Read more at : http://coorg.com/blog/tag/coorg-custom/

Thanks Subbiah, you are truly amazing finding such Indian historical events.

superb piece! now, i am wondering - does 'nari mangala' actually translate as 'tiger wedding'? cannot mangala just mean an auspicious ritual? Chances are that the chap documenting this has misunderstood the ritual of being a marriage, while it may simply be a veneration of the brave hunter as an auspicious ritual.

Unique & Independant: Kodavas of Kodagu by Dr. Neria H. Hebbar Kodagu (anglicized as Coorg), a fertile mountainous region of Karnataka blessed with natural beauty, is the birthplace of Kaveri River. Nestled in the Sahyadri Mountains of the Western Ghats, this rugged and hilly region is inhabited by a unique group of people with martial traditions. They are a relatively a small community called Kodavas (Coorgs or Coorgis). The Kodavas have fiercely guarded their tradition and customs as well as their uniqueness. Kodavas are the dominant class living in Kodagu though they only form about 15 to 20 percent of the population. There are 100,000 Kodavas in Kodagu with a total population of 545,000. They co-exist with people of other castes and tribes peacefully that include the Yeravas, Kurubas, the aborigines called Kudiyas, the lower caste called Poleyas. The region was later settled by Vokkaligas from Hassan and Chikmagalur, Shettys from Dakshina Kannada, who were businessmen and Mapilles (Moplahs), who are the Islamic converts left over from Hyder Ali and Tippu’s era. Read more : http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=878

Put to the vote?

I just love the way the Coorgis drape their saris !! The Ferhill is the most beautiful property there.I wonder who had the idea of first having coffeee plantations in Coorg ? I have only child-hood memories of that place.it must surely have changed a lot now.Many thanks for the information Subbiah. I will love to read this book.

I wonder if Koravanda Cariappa (the groom in the picture) is related to General Kodandera Cariappa, India;s first Indian chief of army. He joined the army in 1919 to become its General in 1949. He became the second Indian army man to become Field Marshall in 1983 (the first being Sam Manekshaw). The Coorgis are known for their love of pork. The Coorgis are described as a martial race. That is nothing but fiction promoted by the British. The museum in Madikeri is in a sorry state though they have some good exhibits there.

Does Nari in Kannada mean a tigress? Mangala means wedding, no doubt, just as it does in Marathi.

actually, mangala just means auspicious, doesn't it?

Nari is fox in Kannada...

Huli is tiger

Pankaj Sapkal: yes, mangala means auspicious but by association it means wedding. Like Kalyan mantapa in Tamil means a wedding hall. Arvind Mallya has added a new twist to the story.

sure, but mangala as in auspicious is still a very well recognized meaning. mangala karyalaya means where auspicious karya is performed, which by general usage, means marriage hall, same like kalyan mantapa. about nari, i have no idea. is nari a kannada word or a tulu or kodava/coorgi word? chances are they are related. but if nari means fox, thats a non sequitur twist, since there seems no mention of a fox here. could we, then, also postulate that the word is distorted in documentation and is more likely nar, and not nari, or perhaps another word similar to nari?

In Malayalam "Nari" is tiger, "Puli" is leopard and "Simham" is lion. The word "nari" in the Malabar region is certainly referring to only a tiger. Though the word "mangala" or "mangalam" is a loosely used colloquial that might refer to a "festival" or a "celebration" and not necessarily to a wedding alone.

Jo, Interesting the Coorgi language is a mix of Malayalam and Kannada (lot of planters hired Keralites to work in the Coorg coffee plantations) and I would not be surprised if they refer to Tiger as "Nari" in Coorgi.

lovely how etymology can unravel social history!

what a wrong description. the british back-stabbed the Raja of Coorg. this is an example of how they propagated their mis-deeds to their population.

Jeevandeep : This was an article from the Illustrated London News (ILN). It surprising to note the method and language of propaganda has remained the same over the years. Replace the name of Chikka Veera Rajendra with Gaddafi and it would sound like Fox News. Interesting...isnt it ? Chikka Veera was no great Ruler...but he asked for a huge sum of money which was invested in HEIC to be returned to him !! : ) It will be interesting to go through the many versions I have posted to get an idea of probably what really happened.

yes, they have always managed to manipulate public opinion, wheather it was regarding Saddam Hussain or Gaddafi.

btw I do not think this is a Tiger marriage!!!. It seems more of a display of a successful hunt, maybe some ceremony to reward the hunters.

Malcolm X - The Power of Media http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38jQ-qoOfbs

So if Nari is 'Tiger' in Coorgi, and mangala is an auspicious ceremony, it could mean that there is a ritual taking place after the hunt and before the killl... and not necessarily the wedding itself. Don't we need two tigers for a wedding? I see only one and that too bound in such a way that it is ready to be grilled over fire!

..."A curious ceremony takes place when a tiger has been shot by a Coorg man. Tigers are not numerous in the country, and this ceremony has only occurred twice within the past four years. On the last occasion, March 9 of this year, the successful huntsman was Mr. Colovanda(read: Coravanda or Koravanda ) Carriapah(Cariappa), Head Sheristadar of the Mercara Talook. In this ceremony the man is wedded to the soul of the dead tiger."...

aha- so the tiger is indeed killed! So it's not a tiger wedding ceremony- it's 'man killing tiger and justifying that by marrying soul to enhance whatever' ceremony!

..."As shown in the Illustration, he is seated under a canopy in full warrior costume. On each side are placed his weapons and the household emblems of plenty, vessels of rice and milk, and burning lamps, analogous to the Masonic corn, wine and oil. So he sits, receiving the homage and congratulations of his relatives and friends. Each scatters a few grains of rice over his head, and gives him a sip of milk from a brass vessel resembling a teapot, and makes an offering in money, varying in value according to the means of the donor. The hero of the day is afterwards carried in triumph round the tiger, which is suspended to a high bamboo grame in the garden. The officers and ladies of the regiment stationed at Mercara, who reside in the late Rajah’s palace, were specially invited to attend."...

Media manipulation, managing perception, justifying violent actions and perpetuating stereotypes... few people have the clarity of Malcolm X : Malcolm X Oxford Debate 1964 - Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo91MeMq8JE&feature=related Malcolm X Oxford Debate 1964 - Part 2 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnHiN6BXneE&NR=1 Malcolm X Oxford Debate 1964 - Part 3 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMtlJ3CSRW0&NR=1 Malcolm X Oxford Debate 1964 - Part 4 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxsixUFiYm8&feature=related

i think, from this and past discussions on RBSI posts, it may be safely concluded that there are typically a lot of errors and a vast array of misinterpretations in colonial documentation by european scribes and artists. in a lot of cases, there seems to be an effort at portraying the native scenarios in as exotic and imagination-capturing way as is possible, with not much effort taken to represent the situation accurately. case in point - this scene, where a warrior is being commended ritually for killing a wild tiger, is conveniently misrepresented in the exotic manner of 'Weird Indian Ritual in which Man Marries Dead Tiger's Soul!!'. reeks of sensationalistic tabloid journalism...

more so to show India as a Pagan land and the natives as barbarians, against whom use of force could be justified.

It was common for the forest tribals of offer a worship before going for hunting and after returning from a successful hunting. The ritual after hunting a tiger was celebrated on a grandeur scale than on other occasions. Probably, this scene portrays one such grand celebration. celebrating the killing of tigers and honouring the heroism of the hunter. Many errors may be traced in the descriptions given to pictures of the British Library.

As per online Malayalam Dictionary Puili means Tamarind ! and Tiger is known as Kaduva. so Nari above must be Naari - Woman. The famous Kannada litterateur and Jnanpith Award recipient, Late Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, has written a critically acclaimed book, Chikavira Rajendra, based on the life and times of that ruler.

Ha Ha ! That's Malayalam for you, Raja. Put the tip of your tongue against the upper palate when pronouncing the "L" in 'PULI" - that would be a leopard. Roll your tongue deeper in your mouth when pronouncing "L" and that would give you "Tamarind". There are two Ls in the Malayalam alphabet!

@ Jo Nambiar ! Yes Sir, I am aware of the nuances of malayalam a bit. I worked at VSSC for 10 months ! In any case it does not mean tiger right ?

"Puli" doesn't, but "nari" does! We're discussing the meaning of "nari-mangala" aren't we?