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Soliga, also spelled Sholaga and Shōlaga, is an ethnic group of India. Its members inhabit the Biligiriranga Hills and associated ranges in southern Karnataka, mostly in the Chamarajanagar and Erode districts of Tamil Nadu. Many are also concentrated in and around the B.R. Hills in Yelandur and Kollegal Taluks of Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka. The Soliga speak Sholaga, which belongs to the Dravidian family. A scheduled tribe, they have a population of around 20,000 individuals. The soliga people of the biligirirangana betta (BR Hills) have captured the imagination of early travellers . Their first mention in written history dates back to the early nineteenth century expenditions to the region sidde gowda, asokliga elder from bedaguli podu, nestled among the moist deciduous forests in the northern parts of BR Hills, recollects an old tale, almost a legend now among the soliga people, the tale of a god-like man wearing bili batte (white clothes; could indicate mordent clothing) who came on a horse followed by several people. Perhaps, this is the only remaining memory among the soliga people of a journey undertaken by a Scottish doctor around 200 years ago. Francis Buchanan left us a journal of his notice from passage through BR Hills in October 1800, perhaps the first ever written record (in English) of the soliga people. Soligas grow ragi and collect and sell nontimber forest produce such as honey and amla for their livelihoods. |
