DAVANGERE: All 22 Hakki-Pikki nomadic tribals, who worked as suppliers of folk medicine and were stranded in the African country of Gabon, have safely returned to their village Gopanal in Channagiri taluk and the Hakki-Pikki habitat near Holehonnur in Shivamogga.
Speaking to TNIE on the safe arrival of 11 Hakki-Pikki community people back to their Gopanal in Channagiri taluk, Sadashiva, the state organising secretary of Hakki-Pikki Nomadic Tribal Association, said, “Nandakumar, Shwetha, Diwari, Kavyashree, Divyashree, Shivan, Roopesh, Umashree, Partha, Pawan and Sonali flew from Libreville to Istanbul, after 10 hours layoff at Istanbul international airport, they landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, from where they took a bus to Gopanal village, whereas the other 11 tribals from Shivamogga also returned to their native of Sadashivapura Hakki-Pikki colony near Holehonnuru.”
The Hakki-Pikki community has a long-standing tradition of travelling abroad to sell tribal products such as herbal hair oils and Ayurvedic medicines.
“Actually, 22 people, who are all from a tribal community called Hakki- Pikki community, used to go to Africa and other countries to sell tribal products such as hair oil, Ayurveda medicines, etc,” he said.
However, this time they were caught in the middle of a civil war, he added.