Disappearing tribe of traditional bear trainers

Report and Pictures by Prakash Katapadi
Bellevision Media Network

Udupi, 20 June 2010: During the summer season beginning from April till June the bear trainers originally hailing from Kolar make their annual visit to the coastal regions harnessing the bears and making them to dance in front of the houses in the villages or shops in the towns and selling talismans prepared out of the hair of the bear. These tribal people try to make a living by taking their bears around crowded streets and populated areas. Within three months these bear trainers try to earn as much as possible by taking their bears to different villages and towns and then return to their native colony in Kolar. With whatever earnings they had gathered during the summer season, these people hope to spend the monsoon season with ease as they find it difficult to take their bears with them and roam around in the monsoon season.

In Kolar, there is a separate colony of bear training tribal people. Practically each house in the colony has a bear which is looked after well, trained and taken to different places to earn their living. At least one young man in every family comes forward to take the responsibility of looking after the bear and making it an instrument of the family livelihood.

Some years back hundreds of bear trainers used to come down to the coastal belt with their bears. However, in recent times their number has dwindled and only few bear trainers venture into this kind of activity and rarely one come across such bear dancing scenes either in the villages or towns. Regularly feeding the bear has become a difficult task to the bear trainers. Besides, with the availability of education, many youngsters belonging to this bear keeping tribal community has diverted to other gainful occupations.

The wildlife law prohibits keeping bears in homes. However, according to Sheshappa, the bear trainer whom the reporter met, some of those who still maintain bears at home and use them for their traditional livelihood have taken permission from the wildlife authorities on the promise that they would look after the bears well and would not harm them.

The bear trainers make considerable amount by selling the talisman prepared out of the hair of the bear to superstitious people. Usually, those parents with stubborn and timid children, especially in the villages, believe that with this talisman stubbornness and timidity of their children can be cured. They purchase these talismans preferably from the bear trainers in the presence of the bears. However, in towns and cities there is negligible demand for such talismans.

Children who learn the poem about the bear trainers and bear dances in the primary school get excited when they see such scenes enacted in front of them. The bear trainers had a significant place in the cultural milieu for many years in the past. However, this tribal culture is on its wane. Very few such bear trainers come to the coastal regions. The increasing cost of living, the meagre earning from such activities, the problem of transport, cost of maintaining bears and the harassment from the wildlife officials has made this traditional activity of livelihood of these tribal people un-attractive and obsolete. However, few young people still carry on their traditional family activity of training and dancing the bears and selling the talismans prepared out the hair of the bears.