Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
The Muduvars believe that they were originally cultivators of the soil,
and their surroundings and tastes have made them become hunters and
trappers, since coming to the hills. At the present day, they cut down
a bit of secondary jungle or cheppukad, and, after burning it off,
sow ragi (millet), or, where the rainfall is sufficient, hill-rice,
which is weeded and tended by the women, the men contenting themselves
by trying to keep out the enemies to their crops. After harvest there
is not much to be done, except building a new village perhaps, making
traps, and shooting. All they catch is game to them, though we should
describe some of the animals as vermin. They catch rats, squirrels,
quail, jungle fowl, porcupines, mouse-deer, and fish. They kill, with
a blowpipe and dart, many small birds. The traps in use are varied,
but there are three principal ones, one of which looks like a big
bow. It is fixed upright in the ground as a spring to close with a
snap a small upright triangle of sharp-edged bamboo, to which it is
connected, and into which any luckless small game may have intruded
its head, induced to do so by finding all other roads closed with
a cunningly made fence. Another is a bent sapling, from which a
loop of twine or fibre hangs on what appears to be the ground,
but is really a little platform on which the jungle fowl treads,
and immediately finds itself caught by both legs, and hanging in
mid-air. The third is very much the same, but of stouter build. The
loop is upright, and set in a hedge constructed for the purpose of
keeping the fretful porcupine in the path, passing along which the
beast unconsciously releases a pin, back flies the sapling, and the
porcupine is hung. If fouled in any way, he generally uses his teeth to
advantage, and escapes. The Muduvars are also adepts at catching 'ibex'
(wild goat), which are driven towards a fence with nooses set in it
at proper points, which cause the beasts to break their necks. Fish
are caught in very beautifully constructed cruives, and also on
the hook, while, on the larger rivers below the plateau, the use of
the night-line is understood. With the gun, sambar, 'ibex,' barking
deer, mungooses, monkeys, squirrels, and martens are killed. Besides
being a good shot, the Muduvar, when using his own powder, takes no
risks. The stalk is continued until game is approached, sometimes
to within a few yards, when a charge of slugs from the antiquated
match-lock has the same effect as the most up-to-date bullet from
the most modern weapon. Mr. Bensley records how, on one occasion,
two English planters went out with two Muduvars after 'bison.' One
of the Muduvars, carrying a rifle, tripped, and the weapon exploded,
killing one of the planters on the spot. The two Muduvars immediately
took to their heels. The other planter covered them with his rifle,
and threatened to shoot them if they did not return, which they at
last did. Mr. Bensley held the magisterial enquiry, and the Muduvars
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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