The Koraga are a tribal community found mainly in the Dakshina Kannada, Udupi districts of Karnataka and the Kasaragod district of Kerala, south India.

 

The Koraga are a tribal community found mainly in the Dakshina Kannada, Udupi districts of Karnataka and the Kasaragod district of Kerala, south India.

 These areas in Karnataka, are altogether often referred to as Tulunaad, which roughly corresponds to the boundaries of the erstwhile South Canara district.

 They are also found in small numbers in adjoining districts of Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and Kodagu. The Koraga are classified by the Government of India as a Scheduled Tribe.

The Koraga, who numbered 16,071 according to the 2001 census of India, have their own language, classified as an independent Dravidian language, which is strongly influenced by Tulu, Kannada, Malayalam, languages commonly found in their area.

The 1901 census report noted the Koraga as being a lowly tribe of basket-makers and labourers, some of whom were employed as scavengers.

 They remain today among the untouchables, being considered as ritually polluted by Hindus, but there have in the past been claims that they are of Chandala stock.Their folklore claims Hubbashika to have been one of their chiefs but the Kadamba narrative asserts a Chandala origin, that they are the descendants of the offspring of a Brahman woman and a Shudra father.

Edgar Thurston quotes M. T. Walhouse, who wrote in 1875 that this narrative was recorded by Brahmans and that, together with the Kapata, the Koraga were the lowest of the fifteen Chandala groups. However, Thurston thinks it probable that they were in fact the aboriginals of the region who were dispersed, dispossessed and turned into slaves by the influx of Aryans from the north of India. 

The area in which they live comprises mostly agricultural land and forest and the tribe continue to make use of the forest produce—principally, bamboo and creepers—for the manufacture of baskets today. They traditionally lived in structures made of leaves, called koppus and also dressed in leaves.

Around the beginning of the 21st century, they started to live in simple free houses constructed and sanctioned by Government agencies, but some of them are still either homeless or live on government-owned lands.

Koraga people have been subjected to a practice known as ajalu, which the Government of Karnataka defined as "differentiating Koraga people and persons belonging to other communities, treating them as inferior human beings, mixing hair, nails and other inedible abnoxious substances in the food and asking them to eat that food.

 They were also made to run like buffaloes before the beginning of Kambala." Ajalu has been considered to be inhuman and was prohibited in 2000 by the Karnataka Koragas (Prohibition of Ajalu Practice) Act, 2000. Contravention of the Act is punishable by a term of imprisonment of between six months and five years, as well as a cash penalty. 

Nonetheless, ajalu has been occasionally witnessed during Nemotsava or temple fairs at places such as Inna (Karkala) and Saligrama, Udupi, leading to Koraga people demanding action against the culprits and the police who failed to prevent it.

Koraga people are known for drum beating (dollu or dolu beating) and it is one of their important cultural contributions. They used to beat dolu during events such as Kambala, village fairs or just for fun in their living places. 

Traditional belief was that Koraga drum-beating had special powers and that the sound of drum-beating drives away evil spirits. However, the practice declined as the drum beaters were looked down upon by society.

 Attempts are being made to revive the art by forming drum-beating troupes such as Gajamela in Dakshina Kannada, with support from the Government.

 Such troupes also give performances on occasions like tribal gatherings in coastal Karnataka. Flute music and dance involving both men and women are also important parts of Koraga culture and are apparent at celebrations such as Bhoomi Habba (worshipping earth).