Category Archives: Worship and rituals

Egalitarian culture leaves Adivasi youth unprepared for competition: On the challenge of balancing tradition and modernity

Boro Baski is a teacher and social worker with the community-based organisation Ghosaldanga Adibasi Seva Sangha in West Bengal. Read the entire article >> Boro Baski, 13/05/2013 The young generation of India’s tribal communities is struggling with different problems than the college-educated urban … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, Adivasi, Assimilation, Commentary, Economy and development, Education and literacy, Figures, census and other statistics, Government of India, History, Misconceptions, Modernity, Names and communities, Quotes, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

Slideshow | Celebrating the Adibasi Baha Parab Flower festival 2013 – West Bengal

Photos: courtesy Boro Baski, Ghosaldanga Bishnubati Adibasi Trust © 2013 About three thousand people from several villages took part in this year’s Santal flower festival celebrations. The Ashadullapur Gramin Silpa & Sastha Bidhan Kendra, the crafts training centre founded by Sanyasi Lohar … Continue reading

Posted in Adivasi, Crafts and visual arts, Cultural heritage, Economy and development, Games and leisure time, Homes and utensils, Languages and linguistic heritage, Names and communities, Organizations, Photos and slideshows, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Seasons and festivals, Tagore and rural culture, Tribal elders, Women, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

Adivasis (Scheduled Tribes) are the largest tribal population in the world – World Directory of Minorities

From “Adivasis of India” (dated 2008) | Read the full article >> Alternative names: Scheduled Tribes, various tribal names e.g. Santhals, Hos, Mundas, Oraons, Gonds, Konds, Bhils etc. [...] The Adivasis (original inhabitants) is the collective name used for the many tribal … Continue reading

Posted in Adivasi, Anthropology, Assimilation, Education and literacy, Figures, census and other statistics, Forest Rights Act (FRA), Government of India, Languages and linguistic heritage, Misconceptions, Names and communities, Quotes, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Worship and rituals | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off

Adivaani Trust: Kolkata-based publishing house for Adivasi literature – West Bengal

Call for Support: Adivaani—Publishing the Adivasi Voice Adivaani is a new publishing house from Kolkata, which describes itself as a response to the  endangered Adivasi cultural and historical heritage. For long, mainstre am publishing in India has neglected the documentation and publication … Continue reading

Posted in Adivasi, Childhood and children, Community facilities, Cultural heritage, Customs, De- and re-tribalisation, Education and literacy, History, Languages and linguistic heritage, Literature - fiction, Literature and bibliographies, Names and communities, Organizations, Resources, Revival of traditions, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Storytelling, Women, Worship and rituals | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Memories of life in a remote Bhil hamlet on the Narmada river: “poor but not impoverished” – Maharashtra

Simple ways of life Yoginder Sikand, Dec 23, 2012 : Reflections It was almost three decades ago and I have only very hazy memories of the trip. We, a batch of university students, accompanied our Anthropology professor to a remote tribal … Continue reading

Posted in Anthropology, Assimilation, Commentary, Customs, De- and re-tribalisation, Dress and ornaments, Economy and development, Education and literacy, Government of India, Health and nutrition, History, Misconceptions, Modernity, Music and dance, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Press snippets, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

Adivasi Religion and Society Network (ARS): Encouraging communication and collaboration among scholars from all disciplines interested in religion and society among adivasi people

Reflections Why a Network for Adivasi Religions and Societies? Gregory Alles, October 11, 2011. When I first became interested in adivasis and adivasi religions several years ago, I started looking around for scholars of religious studies who were interested in … Continue reading

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Shivaratri celebrations by the Kota community in the Nilgiri mountains – Tamil Nadu

View a video and two slideshows taken during Shivaratri, the main annual festival celebtrated by the Kota community Video | Kota women’s dance Video | Kota dance Slideshow | Kota dance and music Slideshow | Kota game More videos, slideshows and background information provided … Continue reading

Posted in Anthropology, Childhood and children, Cultural heritage, Customs, Dress and ornaments, Games and leisure time, Literature and bibliographies, Maps, Music and dance, Names and communities, Photos and slideshows, Seasons and festivals, Tribal elders, Video contents, Women, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

EU supported project to “bring back forests on forest land”: Auroville bioregion – Tamil Nadu

01 April 2002 | by Isha; source: Auroville Today, April 2002 European Union supports Auroville’s afforestation project. The planting of 75,000 trees within Auroville, fortifying Auroville’s forest gene and bunding and check dam work needed to combat soil erosion and … Continue reading

Posted in Ecology and environment, Figures, census and other statistics, Maps, Modernity, Names and communities, Networking, Organizations, Press snippets, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

Consent from tribals no longer required by Govt. of India: handing forestlands over for projects that affect sacred places of worship

Nitin Sethi, Times Of India,  Feb 16, 2013, NEW DELHI: The government has diluted its stand on requiring consent from tribals before handing over their forestlands for projects in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court on the Vedanta case. … Continue reading

Posted in Accountability, De- and re-tribalisation, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Forest Rights Act (FRA), Government of India, Modernity, Nature and wildlife, Press snippets, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Tribal identity, Worship and rituals | Comments Off

On the experience of translating Rabindranath Tagore’s Raktakarabi into Santali: Lecture by Boro Baski – West Bengal

Left to right: Prof. Dhoneswar Majhi, Dr. Boro Baski, Subhas Mukherjee (research scholar Visva-Bharati), his wife, Mrs. Chandni Mukherjee (high school teacher) and Mrs. Didimoni Hansda (high school teacher) 

Posted in Customs, De- and re-tribalisation, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Education and literacy, Languages and linguistic heritage, Literature - fiction, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Organizations, Photos and slideshows, Quotes, Storytelling, Tagore and rural culture, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

Video | Hanmi: A Treasure Trove of Oral Heritage – Karnataka

Published on Oct 13, 2012 Hanmi is the one of the few artists who has mastered the oral epic songs and other verbal art. She belongs to Gamokkalu tribe from Uttara Kannada district Karnataka. Sadly now Hanmi is the only … Continue reading

Posted in Anthropology, Childhood and children, Crafts and visual arts, Cultural heritage, Customs, Dress and ornaments, Homes and utensils, Languages and linguistic heritage, Maps, Music and dance, Names and communities, Organizations, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Storytelling, Tribal elders, Video resources - external, Women, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

On the Totem Trail | People & Places | Smithsonian Magazine

By Mary Jane Lenz, Smithsonian magazine, June 2001 | Read the full article or subscribe here >> Totem poles, those giant red cedar poles elaborately carved with images of animals and people, can be thought of as three-dimensional family histories; histories that … Continue reading

Posted in Crafts and visual arts, History, Museum collections - general, Names and communities, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Tribal culture worldwide, Worship and rituals | Comments Off

The Story of the Totem Pole: Indians of the Northwest Coast of the United States and Canada

The large interactive family exhibition The Story of the Totem Pole focuses on the Indians of the Northwest Coast of the United States and Canada. International masterpieces combined with the finest from its own collection, supplemented by modern art, topical … Continue reading

Posted in Crafts and visual arts, Cultural heritage, Museum collections - general, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Storytelling, Tribal culture worldwide, Worship and rituals | Comments Off

Slideshow | Revitalizing the Tribal Research and Training Institutes placed under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs at the Adivasi Academy Tejgadh – Gujarat

A special workshop was hosted by the Adivasi Academy & Museum of Adivasi Voice at Tejgadh. It provided the Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ms Vibha Puri Das, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, with an opportunity to familiarize herself with the cultural practices and … Continue reading

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Garo winter harvest festival: creating cultural awareness, generating employment – Meghalaya

PHEROZE L. VINCENT, The Hindu, November 24, 2012 View the slideshow by Pheroze L. Vincent here >> The Garo tribe of Western Meghalaya celebrates the winter harvest with a three-day festival. Pheroze L. Vincent watches the Garos climb oiled poles, burst into … Continue reading

Posted in Cultural heritage, Customs, Dress and ornaments, Economy and development, Government of India, History, Misconceptions, Modernity, Music and dance, Names and communities, Photos and slideshows, Press snippets, Revival of traditions, Seasons and festivals, Tourism, Women, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

Traditional dress, practices and festivals refashioned – Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is home to about twenty-five separate tribes and as many languages/dialects in the Tibeto-Burman family. (Despite the descriptive inadequacies of the term ‘tribal’, the alternatives are equally imprecise; ‘tribal’ is a politicised category all over India [Beteille 1991], … Continue reading

Posted in Anthropology, Colonial policies, Cultural heritage, Dress and ornaments, Fashion, Figures, census and other statistics, History, Languages and linguistic heritage, Maps, Modernity, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Seasons and festivals, Tourism, Worship and rituals | Comments Off

Usage of ‘tribe’ traceable to colonial census authorities

By Arup Maharatna, Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 40, September 25, 2010  The term ‘tribe’, as is widely known, subsumes enormous complexities—both anthropological and historical. However, the British India Censuses used to enumerate tribes as Animists until the 1931 Census, in which … Continue reading

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The dance went on: Adivasi self-assertion and networking during tribal cultural festival in Ranchi – Jharkhand

Mari Marcel Thekaekara (text and photo), The New Internationalist, 13 November 2012 Watching tribal dancing live and up close is a hugely different experience from watching it on telly. For the 40-strong Gudalur adivasi group, recently invited by the Central … Continue reading

Posted in Adivasi, Community facilities, Cultural heritage, Dress and ornaments, Education and literacy, Maps, Misconceptions, Music and dance, Names and communities, Networking, Photos and slideshows, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Seasons and festivals, Tribal elders, Worship and rituals | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off

Video | Chenchu hunter-gatherers – Andhra Pradesh

Video by by Sathya Mohan The Chenchus are one of the last remaining tribes in India. They live a hand-to-mouth existence in the forest but attempts to integrate them in society have failed. For centuries, the Chenchus have survived as … Continue reading

Posted in Anthropology, Customs, De- and re-tribalisation, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Government of India, Health and nutrition, Homes and utensils, Modernity, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Quotes, Seasons and festivals, Tiger, Tribal elders, Video resources - external, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off

Pulayar music – Tamil Nadu

The hill-tribes have a natural fondness for music and they are known for the preservation of ancient culture. The Pulayar tribe describe their melodies as talams. According to them, their melodies are derived from the cooing of birds such as … Continue reading

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Bastar art and the Hindu-isation of the tribal myth – Chhattisgarh

The Hindu, October 24, 2012 Niranjan Mahawar, 75, is a self-taught ethnologist of Chhattisgarh. He spent almost five decades in southern Chhattisgarh to study the life and art of the Bastar tribes. [...] Today, Mahawar — who was made famous in … Continue reading

Posted in Colonial policies, Commentary, Crafts and visual arts, De- and re-tribalisation, History, Misconceptions, Modernity, Names and communities, Press snippets, Tiger, Tribal identity, Worship and rituals | Tagged , | Comments Off

Wastewater snow would ruin a mountain considered sacred – Flagstaff (USA)

By LESLIE MACMILLAN, The New York Times, September 26, 2012 Resort’s Snow Won’t Be Pure This Year; It’ll Be Sewage [...] “Everyone does well when the ski area does well,” said J. R. Murray, general manager of Snowbowl. But Indians, … Continue reading

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Nurturing Oglala Lakota customs, language, and beliefs in South Dakota (USA) – National Geographic Magazine August 2012

In the Shadow of Wounded Knee After 150 years of broken promises, the Oglala Lakota people of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota are nurturing their tribal customs, language, and beliefs. A rare, intimate portrait shows their resilience in … Continue reading

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Adivasi: People on the Edge – Wayanad District, Kerala

Interviews with members of tribal communities in one of the most developed regions of India: Wayanad District in Kerala. Returning to the forest with abundant resources that shaped the ancestral tribal lifestyle is no longer feasible for these women and … Continue reading

Posted in Assimilation, Customs, De- and re-tribalisation, Dress and ornaments, Ecology and environment, Health and nutrition, Languages and linguistic heritage, Misconceptions, Nature and wildlife, Rural poverty, Video resources - external, Women, Worship and rituals | Comments Off

Streetparade of the gods Exhibition at Museum Rietberg Zuerich – Bastar / Switzerland

Streetparade of the gods 20th July – 11th November 2012 Several years have passed since the Museum Rietberg last dealt with the subject of Indian “tribal art”. The last few exhibitions were dedicated to Indian court art. “Streetparade of the … Continue reading

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