In a recent work,[1] Mr. A. H. Keane, in a note on the "Dravidian Aborigines," writes as follows. "All stand on the very lowest rung of the social ladder, being rude hillmen without any culture strictly so called, and often betraying marked negroid characters, as if they were originally Negroes or Negritos, later assimilated in some respects to their Dravidian conquerors. As they never had a collective racial name, they should now be called, not Dravidians or proto-Dravidians, but rather pre-Dravidians, as more collectively indicating their true ethnical relations. Such are the Kotas, Irulas, Badagas, and Kurumbas." It may be pointed out that the Badagas and Kotas of the Nīlgiri plateau are not "wild tribes," have no trace of negroid characters, and no affinities with the Kurumbas and Irulas of the Nīlgiri slopes. The figures in the following table speak for themselves : —
| -- | Stature | Stature | Stature | Nasal Index | Nasal Index | Nasal Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| --- | Average cm. | Maximum cm. | Minimum cm. | Average cm. | Maximum cm. | Minimum cm. |
| Badaga | 164.1 | 180.2 | 159.9 | 75.6 | 88.4 | 62.7 |
| Kota | 162.9 | 174.2 | 155.0 | 77.2 | 92.9 | 64.0 |
| Irula | 159.8 | 168.0 | 152.0 | 84.9 | 100.0 | 72.3 |
| Kurumba | 157.5 | 163.6 | 149.6 | 88.8 | 111.0 | 79.1 |
Badagi.— The carpenter sub-division of Pānchālas.
Badhōyi.—— The Badhōyis are Oriya carpenters and blacksmiths, of whom the former are known as Badhōyi, and the latter as Komāro. These are not separate castes, and the two sections both interdine and inter-
- ↑ The World's Peoples, 1908.
