Table of Contents
Introduction 1
i Methodological perspectives 1
ii Research procedures 5
1 Historical Perspectives 11
i The caste system 11
ii The forest tribes 14
iii Historical sketch of the Hill Pandaram 21
2 The Setting 25
i The Ghat forests 25
ii The Hill Pandaram - introductory notes 29
iii Physical characteristics 31
iv Dispersal 33
v Language and culture 38
vi Land rights of the hill tribes 40
vii The cultural setting 41
viii Tribe or caste? 54
3 Economic Life 56
i The forest settlements 56
ii Forest camps and material culture 64
iii Hunting activities 69
iv The nature and scope of the contractual system 80
v Subsistence food-gathering and the continuity of change 96
vi The forest economy - some general notes 102
4 Patterns of Social Interaction 109
i The conjugal bond - some preliminary remarks 111
ii The system of kinship categories 115
iii Patterns of marriage 123
iv Social structure 135
v Socialization patterns and the life-cycle 143
vi Authority structures 158
5 Group Structure and Settlement 162
i Social organization 162
ii Camp aggregates and nomadic movements 167
iii Analysis of group structure 178
iv Territory 184
v Settlement and the changing pattern of adaptation 187
Notes 204
List of Works Cited 211
Index 218
Figures
1 and 2 The families of Chellan and Ramakrishnan, illustrating foraging parties 101
3 Basic kinship terms 118
4 Thangayya's marriages 122
5 Classificatory marriage patterns 126
6 Rajappan's marriage to his sister's daughter 132
7 Papu's marriage to his classificatory mother 133
8 Encampment on the Arambe Stream, Kallar 160
9 Marital linages between forest localities in the Southern section of the Pandalam Hills 166
10 Details of encampments in the Achencoil forests (1972-3) 170
Maps
1 South India showing distribution of forest communities circa, 1880 20
2 Forested areas inhabited by the Hill Pandaram 26
3 Soúthern section of the Pandalam Hills, showing main forest areas and the location of settlements 35
4 Encampments in the upper reaches of the Achencoil River 177
5 Typical territorial ranges of the Hill Pandaram 186
