184 
ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS 
erike, entka or eruku. The Telugu terms erike or eruka 
knowledge, in the sense of astrology or of palmistry, and 
eruku, hunter, do not offer an explanation of the tribal name 
Kuf ii. It is highly probable that the name and the occu- 
pation of the fortune-telling Kuravandlu or Kulavandlu 
induced the Telugu people to call this tribe Terukulavandlu, 
Yerakalavandlu or Yerikelavandlu, including in these terms 
both their tribal name and their profession, and that this 
nickname, once substituted for the real tribal surname, 
Bupplanted the latter in course of time. I prefer this expla- 
nation to the conjecture suggested by Mr. H. E. Stokes in 
his interesting account of these people. Taking Eruku as 
a Telugu designation of this race, he adds to it their tribal 
name by dropping the last vowel of the first part of the 
compound, so that the word becomes Terukkalavandh'.. 
Peculiarily enough the term Erukukula occurs in reality as 
quoted in the note below, but apparently in the meaning 
of hunter. No race takes, as a rule, its name from a foreign 
language, and Telugu is a strange dialect to the Kurus, 
whose real idiom is rather akin to Tamil. In this language 
the expression Yerukalavas is ignored, and this tribe is 
called simply by the term Koravar.^^ 
taluks. They speak a language of their own, a dialect of j^Ialayalam, and 
live with the Coorgs, but always in separate huts in or near jungle. They 
are much sought after as labourers." 
It is evident from the above that Mr. Rice's statements contradict 
each other. If Yerra Gauga and Challava Ganga were Kuiuvandlu or 
Yerukulavandlu, they could, according to my opinion, not have been 
" Yeravar. — Moreover Mr. Kice calls them " men of tbe Terrain tribe," and 
the Yeravar are not, as I believe, known as YeiTalu. Mr. Rice was induced 
tothis identification by Mr. Stokes' remarks, to which he refers. In tliis 
case it appears very doubtful whether gerra in Terra Gaihja is a trilx^l distinc- 
tion at all, it seems rather to be a personal projxT name. 
See the Telugu aud English Bictkmary by Charles Philip Bro\\"n, p. 126 : 
"Js"^ or J^s;>S' knowledge, acquaintance, fortune-teUing. Je^soS o*" 
J8"io^Ji a female gj'psey, a witch. Je^osnai a fortune-teller: Jc"5«j- 
sr>oJfc gypsies. See JX>5e). JX^s' momitaineer, a s.a^■;^ge. JJSo5'"bS).-& 
to tell fortimos. Jj-^^f adj. Belonging to gypsies, or_to hillpcoplc. J5i>S>- 
