MANUAL OF THE NILAGIRI DISTRICT. 211 



These families or blguii ' do not intermarry, and it will be CHAP. IX, 

 observed that their distinguishing names, Pal, &c., resemble those PART III. 

 of the plains. Mr. Breeks mentions four tribal divisions, the ethnology. 



names of which he learnt from a Kurumba — 1, Botta K. who live 



on the northern slopes and in Mysore district ; 2, Kumbali K. 

 who make blankets and live in the low country; 8, MulluK. 

 (locality uncertain) ; 4, Handi K. who live on the eastern slopes. 

 Mr. Metz seems to regard the Nilagii-i Kurumbas as belonging to 

 the Mullu tribe. In the Bhavani valley there are some Jain^ 

 Kurumbas who live mainly on the sale of the honey which they 

 collect. 



The villages of the Kurumbas are called mottas, probably from Mode of life. 

 maram, a tree. They consist generally of only four or five huts ^^^^^^'^s^- 

 made of mud and wattle with thatched roofs. The front of a 

 house is sometimes whitewashed and ornamented with rude draw- 

 ings of men and animals in red earth or charcoal. 



" They store their grain in large oval baskets and for bottles tbey Livelihood, 

 use gourds. They clear a patch round about the village aud sow the 

 ground with ragi (Eleusme coracana), Tenne {Pavicum Bali cum), or 

 Kiri (Amaranthus trisUs). They dig up roots (called gasi'i) for food 

 and collect jungle produce, honey, resin, gallnuts, &c., which they 

 barter with low-country traders, and they are clever in catching game 

 in nets and dispose of the flesh in a surprisingly short time. They 

 pay no (]ud%i, to the Todas." ^ 



Kurumbas occasionally take work on coffee plantations and 

 some earn a livelihood by officiating as priests to the Badagas. 

 They are also employed as musicians at wedding feasts and 

 funerals of the other tribes, where they play on clarionets, drums, 

 and tambourines, as well as on the huguri. 



The Kurumbas make baskets of rattan and milk vessels out <;f 

 a joint of bamboo, as well as nets ; these last are made of a thread 

 called oilhatti. Their women do not labor in the fields, but confine 

 themselves to the limited work of their households, fetching 

 water, cooking, &c. 



The following extract embraces all that can be said of the Religion, 

 religion of the Kurumbas : — 



Some Kurumbas whom I have met with profess, in answer to 

 inquiries, to worship Siva, and occasionally women mark their fore- 

 head with the Siva spot. Others, living near Barliar, worship 



' Biga means lit. a lock. 



^ Jain said to be from honey, but it may refer to the connection of these tribes 

 with the Jainas. 



The tribal divisions of the Kiirimibas are very numerous. In Mysore Mr. Rice 

 enumerates no fewer than fifteen, who occupy mainly the hills along the south- 

 western boundary of Mysore. In Hassan alone the Kad and Jain Kurumbas 

 number 1.819. 



' Brekks. 



