Migration, Urbanisation and Cultural Change Among The Toda Tribe Of The Nilgiris

Abstract

The Toda tribe of the Nilgiri hills represents one of the most distinctive indigenous communities of South India, whose cultural identity is historically anchored in pastoral traditions and ritual symbolism surrounding the buffalo. In recent decades, however, processes of migration and urbanisation have begun to transform the demographic, economic, and cultural landscape of the community. Urban exposure has also generated shifts in housing, language usage, and modes of subsistence, leading to a gradual decline in the transmission of their endangered language, Toda. Cultural change is thus manifested both in the erosion of ritual symbolism and in the reconfiguration of social organization, with hybrid forms of identity emerging between traditional pastoralist life and urban modernity. This study examines the interconnections of migration, urbanisation, and cultural change among the Todas, situating their experience within broader debates on tribal resilience, adaptation, and the future of indigenous knowledge systems.