Malapandaram
Consequences of Abandoning the Forest
A news story last week reported that the sexual exploitation of Malapandaram women, reported two years ago, does not appear to be improving. A major Indian newspaper carried a story in November 2011 indicating that Malapandaram women living near Chalakkayam, a settlement colony in Kerala close to the famous temple at Sabarimala, were frequently targeted […]
Avoiding Conflicts in South Asia [anthology chapter review]
The four peaceful South Indian foraging societies included in this website have similar beliefs that tend to inhibit conflicts, and they have comparable techniques for resolving them when they do occur. Out of the 18 distinct foraging societies in South India, six have been extensively studied by anthropologists, and four—the Malapandaram, Paliyans, Kadar, and Yanadi—are […]
New Film Describes Malapandaram Forest Life
A recent 40-minute documentary film chronicles the lives of some Malapandaram who still live nomadically much of the year in the Kerala forests. The New Indian Express, a major English language daily that serves South India, published a story last week describing the film. R. Gopinathan, the filmmaker, spent six months working on his documentary, […]
New Facility Planned for the Malapandaram
A group dedicated to assisting devotees of Lord Ayyappa announced last week plans for a major pilgrim assistance center near Sabarimala, India, that will be combined with a facility for supporting tribal peoples, primarily the Malapandaram. The new facility will be built at Koonamkara, located on highway 67, the Perinad-Pampa main trunk road, just 22 […]
Malapandaram Colonies in the News
Over the past four months, several news reports about Malapandaram hamlets in Kerala have been published by The Hindu, a major paper in India. One appeared just last week. On August 2, the newspaper reported that workers at the Kudumbasree Mission, an organization in Kerala dedicated to wiping out poverty by empowering women, had given […]
Tragedy in Kerala and the Malapandaram
During the annual pilgrimage season which just ended, more than 30 million Hindu devotees visited the temple of Lord Ayyappan at Sabarimala, India, almost without incident, the Times of India reported on Friday. One source points out that the Hindu rituals at the Ayyappan temples, in the forested hills of Kerala state, represent the largest […]
