Paniya people

The Paniya, also known as Paniyar 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 neighboring areas of Karnataka. They primarily inhabit villages around edge of forestland in Kerala's Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts. The Paniya speak the Paniya language, which belongs to the Dravidian family, closely related to Malayalam. A scheduled tribe, they have a population of around 94,000 (Sex ratio 1057). There is a theory that the Paniyas were brought to Wayand by the Jain Gounders who trained them to be agricultural laborers in their fields (Thurston, 1909). The center of the bonding contracts was the famous temple of the regional Mother Goddess of the Valliyoorkkavu shrine near Mananthavady. The Paniya have historically worked as agricultural labourers. They are believed to have been brought to Wayanad by the king of 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. Paniyas were also historically reputed for their boldness and recklessness. For this reason, they were often employed as thieves. The Paniya today are a scheduled tribe. One particular sub-group of theirs, the Kattupaniyar, inhabits the forest region of Nilambur in the Malappuram District. Here, members lead a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The Paniya mainly inhabit Kerala, and the Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts of India. Others reside in Tamil Nadu, the area west of the Nilgiris hills, as well as the Kodagu District of Karnataka. Their total population depends on agriculture and agriculture labor for their livelihood. Their population has remained unchanged during this decade (2003). and nearly 67,948 live in the Kerala hills, notably fringes of Western Ghats. 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.