Category Archives: Languages and linguistic heritage

“They have lost their livelihood, their forests and even their Gods. Now they will also lose their language.” – Raghavan Payyanad (folklorist and exponent of indigenous knowledge), in “Relinking tribal youth with their culture” on efforts to revive and reacquaint youngsters from different tribes with endangered tribal arts at the Kerala Institute for Research, Training and Development Studies of Scheduled Castes and Tribes Kozhikode (The Hindu, 16 December 2015)
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/relinking-tribal-youth-with-their-culture/article7994424.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=19376

“There are 418 different tribes in India, with even more languages and dialects. […] To accommodate these diverse and culturally distinct communities with a single educational policy is a mammoth task, verging on the impossible. Thus, despite good intentions, tribal-education policies are mostly dysfunctional. And when such systematic dysfunction continues for years or even generations, social unrest erupts.” – Boro Baski in “Teaching Santal children” (D+C Development and Cooperation, 2 July 2009)
https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/long-term-success-non-formal-adivasi-school-west-bengal
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=2274

“Nations don’t make us human – languages make us human [and] behave like civilised beings.” – Ganesh Devy (co-founder, People’s Linguistic Survey of India) in a video interview (Scroll.in, 25 November 2017)
https://www.facebook.com/scroll.in/videos/1600744976675043/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=24320

“All languages created by human communities are our collective cultural heritage. Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to ensure that they do not face the global phonocide let loose in our time.” – Ganesh Devy in a lecture at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore (26 September 2010)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/Inclusive_Education_NIAS_Lecture_2010_Prof-Ganesh_Devy.pdf
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?page_id=27950

“1500 km and 1300 years separate the IVC [Indus Valley Civilisation] and Keeladi. The gap may not lead to too many direct and immediately recognisable similarities. But the fact that we have found graffiti that looks very similar to Harappan script in the Keeladi excavations [Tamil Nadu] is extremely important, especially since this is not the first time that graffiti similar to Harappan scripts have been found in South India and even Sri Lanka.” – Tony Joseph, author of Early Indians quoted in “The Dig” by Sowmiya Ashok (Fiftytwo.in, 2 April 2021)
https://fiftytwo.in/story/the-dig/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=38630

India’s tribal cultural heritage: An alphabetical journey – Nagaland

Posted on 17/06/2021 by website administrator

“The Dept of Social Welfare, Government of Nagaland was established in the year 1968 with the sole purpose of implementing social welfare schemes. Presently the department is looking after five different ministries [including Ministry of Tribal Affairs].” – Learn more | Govt., NGOs … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Community facilities, Constitution and Supreme Court, Cultural heritage, Democracy, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Education and literacy, Figures, census and other statistics, Government of India, Languages and linguistic heritage, Literature and bibliographies, Museum collections - India, Organizations, Regions of India, Resources, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Seven Sister States & Sikkim – North Eastern Council, Success story, Tips, Tourism, Tribal identity | Comments Off on India’s tribal cultural heritage: An alphabetical journey – Nagaland

eBook | Toda cultural history (Nilgiri) – Tamil Nadu

Posted on 16/06/2021 by website administrator

Until now, historians and anthropologists believed that Todas, a tribal group in the higher altitudes of the Nilgiris, reached there about 2,000 years ago. A new study by Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru researchers shows the community was already settled … Continue reading →

Posted in Anthropology, Colonial policies, Crafts and visual arts, Customs, eBook & eJournal, Economy and development, Endangered language, Figures, census and other statistics, History, Homes and utensils, Languages and linguistic heritage, Literature and bibliographies, Misconceptions, Museum collections - India, Names and communities, Nature and wildlife, Nilgiri, Particularly vulnerable tribal group, Quotes, Trees, Tribal identity, Western Ghats - tribal heritage & ecology, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off on eBook | Toda cultural history (Nilgiri) – Tamil Nadu

Audio | Historical recordings of Santali songs (1931): Arnold Bake’s recordings at Kairabani – Jharkhand

Posted on 14/06/2021 by website administrator

In Kairabani [Arnold Bake] photographed Santali pupils playing their instruments at the mission, but he seems to have been dissatisfied with the sober ambience of the premises. To also have a picture of a Santali musician in a natural environment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Eastern region – Eastern Zonal Council, History, Languages and linguistic heritage, Misconceptions, Music and dance, Musicology, Names and communities, Organizations, Santali language and literature, Worship and rituals | Tagged | Comments Off on Audio | Historical recordings of Santali songs (1931): Arnold Bake’s recordings at Kairabani – Jharkhand

India’s tribal cultural heritage: An alphabetical journey – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam & Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Posted on 07/06/2021 by website administrator

“Andhra Pradesh Tribal Welfare Department is committed for the overall socio-economic development of scheduled tribes in the State through formulation of policies and programs duly implementing the constitutional safeguards.” – Learn more | Govt., NGOs and universities | People’s Archive of … Continue reading →

Posted in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Community facilities, Cultural heritage, Democracy, Ecology and environment, Economy and development, Education and literacy, Government of India, Languages and linguistic heritage, Literature and bibliographies, Museum collections - general, Museum collections - India, Organizations, Regions of India, Revival of traditions, Seven Sister States & Sikkim – North Eastern Council, Success story, Tips, Tribal identity | Comments Off on India’s tribal cultural heritage: An alphabetical journey – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam & Andaman and Nicobar Islands

More than a question of terminology: ‘Adivasi’, ‘Indigenous Peoples of India’, ‘Vanvasi’, ‘Vanyajati’, and the administration of constitutional privileges for ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (ST)

Posted on 28/05/2021 by website administrator

A Contentious Term to denote Tribes as Indigenous Peoples of India | Full article >> In India the term ‘Adivasi’ has gained immense popularity in the last few decades to identify the tribes. This term is more commonly brought to use by … Continue reading →

Posted in Adivasi / Adibasi, Assimilation, Colonial policies, Constitution and Supreme Court, De- and re-tribalisation, Eastern region – Eastern Zonal Council, Economy and development, Figures, census and other statistics, Gandhian social movement, Government of India, Languages and linguistic heritage, Literature and bibliographies, Misconceptions, Modernity, Names and communities, Quotes, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Scheduled Tribe (ST), Seven Sister States & Sikkim – North Eastern Council, Tribal culture worldwide, Tribal identity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More than a question of terminology: ‘Adivasi’, ‘Indigenous Peoples of India’, ‘Vanvasi’, ‘Vanyajati’, and the administration of constitutional privileges for ‘Scheduled Tribes’ (ST)