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Kadar
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Kadar

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Kadar, small tribe of southern India residing along the hilly border between Cochin in the state of Kerala and Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nādu.

The Kadar live in the forests and do not practice agriculture, building shelters thatched with leaves and shifting location as their employment requires. They prefer to eat rice obtained in trade or as wages rather than to subsist on food of their own gathering. They have long served as specialized collectors of honey, wax, sago, cardamom, ginger, and umbrella sticks for trade with merchants from the plains. Many Kadar men work as labourers.

The Kadar population was estimated at approximately 2,000 individuals in the early 21st century. They speak the Dravidian languages of Tamil and Kannaḍa. They worship jungle spirits and their own kindly creator couple as well as local forms of the Hindu deities. Marriage with cross-cousins is permitted.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Elizabeth Prine Pauls.