Cultural traditions have a significant role in people’s lives as they help people connect to their history, values, and beliefs. They establish a shared idea of what it means to be a member of a specific culture or community. Cultural traditions also generate acceptance and understanding between different cultures and thus foster mutual respect and appreciation for the differences that exist between us all.
Kotagiri, a green landscape with tea plantations, sholas, and other vegetation, is a small hill town in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district. It is situated in the Western Ghats, which is 28 kilometres from Ootacamund and home to diverse human communities, plants, and animal species. The word Kotagiri, which means “the hill of the Kotas,” comes from the Kota tribe. They are a small indigenous group inhabiting the Nilgiri Plateau along with Todas, Irulas, Kurumbas, Kattu Nayakkas, Paniyas, and Badagas. The name Kota could have been derived from the Tamil term “Ko” or the Sanskrit word “Go,” both of which mean “the cow.” According to a Kota legend, the pattern of their settlements was determined by a cow, which led the Kotas through the Nilgiris and stopped in various places to indicate various sites for the villages. A Kota village is called Kokkal. The Kota were primarily artisans and are well known for their pottery production, but more recently, they have taken on a variety of jobs in government and private sector organisations. The Kotas inhabit seven villages in the Nilgiris district, namely Thiruchigadi, Sholur Kokkal, Puthu Kotagiri, Kollimalai, Kundah Kotagiri, Kil Kotagiri Kokkal, and Gudalur Kokkal. Each of these seven Kokkals have temples within the village boundaries.
The pictures in this photo-essay are of the “Ayyanoor Ammanoor,” a week-long festival celebrated by the Kotas. The Kotas refer to Ayyanoor Ammanoor, or Kambatrayan Kambatiswary, as their father and mother who are also their presiding deities. According to Kota history, the first Kota person was known as Kamatan or Kambatten. The Ayyanoor Ammanoor festival is celebrated once a year along with a clay collection ceremony. During the week of the festival, the villagers collect clay to make mud pots, open their temple after creating the mud pots, cook in the mud pots, and serve the food to everyone in the village. They construct a big pandal (a shelter) near the temple. During the night time of the festival, all the male members are expected to sleep under this pandal, and they are not permitted to go home. Men and women separately perform their traditional dances and wear their traditional clothes during this period. The dance performance is done on different days during the entire week. The same performance on the last day brings the festival to an end.
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Bio:
Pavithran is a social work postgraduate from Pondicherry University. He is passionate about working in the area of Environmental Studies, particularly on human-wildlife interactions and indigenous cultures and practices. He recently completed a short-term engagement as a Nature-Culture Fellow at WCS-India, where he studied human-gaur relations in Kotagiri, Tamil Nadu. The project was funded by Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies and supported by Keystone Foundation.
The author has taken necessary permissions from the people to photograph the festival.