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Badaga language
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The Badaga language(Kannada:??? ????) is a southern Dravidian language spoken by approximately 250,000 people (the Badagas) in the Nilgiri Hills in Southern India. It is known for its retroflex vowels.
The word Badaga refers to the Badaga language as well as the Badaga community/tribe. The Badaga language is also called Badugu by native speakers. The people in the community/tribe are called Badugu or Baduguru by native speakers.
Origin of the Badagas The badagas have been considered to be of dravidian origin because the language spoken is Dravidian but it is also disputed that their customs, cultural aspects are distinct and not closely related to other Ethnic Groups hence their origins are in debate.
Natives of the Nilgiris Of late the theory put forth by leading scholars have strongly criticised the migration theory and have said that the badagas are natives of the Nilgiris. Philology states that in the beginning languages existed without scripts and only later scripts were developed. Hence this seems to be a justification that the badagas were completely an indigenous people due to the absence in their script, but an ancient indigenous group would have a higher population or would have been completely extinct which questions the validity of this theory. With regard to religion, prior to converting to Hinduism the badagas were nature worshippers, even today worship stones with nature being a central theme can be found in the Nilgiris, Nature worship suggests that the badagas like the ancient Greeks and the Egyptians were an ancient ethnic group.
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