Tag: Coorg
Coorg
Coorg is a district in Karnataka which is known for its coffee. A part of the Western Ghats, it is a biodiversity hot spot and has an abundance of bird and wildlife. Also known as the Scotland of India, it is home to the Kodava people who are considered to be a patrilineal ethno-lingual tribe that natively speak the Kodava language. Traditionally they are land-owning agriculturists with martial customs. They practice family exogamy and caste endogamy.
Kodava
The words Kodava (the indigenous people, language and culture) and Kodagu (the land) come from the same root word ‘Koda’ of unknown meaning. Some claim it means ‘hills’, others say it means ‘west’ but both relate to the Western Ghats’ location. Kodagu is called Kodavu in the native Kodava language. The community members were called Kodava by the other natives and Coorgs (or Coorgis) by the British. They are ethnically and culturally distinct people. For centuries, the Kodavas have lived in Kodagu cultivating paddy fields, maintaining cattle herds and carrying arms during war.
Legend has it that they are the remnants of Alexander’s army, who stayed on in India, when the conqueror marched back to Macedonia. The Puranas claim that the Kodavas are the children of the river goddess, Cauvery, whose waters irrigate the very soul of Coorg. Whatever their provenance, these hardy sentinels of the hills are […]
Tags: Coorg, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Kodava Couple, Coorg | Posted in Culture | 15 Comments »
He may be the monarch of all he surveys, but this is one member of the avian royalty who’d much rather avoid the spotlight, thank you! No flashbulbs, no glitzy ‘coming out’ balls, and definitely no obliging those pesky jungle paparazzi, no matter how noble their intentions. If you want a glimpse, much less a […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Black-naped Monarch, Coorg | Posted in Birds | 26 Comments »
Very few people have seen this sleek, green beauty up close. Those who do manage it haven’t seen her again. Or seen again, if one were to go by a popular myth in southern India. For the green vine snake is reckoned to strike you blind with her arrow-like head if you poke your nose, […]
Tags: Coorg, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Green Vine Snake, Coorg | Posted in Reptiles | 25 Comments »
How does one tell the men from the boys? The good from the bad? The villains from the heroes? Simple! A Coorg paddy farmer would tell you to just get them all together, and give them a good thrashing (or ‘threshing’ as the politically correct term goes). This will cause the straw to stalk off, […]
Tags: Coorg, culture, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Winnowing, Coorg | Posted in Plantation | 42 Comments »
All work and no play makes Jill a good bee. And a ‘live’ bee. For it’s not unknown for the hive bosses, to knock off Worker Bees suspected to be sleeping on the job. No sir… it just won’t do. There’s a lot of work to be done. Hives to be built, honey to be […]
Tags: Coorg, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Worker Bee, Coorg | Posted in Insects | 19 Comments »
If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, the way to his stomach has, for millennia, been a closely guarded secret. Throughout history, men and women who’ve sought to put the spice back in their lives, have depended on one rare ingredient. Pepper, that pungent and precious berry from the treasure chests […]
Tags: Coorg, culture, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Pepper, Coorg | Posted in Plantation | 13 Comments »
We all know about women and diamonds, but emeralds are some birds’ best friends. We are, of course, talking about the ‘Emerald’ Dove that struts around bejeweled, with her trademark emerald green under parts, accessorized with a black and grey banding on the back. The male of the species is not shy of flaunting his […]
Tags: Coorg, Coorg birds, Indian birds, Indian wildlife, Lifescapes, Orange County Resorts
Emerald Dove, Coorg | Posted in Birds | 52 Comments »
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