Chola Naikans: The Cave Man of Western Ghats

India is famous for its rich bio-diversity and varied cultural heritage. One can notice a synchronous relationship between the natural resources and endemic way of life of groups of people scattered across the country. There exist different races and groups in the country with sole mode of life specific to them. Scheduled Tribes in India are generally considered to be ‘Adivasis,’ meaning indigenous people or original inhabitants of the country. The tribes have been confined to low status and are often physically and socially isolated instead of being absorbed in the mainstream Hindu population. The present paper aimed to document traditional way of life and social background, cultural life of one of such groups of adivasis (chola naikkans-cave man of Kerala)residing in the Eranad thaluk of malappuram district of Kerala. The valley is bounded on the North by the vythiri Taluk of wayanad District, on the East by the Nilgiri District of Tamilnadu, on the South by Nilambur village, on the West by the Manjeri Tahsil headquarters. The forest is divided in to three ranges – Nilambur range, Chungathara range and Karulai range. The tribes, who live in isolation, practice their own system of life and settlement. This research effort brings light in to timely need for preserving their culture along with the traditional life style of this group.