Yanadhi is a corruption of the word "Andati" (Aborigines), meaning "having no beginning."form. [2] Edgar Thurston speculated their name was derived from the Sanskrit anadi, 'without origin.' Some claim to be the original inhabitants of their region, others claimed to be descended from the Chenchus. At the time a local tradition claimed they had provided food for a saint a long time before, who had taught them how to drive out snakes from their area.
At the turn of the 20th century, the Reddi Yanadis were cooks in Reddy households, who didn't mingle with other subsections of the tribe.
Lifestyle
Others followed a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and occasionally were employed as watchmen. They ate forest fauna and gathered fruits of the forest. They have immense knowledge of the surrounding forests, flora, fauna and herbs.
They used to live on Sriharikota, which later became the launch site for ISRO.
They traditionally lived in conical huts through which adults had to squat to enter. Widows, especially those with more husbands, were respected as judges of adultery and other crimes. They practiced polygamy, and 1 man even had 7 wives. [3]
In 2011 their population was 537,808. [4]
The Yanadi speak a dialect of Telugu.
Historical Perspective of the Yenadis: A Narrative Journey Through Time
Ancient Origins and Early Settlements
The historical narrative of the Yenadis (also spelled Yanadis) begins in the shadowy depths of pre-Dravidian antiquity, with their origins shrouded in etymological mystery and scholarly debate. Their very name reflects this uncertainty—derived from the Sanskrit "anadi," meaning "those whose origin is not traceable," or alternatively from "a" (privative) and "nathu" (lord or protector), suggesting a people who remained outside the established order of landed rulers. Some linguistic evidence points to "Andati" meaning "aborigines" or "having no beginning," reinforcing their ancient status as original inhabitants.
Archaeological and historical records trace their presence across the Eastern Ghats ecosystem, establishing themselves as indigenous custodians of forests and coastal environments from the Nallamala Forest complex in the north to the Seshachalam Hills in the south. This vast territorial expanse, encompassing transitional zones between forests and agricultural areas, water bodies and cultivated fields, positioned the Yenadis uniquely as "plain tribes" who specialized in managing ecotones—the biodiverse boundary areas where different ecosystems converge.
The recorded history of their primary stronghold at Sriharikota dates back to Tamil Sangam literature from around 300 BCE, when the island was known as Palaverkada or Vadugarmunai, with tradition holding that the aboriginal Yanadi tribe had inherited and managed these forest territories for generations. Simultaneously, their settlements dotted the Seshachalam Hills, with communities strategically positioned at locations like Padma sarassu (by water tanks under foothills), Karakambadi (at barren hill foothills), and Siddala palle (near Seshachalam forests), demonstrating their sophisticated understanding of landscape management across diverse ecological zones.
Medieval Transitions: From Chola Sovereignty to Territorial Fragmentation
The Yenadis’ historical trajectory became increasingly complex during the medieval period as various South Indian dynasties contested control over their ancestral territories spanning from the coast to the interior hills. From the 11th century onwards, Sriharikota passed from Yanadi tribal control into the hands of the Chola kings, marking the beginning of their subjugation to external political authorities. Under Chola sovereignty until 1310 CE, the Yenadis experienced their first major encounter with organized state power, though they likely maintained considerable autonomy in their forest domains across the Eastern Ghats.
During this period, their territorial connections extended beyond coastal areas into the interior Nallamala Forest region, where they interacted with other tribal communities, particularly the Chenchus. Unlike the deep forest-dwelling Chenchus, the Yenadis occupied transitional zones and maintained flexible territorial boundaries, creating both cooperative and competitive relationships over access to tanks, water bodies, and seasonal resources throughout the Eastern Ghats ecosystem.
The subsequent transfer of power to Mohammedan emperors, followed by the Vijayanagar dynasty, and eventually to the Nawab of Carnatic who rented territories to early Zamindars, created a complex web of overlapping authorities that gradually eroded traditional Yanadi territorial control across their historic range. During this fragmentation, they adapted by developing relationships with various ruling powers while preserving their core identity as specialists in forest-plains interface management and transitional ecosystem stewardship.
Colonial Encounter and Administrative Compartmentalization
The arrival of British colonial administration marked a decisive turning point in Yanadi territorial integrity, with the 1801 cession of Sriharikota to the British East India Company symbolizing broader patterns of land alienation. The island’s integration into Chingleput District and later transfer to Nellore district in 1863 brought the coastal Yenadis under direct colonial control, while forest areas of the Nallamala and Seshachalam were simultaneously being surveyed, mapped, and designated as Reserved Forests.
Colonial ethnographers like Edgar Thurston documented the Yenadis across their territorial range, often through evolutionary anthropology that characterized them as existing in a “primitive stage of culture.” British officials described them as “a rude class of people” living in a “state of barbarism,” failing to recognize the sophistication of their ecological knowledge and sustainable resource management practices across diverse ecosystems from coastal areas to hill forests. The colonial administration’s compartmentalization of landscapes into discrete administrative units—coastal districts, forest reserves, agricultural settlements—fundamentally disrupted traditional Yanadi territorial mobility and resource access patterns that had evolved over centuries.
However, colonial records also documented their continuing presence across the Eastern Ghats, with the administration attempting various intervention schemes including educational initiatives, industrial training, and agricultural programs, while simultaneously restricting their traditional forest access through new Reserved Forest laws.
Post-Independence Development and Territorial Displacement
The post-independence period intensified territorial fragmentation through development policies that increasingly marginalized traditional Yanadi territories across the Eastern Ghats. The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) facility at Sriharikota in 1970 resulted in the complete displacement of the island’s Yanadi population, while simultaneous conservation initiatives created new restrictions across their historic range. The creation of the Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve within the Nallamala Forest and the Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve effectively converted traditional resource areas into restricted zones, transforming Yenadis from indigenous stewards into “aliens and poachers” in their ancestral territories.
This traumatic territorial compression forced thousands of Yenadis from dispersed forest settlements into concentrated mainland colonies where they struggled to maintain cultural continuity while adapting to new economic realities. Government land colonization programs, beginning during British rule and continuing after independence, attempted to provide alternative territories but often failed to account for the Yenadis’ specialized knowledge of ecotone management and their need for access to diverse ecosystem resources.
Contemporary Territorial Struggles and Ecological Relationships
Today’s Yenadis represent a community whose historical territorial range has been dramatically compressed, with a population concentrated primarily in buffer zones and fringe areas of their former territories. Their contemporary struggles center on maintaining connections to traditional lands across the Eastern Ghats while adapting to new conservation regimes and development pressures.
Recent research documents continuing Yanadi settlements around the Seshachalam Hills, where communities maintain traditional ecological practices despite conservation restrictions. Forest officials now limit access through licensing systems for non-timber forest product collection, requiring permits for legal forest entry while penalizing traditional resource use. The Yenadis’ sophisticated ecological knowledge—including descriptive naming systems for forest locations, fire management techniques, and the ability to navigate rocky terrains during emergencies—continues to prove invaluable despite official marginalization.
Their historical narrative thus reveals a people whose territorial identity was fundamentally shaped by their unique position as managers of ecosystem transitions across the Eastern Ghats. From ancient settlements spanning coastal areas to interior forests, through medieval political transitions, colonial compartmentalization, and contemporary conservation restrictions, the Yenadis have demonstrated remarkable adaptability while maintaining core ecological relationships that define their cultural identity. Their struggle represents not merely resistance to territorial loss, but the preservation of specialized knowledge systems developed through millennia of sustainable interaction with one of India’s most biodiverse and ecologically complex landscapes.
