Manjampatti Valley is a protected area in the eastern end of Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (IGWS&NP) in Tirupur District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is a pristine drainage basin of shola and montane rainforest with high biodiversity recently threatened by illegal land clearing and cultivation.The Hindu, Forest personnel conduct raid, seize ganja; 3 July 2004 Forest personnel conduct raid, seize ganja
National Park
Manjampatti Valley is the eastern core zone of the Indira Gandhi National Park (IGWS&NP)Tamil Nadu Forest department, Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary It is managed as an Ib-Wilderness Area: a large area of unmodified or slightly modified land, retaining its natural character and influence, without permanent or significant habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural condition.World Commission on Protected Areas The Tamil Nadu Forest Department has divided the valley into 3 administrative areas: Thalinji beat 4290 ha, Manjampatti beat 3741.75 ha and Keelanavayal beat 3058.75 ha. Total = 11,090.5 ha =
To the east, it adjoins the western ends of the Kodaikanal and Dindigul Forest Districts. These Forests will make up part of the new Kodaikanal Wildlife Sanctuary and the proposed Palani Hills National Park. To the south and west it adjoins Munnar forest Division and Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary in Idukki District, Kerala. To the north it adjoins the north slope of the Amaravathy River basin in the Amaravathy Range of IGWS&NP. p. 2.
Some areas of the drainage basin are not included within the political boundaries of the national park, including the Kodaikanal Taluk villages of Kumbur, Mannavanur and Kilanavayal; Upper Palani Reserve Forest (Kilanavayal) and a 2 km wide strip of the east end of Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. p. 180,
The IGWS&NP and the Kodaikanal and Dindigul Forest Districts are designated the Anaimalai Conservation Area,Mathur, Dr. P.K. & Tripathi, Dr. Anshuman, Management of Forests in India for Biological Diversity and Forest Productivity–A New Perspective: Phase-II, #26. 01.09.2004 To 31.03.2007, p.34 fig.3.2., (warning: large 2MB file)Management of Forests in India a two-year collaborative project of the Wildlife Institute of India and the U.S.D.A. Forest Service.U.S.D.A. Forest Service/Asia/archives/India, Sustainable Forestry Practices – Management of Forests in India for Biological Diversity and Forest Productivity Sustainable Forestry Practices Manjampatti Valley is under the protection of the Coimbatore Forest Office; Wildlife Warden-Indira Gandhi Wildlife SanctuaryConservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, Trichy Road, Coimbatore. Wildlife Warden A license is required for entry.
History Manjampatti derived its name from two Tamil words, manjal meaning yellow and patti meaning "cattle fold" or small village; there is a local opinion that it was so named because of endemic wild mango trees here.
Iron Age (1200-200 BC) Dolmens, consisting of a stone floor slab 3 to 5 feet long, 3 stone walls about 2 feet high, and a "roof" stone slab, found on at least 2 stony hilltops on the edges of the valley.. and..the existence of unexpectedly large temple ruins in the isolated village of Thalinji, and the later (1559–1736) assignment of land by Madurai Nayak Dynasty kings to cultivators in the upper Palanis, indicate that there has been continuous interaction from prehistoric times to the present between plains people and the ethnic groups in these hills. Some groups relying on hunting and gathering partially retained their pre-civilizational lifestyle up to the last century.
The earliest known residents of the area are the Palaiyar (meaning "old ones", incorrectly translated as Paliyan), a Tamil-speaking tribal people, who have been seen in the past 35 years living in small caves in the valley. Historically close extended Palaiyar family groups foraged and hunted at least 128 forest species for subsistence. In the past century, they increasingly depended on shifting cultivation and collection and trading of non timber forest products of over 60 species for: food (14), incense & toiletries (11) medicines (13), construction materials & precious woods (9) and miscellaneous (13) honey, tubers, fruits, herbs, flowers, bark, seeds, fibers, gum, leaves, logs and oils.
Since establishment of the IGWS&NP in 1976, Palaiyar trading was gradually but severely restricted. They are now allowed to collect only tamarind from one small area outside Manjampatti Valley. Their strong cultural ties to the area and traditional avoidance of outsiders keeps them attached to their forest habitat. They must now depend on intermittent plantation labor, primitive low yield cultivation in restricted areas, liaisons with forest product smugglers and poachers, government programs and charity."Tribal Development in India: A Case Study", Soundarapandian M., Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., , 2001, pp. 135-147.partial text Tribal Development in India
Communities In 2002 there were 401 tribal persons living in three settlements within IGWS&NP boundaries in the valley. This is an average population density of 3.65 persons/km2, 40% higher than the 2.6 persons/km2 living in all 36 tribal settlements in the entire 1769 km2 IGWS&NP.Sajeev T.K. et al., Management of Forests in India for Biological Diversity and Forest Productivity- A New Perspective WII-USDA Forest Service Collaborative Project Grant No. FG-In-780 (In-FS-120), Volume III Anaimalai Conservation Area (ACA) pp 169 – 190.Anaimalai Conservation Area Their peaceful ancient culture in this area is increasingly fragmented as they assimilate modern Tamil customs and values.Gardner, Dr. Peter, Bicultural Versatility as a Frontier Adaptation among Paliyan Foragers of South India, 2000 Paliyan Foragers of South IndiaGardner, 2000, Excerpts Excerpts The villages have no link roads, no electricity (some solar lamps have been installed recently), no running water, no government school, no medical facilities and no shops.Aparna Narayanan & Bhaskar Venkateswaran, Trichirapalli Rural and Urban Welfare Development Educational Society (TRUWDES), Site visit to school for tribal children in Manjampatti village in Kodai Hills run by TRUWDES, 2007-6-26
In addition there are three villages within the valley watershed but outside the National Park boundaries: Mannavanur pop. 5,927,OurVillageIndia.org, Mannavanur Village 2007 Kumbur pop. 500,Medhaug and Kilanavayal 124 families.Directorate of Rural Development, Government of TamilNadu Group of the Household
Thalinji Thalinji village at , near the bottom of the valley above the banks of the Ten Ar River, has about 150 houses (pop: m-168, f-155). Most of the people are Pulaiyar caste, early cultivators, but there are some Malaimarasar tribal people, who do agriculture and coolie work.
This place had some importance in medieval times, as there are mounds with 15th century ruins of a Vijayanagar Dynasty p. 267 Kondaiaman temple with a substantial temple tank, and numerous scattered stone carvings and broken statues of goddesses such as Kondaiamman and Mariamman and gods Ganesha, and Krishna, with some text inscriptions. The villagers say they know no history of the temple.
The village is a ward under the Manupatti Panchayat near the Amaraavathi dam, but the people have decided to not elect a representative. They do rely on the Forest Department for many kinds of assistance and advice. When the British created the Amaravathi Reserved Forest they allocated to the village for cultivation. This was divided up among families by stone boundary markers, which still exist, but land titles were not given.
Thalinji people cultivate rice (monsoon crop) and butter beans and no other vegetables or crops. They keep a few cows, buffaloes, goats, and chickens. They are allowed to collect minor forest products for their own use, but not to sell. There is a one-room Anti-Poaching Camp used intermittently by forestry staff on their rounds. There is a school with a teacher posted, and a doctor is supposed to come every week but actually comes less than once a month. Men sometimes go out to work in sugarcane fields on the plains, and women go to work in the Manjampatti fields. Thalinji has no store or tea shop. The people do not integrate well in the modern society and economy, though they have accepted Photovoltaic powered home lighting devices from the District collector.
Manjampatti
Manjampatti village at , near the middle of the valley has 59 households with 191 persons (95 males and 96 females) dispersed among its many agricultural fields located inside a bend of the Ten Ar just below its junction with the Kumbar and Manalaar streams.
It is ethnically more diverse than Talinji. Pulaiyar were the majority inhabitants of Manjampatti when the British gave land to the village for cultivation. About 15 families of Muthuvar, another "tribal" group, live in Manjampatti village where they do cultivation and labor work. Some Theivar people, a widespread plains agricultural jaathi (caste), came to live in Manjampatti long ago and engage in agriculture on the village lands. There are also a few houses of other plains jaathis such as Chakkliyar (originally leather-workers). Because of these jaathis, Manjampatti village has some features of plains Tamil villages such as eating of newer types of vegetables and having tea shops.
Manjampatti comes under the Mannavanur Panchayat and sends its Ward Member up to the monthly meetings. The people receive no benefit from the Panchayat, and prefer to rely on the Forest Department. Manjampatti falls under Kodaikanal Taluk office, and the people must travel far to Kodaikanal for official services such as getting a ration card. The ration items (rice, sugar, kerosene) are sent to an agent on the Amaravaathi-Munnar Road (SH 17) where the people go to collect them. The village has a small part-time general store selling cooking items and two part-time tea shops. There is a basic primary school of a type designed for tribal people, which is able to provide Transfer Certificates (TC) to students. There is a Forest Department Anti-Poaching Camp with four full-time staff. There is a polling station at the Hydro Matric Survey Building in Manjampatti for all voters from Manjampatti, Muthuvankudi and Mungilpallam (Mannavanur (r.v) Ward-5).R.Vasuki, I.A.S., District Election Officer & District Collector, 16 July 2008, Dindigul, List of Polling Stations for 127 Palani Assembly Segment within the 22 DINDIGUL Parliamentary Constituency, Polling station No. 205
The village has a Moopan (headman), assisted by a group of elder men, who organizes activities such as maintaining irrigation channels and resolving disputes, but this position is not recognized in the Panchayat system. The Moopan can be of any caste, and serves as long as he has the confidence of the people. If someone commits a serious crime, the Moopan will turn the suspect over to the Forest Department, which will arrange for him to be detained by police on the plains.
Manjampatti was given land for cultivation when the Reserved Forest was created and the families have kept their respective fields marked with the original stone boundaries. Villagers earlier practiced shifting cultivation, growing millets such as raagi, thinai and kambu. Later the Forest Department forbade shifting cultivation and restricted cultivation to the allotted lands. The crops now are rice in rainy season and butter beans otherwise, though with a more diverse population a few vegetables such as eggplant and tomatoes are grown. Farmers here have to protect their crops from wild elephants, gaur, wild boar, deer and sometimes peacocks. A complex and well maintained system of small canals distributes water from the Manalar to irrigate the fields.
Muduvankudi is a neighboring village inhabited by Muduvar (Muthuvar), and is a 15-minute trek from Manjampatti.
Mungilpallam