Impact of Mass Media on the Culture and Tradition of Irula Tribe in Tamil

Nadu, India
Dr. Janet Mary
Lecturer, Department of Journalism and Visual Communication
Sathyabama University, Chennai
Abstract
This paper endeavours to examine the influence of mass media on the Culture and Tradition
of Irula tribes of Nigiris of Tamil Nadu. In the past fifty years or so the media influence has
grown exponentially with the advance of technology in communication. We live in society
that depends on information and communication tokeep moving in the right direction and do
our daily activities like work, entertainment, health care, education, personal relationships
and so on. Irulas is an ethnic group of India. Early twentieth century anthropological
literature classified the Irulas under the Negrito ethnic group. With the advent of effective
mass media and communication Irulas are very much influenced by the power of media in all
spheres of life. It has come to prove that mass media and communication have a great impact
on the Irula community of Nilgiris region of Tamil Nadu.

Keywords: Irulas, Mass Media and Communication, culture, impact of media.

Introduction
The world, as it is stated today, is in the midst of a media revolution. Print, audio, video and
film have become more pervasive than ever before. The world is encircled by communication
satellites and both rich and poor, although not equally, are linked to a single emerging media
world. The last few years have seen a tremendous growth of interest in witnessing how the
media work, how they affect people’s daily lives, and how the public might ensure the
fulfillment of the media’s staggering potential. More importantly, the media is also referred
to, as “the Fourth Realm of the Estate”, that is the fourth pillar in support of the essential
tripod of government: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary.
Thus Media has become a powerful weapon in the modern society. There has been a
continuous debate about the more or less powerful effects and influence of the media on the
public (Klapper (1960), Bryant and Zillmann (1986) and Bradac (1989), This power is not
restricted to the influence of the media on their audiences, but also involves the role of the
media within the broader framework of the social, cultural, political, or economic power
structures of society. Media power is generally symbolic and persuasive, in the sense that the
media primarily have the potential to control to some extent the minds of readers or viewers,
but not directly their actions. The traditional role of mass media as defined by the scholars is
to inform, educate, entertain, and to persuade the people. The media bring change in
behaviour and attitude of the people by emphasizing certain issues (Altheide (1985).
Meanwhile, with the revolutionary progress of mass communication, an unprecedented
opportunity has been created to share and exchange information for knowledge and social
change (McCombs and Shaw, 1972; MacKuen and Coombs, 1981; Iyengar and Kinder,
1987). Newer media technologies, from portable media such as the Walkman, cellular

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phones, handheld TVs, and wireless portable computers, make it possible to carry media into
places and spaces of everyday life hitherto closed to media and culture. Media serve the
individuals and society from different perspectives. Harold Lasswell (1948) wrote that the
mass media serve three major functions for the society, such as: surveillance of the
environment, correlation of the various parts of the society, and transmission of social
heritage from one generation to the next. Later, Denis McQuail (2000) added a fourth
category which he called mobilization, or the ability of the mass media to bring people into
particular processes of change and development.

Media also help the individuals on information, personal identity, integration and social
interaction. It is within the family that tastes about media products and notions of appropriate
behaviour with media are formed. Already, families converse more via email and SMS than
they do in person. Tweets and blogs are now the official lingua franca of conversation and
debate. The number of Facebook users in India has risen from 0.7 million in 2008 to 3
million in 2009 and 13 million today. With Facebook and Twitter and the like the traditional
relationship between political authority and popular will has been upended, making it easier
for the powerless to collaborate, co-ordinate and give voice to their concerns. In this way the
media play a role of political accountability and checks-and-balances, keeping an eye on
public officials and institutions and constantly challenging them via reports, interviews and
debates.
This research is an attempt to analyse the impact of social media on the customs and
traditions of the Irula tribe living in Nilgiris. It shows how the modern changes in social and
cultural life-styles of Irulas which has been created by modernization and urbanization has
brought major impact in some parts of Irulas life. This research is a try in the approach of
giving importance to the slow changes of the tradition to modernization that in some way
destroys the heritage of tribal culture.
The tribe Irula is found mainly in the southern and eastern slopes of the Nilgiri hill. They are
generally considered to have drifted the Nilgiris from the hilly terrainis of Attapadi and
Siruvani valleys in Kerala and the adjoining Anaikatti area in Coimbatore.
Impact of Mass Media on Culture
Mass media has increasingly influenced the development of a community. Communities are
branded according to their cultural identity. In media language we refer to this aspect of
cultural identity as our situated culture. In other words culture is an oral one – it is passed on
and formed largely by intimate word-of-mouth communication. Since the mid-19 th century,
we have come to live not only in a situated culture, but in a culture of mediation. The press,
film and cinema, television and radio and more recently, the Internet, have developed to
supply larger scale means of public communication. So now our situated culture exists within
a much wider mediated world. The introduction of the term ‘global village’ in the 1960s
illustrates how much our world has changed and the change is due almost entirely to the
development of mass communications. Culture can be defined as the beliefs, values, or other
frameworks of reference by which we make sense of our experiences. It also concerns how
we communicate these values and ideas. Mass media are centrally involved in the production
of modern culture. Media production, media texts and media reception are like a series of

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interlinked circuits. What is produced is influenced by cultural values; how the texts are
formed and represented is influenced in the same way and the readings of the texts are also
subject to both abstract and particular cultural viewpoints.
Historical Background of Irulas
Irulas live in two south Indian states – Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu they live in the
Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Erode district. In Kerala they live in the Palakkad district and
Attapady and Walayarpanchayats. An estimated three million Irula people live in India.Irula
tribe is one of the six primitive tribal groups in Tamil Nadu. The term “Irula”, used for
centuries, is thoughtto refer to either the dark complexions of the people, or to their spotting
in forests assilhouettes. The name Irulasare derieved from the Tamil word “Irul” meaning
dark which refers to their skin nature. The name Irula means “people of darkness” This could
refer to their dark-coloured skin or to the fact that all important event traditionally took place
in the darkness of night. The Irula people are considered indigenous and DNA tests reveal
their close Ancestry to African populations (Watkins et al. 2005). Early 20th century
anthropological literature classified the Irulas under the Negrito ethnic group. Unlike the
tribes in the Andaman Islands who have retained their language, Irulas in Nilgiris have
adopted the local regional languages such as Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.Until recently, the
Irula lived in forestsand eked out an income by bartering or selling honey, wax and firewood
to local villages inexchange for village products. They obtained food by hunting for
vegetation and wild animalsin the forests. The 1976 Forest Protection Bill made the Irula
lifestyle illegal, forcing movesinto villages of mud huts with straw roofs and dirt floors.
Cultural Background
The Irulas are sub-divided into: Poongkaru, KudagarKalkatti, Vellaka, Devala and
Koppillingam. Marriage ties are rather loose. The Irula marriage and funeral ceremonies are
simple. Marriages are followed by feast and dance. Irulas are said to worship Vishnu in their
own temple. Their temples are not imposing, consisting as they do circles of rough stones
each enclosing an upright one with iron tridents fixed in the ground. There are many
traditions concerning their power over wild beasts. They are accredited with being able to
tame tigers and the fable goes that the women when in the woods leave their children in the
care of a tiger. The Irulas in the eastern slopes are legendarily associated with the Rangasamy
cult, a virile religious and cultural event centred on the northern slopes of the hills, used to be
expert honey-collectors and hunters.
Traditionally, the main occupation of the Irulas has been snake and rat-catching. They also
work as labourers in the fields of the landlords during sowing and harvesting seasons or in the
rice mills. Fishing is also a major occupation. To combat rat menace in the rice fields Irula
men use a traditional earthen pot fumigation method.
Communication System
The tribal people in the areas of Nilgiris usually receive information from outside through
inter-personal or oral communication and mass communication.
They receive the messages through certain channels like (1) Persons visiting their place, (2)
Local people going out of the area and coming back as either migrants or commuters or from

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visiting towns and other places for marketing and for other business. (3) Government officials
and extension agents who visits the area frequently on official purpose. (4) Postal and
telegraphic communication (5) Mass media. The large majority of the tribal people are access
to inter-personnel or oral communication which is much effective when compared with that
of mass media devices. In a tribal settlement the Gossiping Centres and the public meeting
places are the main information providing centres. In such places the information flows from
the word of mouth (oral). Within a tribal village the information spreads through public
announcements, intra and inter-group communication. Generally the Socio-ceremonial
messages are carried by themselves and inform to their close kith and kin. In recent times
some of the literate elite among them are using the printing media also to communicate the
messages relating to wedding ceremony. The UlavarChandai (weekly market) is considered
to be the most effective communication channel to the tribal people in the agency area. It is
the main marketing, social gathering place and news disseminating centre for the tribals.
The mass media is classified into (1) Folk media and (2) Modern media. Among these, the
folk media items are more access to the tribals of the area, when compared with that of
modern media items. Folk media items are very much popular in the area even today. The
main forms of folk media are drama, folk songs, story telling and dance. Occasionally the
tribal council of a particular village organize the dramas of both traditional and modern types
collectively by raising contributions.
Aim of the Study
The main aim of the study is to examine the influence of Mass Media on the rich culture and
enduring tradition of Irulas in the district of Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.
Objectives
a) To examine the culture of Irulas in the region of Nilgiris.
b) To find out the communication pattern of Irulas in the region of Nilgiris.
c) To access the media exposure of Irulas in Nilgiris.
d) To find out the impact of mass media in their day-to-day life.

Data Collection
For this research data were collected through observation and interviews.

Scope of the study

The Irulas is one of the oldest tribes in India which is very rich in its culture and tradition.
Since the term tradition and culture is very broad and comprehensive this research would
primarily focus on aspects related to communication pattern, media exposure and their
lifestyle. This research will bring out the effectiveness of the communication pattern of this
tribe. The main findings will be to focus on what participants do to create the culture in which
they live, and how the culture develops over time and is there any change in their culture.

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Table: 1 Respondents exposure to folk media

S.No No. of folk media No. of respondents Percentage in total

items seen

1 Nil 32 16.16

2 1-2 53 27.17

3 3-5 61 30.81

4 6-8 22 11.11

5 9-10 19 9.60
6 11 – above 11 5.55
Total 198 100

From the table it is noticed that 83.84% respondents were seen the folk media items during
study period.
Irulas Exposure to Modern Media
The modern media of social communication to which the tribal people of Irulas are exposed
to that significant are films, radio and newspaper. The Table – 2 explains the respondents
exposure tofilm media. Out of the total sample 98 (49.49%) of them seen 1-5 films, 37
(18.69%) seen 6-10 films. 12 (6.06%) seen 11-15 ad another 12 seen 16-20 films and 3
((1.52%) of them seen more than 20 films, the rest 36 (18.18%) respondents have not seen a
single film.
From the table it is noticed that 81.82% of the respondents are exposure to film media. The
tribal people treat this media as an entertainment. Majority of them cannot understand the
themes of several films they have seen. In general the tribal youth are much more exposure to
film media. Even the tribal women folk are also access to this media.
The Table: 2 shows the number of radio owning families, radio listeners and non-listeners
among the respondents. Out of the total 198 sample households, only 34 (17.16%) families
are owning the radio sets. A total of 112 (56.57%) respondents are the radio listeners and the
rest (43.43%) are non-listeners. Among the total radio listeners, 78 (39.41%) of them do not
own radio sets, but they listen a few radio programmes from their neighbours who own the
radios. It is clear that 56.47% of the respondents are exposure to radio media.

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In general a lot of tribal people do not hear radio even during their leisure time. They do not
show any interest to sit down and listen to it. Only the head of the household and a few other
members of a particular family listen some of the radio programmes, from which that
particular household owns the radio set. Most of the radio listeners give much importance to
the programmes like songs and dramas.
Table: 2 Respondents exposure to radio

S.No. Number of Radio Radio Listeners Non-Listeners % to total

owning houses

1 2 12 2 1.01

2 4 14 21 10.51

3 13 44 17 8.59

4 9 25 19 9.59

5 6 17 27 13.64
Total 34 112 86 43.43

Table: 3 Respondents Exposure to Newspaper

S No. Subscribe to Don’t Read Can’t read % in total

Newspaper subscribe occasioally

1 - 14 1 13 6.57

2 - 35 4 31 15.66

3 2 59 18 41 20.20

4 - 44 2 42 21.21

5 - 44 1 43 21.72

Total 2 196 26 170 86.86

Table: 3 shows the number of newspaper subscribers and newspaper readers among the
sample respondents. Only two respondents are newspaper subscribers. They are subscribing
the regional Tamil language daily newspaper ThinaThanthi. These two are the regular
newspaper readers among the selected respondents. However, a total of 26 (13.14%)
respondents stated that they read the newspaper occasionally whenever they visit the libraries
which are situated at the mandal headquarters. They read it in the local library. The
newspaper readers usually passes some messages to others (non-readers) in their concerned
villages through the process of interpersonal communication. Even most of the literate tribals
are not access to the newspaper media. In general tribal people are very less exposure to this
media.

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When the respondent were asked, do they own a TV set at their home, it was found that
out of 100 respondents 91.12% of people said that they have T.V at their homes and 8.08%
said that they do not have one at their home. Therefore, it was found that majority of Irulas
have T.V set at home either given by the government of bought by them.
If they have TV sets, there is aDTH connection available? In response to this question, it
was found that out of 100 respondents 50.80% have DTH connections at their homes.
Whereas the rest do not have one. The question also follows with another question that do
you have cable connections at your home and it was found from the survey that 58% of
people do not have cable connection.
What are the categories of programme they watch on TV? In response to this question, it
was found that out of 100 respondents 100% watch news channel on Sun-TV, 70% watch
entertainment of sports and cultural programmes. Only 37% watch sports channel.
Do they have access to the mobile phones? It was found that most of them have access to
mobile phone. 98% have access to the mobile phones while 2% do not have mobile phones.
The new media in terms of mobile phone has reached in a good number to the tribe.
The question on how much they spend on mobile phones, It was found that 50-60% spend
300-500 rupees per month on mobile while the rest spend Rs. 1000 and above monthly.
Do they access Internet? It was found from the survey that in the high ranges of Nilgiris the
people do not have access to Internet they come down to the plains for any browsing. To the
question that do they access to internet it was found that 35% have access to internet whereas
30% do not have access to Internet, whereas the rest access to internet only sometimes.
How often they access to Internet? It was found that most of the Irulas under study have
access to the internet. In answer to the question regarding access to the internet it was seen
that 11.2% of the respondent access to internet on the regular basis whereas 65.5% of the
respondents rarely access to internet and reaming of the people have never accessed to
Internet.
Summary of Findings
This research was done to survey the impact of mass media communication on the culture
and tradition of Irulas in the region of Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu.
It was found in the course of time the tribe has undergone certain changes due to effective
mass media communication. As they live in nuclear type families the easily communicate
with each other. With the advent of cable television, cinemas, television, Internet and Mobile
phones they could connect with others easily and help them to adopt to the new ideas and
development in the society at large. It was found that nearly 45 per cent of the people in the
region are agriculturists. Their main source of income is farming. Whereas nearly 22 percent
of the people are small businessmen and 25 per cent is working in catching rats in the fields.
It was found that most of the people earn between 5,000 to 20,000 Rupees as their monthly
income. The survey also found out that in all most of the Irulas’ houses they have T. V. set
and more than 25 per cent of the people have DTH connections at their houses. Most of them
are well-versed with the new technologies and they are quite familiar with the recent

7
developments in the country concerning films and sports. Although the economic statuses of
the Irulas are not very high but still most of them are not very rich but still they have at least
one mobile cell phone in their houses. On the mobile phone most of them spend 200 to 500
rupees monthly. Therefore, one can say that they are quite good access to the mobile phone in
their area. Mobile phone has become part of their daily life. Although the area is quite good
access to the T.V., DTH., facilities, mobile cell phone accessibility but the most important
new media Internet is not yet accessible to the region. In the region almost all the people read
newspaper but it was found that only 40 per cent buy newspaper. Since they have T.V set at
home it was not necessary to buy newspaper every day according to many. The research also
found that the people are quite well aware about the recent schemes launched by the
government of Tamil Nadu. They come to know about these various schemes through
newspapers and television programmes. Thus after this research it can be said that mass
media has a great impact on the Irulas of Nilgiris region of Tamil Nadu.
Conclusion
Irulas of today do not depend very much on forest for their day-to-day needs. Most of them
do not even go for rat hunting which is their traditional business. Many are migrating to the
urban or semi-urban areas.
It is the inaccessibility of the area that accounts for the backwardness of the tribal especially
the higher terrain. Due to this reason development services do not really reach the remote
pockets. It is therefore suggested that construction of roads and communication system in
remote areas must receive priority. Easy and effective communication will certainly pave the
way for their progress and accelerate their contacts with outside world. While
industrialization and modernisation has its own significance, we also have to realize that the
tribal culture has to preserved, which has been buried in giving more attention to
modernisation.
Media has brought into open the innumerable achievements that are going on in the country.
Media has given the Irulas the power to reach out to the society as a whole. It can make
heroes out of ordinary men. The media has acted as a deterrent on many negative forces in
this society. Media has significantly promoted social causes like literacy, health management,
anti-dowry practices, discouraging female feticides, AIDS awareness etc. The effects of mass
media in this community is positive as well as negative. Media is a propeller as well as the
direction provider of the society. At the end the research concludes that mass media has very
much influenced the culture and tradition of Irulas in the region of Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu.

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