‘Aaanaviratty’ was once a lifesaver for the tribespeople, who used the bamboo device to chase away crop-raiding wild elephants. The device was filled with kerosene and lit from below. It produced a burst and fire balls, scaring away elephants. Another useful tool was ‘kallu villu ,’ made of bamboo stick and a sturdy wild vine. It was used for hunting wild animals and collecting fruits from trees. These are among the items on display at the tribal museum on the first floor of the Velliyamattom grama panchayat. Artefacts, wild seeds, bamboo products, and forest produce are the other exhibits.
The grama panchayat houses many ethnic tribal communities, including Urali, Mala Araya, and Hill Pulaya and has the second largest tribal population in the district after Adimaly. “Many a tribal know-how has vanished. Their instruments too are not in use any more. The idea for setting up the museum was conceived as part of a project ‘Oorum Unarvum,’ while collecting details of the early life of the tribal communities in the panchayat,” P.M. Abdul Samad, the grama panchayat president instrumental in setting up the museum, told The Hindu .
Unique knowledge
Mr. Samad conveyed his idea to M.P. Ajith Kumar, additional director, panchayat, who encouraged him to make it happen. “The unique knowledge of the tribes needs to be protected and their expertise in creating artefacts, preserved. The Urali community is a rich source of indigenous knowledge. The farming instruments they used were unique,” he added.
The bark of the ‘arayanji maram’ was used for clothes by their forefathers. The bark is kept in water for long and is crushed.
It is soft like a woollen overcoat. The bark finds a place in the museum in addition to ‘chenakaya,’ a wild fruit which is powdered and used as soap. They had separate rat traps for paddy fields and upland areas. These days, very few people can make them, Mr. Samad said.
Mirror-like mat
The museum is an effort to familiarise the public with the yesteryear life of tribespeople. Visitors are curious about items made of coconut shells and bamboo. ‘Kannadipaya,’ a mat made from the soft portion of bamboo, is a classic example of tribal expertise. The thin mat looks like the surface of a mirror. The seed of the ‘pathiri maram’ looks like a snake and the juice from its roots is a remedy for snakebite.
