Hakki Pikki community

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About Hakki Pikki tribal community-

• The Hakki Pikki are a semi-nomadic tribe who have travelled and lived in various parts of the country over the past few decades. 
• According to SPPEL (Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages) established by Ministry of Education (Government of India), ‘Hakki-Pikki’ is one of the major tribal communities in Karnataka.
• In Kannada, the word ‘Hakki’ stands for ‘bird’ and ‘Pikki’ stands for the verb ‘to catch’. Therefore, the community is known as the ‘bird catcher,’ which is their traditional occupation.
• The Hakki-Pikki community migrated from the northern India population, which is about 8,414 (2001 census), and is found in Karnataka.
• According to the 2011 census, the population of Hakki-Pikki is 11,892. After their trade of bird hunting was outlawed, they were rehabilitated in the 1970s.
• They began doing odd jobs like working in fields and sharpening knives and sickles by riding around towns on bicycles after bird-hunting was banned. They also sell the herbal remedies they extract.
• The Hakki-Pikkis are said to be a matriarchal group.
• The population is predominantly found in Shivamogga, Davanagere and Mysuru districts of Karnataka.
• Despite being surrounded by Dravidian languages and living in southern India, the community speaks an Indo-Aryan language. Their mother tongue was designated ‘Vaagri’ by scholars.
• They communicate in ‘Vaagri’ at home but speak in Kannada when conducting daily business.

• UNESCO has listed ‘Vaagri’ as one of the endangered languages.

• In Karnataka, the Hakki-Pikkis are renowned for their indigenous medicines. 
• The community resided in the dense jungles for a long time and created its own plant and herb-based medicine systems.
• The Hakki-Pikkis have traditional medical knowledge that is in demand in several African countries. Therefore, community members have been travelling to the continent for the last many years.

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