CHAPTER 2

Tribal Settlement in Waynad

Waynad is a plateau located on the windward side of Western Ghats; with jungle clad slopes as well as farm plains, and rivers down the slopes. The climate is cooler compared to the other parts of the state. It is said that when Aryan invasion occurred, the original inhabitants of India were pushed down south and when they reached Kerala, the aboriginal tribes of the state were driven further into the hilly forests. The highlands are still occupied mainly by the tribes, inhabiting the remote areas, as loose settlements among the evergreen forest lands. They remain isolated from the rest of the people and culture and live an independent life, confining themselves to their own tribe and settlements. Since it is located on the windward side of the Western Ghats, it stops the south west monsoon winds and thus receives extensive rain. Within the highland area, there are regions of heavy rainfall as well as moderate and few of scanty rainfall according to their locations on the slopes.
Fig.9 The tribal settlement in waynad, with houses built using the local materials- bamboo, thatch and mud.The settlements consist of houses loosely arranged among the farmlands and forests. A few houses can be seen together clustered, but not in any order. They don’t follow any orientation criteria, unlike the rest of the state which strictly follow the orientation principles of vastushastra. No focal points or social places of congregation mark these settlements, but they share all the natural resources in the near proximity for their living. The houses are small with minimum requirements. There are no designated front yards or backyards, but they make use of the spaces left between two houses for outside activities. The major building materials are mud and bamboo which are locally available.