Caste,tribes & culture of India: Karnataka, Kerala, & Tamil Nadu

To understand the main currents in Indian culture, one has to probe the colourful world of the tribal people in different parts of the country who are generally considered the original inhabitants of the land. The legends, literature, customs and traditions speak volumes about the wealth of splendour and creativity of these people that have, concomitantly, influenced even those in the vicinity who have chosen to don the garb of sophistication.
The first three volumes in this series dealt with the tribal variety of cultural treasure in Assam (vol. 1), Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra (vol. II) and Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (vol. III). The concern of this volume are the mainly Dravidian tracts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
There are apparent cultural differences between the life styles of the peoples of the north and the south of India: but, historically, there is basic unity in thought and philosophy among these born and brought up in environments of diversity through the length and breadth of the country. What these differences are ?, and what threads of fundamental commonness are inherent in the overall Indian system?, are the questions that can be answered by a study of this important volume along with the previous ones.