More than two centuries ago, over 200 Malaiyali tribespeople built traditional clay huts on the flat peak of the picturesque Yelagiri hill in what is now northern Tamil Nadu, establishing an all-encompassing system for shelter, storage, farming and cattle. All that remains of that settlement today is a single antiquated hut, juxtaposed with newer brick-and-mortar homes, a standing testament to the tribe’s evolution from foraging to a more modern lifestyle.
Having been in the hamlet for about 200 years, this last old-fashioned hut of the tribe is owned and maintained by Govinthasamy, a tribesman and former member of the Yelagiri panchayat. The rest have given way to concrete houses over the decades.
The Malaiyali tribe – malai meaning “hill” and yali meaning “people” – is strewn across Tamil Nadu’s hilly regions. The tribespeople were foragers who settled in the upper Nillavur region of Yelagiri and began cultivating its tabletop peak for food. Initially living in makeshift huts, they found a permanent solution in the red loam clay abundant in the hills and constructed simple one-room structures that measured 16 by 22 feet.
‘Worth a fortune’
“Red clay is very important to us. We used it to build huts to live in and we also buried the dead in it. From birth to death, it comes a full circle,” said Mr. Govinthasamy. With a four-foot-tall entrance, his house was formed by placing red clay on a frame of beams and posts built using teak wood. “A log costs ₹1 lakh today. The hut might look worn but it is worth a fortune,” he emphasised.
Although the hut’s body is simple, it acquires a quaint look when the 12-foot roof is attached to the top. Made of dry bamboo leaves, the thatched roof is waxed with cow dung to prevent it from leaking during the monsoon season. This covering tends to make the house appear deceivingly small from the outside, but it has enough space to house eight people and a paran (attic) that was used to store pots and other household items.
“The hut was meant for people to live in but eventually turned into a storage space for the seeds we collected before the sowing period began. Once the land was harvested, that space was occupied by grains till we sold or consumed them,” said Mr. Govinthasamy, pointing to a vast expanse of land where he cultivates paddy and millets throughout the year.
Weatherproofed
A unique feature of the munn veedu (mud house) or andara kotai (storage facility) is that it stands on a stilt-like structure also made of teak wood. This holds the house two feet above the ground to keep rodents at bay and to prevent the house from flooding during torrential rains. “When I got married, we lived in the stilt hut. The nearby thara veedu (a hut on the ground) was where I cooked. The fire would engulf the house and irritate my eyes and throat but that was our tradition and we had the best time in this small hut,” said Meenakshi, Mr. Govinthasamy’s wife.
“People slept, cooked, ate and lived entirely in that one-room structure. If there was a dedicated space, it was only for the grains. That is how precious agriculture was to them. They employed science to build these houses that remained unaffected come rain, sun or storm. At the same time, the stilts provided extra storage space under the house that could be used for grains or even poultry,” said G. Mohan Gandhi, assistant professor of Tamil at the Sacred Heart College in Tirupattur district. In his book, The habitations of the tribes of Yelagiri hill, he extensively discusses the origin and lifestyle of this tribe.
Witness to change
Today, all that remains in the hut is a three-foot-long munn paanai (clay pot) and the remnants of a straw attic that once held an entire year’s worth of grains and seeds. Occasionally, a street dog and a couple of hens can be seen taking shelter under the hut that continues to remain cool despite the scorching heat outside. The house also holds fond memories for Mr. Govinthasamy who recalls going to school from there each morning and returning home to find his mother preparing a meal using firewood.
“I continue to retain the hut because tourists enjoy seeing this traditional structure and they get a glimpse into my tribe’s culture. It makes me happy to see them learn of simpler times,” said Mr. Govinthasamy, dusting a framed photograph of him felicitating former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and former Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, two of the many personalities who have visited the hut on different occasions.
“With better access to education, employment and financial resources, the tribes have adopted a modern lifestyle, and the traditional hut no longer serves a purpose like it once did. This goes on to show how they have managed to evolve with changing times,” Mr. Gandhi said.
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