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((The forest on) the big mountains are all called beṭṭaga:ḍu. You fi nd
evergreen forest s there, shola forest s , grassland , it’s all there, that’s why
it’s called beṭṭaga:ḍu. There’s even dry forest there. There are lots of
trees of all types.)
Based on the JS’s stament, and on the discussions to follow, it would be inaccu-
rate to suggest that doḍḍa ka:nu , saṇṇa ka:nu , beṭṭa bo:ḷi or even ‘dry forest’ are all
‘kinds of’ beṭṭa:ga:ḍu. Instead, beṭṭa:ga:ḍu should be thought of as a category that
cross-cuts all the others; thus, while doḍḍa ka:nu ‘ evergreen forest ’ can occur both
on mountains and on fl at land, only that part of the evergreen forest that grows on a
mountain slope is subsumed under the label beṭṭa:ga:ḍu. The same can be said of
the ‘dry forest’ that JS mentions.
5.3.3 (Doḍḍa) ka:nu ka:ḍu
The term ka:nu ka:ḍu , which is more properly referred to as the doḍḍa ‘big’ ka:nu
ka:ḍu , is usually glossed by biologists visiting the region as an ‘ evergreen forest ’.
The following is an extract from the second landscape elicitation session; BG is
asked by MRM and the author to describe ka:nu ka:ḍu in as much detail as
possible:
Extract VI (S)
(BG) Doḍḍa giḍa ja:ga:dalli...adu ka:nu ka:ḍu. Beṭṭa:da me:le ka:nu
beḷeda:du, caḷi ja:sti alli.
(Where you fi nd big trees...that’s the ka:nu ka:ḍu. It grows on moun-
tains, it’s very cold there)
(MRM) Kambaḷi gadde ka:nu endale doḍḍa ka:nu namaga hesaruva:si anta
ka:nu. I: buraḍe benga:liye la:sṭ ... adu la:sṭ endale, heccu kaḍime
allinda eṇṭu kilomi:ṭar hattu kilom:ṭar tanaka biri (ka:nu ka:ḍu irutte).
( Kambaḷi gadde ka:nu is a doḍḍa ka:nu. That’s our prototypical ka:nu.
This < PLACE NAME? > is the last (furthest extent). From there you only
get ka:nu ka:ḍu for about eight or ten kilometres.)
(AS) Ella onde: ka:ḍu?
(Is it all a single forest?)
(MRM) Onde: ka:ḍu..alli ḍiva:iḍ irutte. Idu kambaḷi gadde ka:nu, idu bandu illi...
gombegallu ka:nu, doḍḍa sampige ka:nu, cikka sampige ka:nu, i: tara
alliye ḍiva:iḍ a:girutte, ka:ḍu ka:ḍu hesaru. Andare so:la beḷedira:du,
alliye doḍḍadu.
(It’s a single forest...but divided up. You have kambaḷi gadde ka:nu , and
then... gombegallu ka:nu , doḍḍa sampige ka:nu , cikka sampige ka:nu ,
it’s divided up like that, into different forest names. So where the so:la
grows, that’s doḍḍa ka:nu .)
5 Landscape Terms in Solega