The Forest department has immortalised a Cholanaikan tribal leader who was trampled to death by an elephant in the deep forests of Nilambur on Republic Day last year. The statues of Mathan and his wife Karikka stand tall at Nedumkayam, near Karulai, Nilambur.
The decision of the Forest department to honour Mathan, the former Cholanaikan Moopan who lived in Mancheeri hamlet deep inside the Karulai forest, is being widely appreciated. This is the first statue of a tribal person to be installed by the department.
“Honouring Mathan and his wife Karikka is like honouring the entire Cholanaikan tribe, one of the few hunter-gatherer tribes in the country and the only tribal community in Asia that continues to live in rock-cave shelters,” said P.N. Anas, an overseas journalist on a visit to Nedumkayam.
Five weeks’ work
The statues in cement were sculpted three months ago by Prince, who took more than five weeks to finish the work. Mathan and Karikka are shown standing atop large intertwined tree roots made of cement. A dog that accompanied Mathan and Karikka also finds a place in the tableau.
“The sculptor has done justice to the couple. Mathan’s smiling face comes to my mind on seeing this statue. I still remember the soft-spoken chieftain’s interaction with our group when we visited him at Mancheeri a few years ago,” said Mr. Anas.
The statue portrays Mathan as wearing his folded lungi, with a large basket on his back and holding his staff on his left hand. One familiar with Mathan can never mistake the statue for anyone else.
A plaque erected by the side says a few sentences about the Cholanaikan tribe who speaks a mixture of Kannada, Malayalam, and Tamil.
Museum on the anvil
Divisional Forest Officer P. Praveen said a museum too was being planned to showcase the life and culture of the tribespeople of Nilambur. “It will be an exclusive one for Nilambur and its tribal culture,” said Mr. Praveen.
The Forest department spent about ₹7 lakh to erect Mathan’s statue. The couple were special guests at the Republic Day celebrations held in New Delhi in 2005. Karikka now stays at Mancheeri in the company of their dog.
