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9 Karnataka tribals arrested in Ivory Coast for illegally selling herbal oil
The group from the Hakki Pikki nomadic tribe went to Africa six months ago, according to the police.
Pakshirajapura is a hamlet with about 600 houses, almost all inhabited by the Hakki Pikki people. (Express Photo by Kiran Parashar)
Nine people from a semi-nomadic tribal community in Karnataka have been arrested in Ivory Coast for allegedly selling herbal oil without permission, the police said Monday, adding that they were waiting for Indian embassy officials in the African country to contact them.
The police identified the members of the group as Prabhudev, Nirveni, Shahajan, Shanthi, Girish, Lakshmi, Pappu P, Pappa and Simran—all belonging to the Hakki Pikki tribe. People from the tribe often tour African countries selling herbal oil for head and body massage.
The group went to Africa six months ago, according to the police.
Nirveni, who said she was speaking from a prison, told indianexpress.com, “We were selling the products at Abengourou, 200 km away from the national capital Abidjan, when the police took us to prison on July 29. We tried to convince them that one of us had the papers, but they did not respond to it.”
“The prison condition here is very pathetic. We are living in a state of fear. We can’t even sleep properly… We used the rice and other food materials for a few days. They are not providing us with food. We are praying to return home as soon as possible,” she added.
Nirveni, 36, is from the Pakshirajapura settlement located in Hunsur taluk of Mysuru district. Her daughter Sanjana said three members of the group are from their family.
“We are unable to communicate with them as we don’t speak English. We reached out to HP Manjunath, former MLA, on Monday for his help,” she added.
Who are Hakki Pikkis?
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The Hakki Pikki (‘Hakki’ in Kannada translates as ‘bird’ and ‘Pikki’ as ‘catchers’) are a nomadic tribe of traditional bird catchers and hunters. According to the 2011 Census, there are 11,892 Hakki Pikki people in Karnataka. Members of the tribe are mostly concentrated in Davangere, Mysuru, Kolar, Hassan, and Shivmogga districts, but also live in Bengaluru’s slums and unauthorised colonies. They speak a tribal language called Vaghri, Kannada, and Hindi.
In the 1950s, after wildlife protection laws banned hunting, the Hakki Pikki people, displaced from forests, gradually began turning to their traditional knowledge of plants. Experts say that as a nomadic tribe, the Hakki Pikki people are natural travellers and have for decades been travelling to other nations—earlier to sell handicrafts and now to produce and market traditional herbal oils and other plant-based medicines.
Despite civil wars and tough situations, the Hakki Pikki community has continued to travel to African countries as they think they can make 200 per cent profit on their investment.
In April 2023, 31 tribals from Karnataka were stuck in violence-hit Sudan. Later, they were rescued with the intervention of the Ministry of External Affairs.
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Indianexpress.com has reached out to the ministry and is awaiting a response.
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