State : KARNATAKA (Malaikudi)

MALAIKUDI They have also been listed separately as Malayekandi and Maleru. They
inhabit the Sahyadri hill ranges in the Dakhin Kannad and Chikmagalur districts of
Karnataka and the Kasargod taluk of Cannanore district in Kerala. In fact the Kudia are a
separate community who speak a different language and have a different social
organization. The Malaikudi speak a dialect of the Dravidian language, Tulu, at home. Tulu
and Kannda ae spoken a dialect of the Dravidian language, Tulu,at home. Tulu and Kannada
are spoken by them for inter-group communication. The script they use is Kannada. They
are fond of hunting and relish the meat of wild boar, rabbit, fowl, but they do not eat beef.
Rice of a coarse variety os their staple food supplemented by tapioca and yam, at some
places. The men and elderly women consume alcoholic drinks, sometimes home-brewed
out of rice or the fermented date palm toddy and sometimes purchase from the market.