INTRODUCTION 1 i. Methodological perspectives 1 ii Research procedures 5 1. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES 11 i. the caste system 11 ii. the forest tribes 14 iii. Historical sketch of the Hill Pandaram 21 2. THE SETTING 25 i. the Ghat forests 25 ii the Hill Pandaram -introductory notes 29 iii. Physical characteristics 31 iv. Dispersal 33 v. Language and culture 38 vi. Land rights of the hill tribes 40 vii. the cultural setting 41 viii. Tribe or caste? 54 3. ECONOMIC LIFE 56 i the forest settlements 56 ii. Forest camps and material culture 64 iii Hunting activities 69 iv. the nature and scope of the contractual system 80 v. Subsistence food-gathering and the continuity of change 96 vi the forest economy -some general notes 102 4. PATTERNS OF SOCIAL INTERACTION 109 i. the conjugal bond -some preliminary remarks 111 ii. the system of kinship categories 115 iii. Patterns of marriage 123 iv. Social structure 135 v. Socialization patterns and the life-cycle 143 vi. Authority structures 158 5. GROUP STRUCTURE AND SETTLEMENT 162 i Social organization 162 ii. Camp aggregates and nomadic movements 167 in. Analysis of group structure 178 iv. Territory 184 v. Settlement and the changing pattern of adaptation 187 NOTES 204 LIST OF WORKS CITED 211 INDEX 218