Chola Naikan is a primitive community, who lives in caves in
Kerala's rain forests. The members of this community are believed to be the representatives of
Kattunayakan, a primitive tribal group of the southern states of India.
The name is derived from ‘Chola’ or ‘Shola’, meaning forests as they mostly live in forests. Chola Naikan speaks Canarese, a dialect of Kannada. Macheeri near Nedumkayam is the main settlement of Chola Naikans in Kerala.
