KANNUR: At Kunnathoorpadi, the festival offering worship of Lord Muthappan began with much pomp and delight recently. The presence of people from Adiyan Community is a compulsory element in the festival, and the community is given priority to do pooja and other rituals. Adiyan is a tribal community constituted of the early inhabitants of the hilly terrains and dense forest regions.
However, the community members are now facing an identity crisis, as they suddenly woke up to the fact that they have lost the tribal status officially, and just belong to OBC. But the old records and mythology associated with Lord Muthappan still record them as tribals.
The people in the community, who were given tribal certificates until 2007 in Thalassery taluk and up to May 2013 in Taliparamba, cannot claim the tribal status now. They were told by the officials that they belong to sub-caste of Thiyya community, which has been categorised under the OBC and all the certificates already issued have been nullified and cannot be accepted. The members of the community are spread in the hilly regions, as they were nomadic in nature, and many of them had settled in Taliparamba, Irrity and Thalassery taluk. However, the Kerala Institute for Research, Training And Development Studies (KIRTADS) has identified the tribe only in Wayanad in its study, neglecting historical records that categorically indicate the large presence of Adiyan community in Kannur.
“The government and authorities are insulting the community. There are only around 143 families and many members are not well-educated,” said P Unni, secretary, Kannur District Adiyan Samudhaya Samajam.
‘’The people in the community were issued certificates until 2013. However, without citing reasons and giving improper excuses, they stopped the practice. The issue was brought to the attention of the High Court, and the community got a favourable judgement. But even after that, the community certificates were not issued. This has made life miserable for people as they cannot get any benefits and all their rights have been taken away,’’ he said.
According to him, the community members originally inhabited in Kunnathoor forest and Puralimala in Kannur District.
They used to move around for cultivating ‘Punam’. They hunted animals and ate forest produces. They have their own way of living and culture and they lived secluded till the settlers came to those areas. Adiyan Tribal people lost their land and livelihood when new settlers encroached on their areas. Though the Adiyan Tribal people were not used to mingle with others traditionally, later, they were left with no option as they had lost their cultivation and land. However, they are still marginalised in the mainstream society.
The festival at Kunnathoorpadi gives much importance to the members of Adiyan community, said social activist Vinod Payyada. ‘’It can be considered as a first reform movement, as the lord himself has given them priority. The community in Kannur has been mentioned in several records,including those of the British. However, I don’t understand the reason behind the move to take away the tribal status from the community,’’ he said. KIRTADS, which was requested for Anthropology study by the district administration, suggested that that the Hindu-Adiyan Community in Kannur District actually belongs to Hindu Thiyya Caste and that they had falsely obtained Scheduled Tribe Community Certificates. It also said in the report that the real Scheduled Tribe, Adiyan people are inhabiting in Wayanad District and the Hindu-Adiyan persons belonging to Kunnathoorpadi do not belong to Scheduled Tribe Community. According to Vinod, the customs and culture do not match with the community in Waynad and are more similar to those of Thiyya. He argued that the reforms carried out by the government, and inter-caste marriages could have changed their lifestyle. ‘’But it cannot be the reason for denying them tribal status,’’ he added. When ‘Express’ contacted a senior official of Scheduled Tribe Development Department, he admitted, on condition of anonymity, that there can be mistakes, however the move to deny certificate to the community was based on the suggestion put forth by the KIRTADS.