{"id":3347,"date":"2016-05-06T14:59:34","date_gmt":"2016-05-06T09:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goheritagerun.com\/?p=3347"},"modified":"2018-05-09T23:21:40","modified_gmt":"2018-05-09T17:51:40","slug":"tribes-nilgiris-badaga-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goheritagerun.com\/tribes-nilgiris-badaga-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Tribes in the Nilgiris: Badaga Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
The buildings, structures and the railway track in the Nilgiri Hills is steeped in history. But there\u2019s a lot more to Ooty. When one looks at the diversity of tribal and indigenous cultures in Ooty, the array is massive; take The Badaga community, for instance. It is one of the many communities that developed and thrived within the lush ecosystem of Ooty.<\/p>\n
Before the British insurgence into India, the hierarchies and roles among the tribes of Ooty were quite well thought out and structured. The Badagas served as cultivators in the frameworks; there were other tribes such as the Toda who served as dairymen and weavers; the Kota as artisans, and the Kurumba as \u00a0a\u00a0provider of a host of natural resources such as honey and firewood.<\/p>\n
The rich Badaga culture is reminiscent of the ancient, age-old Indian mentality of surviving and thriving in the environment. The main patterns of subsistence were based on barter\u00a0system, and tea is, and was\u00a0the most commonly cultivated crop.<\/p>\n
The migration of the Badagas to Ooty is traced back to familial wars in the Nilgiris and the Kollegal Hills. The decline of the Badaga community in these regions as a result of feudal violence caused them to move to Vijayanagar, where their needs were taken care of quite well.<\/p>\n