Theories abound as to the origins of the Kodavas, or Coorgis, who today comprise less than one-sixth of the hill region's population. Fair-skinned and with their own language and customs, they are thought to have migrated to southern India from Kurdistan, Kashmir, and Rajasthan, though no one knows exactly why or when. One popular belief holds that this staunchly martial people, who since Independence have produced some of India's leading military brains, are descended from Roman mercenaries who fled here following the collapse of the Pandyan Dynasty in the eighth century; some even claim connections with Alexander the Great's invading army. Whatever their origins, the Kodavas have managed to retain a distinct identity apart from the freed plantation slaves, Moplah Muslim traders and other immigrants who have settled here. More akin to Tamil than Kannada, their language is Dravidian, yet their religious practices, based on ancestor veneration and worship of nature spirits, differ markedly from those of mainstream Hinduism. Land tenure in Kodagu is also quite distinctive: women have a right to inheritance and ownership and are also allowed to remarry.
Spiritual and social life for traditional Kodavas revolves around the Ain Mane, or ancestral homestead. Built on raised platforms to overlook the family land, these large, detached houses, with their beautiful carved wooden doors and beaten-earth floors, generally have four wings and courtyards to accommodate various branches of the extended family, as well as shrine rooms, or Karona Kalas, dedicated to the clan's most important forebears. Key religious rituals and rites of passage are always conducted in the Ain Mane, rather than the local temple. However, you could easily travel through Kodagu without ever seeing one, as they are invariably away from roads, shrouded in thick forest.
You're more likely to come across the traditional Kodava costume, which is donned for all auspicious occasions. The men wear flat-bottomed turbans, dapper knee-length coats called kupyas, bound at the waist with a scarlet and gold cummerbund, and daggers (peechekathis) with ivory handles. Kodava women's garb of long, richly colored silk saris, pleated at the back and with a pallav draped over their shoulders, is even more stunning, enlivened by heaps of heavy gold and silver jewelry, and precious stones. Women also wear headscarves, in the fields as well as for important events, tying the corners behind the head, Kashmiri style.
