Category Archives: Cultural heritage

“We want our young generation to be rooted in our specific culture and to have good opportunities to take their fate into their own hands. Using our language is essential. What alphabet we use in school, matters less. We tell our students about Ol-chiki [the Santali alphabet invented in 1925 and one of India’s 22 official languages since 2004] – encouraging, but not forcing them to learn it.”–  Boro Baski in “The pros and cons of Ol-chiki” (D+C Development and Cooperation, e-Paper April 2021)
https://www.dandc.eu/sites/default/files/pdf_files/dc_2021-04.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=21581

“[T]he tribal communities are a standing example of how women play a major role in preservation of eco historic cultural heritage in India.” – Mari Marcel Thekaekara, writer and Co-founder of ACCORD-Nilgiris quoted in The Hindu (27 January 2017)
https://www.thehindu.com/society/A-messenger-from-the-mountains/article17102329.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=22373

“In Rayagada in Odisha, Kondh parents distinguish between dangar patha (mountain learning) and kagaj patha (paper learning). Asked which they prefer, many parents answer ‘both’. This expresses a need deeply felt by Adivasis: literacy, with fluency in the regional language or English, is important; but so is respect for native languages and knowledge systems linked to the land and forest.” – Felix Padel & Malvika Gupta in “Are mega residential schools wiping out India’s Adivasi culture?” (The Hindu, 13 February 2021)
https://www.thehindu.com/society/children-from-tribal-communities-are-being-corralled-into-mass-schools-that-are-wiping-out-cultures/article33818793.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=4176

“The Tree of Life [a six-foot-tall metal Bastar tribal sculpture made of brass, bronze and alloy casting] is the most ancient cross cultural symbolic representation of the universe’s construction. It can be seen to dwell in three words- a link between earth, heaven and the other world.” – The Times of India 22 December 2008
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Almost-all-of-Tajs-art-safe-remaining-can-be-restored/articleshow/3872065.cms
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=3121

“Today, Gonds are fast catching up with city life, and modern-day amenities, but most of their rituals remain the same. As Japani said, ‘Thoughts have changed and so also the lifestyle. Houses are fast changing into concrete ones. However, the tradition of painting on the walls is still there. […] We exhibit our paintings at many places around the country. People often tell us to take up modern art but we want to stick to our tribal painting style and the depiction of our culture and nature through it. We also would like to give our perspective of the outside world through our art.'” – Venus Vinod Upadhayaya in “Rituals – Where art imitates life” (lifepositive.com)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=4084

Museums of Happiness & No Going Back – Peer Learning Programme

Posted on 17/09/2021 by website administrator

The peer learning programme builds on the particular power of museums to draw on past stories of rapid transition and transformation; and inspire museums and their communities to shape new stories and actions to address the climate and ecological emergency. … Continue reading →

Posted in Assimilation, Commentary, Community facilities, Cultural heritage, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Education and literacy, History, Modernity, Museum collections - general, Museum collections - India, Networking, Organizations, Performing arts, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Success story | Comments Off on Museums of Happiness & No Going Back – Peer Learning Programme

Slideshow | Changing the education system through “sahbhagita”: Collective participation of a community, students and teachers practiced at Adharshila Learning Centre – Madhya Pradesh

Posted on 07/09/2021 by website administrator

This was my first visit and I will not deny that the experience was many times more rewarding than what I had imagined it would be. Creativity of the students – it is a primary school up to 8th class … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Activities, Adivasi / Adibasi, Central region – Central Zonal Council, Childhood and children, Community facilities, Crafts and visual arts, Cultural heritage, De- and re-tribalisation, Democracy, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Education and literacy, Health and nutrition, Homes and utensils, Languages and linguistic heritage, Misconceptions, Multi-lingual education, Names and communities, Narmada, Networking, Organizations, Performing arts, Photos and slideshows, Press snippets, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Rural poverty, Storytelling, Trees, Tribal elders, Websites by tribal communities | Tagged , | Comments Off on Slideshow | Changing the education system through “sahbhagita”: Collective participation of a community, students and teachers practiced at Adharshila Learning Centre – Madhya Pradesh

Tagore’s Santiniketan, “an Abode of Learning Unlike Any in the World” – West Bengal

Posted on 05/09/2021 by website administrator

Sanchari Pal, The Better India, August 31, 2016 | To read the full story and view more photos in high resolution, click here >> Located about 158 km northwest of Kolkata in Bengal’s rural hinterland, Santiniketan embodies Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of … Continue reading →

Posted in Childhood and children, Community facilities, Crafts and visual arts, Cultural heritage, Eastern region – Eastern Zonal Council, Economy and development, Education and literacy, Globalization, History, Modernity, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Organizations, Performing arts, Photos and slideshows, Press snippets, Quotes, Resources, Revival of traditions, Seasons and festivals, Social conventions, Success story, Tagore and rural culture | Tagged | Comments Off on Tagore’s Santiniketan, “an Abode of Learning Unlike Any in the World” – West Bengal

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

Posted on 04/09/2021 by website administrator

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 University of Jharkhand to the Tribal Cultural Festival in Ranchi, the face-to-face … Continue reading →

Posted in Adivasi / Adibasi, Community facilities, Cultural heritage, Customs, Dress and ornaments, Education and literacy, Misconceptions, Music and dance, Names and communities, Networking, Photos and slideshows, Press snippets, Quotes, Revival of traditions, Seasons and festivals, Seven Sister States & Sikkim – North Eastern Council, Southern region – Southern Zonal Council, Tribal elders, Worship and rituals | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on The dance went on: Adivasi self-assertion and networking during tribal cultural festival in Ranchi – Jharkhand

Indigenous peoples in the modern world: A call to end colonial misconceptions and racial stereotyping – National Museum of the American Indian

Posted on 04/09/2021 by website administrator

In the Washington Post [22 November 2017], Kevin Gover, director of the museum, deals with five popular misconceptions about Native America | Read the full story here >> Thanksgiving recalls for many people a meal between European colonists and indigenous Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Adverse inclusion, Anthropology, Assimilation, Childhood and children, Colonial policies, Commentary, Constitution and Supreme Court, Cultural heritage, Customs, Democracy, Dress and ornaments, Economy and development, Figures, census and other statistics, Health and nutrition, History, Languages and linguistic heritage, Media portrayal, Misconceptions, Modernity, Museum collections - general, Names and communities, Organizations, Photos and slideshows, Press snippets, Quotes, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Storytelling, Topics and issues, Tribal culture worldwide, Tribal identity, Video resources - external | Comments Off on Indigenous peoples in the modern world: A call to end colonial misconceptions and racial stereotyping – National Museum of the American Indian