The present investigator did not come across folk tales in Yerava. There are, however, many folk narrative songs in Yerava. The folk songs of Paniya Yeravas are different from the folk songs of Panjiri Yeravas. Normally, the a:ai of Pan1iya Yeravas and kaala:i of Panjiri Yeravas are proficient in singing the songs. These songs are part and parcel of the rituals connected with various ceremonies. The song, irrespective of the occasion to which it is associated, begins with a note of respect to the gods the tribe worships. The note of respect has the same wordings but sung with different tunes. After this note, the song narrates a story and ends. For example, the Panjiri Yerava song connected with beau narrates a story of an intelligent child doing all the good things. And a song connected with pe:yau narrates a story of a person who does destructive work only.

According to the 1961 Census, 14,926 Yeravas are there in Kodagu. Males 7,689 and Females 7,237. Out of this number 3,774 are reported as bilinguals, Males 1,075; Females 2,699. Out of this 3,774 bilingual Yeravas, 2,473 are bilinguals Kannada, Males 867; Females 1,606 and 1,259 are bilinguals In Kodagu, Males 194; Females 1,065. The rest are bilinguals In Tamil, Malayalam, Konkani and English.

It is to be noted that 1961 Census reports more number of Yeravas as bilinguals in Kannada. It is also to be noted that Yerava females out number Yerava males in bilingualism according to the Census report. But the present investigator has found during his field trips in South Kodagu that more Yeravas are bilinguals in Kodagu rather than in Kannada. And he has observed that more Yerava women are bilingual in Kodagu rather than in Kannada. He has, however, no means to make a statistical survey to substantiate further this observation. The situation deserves a deeper analysis. In any case, the following hypothetical reasons may given for the type of statistical information obtained by Census. The first reason is that Yeravas may like to identify themselves with Kannada, because Kannada is the language of education, administration and mass communication in Karnataka including the district of Kodagu. The second reason is that the enumerators might have presented the languages in the order of Kannada, Kodagu, etc., and the Yeravas might have nodded 'yes' to that order.

1.12.4   Literacy

The literate Yeravas are literate in Kannada. It is easier to statistical information on the illiteracy than on the literacy of Yeravas. In the 1891 Census, out of 7,376 male Yeravas and 6,833 female Yeravas, 4 males and one female was found literate. In the 1931 Census, out of 6,763 males and 6,047 female Yeravas only 15 males and 8 females were literate. The 1931 Census records an important information about opening of an Yerava school in 1925 and also the closure of the same because of lack of attendance.