INTRODUCTION
Birthplace of the River Cauvery and home of some
of India’s bravest soldiers, Kodagu is noted for
its scenic beauty. Hiking, cross-country, or simply
motoring down mountain trails in Coorg, the visitor
encounters panoramic views of the morning mist rolling
down thickly wooded hill slopes and the undulating paddy
fields and neat rows of coffee bushes resplendent under
the blue skies.
Now a flourishing agricultural center, Kodagu produces
cash crops of coffee, rice, orange, pepper and cardamoms.
THE PAST
Little is known about the early history
of this fertile land. >From ad 1600 onwards, the
Lingayat rajas ruled over Coorg and established their
capital at Madikeri where they built a mud fort. The
Kodavas, as the people of Coorg are called, harried
the Mysore ruler Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan through sporadic
rebellions. Finally, in ad 1785, Tipu marched into Coorg
with a large army and devastated their little kingdom.
Four years later, with the help of the British, Coorg
regained its independence and Raja Veerarajendra set
about the task of reconstruction. In ad 1834, the British
took over power in Coorg. They impeached the last ruler
Chikkaveera Rajendra and sent him into exile.
THE LANDSCAPE
With its misty mountains and dense forests,
Coorg seemed like a little corner of England to the
British. They left behind a legacy, which is still an
important source of national wealth. The well laid coffee
plantations in Coorg account for almost half of Karnataka’s
coffee production. And Karnataka continues to be India’s
largest producer of coffee. Other reminders of the colonial
past are the spacious estate bungalows, many of which
still have British names and the meandering roads that
wind through the district.
In March and April it’s coffee blossom time in
Coorg. Stretches of these now-white flowers waft a heady
fragrance and their massed magnificence is an unforgettable
sight. When the blossoms turn into berries, the bushes
are cropped. The cherry-red fruit is then pulped, the
separate coffee seeds dried and sent to the curing works.
Coffee bushes are sheltered from the sun’s direct
rays by tall sentinel-like trees over which the dark
green pepper vines trail. Pepper and cardamoms from
Coorg were much sought after by Arab traders who landed
in the Kerala coast long before the advent of Islam
in India.
THE KODAVAS
One explanation of the origin of the
Kodavas traces their ancestry to the Arabs. This is
because the traditional costume worn by the men of Coorg,
the long black coat or kuppia, bears a striking resemblance
to the kuffia worn by Arabs. Another story credits the
Greek mercenaries, who come to India with Alexander
the Great, with having founded the race.
Whatever their true origins, the Kodavas have a distinct
ethnic identity, which they have preserved zealously
over the centuries. The great cementing factor has been
their concept of clan or okka. Each clan had its ancestral
home or ain-mane—a huge four-winged structure
with imposing doors. Many of these ancestral homes are
still in existence though families and land holdings
have fragmented.
It is the Kodavas’ strong sense of clan that
draws scattered families together at festival and weddings.
Kodavas practice the cross-cousin marriage system and
their wedding are celebrated with pomp and feasting,
usually during the marriage season from March to June.
The bridegroom wears a white kuppia and a red and gold
head-cloth draped over his white turban. All the men-folk
wear red and gold sashes with ornamented daggers or
swords tucked into the folds of the sash, over the traditional
black kuppia. There are no priests and the marriage
is solemnized before the traditional lamp, in the presence
of elders who shower the couple with rice confetti.
The festival season starts with Keil Poldu day in September,
when the martial race that produced two great Indian
soldiers—Cariyappa and Thimmaiah—worship
their weapons. On Cauvery Sankramana day in October,
thousands gather at Tala-Cauvery temple on Brahmagiri
Hill to witness the rise of the fountainhead of the
River Cauvery. At a precise moment predicted by astrologers,
water gushes out of the little well fruitaround the
spring. On a full-moon night in November or December
the exuberant Kodavas gather to celebrate the Huttari
festival or the harvesting of the paddy crop. The head
of the family cuts the first sheaf of paddy to the accompaniment
of much music and dancing. The mistress of the house
lays it reverently before the lamp that burns constantly
in their home.
PLACES TO VISIT
Coorg is a region of scattered villages
and hamlets, with a few townships standing out. Postcard
pretty with their red tiled cottages and purple flowering
shrubs, the Kodagu towns have an old-world charm about
them. Madikeri, the district headquarters at an elevation
of over 5,000 feet above sea level, provides access
to some excellent picnic spots including the picturesque
Abbey Falls. Visitors can trek to the top of Tadeyendamol,
the highest peak in the region and view the Arabian
Sea in the distance. Alternatively, one may simply follow
the mountain trails dotted with little shrines—some
beside waterfalls and others on the banks of rivers.
Besides, the Nagarhole National Park provides excellent
opportunity for wildlife viewing.
Kodagu has a few temples that are worth visiting. The
Bagamandala Temple at the confluence of the Cauvery–Sujyothi
Rivers is built in the multi-roofed Kerala style. The
Omkareshwara Temple, dedicated to Shiva, is almost 200
years old and is a surprising blend of Islamic and Gothic
styles.
Famed for their hunting skills, the Kodavas have now
turned ardent conservationists, assuming guardianship
of their homeland’s natural wealth. Today, if
you hear shots ringing out in Kodagu, rest assured that
some Kodavas are only testing their marksmanship on
the coconuts up in the trees. Recently, the camera is
replacing the gun as more and more people succumb to
the lure of this beautiful, unsullied Eden and its fun
loving, hospitable people. o |
