Numerous cairns were discovered in Coorg and the adjoining districts in the second half of the 19th century. Cairns are mostly prehistoric burial mounds made of stones. The cairns found in Coorg (near Kushalnagar) were stone chambers, 7 feet long, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. These cairns are either solitary or in groups, in some instances forming regular rows so as to give the appearance of streets. Others are surrounded by a single or double circle of stones from 2 to 3 feet high.
The relics found in them are peculiarly shaped pottery. The vessels contain earth, sand, bones, iron spear-heads, and beads. The Coorgs call these cairns Pandu-pare, dwellings of the Pandus, but whatever is beyond their historical knowledge they ascribe to the Pandus. It is certain, that the construction of these cairns is quite disconnected from the life, customs and history of the present inhabitants of Coorg, nor can they have been the abodes of a legendary pigmy race; but were most likely the resting places of the earthly remains of a generation that existed anterior to the historical records of the present local races.
Of a more recent date are the kolle-kallu (from kollu to kill, and kallu, stone), tombstones in honour of wariors slain in battle. They are found along the eastern districts of Coorg. Kolle-kallu are made of slabs of granite with rough facings, about 6 feet high 4 feet broad and 9 inches thick, and frequently the lower half is buried in the ground. The front side is generally divided into three compartments, each containing figures in relief, the back-ground being chiselled out, so that the figures are level with the frame of the compartments. The lowest compartment depicts the battle in which the hero was slain; the centre compartment represents him in the act of being conveyed to heaven by celestial nymphs; in the uppermost he has arrived at the regions of bliss and is delineated as seated before the emblem of his religion, generally the lingam.
Near the Kannana house, on the hill slope opposite the Government Junior College in Madikeri, there is a stone slab with a picture in relief of a Coorg warrior. The stone was erected in the paddy fields in remembrance of Kannana Doddanna, the dalavayi or general, who fell in an engagement with the forces of Haidar Ali near Kajur-Bagalu in North Coorg in 1767. Before setting out on this expedition he said to the king Mudda Raja: "Twice have I returned from defeating the Muhammadans and made obeisance to the Raja, but this time I shall not return.' The celebrated Coorg hero Appachu Mandana fell in the same battle. When, after the death of Haidar Ali, Tippu Sultan invaded Coorg, he burnt Kannana's house and hanged 24 members of his family; the ruins of the former are still visible. A silver plate, 3 inches by 2 inches, with a picture in relief similar to that on the stone, is preserved by the family in honour of their renowned ancestor.
In some localities, viz., in the temple yard at Bhagamandala, in the devastana at Paltir, in the ruined temple in Nallur in Hatgatnad of Kiggatnad taluk, and at the Government Junior College in Mercara (brought from Kushalnagar), there are large stone slabs of granite with inscriptions. That at Bhagamandala is in the Tulu character. The others are in Hale Kannada and much older. Those in Kiggatnad record grants made by the Chera kings in the 9th century. The oldest authentic inscription discovered in South India belongs to this dynasty. It is engraved on copper plates which were found in the Mercara treasury, though not relating to Coorg; as to how or when they came there no information can be obtained. They are dated in 388 (A.D. 466) and record a grant in the reign of Kongani II of some land in Badaneguppe, a village in the south of the Mysore District.
Source: Mysore and Coorg, Vol. III by Lewis Rice
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