Hakki Pikki Tribe : In News
Eight members of Karnataka’s Hakki Pikki tribal community, who had travelled to Central Africa for the sale of herbal products, are now facing a serious crisis after their visas expired.
- ‘Hakki-Pikki’ is one of the major tribal communities in Karnataka.
- In Kannada, the word ‘Hakki’ stands for ‘bird’ and ‘Pikki’ stands for the verb ‘to catch’.
- Therefore, the community is known as the ‘bird catcher,’ which is their traditional occupation.
- They are recognized as a Scheduled Tribe in India.
- Despite being surrounded by Dravidian languages and living in southern India, the community speaks an Indo-Aryan language.
- Their mother tongue was designated ‘Vaagri’ by scholars.
- They communicate in ‘Vaagri’ at home but speak in Kannada when conducting daily business.
- UNESCO has listed ‘Vaagri’ as one of the endangered languages.
- The tribe follows Hindu traditions and celebrates Hindu festivals.
- They follow a clan-based social structure and practice endogamy within their clan.
- The tribe prefers cross-cousin marriages.
- The society is matriarchal, where the groom gives dowry to the bride’s family.
