Rituals, Resilience and Identity: An Ethnographic Analysis of the Irulas of South India

This study investigates the life-cycle rituals of the Irula community of Attappadi, South India, with a focus on birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and in-formed by ritual theory, political ecology, and indigenous studies, the analysis examines how these practices sustain social reproduction, ecological regulation, and cultural identity. The findings demonstrate that Irula rituals not only embody cosmological meanings but also adapt to historical transformations, including colonial forest regulations and contemporary state inter-ventions in health and education. By highlighting the interplay of continuity and adaptation, the article shows how ritual resilience contributes to the community’s negotiation of marginality, cultural rights, and modernity. The study offers comparative insights into indigenous knowledge systems and the dynamics of ritual practice in the Global South.