Paniya Tribe of Kerala

This year, the ARPO Documentation Team focused its research in Wayanad—the district with the highest Scheduled Tribe population in Kerala—to document the heritage of the Paniya community, the largest Scheduled Tribe group in the state. For the Paniya, art, music, and rituals are not mere things of the past; they are the living breath of their communal identity. Yet, maintaining this ancient artistic lineage in the face of modern socio-cultural shifts and external influences poses an ongoing challenge—one that reveals both the struggle of preserving an unwritten legacy and the extraordinary resilience of a community holding fast to its roots.