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Kota, one of the indigenous, Dravidian-speaking peoples of the Nīlgiri Hills in the south of India. They lived in seven villages totalling about 2,300 inhabitants during the 1970s; these were interspersed among settlements of the other Nīlgiri peoples, Baḍaga and Toda. A village has two or three streets, each inhabited by the members of a single patrilineal clan. Most adult Kota also speak Tamil, another Dravidian tongue.
They were traditionally artisans and musicians. Each Kota family was associated with a number of Baḍaga and Toda families for whom they provided metal tools, wooden implements, and pots. They also furnished the music necessary for the ceremonies of their neighbours. From its associated families the Kota family received a share of grain from the Baḍaga harvest and some dairy products from the Toda. The Kota also cooperated with the jungle-dwelling Kurumbas, who provided jungle products and magical protection. Because the Kota handled animal carcasses and had other menial occupations, their neighbours considered them to be of inferior rank.
Aboriginal Kota religion entails a family trinity of two brother deities and the goddess-wife of the elder. Each deity has a priest and a diviner in every village. The diviner becomes possessed on appropriate occasions and speaks with the voice of god.
After 1930 the traditional interdependence among the Nīlgiri groups was abandoned, and only a few Kota families continue to supply tools and music. Kota livelihood depends mainly upon the cultivation of grain and potatoes.
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