Abstract
Language preserves the cultural memory and historical experiences of indigenous communities. From a cultural-linguistic perspective, this research article examines the linguistic and cultural antiquity of the ‘Mullukkurumbar’ tribal community residing in the Pandalur and Gudalur regions of the Nilgiris district. Their forest-based way of life, distinctive archery tradition, and social organisation known as 'Kudi' are reflected in their oral traditions, including folk songs, narratives, and ritual terminology, which serve as traces of their historical past. As their distinctive 'Mullukkurumba Bhashai' is declining under the influence of modernization and dominant languages, the study seeks to reconstruct their traditional way of life through the surviving linguistic remnants. Their environmental vocabulary and hunting terminology are analysed from a cultural-linguistic perspective. The study underscores the need to document the linguistic heritage of a disappearing tribal language and to reconstruct the community’s social history through linguistic evidence.