What is happening at J enu K uruba Digital A rchive

1. Prepared on 25 October, 2008 What is happening atJenuKuruba Digital Archive Preparedby RaysonK. Alex

2. Foci of Research Documentation/making of: • Indigenous knowledge on elephants and elephant-training • Tree-house construction • Oral history of displacement • Dictionary of JenuKuruba words • Medicinal plant garden • Cultural aspects of JenuKurubar

3. Indigenous Knowledge on Elephants • visited Murkal hamlet where JenuKurubar train elephants • interviewed mahouts and members of the hamlet • videographed the activities of mahouts and elephants • documented Dasra festival in the perspective of JenuKuruba mahouts

4. A rogue elephant being trained by a JenuKuruba mahout

5. Angusha

6. Making of angusha

8. Agga

9. Metal chains used instead of agga

10. Food made for elephants

11. Raagimuddhemade for elephants

12. Wooden bowl where food is mixed

13. Cage for untamed elephants

14. Elephant in the pond

15. Elephants drinking water from the pond

16. Elephants decorated for Dasra

17. Decorated elephant in front of Mysore Palace

20. Two trees worshipped by JenuKurubar

21. A JenuKuruba talking to a wild elephant

22. Tree-houses are built to scare wild elephants out of hamlets and cultivated lands.

23. A tree-house built on a bamboo-cluster

25. Making of a tree-house

30. Dictionary making (220 words collected) Strategies used in the making of dictionary: • finding words relevant to the culture of JenuKurubar – began with words denoting parts of body, things used at home and haadi, cultural institutions, family relations, animals and birds (domesticated as well as wild) • learning the pronunciation of the words – to find out the difference between Tamil/Malayalam and JenuKuruba – a new transliteration key to be made for JenuKuruba language for the pronunciation of some phonemes are entirely different from any other Dravidian language. • finding the meanings of words • understanding the grammatical specifications of words • recording the pronunciation of words using Sound Forge Software

31. JenuKuruba words and their meanings • nitho stop • kattu bunch • baayi hole • dammu breathing trouble (asthma) • naatha fowl smell • aalu2 tell • bere another • thappu wrong • seri right • koobi gun • ithaakku left side • athaagu right side • inthaakku back • munthaakku front • aleethu old • beeja testicle • siitha (Adj) cold • thannage (Adj) cold • bili (Adj) white • basiri (Adj) pregnant • kari (Adj) black • osaathu (Adj) new • neenga (Adj) you (plural) • nee (Adj) you (singular) • ona (Adj) dry • alla (adv) down • mele (adv) up • aathu (adv) over • guddappa (n) A person who invokes spirit (shaman) • thenginaa (n) coconut • athi (n) cotton • agga (n) coir • kooli (n) chicken • guye (n) cave • kattepoonja (n) centipede • yajamaana (n) chieftain of a hamlet • aadu (n) lamb • banaakku (n) lamp

32. Field workers collecting medicinal plants from hamlets

33. Medicinal plants being planted in the office campus by elders

34. Medicinal plant garden

35. Documented Mini-Dasra festival at HD Kote two art forms of JenuKurubar displayed • Kolaattam • Puliyaattam

36. Puliyaattam

37. Kolaattam

42. Niralukaraivathu(niralu-shadow, karaivathu-calling)

43. Things used in ritual

44. Guddayya

45. A test to check the arrival of spirits

46. Ritual performed at the river-side

47. Fowl sacrificed during the ritual

48. Spirit came on a woman’s body

49. Chasing out of devil

50. Land being prepared for the ritual