Badaga Origin

Badaga Origin, some clarifications – Paul Hockings

(in an email dt 22 Dec 2025)

In recent years I have heard from various people that there is nowadays a groundswell of belief, at least among some Badagas, that their distant ancestors did not originate in southern Mysore several centuries ago. As those people were non-literate until the middle of the 19th century there is little historical documentation to rely on, although the visiting Italian priest, Father G. Fenicio, did meet with Badagas in Melkunda in 1603, and they told him through an interpreter that they had come from Mysore to the north.

This is essentially what modern anthropologists have learned too, and before them there were about twenty writers in the 19th century who were also told by Badagas about an origin in southern Mysore. One cannot argue that every single one of those people was totally misinformed in this matter — especially when there was no good reason to mislead them.

So let me attempt to set the record straight. I must admit at the outset that, so far as my own investigations have gone, although there are today about 400 hattis inhabited by Badagas, I have only interviewed people in eighty of them. So what I can report here only reflects the memories of numerous elders in those eighty villages — and most of my data were collected some fifty years ago.

From their comments I learned that Ekkōṇi was settled from Kavaspāḍi or San­janagiri Math, in Karnataka; Ebbunāḍu was settled from Hosahaḷḷi, or else Urigaddige, both in Karnataka; Kaḍanāḍu was settled from Kakkadur-Karahaḷḷi in Karnataka; Kukal was settled from Gundalupete; Jakkatala was settled from Jakkalli; Cinna Kunnur and Keti andPūsekunnūr were all settled from Kongahalli; the former villages of Tudur, an ur in Mekunadu that was abandoned long ago, were settled from Accalli; Tudeguli was settled from Agasvadi;Nanjenāḍu was settled from Sanja­nagiri Math in Ka­r­­n­ataka; NunduaandKiyuru were settled from Urig­ad­­dige, in Karn­a­taka; Mēlūr was settled from Urigaddige or Beḷḷādi; Suḷḷigūḍu was settled from Sara­gūru, in Karnataka; Sōlūru was settled from Sūḷūr in Kar­n­ataka; Hulikal wasset­tled from Honnahalḷi in Karna­taka; Honnatale wassettled from Honnahaḷi in Kar­nataka; and some other Badagas claimed to have migrated from a village called Kāruḷūr, near Kaṇṇambāḍi, located about 15 km northwest of Mysore City. 

Some Odeyas say they came from the Lingayat monastery at Hangala. Adikaris came from Mallikalli, near Nanjangud. Haruvas originated in Hosahalli-Girubetta. Another small Badaga group, the Kaggusis, originated in Tagadur or Hasanur. As for the large Badaga Gauda phratry, at least some of them came from Talemale. An exception is the small group of Badagas called Kongaru, as they came up from the plains of Kongunad to the southeast. I repeat that there is no reason to believe that Badaga elders who spoke about this matter made all these facts up to amuse outside enquirers.

(I strongly beleive that Badagas, as an indegeous community, existed many thousand years ago, along with/or much before other tribes like Todas, Kothas and Kurumas. Though, I concede, some sects/groups/villages, could have joined the original Badaga setters much later. For example Odaiyas/Lingaites/Thoraiyas. Odeyas and Thoraiyas are still not fully integrated with the main stream, so called Badaga Gowdas, by way of marriages, participation in funerals and celebrations of many customs/traditions associated with habbas (festivals).

But for Prof. Paul Hockings (some) views, with which we may not agree, on the origin of Badagas, as he has explained/clarified above, full credit should be given to him for telling the world about the Badagas with his deep and extensive research on them for well over sevaral decades. Along with Christiane Pilot Raichur, his writings and books on Badaga language, have been very well received. Especially, their book on ‘Badaga English dictionary along with Badaga Proverbs’, is a treasure to behold.

It is a matter of great regret that certain Badagas targetted him for his view about some ancestors marrying non Badaga ladies, during his last visit to the Nilgiris, a couple of years back. They went to the extent of complaining to the police and literally forced him to return back to USA. – Wg Cdr Bellie Jayaprakash)