Kaikadi_people
Kaikadi people
Ethnic group of Indian state Maharashtra
The Kaikadi[1][2] are a community in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. Their name is derived from kai (meaning "hand") and kade (meaning "basket"), while the community derives its name from kai (a stand-in for a name) and kadi (a type of twig). Traditionally, they were nomadic, mainly wandering in the Vidarbha region of the state, but most have now settled down. They speak Kaikadi, a Dravidian language closely related to Tamil with significant Indo-Aryan admixture.[3] They practice the puberty function like other Tamil communities.