Paliyans
Gandhi, Nonresistance, and the Paliyans
In his book Non-Violent Resistance, Gandhi wrote that satyagraha is not a weapon of the weak, it is a tool of strength. He acknowledged the existence of passive resistance, particularly in the Christian tradition, but he dismissed it as a characteristic of weakness. Passive resistance does not completely exclude violence, he argued, if the passive […]
Honeybees and the Paliyan
Crowds came to the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chennai last week to visit Pollinator 1, a bee festival that celebrated the art and science of beekeeping plus the culture of honey gathering by groups such as the Paliyan. The much publicized event, the first beekeeping festival held in India, attracted many celebrities. Oscar-winning musician, composer, […]
Paliyans Cherish Traditions But Adapt to Modernity
The Paliyans are a “relatively non-violent peace loving innocent” tribe that once lived in the interior forests of western Tamil Nadu state, in southern India, according to a new blog about the people. Mr. A. Muthuvezhappan, the author of the blog, writes that they used to be a nomadic hunting and gathering people who subsisted […]
New Paliyan Blog Post
A new post on a Paliyan blog last week proudly described the peaceful structures in their society, but it warned that their peacefulness, combined with their shyness, has increased their vulnerability to being exploited by corrupt outsiders. Using the pluralized form of their name from the Tamil language—one Paliyan, many Paliyar—the new post claims proudly […]
Paliyan Protect Endangered Squirrels
An article published in the Wildlife Trust of India website on Wednesday last week indicated that the Paliyan have become caregivers of grizzled giant squirrel babies which fall out of their nests in trees or become orphaned. They are called grizzled because of their whitish fur. According to the story, the Paliyan in Shenbagathoppu, a […]
Paliyan Medicinal Plants [journal article review]
Although medicine and peacefulness are quite separate issues for most of the world, in some small-scale societies, such as the Paliyan, traditional healers and botanical preparations still help maintain physical, cultural, and social health. A detailed article describing the healing plants used in some Paliyan villages of Tamil Nadu, in southern India, provides some interesting […]
Paliyan Child Marriages [journal article review]
The Paliyan, a peaceful society of southern India, sometimes practice pedogamy—marriage between adults and children. A recent journal article by Peter M. Gardner analyzing the practice, based on his field notes from the early 1960s and late 1970s, is freely available in PDF format on the Internet. Gardner begins by briefly reviewing Paliyan culture, at […]
Paliyans Continue to Grow Pepper
CommodityOnline.com, the source of a story about commercial pepper being grown by the Paliyans of Kerala State back in September, has run another piece that provides more information about the venture. CGH Earth, a Kerala firm that runs resorts in that state, started a subsidiary, Natural Harvest ( India) Pvt Ltd., to reintroduce pepper cultivation […]
Paliyans Grow Organic Pepper
A Paliyan community in the Thekkady Forest of India’s Kerala State has gotten involved in a scheme to supply organic pepper to a new commercial venture. According to a news story last week, Natural Harvest (India) Pvt, Ltd, has organized the project. It employs 500 families from three different tribal communities that live in the […]
Traditional Paliyan Herbal Preparations [journal article review]
News reports and reviews about some of the lesser known peaceful societies, such as the Paliyans, can be reassuring, even when they just discuss the enduring traditions of the people. Since news about some of the other peaceful societies is distressing at times, a positive journal article last year about the fact that the Paliyans […]
