The Kota tribe became isolated, allowing for the language some unique characteristics. Although Kota is closely related to neighbouring Toda, it was identified as an independent Dravidian language by Robert Caldwell in the 1870s and probably broke off from the common south Dravidian languages a few thousand years ago. This number wasn't much larger in the 1800s, with just 1,100 speakers. The people of the Kota tribe have a much smaller population than the Badagas, with only around 900 native speakers still living. The second language found in the region is Kota. Photograph of two Toda men and a woman, taken by an unknown photographer from the Madras School of Arts circa 1871-72 While there is no oppressing force trying to wipe out the language or the people, the Badagas as a people are in decline, and are thus on the endangered list. While their origins might be in question, it doesn't appear their future is. Even now, worshipping stones is a central aspect of their lives in the Nilgiris. Also, before the Badagas converted to Hinduism, they were nature worships, like ancient Greeks and Egyptians, again supporting the idea that they have been around for much longer. First, according to philology (the study of language in written historical sources), beginning languages didn't have scripts and only develop scripts later on, supporting the idea that the language is very old. There is no real evidence to confirm this theory, however, while there are clues to validate the idea that they have been there since ancient times. This initial group was probably very small, only around 30 people, but a later, larger group migrated as well later. They did not accept the writing system, however, which is why they did not have one when later people found them. According to this idea, they arrived in southern India then moved into the Nilgiris Hills when they were under the Vijayanagara Empire, and the people had to adopt the dialect of Kannada. There are some that claim the Badaga people are not actually natives of the region, but rather migrated to there from central and eastern Europe. Now, not all of this information is without some debate. It later came under the rule of the Vijayanagar empire (1336 - 1646), then the British.īadaga caste of Nilgiri Hills, from "Castes and Tribes of Southern India" (1909)
However, the various missionary attempts did allow for the languages to be well studied, leading to several English-Bagada dictionaries being published.Ī Badaga king named Kalaraja was ruling the people in 1116 AD, but he was killed during a war with the Kannada speaking Hoysala empire (1026 - 1343), bringing the Badagas under the rule of King Vishnuvarthana. During the Mauryan Empire (322 – 185 BCE), Buddhist monks came to Nilgiris to spread Buddhism among the Badagas, although they probably failed to have much of an impact. and the most recent was published in 2009 by Anandhan Raju.Īs was common with many indigenous people, the Badagas were visited by missionaries, attempting to convert them. More recently, Anandhan Raju created a new alphabet, this one based on Tamil, in 2009. Over the past century, a few different methods for writing Badaga were created, using a mix of the Latin and Kannada alphabets, with the earliest of these dates back to 1890. They are split into almost 440 separate villages, called hattis, and they have inhabited the land for thousands of years, going back at least as far as 8000 BC.Īs far as it is known, Badaga has not had a writing system for most of its existence. The word Badaga itself refers to both the language and the people that speak it. It was once considered a dialect of Kannada, and while it has many similarities with its Kannada language neighbours, it is now recognized as an independent language. Map of Nilgiris district, Tamil Nadu, Indiaīadaga is one of the southern Dravidian languages and is spoken by around 400,000 people in the Nilgiri Hills.