Transforming its name from the rather popular Pondicherry in September 2006 to Puducherry, this Union Territory can perhaps be stated as the most educated and cultured amongst all the seven union territories of India. The tribal people of this Indian union territory are spanned over 138 habitations in three regions. However, a notable fact that attracts each traveller is that there exists no presence of scheduled tribes in Puducherry, which was amalgamated with four places from French India, Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.
Tribes of Puducherry in fact, divide amongst themselves under various categories, like, the Irulars, the Kattunaickens, the Malaikuravars, the Yerkulas or the Kurumans. Karaikal and Yanam are the major locations under Puducherry where such tribal populations swarm to perform daily activities. The tribal life in Puducherry is governed under their own sweet way, like hunting or working in farms. Snake-trapping is yet another field of novelty that was thoroughly practiced by the regular tribes in this well-governed location. Located primarily by the sea, Puducherry`s climate and other historical influences have wholly acted upon tribal society in every mode of occupation, entertainment or ritualistic religious observances.
The Irular, Villi and Vettaikaran tribes of Puducherry reside in 63 villages in the Bahour, Mannadipet, Nettapakkam and Villianur communes and in areas under the Karaikal municipality. Members of the Kattunaicken tribe inhabit in 22 villages in the Bahour, Villianur and Nettapakkam communes and in regions under the Oulgaret municipality in the Puducherry region and certain areas in Karaikal. Kurumans stay in nine villages in the Mannadipet community and areas within the Oulgaret municipality. The Malaikuravan tribe lives in 35 villages in the Villianur, Bahour, Nettapakkam and Mannadipet communities and areas under the Oulgaret and Puducherry municipalities. Yerkula tribes inhabit in a total of nine villages in Puducherry and Yanam.
Interaction with residents of the tribal settlements, including those at Kalapet, Vadanour and Irulan Sandai, wholly defend ethnographers` view that specific core elements of these tribals` customs are still undamaged.
