https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Paniya_peoplePaniya people - Revision history2026-11-03T05:37:52ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Paniya_people&diff=524199&oldid=prevVetaPmc978: Created Data2026-04-16T07:04:42Z<p>Created Data</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Ethnic group in India}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2023}}<br />
{{Infobox ethnic group<br />
| group = Paniya<br />
| image = Women of Paniya community in Kerala .jpg<br />
| caption = Paniya women in Kerala<br />
| pop = 99,079<br />
| popplace = {{flag|India}}<br />
| region1 = [[Kerala]]<br />
| pop1 = 88,450<ref>{{cite web |title=A-11: State primary census abstract (PCA) for individual scheduled tribes - Kerala |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42971/download/46639/ST-3200-PCA-A-11-ddw.xlsx |website=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |access-date=August 20, 2024}}</ref><br />
| region2 = [[Tamil Nadu]]<br />
| pop2 = 10,134<ref>{{cite web |title=A-11: State primary census abstract (PCA) for individual scheduled tribes - Tamil Nadu |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42972/download/46640/ST-3300-PCA-A-11-ddw.xlsx |website=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |access-date=August 20, 2024}}</ref><br />
| region3 = [[Karnataka]]<br />
| pop3 = 495<ref>{{cite web |title=A-11: State primary census abstract (PCA) for individual scheduled tribes - Karnataka |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42968/download/46636/ST-2900-PCA-A-11-ddw.xlsx |website=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India |access-date=August 20, 2024}}</ref><br />
| languages = [[Paniya language]]<br />
| religions = [[Hinduism]], [[traditional religion]], [[Christianity]]<br />
| related = [[Dravidian peoples|Dravidian]], [[Tamils|Tamil]], [[Malayali]]<br />
}}<br />
The '''Paniya''', also known as '''Paniyar''', '''Panyer''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tribes of India |url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft8r29p2r8&chunk.id=d0e705&toc.id=&brand=ucpress |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=publishing.cdlib.org}}</ref> and '''Paniyan''', are an ethnic group of [[India]]. They constitute the single largest Scheduled Tribe in [[Kerala]] and are mainly found in the Wayanad District and the neighbouring areas of Karnataka. They primarily inhabit villages around edge of forestland in Kerala's [[Wayanad District|Wayanad]], [[Kozhikode District|Kozhikode]], [[Kannur District|Kannur]] and [[Malappuram District|Malappuram]] districts. The Paniya speak the [[Paniya language]], which belongs to the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] family, closely related to Malayalam. The center of the bonding contracts was the famous temple of the regional mother goddess of the [[Valliyoorkkavu]] shrine near [[Mananthavady]].<ref name= "MSSRF ">{{cite web|title=Wild Food Report |url=https://mssbg.mssrf.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/wild-food-report-compressed.pdf}}</ref><br />
<br />
==History==<br />
[[File:The races of man, figure 126 Group of Paniyan men and children of Malabar (IA deniofmanoutlinraces00rich).png|left|thumb|A group of Paniya men and children.]]<br />
There is a theory that the Paniyas were brought to Wayand by the Jain Gounders who trained them to be agricultural labourers in their fields (Thurston, 1909).<br />
<br />
The Paniya have historically worked as agricultural labourers. They are believed to have been brought to Wayanad by the king of [[Malabar region|Malabar]], and thereafter tilled the land as serfs. Following the abolishment of the slave-holding system, the Paniya were resettled in different areas established by the government.<ref name="Kerala">{{cite web|title=Major Tribals in Kerala|url=http://www.focusonpeople.org/major_tribals_in_kerala.htm|publisher=FocusonPeople|accessdate=6 November 2013}}</ref><br />
<br />
Paniyas were also historically reputed for their boldness and recklessness. For this reason, they were often employed as thieves.<ref name="Keane">{{cite web|last=Keane|first=A. H.|title=Man, Past and Present|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35685/35685-h/35685-h.htm|publisher=Cambridge University Press|accessdate=10 November 2013}}</ref><br />
<br />
The Paniya today are a [[scheduled tribe]].<ref name="Pcg">{{cite web|title=Paniya: A Language of India|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/pcg|publisher=Ethnologue|accessdate=6 November 2013}}</ref> One particular sub-group of theirs, the Kattupaniyar, inhabits the forest region of Nilambur in the [[Malappuram district|Malappuram District]]. Here, members lead a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle.<ref name="Kerala"/><br />
<br />
==Demographics==<br />
The Paniya mainly inhabit [[Kerala]], and the [[Wayanad District|Wayanad]], [[Kozhikode District|Kozhikode]], [[Kannur District|Kannur]] and [[Malappuram District|Malappuram]] districts of India. Others reside in [[Tamil Nadu]], the area west of the [[Nilgiris district|Nilgiris hills]], as well as the [[Kodagu district|Kodagu District]] of [[Karnataka]].<ref name="Pcg"/> Their total population depends on agriculture and agriculture labour for their livelihood.<br />
[[File:Paniya girl.jpg|thumb|A Paniya girl.]]<br />
Their population has remained unchanged during this decade (2003).<ref name="Pcg"/> and nearly 67,948 live in the Kerala hills, notably fringes of Western Ghats.<ref name="Kerala"/> People's Action for Educational and Economic development of Tribal People (PEEP) which has been working among Paniya settlers of Kerala since 2005 to promote literacy and improving economic status of the group.<br />
<br />
==Language==<br />
The Paniya speak the [[Paniya language]] as a mother tongue. A member of the [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian]] family, it is most closely related to [[Malayalam language|Malayalam]], [[Kadar language|Kadar]], [[Ravula language|Ravula]] and other [[Dravidian languages]].<ref name="Pcg"/><br />
<br />
Paniya is spoken both at home and during religious ceremonies. Some Paniyas also use other Dravidian languages, such as Malayalam, [[Tamil language|Tamil]] or [[Kannada language|Kannada]].<ref name="Pcg"/><br />
<br />
Paniyas use different writing systems depending on where in India they reside. Those in Karnataka use the [[Kannada script]], those in Kerala write in the [[Malayalam script]], while the Paniya in Tamil Nadu use the [[Tamil script]].<ref name="Pcg"/><br />
<br />
==Culture==<br />
[[File:Monsoon scene1.jpg|thumb|right|Paniya primarily inhabit [[Kerala]], and the [[Wayanad]], [[Kozhikode]], [[Kannur]] and [[Malappuram]] districts.]]<br />
[[File:Valliyurkavu bhagavathhi temple.jpg|thumb|[[Valliyoorkkavu]] temple with banyan tree considered sacred by Paniya tribe.]]<br />
Paniyas typically live in villages (''padis'') consisting of a few huts (''pire'' or ''chala'') with courtyards. Each hut settlement contains 5 to 15 families.<ref name="Varghese">{{cite web|last=Varghese|first=T.|title=Socio-Economic Profile of Paniya Tribe|url=http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/222/16/16_chapter7.pdf|publisher=Shodhganga|accessdate=9 November 2013}}</ref><br />
<br />
For attire, Paniya men wear a lengthy cloth wrapped around the waist, which is known as a ''mundu''. A smaller mundu is also slung over the shoulders to cover the body. Paniya women or ''panichi'' don a long cloth, with a smaller one above the breast area and around the armpits. In addition, they wear a red or black ''aratti'' scarf around the waist. Land grabbers and poachers exploit them by encouraging drinking habit, sexual infidelity and other vices. PEEP Wayanad also organises various events to spread awareness on social menaces like alcoholism and chewing tobacco. Street plays in the local language has been staged at several forest settlements.<ref name="Varghese"/><br />
<br />
The Paniyas bury their dead in formal funeral rites. Typically, the place of burial is close to the padi. The interment is accompanied by a seven-day mourning period by family members.<ref name="Varghese"/><br />
<br />
==Religion==<br />
The modern Paniya practice a variety of faiths. Among these are [[Hinduism]] with local traditional beliefs, and minority follow [[Christianity]].<ref name="Pcg"/> Their chief deities are ''Kuttichathan'', ''Kattu-bhagavathi'' or Kaali of the forest, ''Mariyamma'' and ''Ayyappan'' are the chief God and Goddess. [[Valliyoorkkavu]] (temple) is where their prominent festivals take place which can be fall in the months of February, March and April. The worship of banyan tree is very significant in their unseen world, they are considered sacred.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nambiar |first1=A. C. K. |title=Population, Development, and the Environment: The Dynamic Interface |date=2005 |publisher=Serials Publications |isbn=978-81-86771-59-4 |page=64}}</ref> <br />
<br />
==See also==<br />
*[[Irulas]]<br />
*[[Soliga tribe]]<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
{{Commons category|Paniya people}}<br />
*[http://www.ethnologue.com/language/pcg Paniya: A Language of India]<br />
<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of South Asia]]<br />
[[Category:Social groups of Karnataka]]<br />
[[Category:Dravidian peoples]]<br />
[[Category:Social groups of Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:People from Kannur district]]<br />
[[Category:People from Kozhikode district]]<br />
[[Category:People from Malappuram district]]<br />
[[Category:People from Wayanad district]]<br />
[[Category:South Indian communities]]<br />
[[Category:Indian castes]]</div>VetaPmc978