Erulars

Erulars (Irulas), an aboriginal tribe of the Nilghiri Mountains, South India, of extremely dark complexion, as indicated by their name, which in Tamil means "black as night." They occupy the foot of the hills just below the Kurumbas, and in their physical appearance are intermediate between the Kurumbas and the Hindu Pariahs (low castes) of Madras. There are two classes, the Urali, or chief, and the Kurntali, or peasants, who raise a little corn scarcely sufficient for the daily wants of the tribe. The Erulars occupy an extremely low stage of culture, but although living in a promiscuous state the two classes always keep entirely aloof. Their language is a Tamil dialect mixed with Kanarese and Malayalam elements, and at the census of 1891 they numbered 41,000.