case study on a village named Devapattu situatted near Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu

1. Devapattu
Devapattu is a village situated near the banks of the river Manimuttar.
It falls under Sivaganga District and Karaikudi Taluk.
It houses around 1000 people. It consists of Chinna
Devapattu, Devapattu, Koilpatti and
Mangampunjai.
Devapattu Local Language is Tamil.
Devapattu Village Total population is 1298
and number of houses are 329. Female
Population is 52.4%. Village literacy rate is
74.3% and the Female Literacy rate is 35.8%.
Net study
Census Parameter Census Data
Total Population 1298
Total No of Houses 329
Female Population % 52.4 % ( 680)
Total Literacy rate % 74.3 % ( 965)
Female Literacy rate 35.8 % ( 465)
Scheduled Tribes Population % 0.0 % ( 0)
Scheduled Caste Population % 4.8 % ( 62)
Working Population % 40.4 %
Child(0 -6) Population by 2011 145
Girl Child(0 -6) Population % by
2011
49.7 % ( 72)
The major crops grown in devapattu are: rice, ragi,
plantain tree and gram varieties.
A farmer’s household usually consist of 5-8
members. If it is a wealthy household it would
consist of maids and labors who help out with the
chores and farming. The monthly income of a
farmer would be about 5000- 10000 rupees. Most of
the groceries and food are grown and manufactured
at home itself.
A lake in the village is the source of water for
farming, cooking, washing and bathing.
Sushmitha sivanathan

2. Devapattu
Net study
Pongal is a festival celebrated all over Tamil Nadu
in the month of January.
Pongal is the festival of harvest and hence it is
grandly celebrated in agricultural villages.
On the morning of the festival families from every
household come together at the nearest at the
Andarnatchi Amman Temple, where they cook
their first pot of Pongal as an offering for the sun
god, thanking for the sun and rainfall that allowed
for a good harvest.
Later in the evening, every household cooks their
own pot of Pongal in celebration of the harvest .
The next day is celebrated as
matu pongal, for which
Pongal is given as an
offering to the cows owned by the household
thanking for the surplus amount of dairy.
Jalikattu thiruvila is game of bull taming
celebrated in the months of February and march
A pooja and offering is made to the sangili
karupan in the night before and the morning of
the day of the games. This is to request the
sangili karupan to stand side by side with the
Andarnatchi Amman and protect the players
and viewers of the game.
Seer (offerings) are made to the Andarnatchi
Amman at the Andarnatchi Amman temple
where another series of pooja is performed,
after which the games shall begin. It is custom
that the first bull entering the bull ring for the
taming must be the bull raised by the temple
authority itself.
Sushmitha sivanathan

3. Devapattu
Net study
Agriculture is the major source of income for
most habitants of this village. And its done
with celebration and care.
The bulls brought for the game of jallikatu
play an important roll in this. It is those bulls
that are used for the ploughing of the land.
This was the traditional method before the
introduction of technology and machinery.
Every farmland needs irrigation although
many improved and better ways of irrigation
is available now, Devapattu choses to follow
the traditional method.
The water from the lake it transported by
surface irrigation. A small canal constructed
out of stone is used as the opening for all the
channels of water. The opening is used to
control the flow of water from the lake into
the channel.
Not just irrigation, harvesting is also done in
the traditional method- manually. The
traditionally used tools such as sickle, spade
and etc. are used.
After the harvest, the rice grains are and the
rice straw both are transported to their homes
where the grains will be stored in a storage
and the straw will be used as fodder for the
cows.
The crops in the process of growth.
The crops
fully grown,
fresh and
ready for
harvest.
The field after the harvest of the
crops. This will be left bare for a
few months until the soil
regains its nutrition
The indigenous tools used for harvest
such as the knife, sickle and etc.
A farmer working in the
fields- checking if any
damages have occurred after
a heavy rain.
The opening of the surface
irrigation that direct the
water from the lake to the
channels. This is called the
madda in tamil by the
villages.
Sushmitha sivanathan

4. The zoning of a farmer’s household is such a way that
allows them to have sufficient storage and living space. But
in cases of a not-well-off farmer either the living space is
reduced or the storage space is eliminated.
A large veranda is provided so that it can accommodate
family gatherings and sufficient space for sapadu panthi (
an out door dining, when there is a lot of people). This is
also a place for socializing.
A storage space in the veranda- detached from the house is
a used to store the grains after harvest. These storage
spaces are divided into smaller spaces called the macchu.
The macchu is built overhead in order to prevent damage
during floods. The interior of the macchu is given a fine
layer of puthu soil (soil from termites mound) in order to
gain a smooth surface finish.
A community storage space is provided in the villagers for
those households that do not have a storage space. This is
called a kalanjiom.
The foyer is a space that also allows socializing. During
gathering, it is custom that the men a provided seating in
the foyer and veranda while the women are provided
seating in the living room.
Devapattu
Net study
foyer
Living room
room
room
veranda
storage
toilet
bath
kitchen
garden
tholuvom
The kitchen is usually placed In the backyard along
with the tholuvom- the housing for the cows and
goats owned.
The bath and toilet are place separately. A well will
also be provided near the bath, which can be used
for washing and cooking, Some households will
have a small thotom/garden where some vegetable,
fruits and herbs needed for cooking is grown.
As it is a house constructed in the late seventies, it a
completely load bearing structure. No columns or
beams are used as the support structure. In place of this
large (karungal) black stones are used.
Karungal is used to give a strong foundation for the
structure. The walls are of brick and mortar.
Sushmitha sivanathan