Songs in the Key of the Forest: The Music of Coorg’s Kudiya Tribe
Photo courtesy: GlobalKulture
The music of the Kudiyas from Coorg (Karnataka) is a melodious celebration of the gift of the forests. Sravasti Datta explains how an artists’ collective is helping to promote the indigenous music and stories of tribes across the state.
Singing “Lilale”, Sharada Somaiya’s powerful, soulful voice opens the trailer for the first episode “Hidden Sounds”, a special feature on the music of the Kudiya tribe. Soon, the ‘dudi’ drum—made of wood and goat’s skin—plays behind her with resounding beats. A scenic backdrop unfolds: the rolling hills and deep forests of Coorg, Karnataka, the home of the indigenous tribe.
Uploaded on YouTube earlier this year, the trailer was shot by GlobaKulture, a Bengaluru-based artist collective and youth organisation founded by Arun Sivag. The feature was a part of GlobalKulture’s initiative Budakattu (which means tribe/clan/social group), a multimedia archiving of India's indigenous, tribal, and folk music. Aesthetically shot, the trailer has since clocked more than 1,400 views.
Somaiya is the first artiste to be featured in the Budakattu archive, which is expected to showcase at least 25 other tribal performers.
“We shot this trailer in about 16 hours,” said Sivag. “We wanted to immerse ourselves in their music and as musicians we understand other musicians—this lends authenticity to the documentation.” Sivag adds he wants to lend dignity of identity to tribes and not stereotype them, which is why he decided to shoot them within their environment.
The Kudiya musical style is known as ‘Uurtti Kott Paat’. Their songs usually celebrate the gifts of the forests, which includes everything from the byne (toddy) tree to rocks, elephants and snakes, and all of this put together is called ‘Dudi Kott Patt’. The 'Dudi' is played to the rhythm of each song. The tribe now has reason for pride, as they have become well known across the state of Karnataka for their music.
Somaiya was only 10 when she accompanied her father and legendary musician, K K Jaya, to performances, thus learning and imbibing the music of her tribe. She won the Karnataka Janapada Academy Award in 2015. “Every song, including those sung for weddings, birth, and death, begin with the byne (toddy tree) as it is central to our lives,” explains Somaiya. “The rhythm of the songs resembles the ups and downs of valleys. I am the main singer and play the dudi while another singer accompanies me, and about 10 dancers perform to the music.”
The Kudiya musical style is known as ‘Uurtti Kott Paat’. Their songs usually celebrate the gifts of the forests, which includes everything from the byne (toddy) tree to rocks, elephants and snakes, and all of this put together is called ‘Dudi Kott Patt’.
Sirigandha V Sreenivasa Murthy, one of the first archivers to document the Kudiyas in the 1980s, says that apart from a few recordings in government archives, little is known about Kudiya music. He speaks of the intense love the Kudiyas have for their music. “Every evening, after the day's work, the tribe members gather to sing,” says Murthy. “The singing is accompanied by graceful dancing.”
The Kudiyas of Coorg, however, want their music to be known far and wide in India, not just in Karnataka. GlobalKulture, which is run by social entrepreneurs of established musicians, storytellers, and artists, endeavours to bridge this gap in documentation through Budakattu. They aim to make their archives available nationally and globally through audio recordings, music videos, online concerts, and photo essays. GlobalKulture also aims to make its archives available nationally and globally through digital platforms.
There are about 50 identified Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka, out of which the Kudiyas, Siddis, Kurubas, Soligas, and Yeravas are recognised for their tribal performance arts. Even though the Karnataka government organises seasonal concerts, the earnings from them are not enough. The pandemic has also put a stop to performances, thus affecting the musicians even more. “There aren't enough jobs, and even though we get to perform for programmes organised by the Janapada Academy, it is still not enough,” says Somaiya.
Sivag says that this lack in resources is why his organisation hopes to give a platform to tribal musicians. “We plan to launch our app so that people could log in to watch online concerts of these rare tribal performers.” He adds that the artistes and performers are being paid a respectable honorarium for performances recorded in the Budakattu Archive. They are working to ensure that performers will also be featured in a mini-album that they in turn have ownership of.
Murthy, who has worked to document the Karnataka tribe for 44 years, says there are two types of Kudiya: The Kudiyas of Coorg and the Malekudiyas of South Canara district. It is only the Kudiyas of Coorg, however, who have this particular musical tradition. Murthy says the Kudiyas of Coorg have a rich cultural background due to the influence of the Kodavas. “The Kudiyas are spread across Bhagamandala, Napoklu, Thora, Bettathur, Cheyyandaane, Gaalibedu, and Kakkabe.”
Among the main sources of information on the Kudiya tribe of Coorg is Edgar Thurston’s deeply researched 2009 text Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Thurnston, who wrote extensively about Kudiyas and other tribes, was the superintendent of the Madras Central Museum and an ethnologist, had published the book with the help of assistants and botany lecturer, K Rangachary.
There is pain beyond the music, however. The Kudiyas revere the environment, but Murthy says that over the last 30 years, there has been reduction in forest cover and expansion in coffee plantations. “Many of them have to work as agricultural labourers or find work in other places such as Kasargod and Kannur in Kerala and Mangaluru in Karnataka.”
Photo courtesy: GlobalKulture
Even as GlobalKulture and Murthy are working to make the music of the Kudiyas known to a wider audience, Somaiya, on her part, is passing down the legacy of her tribe’s music to youngsters not just within her community, but also in Bengaluru, the state’s capital and one of India’s most metropolitan cities. She trains students in the three taluks of Coorg district: Madikere, Veerajpet, and Somwarpet, in orphanages, and in Bengaluru schools associated with Karnataka Janapada Academy. Somaiya, who was a member of Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Academy, is optimistic about the future generation. “Youngsters, both boys and girls, are keen to learn our music.” However, Somaiya also hopes that her efforts and the those of the organisations she works with would get more support from the government.
Little is known in the Indian mainstream of the rich heritage of our country’s tribal music, including of the Kudiyas of Coorg. GlobalKulture's initiative to digitally archive these musical traditions will continue to give a platform to the tribes and their traditions. Their stories are told without stereotypes, told from their own voices. It’s a culture sharing itself without an intermediary.
The harmonies themselves are rhythmic and mellifluous, and the dudi beats—along with beautiful vocals of singers like Somaiya—are likely to stay with the listener for long after they’ve first heard it. Even those who may not comprehend the language will instantly connect to some of the compositions; it’s a true hallmark of the universality of music as interpreted by the Kudiyas of Coorg.
At a time when climate change has brought thunderous devastation across the world, the music of the Kudiyas—which is primarily an ode to the forests—is of particularly great significance. The music comes from a lived experience, and in turn, will help the listeners connect more authentically with the nature around them, understanding it from a far deeper perspective.
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Sravasti Datta is an independent journalist. She has a Master's in History from Calcutta University and a diploma in broadcast journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. Her writings have been published in The Hindu, 30 Stades, Deccan Herald, The News Minute, among other publications. She can be found on Twitter: @sravastid and Instagram: @sravastid_journo.
