Who are Kadars?

May 16, 2024

The recent death of a Kadar tribesman in Tamil Nadu’s Anamalai Tiger Reserve in an elephant attack has left the indigenous community and conservationists in shock as Kadars are known to co-exist with wild elephants for ages.

About Kadars:

They are a small indigenous tribal community in South India.They reside along the hilly border between Cochin in Kerala and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu.
They are traditional forest dwellers who depend on forest produce for sustenance. They do not practice agriculture, building shelters thatched with leaves and shifting locations as their employment requires.
They prefer to eat rice obtained in a trade or as wages rather than to subsist on food of their own gathering.
They have long served as specialized collectors of honey, wax, sago, cardamom, ginger, and umbrella sticks for trade with merchants from the plains.
They have a symbiotic relationship with nature, and they believe in the coexistence of Kadar and Kaadu (forest).
The Kadar have traditional protocols to ensure the sustainable use of forest resources.
- Every practice of resource collection—be it honey, firewood, resin, or herbs—is designed to allow time for regeneration.
- Their population was estimated at approximately 2,000 individuals in the early 21st century.
They speak the Dravidian languages of Tamil and Kannaḍa.
They worship jungle spirits and their own kindly creator couple, as well as local forms of the Hindu deities.
They are listed as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Kerala, but not in Tamil Nadu.