Sandooka: An Online Living Museum Preserving Kodava Culture and Heritage
- Nitin Kushalappa
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
Virtual Museum
Sandooka – The Living Museum of Kodava Culture is a virtual (online) museum for Kodava heritage and culture. At present, there are over 60 stories across eleven categories on the museum website: Architecture, Arts and Crafts, Community Histories, Clothes and Jewellery, Cuisine, Customs and Rituals, Festivals, History of Coorg, Landscape, Literature and Folklore and Point of View. The website also has a glossary and a list of references, such as books and other websites. An outline map in the glossary indicates the five taluks of Kodagu and locates Kodagu in Karnataka and India.
The initiative to establish a Virtual Museum was taken by Rathi Vinay Jha (née Codanda), who retired as Secretary in the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. This museum was created under the leadership of the India Foundation for
the Arts (IFA) by a project team led by art historian and museum curator Lina Vincent, comprising author Nitin Kushalappa Mookonda P., who was in charge of research and coordination, and the designer duo Upasana Nattoji Roy and Saurav Roy.
The project team worked under the guidance of an advisory board comprising Rathi Vinay Jha, as the chairperson, eminent author and engineer Chepudira P. Belliappa, and entrepreneur-innovator Hemanth Satyanarayana. The project was primarily funded by Recaero India Pvt. Ltd.
Background
Kodagu was under various dynasties (Sangam rulers, Kadambas, Gangas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagar) and local Nayakas before it became a kingdom under the Haleri Rajas (c.1600-1834). In 1834, the British took over Kodagu and it became the Coorg province. Nearly a decade after India got independence, Kodagu, aka Coorg, was merged with the Vishal Mysore State. In 1973, Mysore State was renamed Karnataka.
The Kodavas were agriculturists and warriors native to Kodagu. They lived in the Western Ghats and had their own culture and language. Basically, being paddy cultivators, they hunted wild animals for protection and meat, and carried arms under various kings and lords who came to rule Kodagu. At first, a few of the Kodava leaders rose to become Nayakas and Palegaras. Later, prominent members of the community became administrators under the Rajas and the British. Many of the Kodavas joined the Indian defence forces under the British and after Independence. The Kodavas saw relative prosperity after they took up Coffee Planting.
Among the early lot to take up Western education, the Kodava community, however, preserved their heritage and followed their culture and religion. The Kodavas worship their ancestors (karana) as well as local village gods and goddesses (like Kaveramma, Igguthappa, Baithurappa, Povvadi Amma and Kad Aiyappa) and mainstream Hindu deities (such as Bhadra Kali, Chamundi and Mahadeva). The Kodavas believe in nature and have several sacred groves (deva kad) where hunting and tree-felling are prohibited.
Every household had a sandooka, colloquially pronounced as chandooka, in the past. Important documents and heirloom jewellery were stored in these wooden boxes. Now, with the advent of steel chests, almirahs, and bank lockers, the sandooka has made a quiet exit and is largely remembered nostalgically.
Today, some Kodavas have moved to Bangalore, Mysore and other cities in India. A few have moved abroad to settle in North America, the Middle East, Europe and other places. Sandooka is built to be an easily-accessible repository of information on Kodava culture and heritage meant to benefit the members of the community
spread across the world and others who are interested.
Museum Project
The project team to create the virtual museum was selected by an esteemed jury panel comprising Paul Abraham (Art Collector and Founder of Sarmaya), Nick Merriman (Chief Executive and Director, Horniman Museums and Gardens, London), Sara Ahmed (Founder, Living Waters Museum, Ahmedabad), Venu Vasudevan (Former Chief Secretary of Kerala and Director General of National Museum) and Hemanth Satyanarayana (Founder-CEO, Imaginate, VR/AR Firm), after stringently evaluating the submitted proposals, presentations and interviews from many teams across the country.
The content was reviewed by editorial advisors and domain experts, late Dr. Boverianda Nanjamma Chinnappa (author and folklorist), Dr. Kodira M Lokesh (former registrar, Professor and Kodava Cultural Studies Chair, at Mangalore University) and Dr. Chotteyandamada C. Sowmya Dechamma (Professor and head of the Centre for Comparative Literature, at Hyderabad University).
Kushalnagar-based former Professor Bacharaniyanda P Appanna, Air Marshal (retd.) Kodandera Nanda Cariappa, former dean of the Ponnampet forestry college Dr. Cheppudira G Kushalappa, Australian ethnomusicologist and professor Dr.
John Napier, Gonikoppa-based orthopaedic surgeon and wildlife photographer Dr. Bishan Monnappa Chottekamada, Canada-based food blogger Biddanda Shalini Nanda Nagappa, Major General (retd.) Kodandera Arjun Muthanna, who has authored books on the army, and many others contributed their expertise to the Project.
Many institutions such as the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Coorg Regiment, Field Marshal Cariappa and General Thimayya (FMCGT) Forum, Karnataka Kodava Sahitya Akademi, Kodava Samajas (such as in Mysore, Bangalore and Somwarpet), Vimor Museum of Living Textiles, newspapers (like the Star of Mysore, New Indian Express, Deccan Herald, Shakti, Poomale and Brahmagiri) and temple and village committees helped put together information to promote this labour of love.
Recent Developments
The Sandooka Museum is managed by the Sandooka Museum Trust (SMT). The trustees are Rathi Vinay Jha, C. P. Belliappa, fashion guru Prasad Bidapa, strategic advisor Seetha Chinnappa Sarwal, architect Dyan Belliappa, educator Babita Belliappa, author Savera Chengappa, anthropologist Amala Aiana and Nitin Kushalappa.
Sandooka has commissioned Dr. Nuchimaniyanda Sujatha Muthanna to document Kodava artefacts to be a part of the virtual museum. This second project involved gathering images and metadata of objects found in various collections in Kodagu (Coorg) and building the Sandooka Objects Repository website. This second website is to be launched shortly.
Sandooka documents the Kodava history and culture for young Kodavas and serves the purpose of being accessible anywhere in the world. The website also provides a platform for anybody with the relevant knowledge to share information. Sandooka invites submissions on Kodagu and the Kodavas, especially for its Point of View vertical, from the general public. Every entry that is accepted will be acknowledged and credited. For more details, you can
visit: https://sandookamuseum.org/
The views in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Kodagu Express. The author is solely responsible for the content.
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