Traditional Festivals of Kurumba Tribe in Attappady with Special Reference to Pudur Panchayat – A Historical Perspective

Abstract

Attappady is situated at Mannarkkad Taluk of Palakkad district. Kurumbas are very primitive tribe. They are living in the interior part of the forest. Kurumbar are included in the Particular Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) of Kerala. This paper is focused on the Kurumba tribe in Attappady with special attention to their festivals. They have religious and agricultural festivals. The agricultural festivals like Bethe, Vithuda, Kaadupidi Muthattu Pooja and Kambalam. Their gods and goddesses are Malleeshwaran, Thamandreyan, Murugan, Karadaivam, Ganapahy, Kaali and Maariyamma. This paper discussed about their funeral function also. It emphasise the importance of Malleeswaran Shivarathri and Vrathanushtana. Harichandran koothu and Kaadupidi Muthattu Pooja also discussed.