I

• Coorg is a small, mountainous province in South India, bordered by Mysore State to the north and east, and South Canara and Malabar Districts of Madras Presidency to the west and south.
• The province’s greatest length (north to south) is 60 miles, and its greatest breadth (east to west) is 40 miles, covering a total area of 1,593 square miles.
• Of this area, 519 square miles are designated as ‘reserve forest’.
• The Western Ghat mountains run along the west coast of India and pass through Coorg, sloping more steeply to the west and more gradually to the east.
• The plateau of peninsular India slopes to the east, with most major south Indian rivers flowing from west to east.
• The main range of the Western Ghats forms the southern and western border of Coorg, starting from Brahmagiri Peak (5,276 feet) in the south and running in a north-westerly direction to Tala Kaveri, where it turns east before again heading north-west.
• The range continues due north to Pushpagiri Peak (5,260 feet).
• Numerous spurs extend from the main range in all directions, forming narrow ridges and undulating slopes with broad valleys where rice is cultivated.
• The range to the east of Tala Kaveri is called Benguniid Betta, with a high spur proceeding eastwards, which at Mercara forks into two branches: the southern fork ending at Nurokkal Betta, and the northern fork extending towards Fraserpet.
• The Nurokkal spur and the western portion of the range from Tala Kaveri form the watershed for the upper basin of the Kaveri River.
• The western half of Coorg, north of Mercara, is a plateau.
• The plateau’s forests are rich in vegetation, including ferns, rattan cane creepers, and reeds near mountain streams.
• The fauna of Coorg is similar to the rest of south India, including animals like elephants, tigers, bison, panthers, boars, bears, porcupines, deer, and wild dogs.
• Extensive clearing of mountain slopes for coffee and orange plantations, combined with hunting and the widespread use of firearms, has led to the decimation of wildlife in Coorg.

II

• Coorg is isolated due to its steep mountains, dense forests, and heavy rainfall, which helped maintain and develop its unique mode of life and culture.
• The Lingayat Rajas took advantage of Coorg’s natural isolation by closing roads leading to Mercara and prohibiting travel.
• Under British rule, roads were improved, and new ones built, making buses run regularly, connecting Coorg with its neighbors. However, no railway line passes through Coorg, limiting its contact with the rest of India.
• Despite isolation, contact always existed, though limited. Coorgs in south-west Coorg traded surplus rice in Malabarand bought goods like jaggery, coconuts, coconut oil, tobacco, and areca-nuts.
• Coorgs in south-east Coorg bought cattle in Mysore and went on pilgrimages to shrines like the Shrikanteshwara Temple in Nanjanagud.
• Coorgs in central and north Coorg went on pilgrimages to the Subrahmanya Temple in South Canara.
• Coorg, though small, shows significant cultural diversity:
  • Areas to the north and east of Mercara, and the entire eastern fringe share cultural similarities with Mysore.
  • Areas to the west of Bhagamandala and north-western parts are similar to South Canara culture.
  • The south-western fringe has cultural features common with Malabar.
• The area called Coorg Proper is a more homogeneous region within Coorg, encompassing Mercara, Siddapur, Srimangala, and Bhagamandala.
• Coorg culture shares common features with Mysore (Kannada), Malabar (Malayalam), and South Canara (Tulu)cultures. These areas share cultural aspects, and the entire region can be seen as part of a larger cultural unity.
• A typical village in Coorg Proper differs from those in the Kannada, Telugu, or Tamil areas. In Coorg:
  • Every Coorg house is built on its ancestral estate with servants living in mud huts nearby.
  • Joint families and satellite families live close to each other, and villages (ur) consist of scattered houses across hills and valleys.
  • Villages are real in the sense that they have known boundaries, and people see themselves as a unity against other villages.
• Village cooperation occurs during events like weddings, funerals, festivals, harvest festivals, hunts, dances, and building houses. Rivalries and former feuds between villages were common.
• 94% of the population in Coorg lived in villages in 1931, with only 60 out of every 1,000 people living in towns.
• Currently, most people prefer to live in their natal villages, particularly because of their attachment to their ancestral lands.
• Mercara is the capital with a population of 7,112, and Virarajpet has a population of 4,106.
• According to the 1941 Census, Coorg’s population was 168,726. In 1931, the population was 163,327, with 146,007 Hindus, 13,777 Muslims, 3,425 Christians, and 118 Jains, Buddhists, and Parsis.
• Coorgs, with 41,026 people, formed the largest Hindu group in Coorg.

III

• All important languages spoken in Coorg are Dravidian, except for Hindustani and English.
• In 1931, the languages spoken in Coorg were:
  • 62,769 spoke Kannada,
  • 44,585 spoke Kodagi, the dialect of Coorgs,
  • 14,914 spoke Malayalam,
  • 14,275 spoke Tulu,
  • 10,026 spoke Yerava, the dialect of the Yerava tribe,
  • 3,007 spoke Tamil,
  • 4,378 spoke Hindustani (Indo-Aryan language).
• Professor M. B. Emeneau considers Kodagi to be an independent Dravidian language, with characteristics linking it to Kannada and Malayalam.
• Coorgs use the Kannada script to write Kodagi, but this is not done frequently.
• Under the Lingayat Rajas, Kannada was the court and official language of Coorg. Now, Kannada is the medium of instruction in schools, and all Coorgs speak it.
• Educated Coorgs are typically trilingual, speaking Kodagi, Kannada, and English.
  • Kodagi is used at home,
  • Kannada is spoken with non-Coorgs (except Malayalis),
  • English is used in official matters and with strangers.
• English is widely spoken, and even women, particularly those under thirty, have some familiarity with it.
• In 1931, there were 44,585 Kodagi speakers, although the total population of Coorgs was only 41,026. This discrepancy is because many other castes and tribes have adopted Kodagi as their language due to Coorgs being the dominant group in Coorg.
• Many castes and tribes, such as Wynaad Chettis, Kannada Okkaligas, and Tulu Gowdas, have imitated Coorgs in terms of dress, customs, and manners.
• Some families, like Wynaad Chettis and Tulu Gowdas, succeeded in being recognized as Coorgs by acquiring land under the Jamma tenure system.
• During the 1931 Census, some non-Coorgs managed to be enumerated as Coorgs, including some Kannada Okkaligas and Tulu Gowdas in north Coorg. The enumerators, despite instructions to carefully check doubtful cases, had to list these individuals as Coorgs.
• It is believed that the number of non-Coorgs attempting to be counted as Coorgs did not exceed a thousand.

IV

• Coorg enters history in the ninth century A.D., but little information exists between the ninth and seventeenth centuries.
• In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Changalvas, rulers of parts of Coorg, were feudatory to the Gangas of Talakadu in Mysore.
• The Changalvas ruled areas west of Mysore city, excluding Ejusavirashime Hobji (now Shanivārasanté Hôbli).
• Both the Changalvas and Kongalvas were Jains, with inscriptions found in Yedavanad and Bettyetnad.
• The Cholas of the Tamil country defeated the Gangas at the beginning of the eleventh century and claimed to have conquered Coorg as well.
• Both Changalvas and Kongalvas became feudatory to the Cholas.
• In the twelfth century, the Hoysalas drove the Cholas out of Mysore and had several battles with the Changalvas.
• Coorgs first appeared in history in an inscription referring to a battle between the Changalvas and the invading Hoysalas.
• In 1145, Hoysala king Narasimha I defeated the Changalva ruler, capturing elephants, horses, gold, and jewels.
• After 1174, the Changalvas withdrew to Coorg, and in the battle at Pälparé, Pemma-Virappa and other Kodagas(Coorgs) fought against the Hoysalas.
• This battle marks the earliest reference to Coorgs by name.
• After the battle, the Changalvas seem to have accepted the suzerainty of the Hoysalas.
• In 1252, Hoysala king Someshwara visited the Changalvas at Ramanathapura.
• The Changalvas switched from Jainism to Lingayatism, a sect worshiping Shiva, during the twelfth century.
• In the fourteenth century, the Changalvas became feudatory to the Vijayanagar kingdom, which lasted until 1565when it was defeated by Muslims in the Battle of Talikota.
• During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the Vijayanagar kings bestowed lands to vassal chiefs in exchange for tribute and military service.
• After 1565, Mysore rose in power, and many chiefs declared independence, including the Changalvas in Coorg.
• The Changalvas remained nominally under the Vijayanagar viceroy until 1610, when Mysore captured Seringapatam, the viceroy’s seat.
• In 1607, the viceroy confirmed the Malalavachi country to Piriyaraja of the Changalvas.
• The history of the Changalva kings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is unclear, but Nanjaraja founded their capital Nanjarajapetā in the early sixteenth century.
• In 1589, Piriyāraja rebuilt Singapatna and renamed it Piriyapatna.
• A branch of the Changalvas ruled Piriyapatna in the seventeenth century. The last Changalva king is believed to have been killed in 1644.
• Firishta, a historian, mentions that in the late sixteenth century, Coorg Proper was ruled by Nayakas who acknowledged the supremacy of Vijayanagar, but fought among themselves.
• A prince of the Ikkēri or Bēdnür dynasty settled in Häleri and gradually brought Coorg under his control.
• The Nayakas of Bednür, Piriyapatna rulers, and Rajas of Coorg were all related.
• It is possible that the Rajas of Coorg were considered dependent on the Nayakas of Bednür, explaining why Haider Ali considered himself the liege lord of Coorg after conquering Bednür in 1763.
• The prince of the Bednür dynasty, who settled as a Jangama (Lingayat priest) in Haleri (north Coorg), was an astute strategist.
• He knew that a Jangama commanded great respect from Lingayats in north Coorg.
• He lived in a village council house (chiivarji), teaching children and preaching to adults.
• People voluntarily gave him uncleaned paddy (dhu/i bhatta) during the harvest.
• Later, he changed the voluntary contribution to a compulsory levy of one and a half bhattis (80 seers) of rice and a sum of nine annas and eight pies per house annually.
• He also called upon his followers to guard his dwelling in turns, and they were called chdvarjikiiras or “men of the chiivarji,” which later referred to the Raja’s troops.
• The priest-politician declared himself ruler of Haleri and surrounding nīrjs, with chiefs submitting to his authority while retaining three-quarters of the revenue and paying only a fourth as tribute.
• Muddu Raja (1633-86), grandson of the founder of the Lingayat Rajas dynasty, moved the capital from Haleri to Mercara in 1681.
• It is unclear whether Muddu Raja or his son Doc;l<;1a Virappa (Vira Raja II) reorganized the administration by altering nīrj boundaries and creating a clear hierarchy of headmen (takkas) and four appellate courts (pa!{is).
• The consolidation of authority, which began with the founder, was completed during Vira Raja II’s reign.
• In his reign, Uttu Nayaka, a chieftain in Armeri (BepunaQ), tried to get the country invaded by K6tangac;ii Vira Varma while Vira Raja II defended against Mysoreans.
• The struggle between Mysore and Coorg intensified in the later half of the eighteenth century, especially after Haider Ali’s usurpation of the Mysore throne.
• The conflict reached its peak during the reign of Tippu Sultan (Haider’s son) and ended with his death in 1799.
• Coorgs fought repeatedly for their king and country, paying a heavy price for their loyalty.
• Haider Ali conquered Bec;inur in 1763 and claimed suzerainty over Coorg, trying to assert it by force and cunning.
• The succession dispute after the death of Muddu Raja II and Muddayya Raja in 1770 led to conflicts between Linga Raja I and Deyappa Raja, with Deyappa Raja emerging victorious.
• Haider Ali supported Linga Raja I to ascend the throne, and after Linga Raja I’s death in 1780, Haider Ali took possession of Coorg under the pretext of being guardian of the king’s sons.
• A Muslim garrison was stationed at Mercara, the capital, and a former official of the Raja was appointed as governor.
• These measures were unpopular, and in 1782, Coorgs rebelled, driving out the Muslim garrison at Mercara.
• Haider Ali, busy with battles in the south, could not retaliate, and died soon after.
• In 1784, Tippu Sultan marched through Coorg and threatened the Coorgs with severe punishment if they rebelled again.
• The Coorgs responded with insurrection in 1785, driving back the force sent by Tippu Sultan.
• Tippu Sultan marched into Coorg, lured Coorgs to meet him at Tala Kaveri, and seized them, sending about 70,000Coorgs to Seringapatam.
• In Seringapatam, all the male Coorgs were forcibly circumcised, and Coorg was partitioned among Musalman landlords.
• Tippu Sultan gave the landlords the task of finding and killing any escaped Coorgs.
• Coorg was held by garrisons in four forts: Mercara (Jaifarabad), Fraserpet (Kushalnagar), BhagamanQla, and BeppunaQ.
• Tippu Sultan, after assuming the title of Badshah (king), made these changes to Coorg.
• The Coorg princes who were moved from Gonir to Piriyapatlla by Tippu Sultan escaped in 1788 after six years’ confinement.
• Coorgs rallied around their princes, and Vira Raja IV took control of Coorg.
• Tippu Sultan sent a large force to reclaim Coorg, but the force was diverted to Malabar to quell a revolt.
• From 1788 until Tippu Sultan’s defeat in 1799, Vira Raja IV helped the British in their wars against Mysore.
• In 1792, during the British occupation of Seringapatam, about 5,000 Coorgs who had been captured by Tippumanaged to escape and return to Coorg.
• The Coorg exiles had their homes and lands restored upon returning, and they were accepted back without difficulty.
• Vira Raja IV ruled until 1809, when he died, leaving behind only daughters.
• This led to succession disputes, and Linga Raja II, younger brother of the deceased king, emerged victorious in 1811.
• Linga Raja II ruled until his death in 1820, succeeded by his son Chikka Vira Raja (Vira Raja V) in 1820.
• Chikka Vira Raja, an incompetent and tyrannical ruler, was deposed by the British in 1834, marking the end of the Lingayat Rajas’ rule over Coorg.

V

• Coorgs formed the bulk of the armies of the Rajas.
• Lewis Rice describes Coorgs as mountaineers with considerable intrepidity and perseverance.
• Their tactics were based on stratagem, and they were known for predatory habits and cruelty during warfare.
• Coorgs excelled in guerrilla warfare, using tactics like intercepting supplies, cutting off communications, and harassing enemy forces through surprises.
• The hilly country of Coorg aided their military tactics, and they had an intimate knowledge of the terrain.
• Strict obedience and devotion to their chief helped Coorgs compensate for any lack of formal military skills.
• The system of land tenure in Coorg contributed to the military tradition of the Coorgs.
• Land revenue was the main source of wealth for the Raja of Coorg.
• In 1812, during the reign of Linga Raja II, a general settlement called Hukum Nama was made, categorizing all cultivated land in Coorg.
• Land was divided into farms (vargar), and each farm was recorded along with the type of tenure it was held under.
• The jamma system of land tenure was prevalent, where land was an hereditary right passed from father to son.
• The term “jamma” is derived from the Sanskrit “janma” meaning “birth”.
• Jamma tenure was not exclusive to Coorgs, and was also held by Kannada Okkaligas, Tulu Gaudas, smiths (Airis), potters (Kumbaras), and Mapilla immigrants from Malabar.
• The Rajas sometimes offered jamma tenure to attract artisan and trading castes to settle in Coorg or to reclaim forest or waste land.
• The jamma tenure was light in terms of money, requiring only five rupees or a hundred bhattis of wet land (equivalent to an area producing that much paddy).
• The area of land needed to produce a hundred bhattis of paddy varied based on the fertility of the soil.
• Arable land in Coorg was classified into seven grades for assessment.
• Along with the assessed rice-field, landholders had two unassessed stretches of land: bane (highland with jungle) and bariké (low-lying pasturage for cattle).
• Jamma land was impartible, inalienable, and could not be sublet without the permission of the Raja.
• Most importantly, holders of jamma tenure were liable to be called up for military service.
• Richter (1870) noted that januna ryots (cultivators) were still liable for military service during times of external aggression or internal disturbances, and also for police and treasure-guard duties during peace.
• Every family with jamma land had to perform guard duties for fifteen days a year, with guards maintained at public expense but not paid.
• Not all men of a joint family were employed at the same time; some stayed to look after the land while others performed guard duties near their fields.
• Holding jamma land conferred prestige, signifying the holder’s deep roots in Coorg and their military service duty in emergencies.
• The other major land tenure in Coorg was sagu, where the land was assessed at ten rupees per hundred bhattis, twice the rate for jamma land.
• Sagu landholders were liable for all types of service to the state, except military service.
• During Richter’s time, most people holding land on sagu tenure were non-Coorgs, except for about forty Coorgs.
• Occasionally, Rajas granted jamma land to non-Coorgs as a special favor.
• Coorgs holding jamma land could be transferred to the sagu class as punishment for wrongdoings.

VI

• During the two centuries of rule by the Rajas, Coorg underwent significant political, administrative, and socialchanges.
• The authority of local chieftains or Nayakas was destroyed, and the administration was centralized under the Rajas.
• The Rajas established a postal service (anche) for the use of officials only.
• Land was surveyed thoroughly, and the type of tenure under which each farm was held was recorded in the Hukum Nama of Linga Raja II (1811-20).
• The Hukum Nama also outlined the powers of officials to try civil and criminal cases without reference to the Raja.
• Serious offences like adultery, murder, and treason were tried by the Raja himself.
• The authority of the headman of a village and his council of elders was recognized in the administrative system.
• The authority of caste elders to try and settle caste disputes was also acknowledged.
• The long and bitter struggle with Haider and Tippu Sultan heightened the sense of national identity among the people of Coorg.
• Coorgs played a key role in the struggle as they formed the bulk of the Rajas’ soldiery and were specifically selected for barbarous treatment by Tippu Sultan.
• The Rajas were Kannadigas, and their rule increased the influence of Kannada culture in Coorg at the expense of Malayalam.
• The Rajas were also Lingayats, a staunchly vegetarian and teetotaler group, with a well-organized church.
• Fifty-seven Lingayat mathas or monasteries existed in north Coorg during Richter’s time, many of them heavily endowed.
• The religion of the Rajas influenced the general population, especially the Coorgs, who formed the aristocracy under the Rajas.
• Many Coorgs held important posts at the Rajas’ courts, and royal family members occasionally married Coorgs.
• The close contact between Coorgs and the Rajas helped spread the culture and religion of the Rajas.
• Many Coorgs today still adorn their foreheads with three horizontal stripes of vibhuti (sacred ashes), a mark used by devotees of Shiva across India.
• Coorg folksongs often refer to a man or woman praying to Shiva soon after getting up in the morning.
• Most of the important temples visited by Coorgs are Shaivite in character.

VII

• The annexation of Coorg by the British in 1834 marked the beginning of significant political, economic, social, and ideological changes for the people of Coorg.
• The British gave jagirs or assessment-free lands to Coorgs who helped suppress the Canara Rebellion of 1837, and these lands were treated as gifts to individuals, not joint families.
• Traditionally, the joint family owned land, but by 1870, some individual Coorgs had acquired farms and coffee plantations.
• Richter applauds the changes, describing them as a natural transition to social reform, breaking up great houses and establishing independent married couples near their fields, promoting personal freedom and domestic felicity.
• One of the first reforms by the British was the abolition of slavery; high-caste landholders had slaves, primarily of the Poleya caste, who worked on their estates.
• The abolition did not immediately affect the landholders, but when coffee plantations were opened, many slaves deserted their masters to work for cash wages.
• The requirement for jamma land holders to not sublet their land was relaxed, allowing them to sublet up to a fourth of their estate.
• Before coffee cultivation, rice was the staple and primary commercial crop. Excess rice was sold in Malabar in exchange for goods unavailable in Coorg.
• Coffee soon became as important as rice, though initially, it faced issues like pests and fluctuating market conditions.
• Coffee transformed Coorg, bringing in European planters, breaking the bonds between slaves and their masters, and encouraging seasonal labor from Mysore and South Canara.
• The coffee industry also brought money to both the planters and the laborers, benefiting the broader community.
• The annexation did not bring a complete break with past administration; the British initially maintained the old administrative system, with minor modifications.
• The authority of village elders and hereditary village headmen was recognized, and established administrative institutions continued.
• This phase ended in 1858 when the British Government took over India from the East India Company, and Coorg became part of the territories directly administered by the British.
• Acts like the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, and Indian Stamp Act applied to Coorg, as they did across all of India.
• Under the British, Coorg was a Chief Commissioner’s Province, a status that continues today.
• Until 1942, the British Resident in Mysore State was also the Chief Commissioner of Coorg, with Coorg governed from Bangalore.
• In 1942, the offices of Resident of Mysore and Chief Commissioner of Coorg were separated, and Dewan Bahadur Ket6!ira Chengappa, a distinguished Coorg, was appointed as the Chief Commissioner.
• Below the Chief Commissioner was the Superintendent who resided in Coorg.
• A legislative council was established in 1924 with 20 members (15 elected and 5 nominated), presided over by the Chief Commissioner. The council had the right to vote on the budget, move resolutions, and ask supplementary questions.

• Slavery was widely prevalent in pre-British Coorg, with slaves and agricultural laborers doing most of the actual farm work under the supervision of their masters.
• In 1834, when the British annexed Coorg, there were an estimated 6,089 slaves, although the number of slaves on the Raja’s farms (or priyas) was estimated differently (1,757, 1,720, 1,500, and 1,233).
• Slaves were referred to as jammada du (or ‘jamma servants’), and there were two classes of slaves:
  • Praedial slaves (bhumi jammada du) could not be sold separately from the land they worked on and went with the land if it was sold.
  • Personal slaves (okkalu jammada du) were movable property, could be sold or mortgaged, and had to move with the master.
• Masters had the power to set free personal slaves but could not sell them outside the country unless the slaves consented.
• Slaves had rights to subsistence and protection from their masters, who were required to provide a specific amount of food and clothing.
• Food provisions for male slaves included three seers of rice daily, with a lower quantity for females and children, and a load of grain at harvest time (referred to as horay).
• Slaves lived in houses provided by their masters and were allotted small plots of land to grow vegetables or tobacco.
• Masters provided clothing for slaves twice a year—during sowing and harvest.
• Cultivators in Coorg were motivated by self-interest to treat their slaves kindly, knowing that any harsh treatment could lead to slaves running away, which would inconvenience the masters.
• Masters could not inflict severe punishment on slaves, but they had the authority to moderate chastise them for any faults.
• Wealth was often measured by the number of slaves a cultivator had, as slaves were directly tied to land cultivation.
• Coorg folklore suggests that strong bonds of affection often existed between masters and slaves, with slaves considered members of the master’s household.
• Masters were expected to provide funds for slaves’ weddings and take care of them during illness and old age, while slaves had to perform all kinds of services, including bearing arms during wartime.
• The remedy for slaves facing harsh treatment was to run away to another part of Coorg or across the border into a neighboring country, though they risked being pursued.
• There was an agreement between farmers of Kiggatnag (south Coorg) and those in Wynad that absconding slaves would not be pursued if they crossed the border, benefiting Coorg due to higher wages, though the work was harder.
• Many of these slaves likely came from tribes like Yeravas, Betta Kurubas, and Jenu Kurubas in Wynad, who were considered absconders and thieves compared to slaves from Karnataka.
• The price of a slave rarely exceeded Rs 13 (around £1).
• Slavery had a caste component, with masters belonging to higher castes (Coorgs, Tulu Gaudlas, Kannada Okkaligas, and Airis) and slaves coming from low castes such as Poleyas, Paleyas, and Madigas, as well as various tribes like Yeravas, Aiyas, and Kurubas.
• Poor members of the higher castes, like Medas (basket makers), might have hired themselves as agricultural laborers.
• The Rajas employed a large number of slaves, and in 1834, there were about 1,757 slaves working on royal farms.
• The British began abolishing slavery starting with the royal farms and later extended it to all slaves in Coorg.
• After slavery was abolished, many slaves left to work on coffee plantations, which caused disruption in the economy as masters could no longer cultivate their wet land estates fully.
• Under jamma tenure, landholders were required to pay an assessment on all wet land, whether it was under cultivation or not.
• To cope with the loss of labor, the British government allowed landholders to sublet up to a fourth of their wet land.