favourite daughter of Chikka Veerarajendra, the last king of erstwhile Coorg, at the Brompton Cemetery in South West London. The story of the princess is a heady cocktail of colonial power, politics, greed, romance and disappointments.
Brompton Cemetery, located in South West London, covers an area of about 40 acres.


This burial ground, established in 1836, is presently used more as a park; and is popular with cyclists and joggers. The cemetery is located not far from Stamford Bridge, home to Chelsea Football Club. I visited the cemetery last year to locate the final resting place of my protagonist – Princess Victoria Gowramma of Kodagu.

The office at the sprawling cemetery has painstakingly recorded the names of the people buried there since its inception, and has a databank being updated. I was shown a map of the area where the grave I was looking for, was situated. It took me more than an hour to locate the tomb stone of Victoria Gowramma.

The cross on the head-stone was broken and it was covered with thick undergrowth. This was the spot where story of Kodagu’s princess ends having started with her birth in 1841 at Benares. The epitaph on the tomb-stone drafted by Queen Victoria is still intact.

I stood there trying to picture that day, April 4, 1864, when the horse-drawn hearse carrying the body of the princess would have arrived followed by her husband Colonel John Campbell and their three-year-old daughter Edith. Also present would have been Lady Lena Login, the long-time guardian of the Coorg princess.

It would have been a particularly painful experience for Colonel Campbell, as the grave where his second wife was to be buried already had the mortal remains of his second son Colin from his first wife. The boy died in a freak accident in 1856. Interestingly, Colin was born in 1842 at Bellary in Karnataka while Col Campbell served in the 38th Madras Native Infantry.

The process of unearthing facts about Princess Gowramma and her father, Chikka Veerarajendra, the last rajah of erstwhile Coorg, and then reconstructing their lives was like putting together a jigsaw puzzle after finding all the pieces.

The princess was the favourite daughter of the rajah, who was exiled to Benares after he was dethroned by the British in 1834. Chikka Veerarajendra and Princess Gowramma were the first Indian royals to sail to England in 1852.

Both spent the rest of their lives in England. When the King of Kodagu and the eleven-year-old princess were presented to Queen Victoria, the Queen was instantly taken up by the young girl. To the astonishment of her court, the queen took the princess under her wings as her goddaughter. Queen Victoria, along with her royal consort Prince Albert, was present at the baptism ceremony of the Indian princess.

The Queen lent her own name to her goddaughter and called her Victoria Gowramma.
Two years later, when the sixteen-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh landed in England, he too became an instant favourite of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Duleep Singh had already embraced Christianity, and this prompted the queen and her royal consort to indulge in match-making between Princess Victoria Gowramma and Maharaja Duleep Singh. The story involves colonial power, politics, religion, proselytization, greed, romance and disappointments.

I made it a point to visit Buckingham Palace and Osborne House (in Isle of Wight), where Princess Gowramma used to be a frequent guest of Queen Victoria. I could visualise a nervous Princess Gowramma in the opulent white drawing room where the queen received her close friends and relatives.

At Osborne House, the young princess from Kodagu would have played with the royal children where they were also taught house-keeping, cooking, and gardening. Princess Gowramma was particularly close to Princess Alice, the third child of Queen Victoria. (Princess Alice’s daughter Alix married Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.)
The high point for me was to see the beautiful marble bust of Princess Victoria Gowramma, which was sculpted by the queen’s favourite sculptor: Baron Carlo Marochetti in 1856. The bust is special since it is painted to depict a life-like image of the princess.
Recently I traced the direct descendants of Princess Victoria Gowramma to New South Wales in Australia. I spoke to one of them: Ms Marian Ethel Singleton, a 72 year old great-great grand daughter of the princess. However to my utter dismay, the lady though aware of her bloodline, did not evince any interest in her ancestry!
More about Victoria Gowramma...
(By: C.P. Belliappa)


Recently I had an opportunity to launch my book – ‘Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess of Coorg’ at the Nehru Centre, London. Two eminent historians, Dr. John Marr and Dr. Rosie Llewellyn-Jones spoke on the occasion. One of the important guests who attended the programme was a direct descendant of Lt. Col. John Campbell, husband of Princess Victoria Gowramma.

The lady introduced herself to me as Mrs. Anne Phillips the great-grand-daughter of Lt. Col. John Campbell from his first marriage to Margaret Mathew. Mrs. Phillips had already read my book and appreciated my having reconstructed the amazing story of Princess Victoria Gowramma the daughter of Chikka Veerarajendra, the last Raja of Coorg, who was deposed by the British in 1834.

One of the revelations by Mrs. Anne Phillips was that Princess Victoria Gowramma’s only grandson named Henry Victor Yardley was married to Ethel May Field in 1910 and they had three children, one son and two daughters. The general belief was that Henry Victor Yardley was a bachelor, and died in 1936 in an accident in Australia. This disclosure opens up the exciting possibility that somewhere in the world there could be descendants of Victoria Gowramma!

One of the prized discoveries for me while researching for the book was the existence of a marble bust of Princess Victoria Gowramma. During my recent visit to UK I had an opportunity to see this exquisite sculpture by Baron Carlo Marochetti, Queen Victoria’s favourite sculptor at the time. I have used this image on the cover of my book. As can be seen in the picture, the marble bust is painted and gilded, which is not very common.

During my conversation with Mrs. Anne Phillips she mentioned that about ten years ago she had located the tomb of Victoria Gowramma at the Brompton Cemetery. Following her directions I went to the Brompton Cemetery in London to see for myself the tomb-stone of the princess. When I reached the cemetery I was astonished at its expanse. Established in 1832, it covers an area of about 50 acres in my estimation. Searching for a grave there is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Fortunately I got some assistance from their office where every grave (there must be close to a million) is documented and the location recorded. The official marked the spot on a map of the cemetery and cautioned me that the area has thick undergrowth of weeds. I braced myself and went looking for the final resting place of my protagonist. It was a trifle uncanny, and after about half-an-hour of searching I was about to give up when suddenly I found myself standing next to the tomb-stone. As can be seen in the photograph, the cross on the tomb is broken, but the epitaph, drafted by Queen Victoria herself, is still intact. Then to my surprise I found on another face of the tomb-stone the name of Colin Campbell, the second son of Lt. Col. Campbell, inscribed. Colin Campbell, died in 1856 at the age of sixteen, and was buried in the grave. Later, Princess Victoria Gowramma who died in 1864 was also buried in the same grave. I was taken aback to read that Colin Campbell was born in Bellary in 1840 during Lt. Col. John Campbell’s posting there!

Other places I visited were Osborne House in the picturesque Isle of Wight, and the Buckingham Palace, where Princess Victoria Gowramma used to be a frequent guest of Queen Victoria and her children. It was awesome to visualize Victoria Gowramma socializing with the elite in such opulent surroundings. I keep speculating about the proposal of marriage between Victoria Gowramma and Maharaja Duleep Singh of Punjab. This alliance was very much desired by Queen Victoria and it very nearly happened. Had this union taken place, and if the princess from Coorg had lived longer, the outcome could have been historic.

(Belliappa is the author of the book ‘Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess of Coorg’, on the extraordinary life of the Coorg princess.)

The above potrait is of Princess Mooda Maji ( or perhaps Princess “Muthamma” ), the second daughter of Dodda Virajendra, the Raja of Coorg  and the architect of the Coorg victory against the Mysorean army of Tipu Sultan, who ruled from 1788 to 1809. This is the only know portrait of the Princess of Coorg.

 


Kodagu (Coorg) is the smallest district in Karnataka with wonderful and lovely natural sceneries. It is the birthplace of river Cauvery. Even though Kodagu (Coorg) is the smallest district it has it’s own virtues. It is surrounded by Kerala State in the west and south, to the north by South Canara district and Hassan district and in the east by Mysore district.
It is from the word “Kudu” (which means “Hilly place”) the word Kodagu has come. But according to some other people it has come from the word “Kodamalenadu”, which means “Steepy hills and thick forests”.