Yerukalas - People of South India
Yerukala is a community found largely in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Yerukalas are indigenous people of South India. They call themselves ‘Kurru’. They are called as ‘Yerukula’ after their women’s traditional profession of fortune telling (eruka cheputa).
People of this community are called with different names in different parts of South India. They are called as Kuruvan or Kuruvar in Tamilnadu, Korama or Koracha in Karnataka, Kaikadi in Maharashtra, Siddanar in Kerala and Kattu Naicker in Pondicherry. In essence, all these communities form a great big community from south india. The gothras among all these communities is the same, i.e Kavadi, Sathupadi, Maanupadi and Mendraguthi.
Prior to the British colonial rule, all these communities were part of that great big community since there were no real boundaries in India at that time. People from these communities used to roam around freely for their trading purposes. The splitting of this great community into numerous small communities is attributed to the Indian Caste System and the subsequenct maximum utlization of Indian Caste System evils by the British Divide and Rule Policy. The Indian Independence and the subsequent formation of states based on languages like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam has split this community permanently. The people from this community in each state got their own identity and lost the relations with their brethren in other states.
Myths
The earliest reference of Yerukalas can be found in the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic. Yekalavya, the great archer from Mahabharata times, belongs to Yerukala community.
Many historians have stated that they found references on some pillars stating that the Kakatiyas were originated from the nomadic tribe called Erukala. Read more..
Colonial History
Yerukalas have been nomadic communities since the times unknown. They have been the target of the fears and suspicions of sedentary communities. The Yerukulas of Madras presidency were thus ‘criminalized’ in the early 20th century by the British Rulers. The Yerukulas were branded as criminals by birth under the "Criminal Tribes Act 1871", enacted by the British Rulers. Yerukalas were chiefly traders in grain and salt, operating between the coastal areas of the Madras presidency and the interior districts. It is the same case with other derived communities of these simple people. Read more..
Since 1947
Today, most of the Yerukalas are settled in the villages/towns and trying to make their way out of the poverty and the sub-human standard of living by getting education to obtain financial freedom which has been denied to them since ages. They are using reservations and other benefits from the government to a greater extent to obtain the freedom they used to have long time age. Even though they live in a free democratic country like India, they are still living under harsh social conditions because of the Indian caste system and face social discriminations time and again. Due to the wandering traditions over hundreds of years without any ostensible means of livelihood under the influence of the caste system, they are forced to live under sub human conditions. In spite of the repeal of the act in 1952, they are still treated as Criminals by birth and subjected to harassment and persecution at the hands of the police and the state machinery. Read more..
Language & Occupations
Yerukalas has a dialect of their own which is called ‘Yerukula basha’ or ‘Kurru basha’ or ‘Kula vaatha’. It is derived from Dravidian languages, mostly Telugu, Tamil and Kannada. They use both the Yerukala dialect and Telugu. The Yerukala language has no written script and is still in existence in oral tradition. According to the 1991 census, there are 63,133 Yerukala language speakers. According to the 2001 census, there are 69,533 Yerukala language speakers. Read more..
The traditional occupations of Yerukalas include basket-making, mat weaving, pig rearing, rope-making etc. The Yerukala women were specialized in sooth saying and fortune telling which they no longer practice. Some of them also participate in the economic activities like basket making, mat weaving etc, and make baskets with wild date leaves.