The children of Gollarahatti at Gerumaradi in Tarikere taluk dread shoes. Strange as it may seem, it is because coming into even bare minimum contact with a pair of shoes is seen as a “sin” and means going through a purification ritual before they can enter their habitat.
The residents of this village were in the news recently after they closed two temples following the entry of a Dalit to the habitat. Like in many Gollarahattis (settlements where Golla community lives), several customs put women and children to hardships. The girls and women here have to remain outside their habitat during menstruation. Women stay put in thatched huts for weeks with newborn babies just after childbirth.
