16 4
...
...
(BG) Illi keḷaga bellatta murṭiyalli KKMna heḍati, solpa varsadalliye adu.
Ave:na ma:ḍtidda, maṭṭaga:ḍinalli geṇasina guḷiya agetidda... 11
(Down here in < PLACE NAME > the wife of KKM, she was only
young. What was she doing, she was digging for yams in the fl atland
forest ...)
In an unrecorded informal interview, MRM mentioned that these forests tend
to have a mix of big and small trees, of which the prominent species were honne
( Pterocarpus marsupium ) , matti ( Terminalia crenulata ), ta:re ( Terminalia bel-
lirica ) and ne:raḷe ( Syzygium cumini ). Rocks and grass are also commonly found
on guḍḍega:ḍu. This information is confi rmed by JS in the fi rst elicitation
session:
Extract XXV
(JS) doḍḍa ka:ḍu adu, mara miks irutte. matte baṇḍe solpa irutte
(It’s a big forest, there’s a variety of tree species. You also fi nd a few
boulders)
5.3.14 Dimba ka:ḍu
In the preceding discussion, it became apparent that within the Solega-dominated
biogeographical area, the distinction between hill/mountain forest and fl atland for-
est is a highly salient one, not only because of the obvious physical differences
between the two forest types, but also as a result of the very real dangers posed by
elephants in the latter habitat. As mentioned previously (see Extract XI and the
subsequent discussion), fl atland forests ( gaddega:ḍu or maṭṭa:ga:ḍu ) in the Solega
experience can occur both at elevation , and in the lowlands. While the low fl atland
forests form part of the orrega:ḍu/kutarega:ḍu/na:ḍu ka:ḍu macrohabitat, which
lies outside the traditional lands of the Solega, the fl atland forests at elevation are
very much within the male ka:ḍu/tho:pu ka:ḍu/ka:nu ka:ḍu macrohabitat inhabited
and utilised by the Solega.
In the following two extracts, all speakers agree that dimba ka:ḍu indicates fl at-
land forest s that occur at high altitudes. Some of the speakers were in fact residents
of the nearby po:ḍu ‘village’ called Keredimba ( kere ‘reservoir’ + dimba ), named
simply for being situated on a plot of fl at land next to a reservoir. Such dimba areas
are preferred by the Solega for habitation and agriculture, although they have the
disadvantage of being frequented by elephants in search of water in the dry season
(see Sect. 5.5 ).
(^11) BG goes on to tell the story of the wife of an acquaintance who was trampled to death by an
elephant while collecting yams in a fl atland forest.
5 Landscape Terms in Solega