Tribal and Modern Voices in South Indian Kota Society (SPECIAL ISSUE : The Bison and the Horn : Indigeneity, Performance, and the State of India)

The Kotas number about two thousand and live on the Nilgiri plateau in South India. Kotas refer to themselves by various terms that implicate indigenous status, including “tribals,” ādivāsīs, and “mountain peoples.” Although in some situations Kotas stress their tribal status and in others they emphasize their modernity, most do not consider these to be in opposition. The ways Kotas view themselves today in relation to their forefathers, their spirits of the dead, their gods, and tribal and non-tribal others, are in various ways discernable in Kota song texts and musical styles. Analysis of performance style and texts of Kota mourning songs, devotional songs, and popular styles provides nuanced perspectives on how Kotas position themselves socially and culturally in the contemporary world.