Editing Kodava language (section)

==Literature==

Family histories, rituals and other records were scripted on palm leaves called Pattole (patt=palm, ole=leaf) by astrologers in the ancient times. When Kodava was written, it was usually with [[Kannada script]], sometimes with minor modifications. The folk songs of the Kodavas, called the Palame (also known as the Balo Patt or Dudi Patt), were orally transmitted across several generations. The language had no significant written [[literature]] until the twentieth century. [[Appachcha Kavi]], a playwright, and [[Nadikerianda Chinnappa]], a folk compiler, are the two important poets and writers of the Kodava language. Other important writers in the language were [[B D Ganapathy]] and [[I M Muthanna]]. In 2005, after requests from the Kodagu community, German linguist Gerard Cox created a script unique to Kodava called the [[Coorgi–Cox alphabet|Coorgi-Cox script]]. It uses straight lines for 5 vowels, and has circles for diphthongs.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Merritt|first=Anne|title=Easiest written languages for English speakers|date=2015-04-01 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationadvice/11507109/Easiest-written-languages-for-English-speakers.html|access-date=2017-10-14 |work=The Daily Telegraph|issn=0307-1235}}</ref>

The [[Pattole Palame]], a collection of Kodava folksongs and traditions compiled in the early 1900s by Nadikerianda Chinnappa, was first published in 1924. The most important Kodava literature, it is said to be one of the earliest, if not the earliest, collection of folklore of a community in an Indian language.  Nearly two-thirds of the book consists of folksongs that were handed down orally through generations, sung even today during marriage and death ceremonies and during festivals relating to the seasons and in honour of local deities and heroes. Traditionally known as Balo Pat, these songs are sung by four men who beat dudis (drums) as they sing. Kodava folk dances are performed to the beat of many of these songs. The Pattole Palame was written using the Kannada script originally; it has been translated into English by Boverianda Nanjamma and Chinnappa, grandchildren of Nadikerianda Chinnappa, and has been published by Rupa & Co., New Delhi.<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Website of Kodava Community |publisher=Kodava.org |url=http://www.kodava.org/kcontent/pp2003.asp |access-date=2012-06-01}}</ref>