Social Customs, Ritual Practice and Language of the Kattunayakan Tribes

Abstract

The present study analyses the social customs of the Kattunayakan tribes. It aims at social life and
its rituals. The Kattunayakar is literally the king of the jungle or the lord of the forest and has no fixed residence. The term ‘Kattunayakan’ is derived from the words ‘Kadu’, meaning forest. Nayakan means leader or headman. They speak the Telugu language, and within the family and in the kinship group, they speak
 Tamil. There are 36 tribes living in Tamil Nadu. Kattunayakan community tribes, inhabitation, custom, beliefs, economy, life style, indigenous cultural practices, educational status, health status and access to economic resources, occupational structure. Kattunayakan are a designated scheduled tribe in the Indian
states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The word Kattunayakan means the king of the jungle in Tamil. The Kattunayakan are one of the earliest known inhabitants of the Western Ghats, who are engaged in the collection and gathering of forest produce, mainly wild honey and wax.