PALIYAR Tribe of Kerala
The Paliyar are an indigenous tribal community of Kerala, primarily settled in Idukki district with a population of around 1,500 across seven panchayats. Once forest dwellers practicing shifting cultivation, they were resettled after the Mullaperiyar dam submerged their lands. Today, they preserve rich traditions of worship, festivals, songs, and crafts while adapting to modern livelihoods, with Kumily, Vandanmedu, Chakkupallam, and Kattappana as their major settlements.The Paliyar are an indigenous tribal community of Kerala, primarily settled in Idukki district, with a population of around 1,500 across seven panchayats. Once forest dwellers practicing shifting cultivation, they were resettled after the Mullaperiyar dam submerged their lands. Today, they preserve rich traditions of worship, festivals, songs, and crafts while adapting to modern livelihoods, with Kumily, Chakkupallam, and Puliyanmala as their major settlements.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 : About The Community
During our field visit to the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border regions around Thekkady, Paliya community ...
Chapter 2 : Social Life
Based on oral accounts that were shared with us, it is understood that in earlier times the Paliy...
Chapter 3 : Paliya Artforms
Paliya Nritham is a traditional dance form practiced within the Paliya community and is performed...
Chapter 4 : Belief System
The Paliya community today worships multiple deities, with the prominent clan deity varying from ...
Festivals
Paliya Ulsavam is an annual festival celebrated by the Paliyar community in Kerala during the har...
List of Documentaries
Since initiating our collaboration with the Paliyar tribal community of Idukki, we have produced ...
Credits
Prepared by Anjana, Sociologist Vysakh Seluraj, Anthropologist Community collaborators from...