Raman Rajamannan : In News
Raman Rajamannan, the king of the Mannan community and the only tribal king in Kerala, will participate in the Republic Day parade in Delhi.
- The Mannan is a scheduled tribe (ST) of Kerala.
- It is the only adivasi tribal dynasty with a kingship currently existing in South India.
- The life of the Mannan Community is closely related to the Tamil
- They speak a dialect similar to Tamil but without a script.
- It is believed that they were originally from Tamil Nadu and later migrated to Idukki during the period of Poonjar Rajavamsham (kings).
- Nearly 97 percent of the Mannan community’s population reside in Idukki District.
- Though they used to stay in remote forests, they were forced to migrate to plots allotted by the government at the outskirts of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, a few decades back, following a government ban on deforestation in the preserved area.
- They follow a matrilineal system of descent, and their ruler, the Raja Mannan, is elected by community headmen from among those eligible by heredity.
- Their primary occupation is agriculture, including coconut harvesting, cultivation of herbs, etc.
