Jenu Kuruba tribes of Karnataka are original residents of the forests regions of the Western Ghats. A Kuruba or Kurumba group who derive their name from jen or honey which they used to collect from the forest.
In the Kannada language, the term ‘Jenu‘ signifies honey and ‘kuruba‘ stands for caste. Therefore their name suggests that these Jenu Kuruba tribes have adapted the profession of honey gathering. Their speech, locally called JenuNudi, is a dialect of Kannada, one of the South Dravidian languages. They speak toothers in Kannada. They use the Kannada script. They are concentrated in the Kodagu and Hunsuru, Mysore districts of Karnataka.
