Social Customs and Beliefs among the Kadars of Anamalai Region in Coimbatore District

Abstract

The social organization of the tribes in India is very diverse and often quite complicated. This is quite natural as they come from so many different races and cultures which are at various stages of development. They have also been much influenced by the surrounding superior cultures. Among the nomadic food gathering tribes, the social structure is based mainly on the natural family. Usually several such families, united by ties of kinship, form a local group. They live together, hunt and collect together and share out among themselves what they have gathered. They have obligations towards each other, and support each other in want, sickness and old age. Social life, however, is not entirely restricted to the local groups. The local groups meet occasionally to celebrate feasts, for the arrangement of marriages and for other important matters. This paper focuses on social organization, customs and culture of the Kadars, the primitive hill tribes of Anamalai region in Coimbatore District.