INTRODUCTION

The University established the Department of Tribal Studies on 1.7.1994 with a view to undertake a comprehensive study of tribal lore and tribal people of Karnataka. Karnataka has three distinct geographical regions: Karavali (coastal), Malenadu (hill region) and Bayaluseeme (plateau). In Karavali and Malenadu we find a large number of tribes and in Bayaluseeme we find a few tribes. Nomadic tribes are also found in Karnataka. The official records mention that in Karnataka we have 50 tribes. But today some of the tribes mentioned in the records are not found anywhere. At the same time we have certain tribes, which are not at all mentioned in the Scheduled Tribes list prepared by the Government. The Government has prepared the Scheduled Tribe list based on the studies conducted during the colonial period. This area of studies has been, hence, neglected so far. In this context, the establishment of the Department of Tribal Studies in Kannada University assumes importance.

The Department of Tribal Studies has come into being to shoulder many important responsibilities. One of the primary responsibilities has been to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Tribes. In this context we need to undertake micro study of each community from the economic, social and cultural perspectives in a scientific manner. The following are some of the major projects taken up by the Department, so far:

• Giriseeme-the Tribal village: the buildings are modeled on various tribal hamlets of Karnataka which houses the Department of Tribal Studies.
• Tribal Museum: To narrate and document the changing life of tribal’s.
• Audio-video documentation: the department has a collection of 242 hours of audio and 70 hours of video documentation containing the Oral epics of various tribes, their rituals, their customs, their dance and other art forms.
• Tribal Epic Series: Documenting the 13 Tribal epics and publication of 11epics so far.
• Tribal Studies Series: Four books have been published in this series.
• Budakattu Adhyayana journal: published since 2003 half yearly.