Origin

The Kodavas are ethnically and culturally distinct from the other people of the area. There are several claims regarding the origin of the Kodavas. Some historians suggest that the Kodavas might have migrated into their present area in the Coorg district around the 3rd century A.D. There are different theories about the origin of Kodavas. One view is that the Kodava culture resembles the culture of the ancient trading stock of Arabia (Moeling 1855). Another view is that the Kodavas are descendants of Scythians (Connor 1870, Rice 1878). According to yet another view, the Kodavas belong to the Indo-Scythian race. Kodavas have no resemblance to any other people group of South India since their average cephalic index is 80.6 and the nasal index is 65.2. This may prove that the Kodavas are the descendants of the Brachycephalic stock who entered into the Indus Valley during the Mohenjodaro period and migrated to the Coorg region (Hutton, as quoted in Balakrishnan 1976). There is also a legend that during the conquest of Alexander the Great, many of his Indo-Greek soldiers, the Yavanas, stayed back in India. They migrated as warriors Kshatriyas down south, married the natives, and settled down in the hilly areas of the Western Ghats. These are all theories, and there isn't any definite clue or evidence to prefer one theory over another.