The
Paliyan, or
Palaiyar or
Pazhaiyarare are
Adivasi Dravidian people living in the
South Western Ghats montane rain forests in
South India, especially in
Tamil Nadu and
Kerala. They are traditional
nomadic hunter-gatherers, honey hunters and foragers.
Yams are their major food source. In the early part of the 20th century the Paliyans dressed scantily and lived in rock crevices and caves. Most have now have transformed to traders of forest products, food cultivators and beekeepers. Some work intermittently as wage laborers, mostly on plantations. They are included in the List of Scheduled Tribes in India.