Kupia
Kupia is Indo-Ayran language related to Oriya and spoken by about
6,600 Valmiki people in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The Valmiki
are a tribal group, concentrated in the Agency Area of Hyderabad,
Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, East Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts.
Valmika or Valmiki is a name assumed by the Boyas and Paidis, who
claim to be descended of the great sage Valmiki, the author of the H
indu epic ‘The Ramayana.’ A caste without any common traits in the
area call themselves Valmiki. The Valmiki are also called Paidi or
Boya in some areas
The Valmiki population in the area is 142,944 according to the 1981 Census.
They usually live in multi-tribal villages along with other tribal groups,
like the Bagatha, Gadaba, Konda Dora and Porja. They speak their own
language, Kupia, as well as the regional language Telugu and Kunchu buchi,
a dialect of Oriya.
The literacy rate is comparatively higher among the Valmiki compared
with other tribes in the agency area. Boys from poor families generally
drop out of school to support their families and girls are not encouraged
to go on to higher education.
Kupia script
This is a script for Kupia devised by Professor Prasanna Sree.
Information provided by Professor Prasanna Sree
of Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Links
Information about the Kupia language and the Valmiki people
http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=key
http://www.aptribes.gov.in/html/tcr-studies-eci-valmiki.htm