The innate philosophy of the life of ‘naaku betta’ (the people who live in the hilly region, Badagas) can best be understood from the tradition-bound age-old hatties (hamlets). The hatty (hamlet, village) is a group of persons as well as an aggregate of land holdings. The village life is highly characterized by various rites and rituals. The village life of Badagas had attracted the serious attention of scholars even during the colonial administration of the British. Few indigenous scholars’ contribution in this regard is remarkable. The result of these studies has played a significant role in reconstructing society’s lost glory and reviving cultural heritage. The Badagas are an ethnic and linguistic minority tribal group with a distinct culture and heritage of their own. The socio-cultural life of Badaga village is largely influenced by customs and traditions with profound antiquated background. This can be explored and analysed through a holistic approach to the regional condition based on certain universal thoughts and ideas as well as unified activities.
The history of a society is largely the history of the thoughts and deeds of masterminds. These men of mighty will, vision and wisdom impart new hopes, new life and new direction to society. The ancestor of Badagas imparted humanism and compassion to their society that was enmeshed in a complexity of rituals. For example, one can note how a salutation passes between two when they meet each other. The younger stands in front of the elder inclines his head slightly and says bandiya, ayya, mamma etc., (grandfather, uncle etc., you have come). The elder replies ‘badak, badak’ (blessing, blessing) and rests his right or both of his hands on the top of the younger. Though the word ‘badak’ usually means ‘live’ here it is used in the sense ‘flourish, prosper or live long’. Uttering these words the elder reveals his felicitation to the younger without any prejudice. Whereas the younger shows his profound reverence to the elder. The elders took up with joy the task of shaping the future generation and discharged their duties in an exemplary manner. The elders of the village settled disputes arising among the village folk who were well acquainted with the norms. Justice was meted out at the very place where the dispute took place. It was inexpensive and immediate.
The forefathers of Badagas set up a social atmosphere where the children grew up as good citizens and patriots to live for their society and not for themselves. The village ‘manda’ (council) played an important role in shaping the society with moral standards. It was headed by a headman called ‘Gowda’. Each village had its headman, who was assisted by a few elders and decided public matters such as disputes, differences etc., The village ‘manda’ was there as not mere council for deliberation, but acted as a strong organ of executive work. There were three levels of headman ships viz.gottugaara (headman of a hatty,hamlet),gaundike (headman of an uur, a larger area, mostly consists of few or more hatties ), gowda (headman of a siime ). These hierarchic levels show how the system was vogue vigorously and systematically.
One of the Badaga proverbs embodies, if you prefer a complaint to a magistrate, it is as if you had put poison into your adversary’s food. The unique karu harasuvadu (after-death confession) of the Badagas mentions that preferring a complaint to the government was considered as a crime, for which atonement must be made. That is, the society acted in such a manner to settle all the disputes, differences etc., within its social set-up. The fact is that the proponents of ‘gowndike’(village leadership) were genuinely committed groups who worked hard to inculcate a sense of oneness among various sections of society. They endeavoured to make the people that they were all inheritors of the sublime values of their culture. In short, one can say that they had endeavoured to make life richer than what they had found it was.
It is obvious that the primary function of the ‘manda’ is to keep domestic peace, but it is rarely mentioned or considered. To decide impartially and authoritatively ‘manda’ existed in Badaga society. If this agency was not there, persons offended by some crime would have taken the law into their own hands and proceeded to punish according to their uncontrolled discretion. This self-help quickly degenerated into physical violence and the result would be total anarchy. Then all, social order would have been destroyed. In this most basic sense,’ manda’ constituted an essential element in society’s machinery for keeping peace. The stupendous effort of this institution is, achieving an integrated approach of service to society in the fields of cultural awareness in spreading the messages of moral standards and in maintaining intimate relations among the masses. If the function of ‘manda’ was not sincere then the community could have not survived,
Badaga community began to adopt modern systems and culture in consonance with the modern trend. The earlier tradition, moral values and religious practices are seeing their change or end. The call for creating a new society and for cherishing new ideas became popular. In the new social order, the present generation is expected to have a vision of the emerging society and its demands and play a major role in the review and reorientation of the society’s cultural heritage and priorities.