Maternal lineage of Koraga tribe aligns with North Dravidian Linguistic affinity: Study

MANGALURU: A study conducted by the researchers on the maternal genome of Koragas shows that the U1 haplogroup (genetic classification or ancestral grouping within a population) found in this tribe acts as a tracer dye for its linguistic lineage.

The study by Jaison Jeevan Sequeira, Mohammed S Mustak and Kadengodlu Vinuthalakshmi, from department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University, Ranajit Das from Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University), and George van Driem Institut für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Bern, Bern, Switzerland was published in Frontiers in Genetics recently.

Jaison Jeevan Sequeira said that the presence of West Asian U1 when viewed along with historical linguistics leads to a hypothesis that Koraga represents a mother tongue retained by a vanquished population group that fled southward at the demise of the Indus civilisation as opposed to a father tongue, associated with a particular paternal lineage. “The Koragas are a unique population. Their genome informs us about at least two crucial timescales of the past. The maternal gene pool dates back to the Late Pleistocene, around 16000 years ago and the paternal gene pool goes back further to the pre-LGM era (Last Glacial Maximum period was a time when many areas that are now barren deserts were wetter about 25-30,000 years ago) when the autochthonous paternal lineages formed in the Indian subcontinent. Koraga language shares inherited grammatical features with North Dravidian languages. A linguistic similarity with Brahui which is 2000 km away in Pakistan, “ he said.

Prof Mustak MS, chairman, department of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University said, “These ancient tribes serve as a good proxy in the absence of ancient DNA from south India”.

Dr George van Driem, a renowned linguist said “The ethnolinguistic complexity of Indian populations presents a prehistorical puzzle which is fascinating to piece together”.

The Koragas are mainly found in parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts of Karnataka, Kasaragod district of Kerala, and in small numbers in adjoining districts of Shivamogga and Kodagu in Uttara Kannada. According to the 2011 Census, 16,376 Koragas were living in these states. Between 1991 and 2011, there was a 10% decrease in the number of individuals in Karnataka. They are one of the poorest and most marginalised populations in South Kanara. They are mostly seasonal labourers, weave baskets, cradles, and winnowing trays, and collect firewood and honey from nearby forests.
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