KURUMBA

Negroid tribe living in the Cardamom and Nilgiri hills, west-central Tamil Nadu state, southern India. Originally a pastoral people, the Kurumba were probably identical with or closely related to the Pallavas. With the decline of the Pallava dynasty in the 8th century, Kurumba forefathers dispersed over a wide area of southern India, becoming geographically separated from each other and culturally distinct. The members of these subdivisions survived by hunting and gathering, by petty agriculture, or as slaves. Today some Kurumba are field labourers or hunters who market jungle produce. Kurumba groups, which are commonly isolated from each other, are governed by a headman with two assistants, who handle disputes. Partially Hinduized, they have abandoned many traditional customs. The Kuruba, an ethnologically similar people who live on the plains as small landowners and herders of sheep, are now considered distinct from the hill Kurumba. In the late 20th century the Kuruba and Kurumba together numbered about 10,000.