Ooty offers people with numerous tourist spots and things to see apart from its natural beauty and one of those tourist attractions is the Ooty Tribal Museum also referred to as the Ooty Government Museum.
Practically, it is impossible for every traveler to visit every tribal community in India which are so distinct and versatile in their culture, heritage, tradition and lifestyle that distinctly defines them from each other. These aspects causes for much excitement for tourists to visit every Indian tribal community which is a never ending process.
For this very reason, every State in India has ensured that they house at least one Tribal Museum to showcase the life, culture and especially objects used by the Tribal community of their respective Indian States. The Tribal Museum in Ooty also assists to decrease your fatigue and offers every visitor with a visual snapshot tour of the various attributes of a Tribal community that either existed or still exists in Ooty and the Nilgiris.
The Government Ooty Tribal Museum is situated on the Ooty – Mysore Road and offers a perfect edutainment opportunity for visitors to learn about the ecological details including the nature of the traditional art works of the Nilgiris region.
The Tribal Museum in Ooty aims at offering visitors and tourists with an insight into the lives of the indigenous native Toda Tribes of South India who form an important section of the Ooty society and have dwelled in Ooty for centuries even before the word ‘civilization’ came into existence within this Hill Station.
The Tribal Museum in Ooty displays various arts and crafts items including sculptures and items of use by the Toda Tribes. This offers an exhaustive idea of how the Todas lead their daily lives.
Presently, there are only a handful of these native Toda Tribal communities in Ooty who somehow have managed to survive the sudden takeover of urbanization of Ooty with the introduction of modern infrastructure, roadways and rail links. Despite these changes, the Toda still follow a part of their traditional lifestyle, culture and religious aspects that govern their way of living but have abandoned the fraternal polyandry customs that once was very prominent amongst the tribal society. Therefore, the Government Tribal Museum in Ooty took the responsibility to at least preserve and maintain the traditional objects of the Todas by exhibiting them through this forum.
The Ooty Tribal Museum is placed within the campus of the Tribal Research Centre situated in Muthorai Palada about 10 kms from the main Ooty town. The Tribal Research Center [TRC] was founded on 2nd October 1983 at Ooty capturing a large area of 25 acres places about 11 Kms from the Ooty Central Bus Stand.
The foundation of The Tribal Research Center was laid by Mr. Giani Zail Singh, the former President of India and is presently listed with the Tribal Welfare of Tamil Nadu Government and Ministry of Adi Dravidar. TRC is funded by the State as well as the Central Government of India on a ratio of 50:50. TRC is also is recognized as Tribal Fundamental Institute for taking care of the welfare of 36 Tribal Communities that have thrived in Tamil Nadu since ages ago. TRC is also considered as the youngest amongst the 14 Tribal Research Institutes in India.
The Ooty Tribal Museum homes rare photographs and artifacts of the ancient Tribal Groups of Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar Islands including anthropological and primitive human archaeological heritage and cultural aspects.
The Ooty Tribal Museum also showcases several Tribal Huts of the Todas, Kanikaran, Kotas, Kurumbas, Paniyas and Tribes including their life size replicas that enjoy a huge appeal amongst global tourists. Numerous fascinating and recently carved fir-based tribal sculptures depicting the wealthy and varied cultures of the various Tamil Nadu and Andaman & Nicobar Islands tribal community displayed in this museum is a unique attraction.
The Tribal Museum in Ooty can be reached by plying the daily Emerald bus to Muthorai Palada. You can get down at the TRC bus stop and enjoy a short scenic walk to the Ooty Tribal Museum.
After visiting the Ooty Tribal Museum, you can also drop in at the Art Gallery in Ooty situated about 2 kms from Ooty and on the way to Mysore and is also a prominent fixture amidst the tourist spots in Ooty. This is where the Art and Craft work is showcased by presenting a collection of various contemporary sculptures and paintings from different parts of India and the world.
The Art Gallery in Ooty is where you can enjoy glimpses of numerous tribal objects including the ecological explanations and representation of Tamil Nadu sculptural arts and crafts that is appealing to a large pool of global visitors who visit Ooty just to explore this exquisite Tribal treasure.
Another attraction, apart from the Ooty Tribal Museum, is the Library within TRC where you can enjoy reading journal and books based on the culture and history of the Tribes including an audio-visual presentation organised during the tribal festival event that lures a large crowd of global tourists to this venue.
The Ooty Government Museum or Tribal Museum in Ooty does not charge any entry fee and remains open from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM and from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM on all days except on Fridays, second Saturdays and during National Public Holidays.
Address: Tribal Research Centre, Tribal Museum, Muthorai Palada, Ooty
