People of mediterranean origin (from Nubia, Upper Egypt) are believed to be the original Dravidian people who settled in Kerala around 1000 BC. These original residents were hunter-gatherers who progressed to the slash-and-burn agriculture of neolithic age.
One practice of these people that has come down to this day is the practice of keeping a small area of the forest untouched. In this small segment, called kaavoo (grove), no tree was felled, no flower was plucked and no snakes were harmed. Even today, many Nair (a Hindu community) households keep aside a small area of their homestead as a sarpa kaavoo (snake grove - see pic to the right and the small stone structure in the middle)where an offering is made annually to naagam (serpent god). This offering consists of milk, turmeric and the flower of arali tree, which are considered the favorites of snake god.
These paleolithic and neolithic people also built dwelling places for dead ancestors. The dead were cremated, buried or offered to birds and elements in the open.
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