Location: Punnaiyapuram Village, Tenkasi District, Tamil Nadu, India
Organizers:
Punnaiyapuram Village Pastoral Community and Tamil Nadu Federation of Pastoral Peoples Sangams (TFPPS)
The Western Ghats Thenpandi Hill Cattle Traditional Cattle Run Festival is an annual traditional cultural and spiritual event of the local pastoral community of Punnaiyapuram village in the Western Ghats region of Tamil Nadu. The cattle run is closely associated with the community’s indigenous beliefs, customary practices, and collective worship traditions that have been maintained for generations.
Every year, nearly 4,000 indigenous hill cattle belonging to local pastoral families participate in this unique community-led festival. The event serves as an important occasion for celebrating pastoral heritage, strengthening community bonds, and honoring the deep relationship between people, livestock, rangelands, and nature.
The festival also highlights the importance of indigenous livestock breeds, traditional grazing systems, and the contribution of pastoral communities to biodiversity conservation, sustainable land management, and local livelihoods. It provides an opportunity to raise awareness about pastoral rights, including grazing rights under the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
Under the theme “Protecting the Pastoral Way of Life in the Western Ghats,” the event seeks to promote recognition of pastoralism as a living cultural heritage and a sustainable livelihood system.
Objectives:
- Celebrate and preserve the heritage of Thenpandi Hill Cattle.
- Safeguard traditional pastoral knowledge and cultural practices.
- Promote indigenous livestock breeds and sustainable grazing systems.
- Raise awareness about pastoral rights and conservation of common lands.
- Strengthen solidarity among pastoral communities.
Phone: +91 96775 17899
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