1575.3.7 Hullu thoṭṭi, kari/benda ka:ḍu
Like oṭṭuga:ḍu and eḷa:vuga:ḍu , this is another example of a landscape type created
as a direct consequence of a human activity, namely burning in this case. Recognising
the unpredictable nature of fi re , the Solega have names for parts of a grassland that
are or are not burnt by a fi re.
Extract XV (S)
(BG) Hullu thoṭṭi endale, i: ka:ḍu bei.tidda:ga, ka:ḍu bendu bendu, pa:ḍiga
adara ishṭakave, bendu bendu ba:ṇe hullu, na:ralu hullu, ko:ḷi hullu, sã:ya,
matte i: jabbar hullu, matte i: hullella gu:ḍu maḍa:gi ku:tu e:ṭinalli kiccu
bidda:ga baga:rendu oitittalla. A:ga be:ya ja:ga:dalli bendoi.tittu. Be:ya
idda ja:ga:dalli be:ya ille. Adava hullu thoṭṭi endivẽ. Benda ja:ga kari,
benda ka:ḍu.
( Hullu thoṭṭi means, when you light a fi re in the forest, the fi re spreads
through the forest on its own. It burns all the ba:ṇe grass, na:ralu grass,
ko:ḷi grass, ferns , and the jabbar grass, and because these grasses grow in
clumps, the fi re burns through them really fast. The areas that the fi re went
through are burnt, The places that didn’t have fi re are not burnt. These (last)
are called hullu thoṭṭi. The burnt places are called kari , or benda ka:ḍu .)
5.3.8 Aḷḷa ka:ḍu/koḷḷa ka:ḍu
The many forest streams that fl ow through Solega territory are well known
to the people living there, regardless of whether they are seasonal or peren-
nial. The forests that grow alongside these watercourses are designated by
the terms aḷḷa ka:ḍu and koḷḷa ka:ḍu —in Kannada , the words aḷḷa and koḷḷa
can be glossed as ‘stream/rivulet’ and ‘a deep place, a depth, the cleft in a
rock, a cave, etc.’ [ 199 ] respectively.Extract XVI (K)
(AS) Aḷḷa ka:ḍu andare?
(What does aḷḷa ka:ḍu mean?)
(JV) Sṭre:ṭ nadi ho:gtade.
(A river goes straight (through it).)
(AS) Nadiya pakkadalli idda ka:ḍu?
(It’s the forest next to a river?)
(JS) Ã, solpa miks irtade fa:resṭ adu. Evargri:n tara miks. Aḷḷadalli mara:gaḷu
ḍra:i a:galla. Ella tara maragaḷu ful gri:n irutte ja:sti. Adu gotta:gatte,
akasma:t na:vu ondu bo:ḷi me:le ho:dare, ondu beṭṭa:da me:le ho:dare, adu
5.3 Landscape/Forest Types in Solega