“The tribal world and the tribal way is complete in itself.” – Mahasweta Devi quoted by Gopalkrishna Gandhi in “Swearing by Mahasweta” (The Hindu, 6 August 2016)
MAHASWETA DEVI’S novel The Book of the Hunter (first published in Bengali as Byadhkhanda in 1994), is the latest in Seagull’s excellent ongoing enterprise to bring the powerful oeuvre of the literary activist to a readership well beyond Bengal.
One of Devi’s foremost passions has been to document the oral histories of the tribal communities before they disappear altogether. The Book of the Hunter weaves several elements, from fact, fiction, folklore and history, into its intricate, lovely design. The narrative, which is set in 6th-century Bengal, begins with a fictionalised account of how the medieval Brahmin Mukundaram Chakrabarti, farmer, householder and poet, is constrained to leave his native Daminya and, with difficulty, make his way across the unknown landscape, to the land of Ararha, seeking a new and kinder soil in which his family may put down roots. After devoting long years to the tasks of farming and practicality, Mukundaram’s artistic heart continues to long for creative expression: but he has not yet found the story that he is meant to tell. […]
The novel also tells us the story of the Shabars themselves, and their traditions that are so closely and secretly wound up with the forest in which they live and roam. It tells of Kalketu, the Shabar hero and founder of the Shabar clan; of the forbidden, mysterious abode of the goddess Abhaya; of the gift of hunting that she has given them, the laws that she has laid down, and the consequences of breaking these laws; and of the simple, natural way of life of these “forest children”.
And finally, it is the tragic story of how “mainstream” settlements have pushed further and further into the forests, encroaching not only into the hunting lands and homes of the tribals, but also into the delicate equilibrium of nature itself. […]
“The forests keep receding and the cities keep coming forward”, says the tribal chief Danko Shabar sadly, even as he tries to mobilise his people to withstand these pressures. But relentlessly felling, burning and clearing, the villages and townships have erased more and more forests from the earth. And so, finally, The Book of the Hunter is the story of our world, and a powerful plea for us not to destroy it but to preserve and cherish it — for we have no other. […]
Mahasweta Devi tells us in her preface that the Shabars were, bizarrely, declared a “criminal” tribe by the British in 1871, a stigma that continues to oppress the community in contemporary times. The most notable example of this stigma is the story of Chuni Kotal, the first woman graduate among the Lodha Shabars — but who, Devi tells us, after graduating in 1985, was harassed and discriminated against for several years, culminating in her tragic death by suicide in 1992. It was her tragic death, adds Devi, that truly united the dispossessed tribals. The Book of the Hunter, enriched by Devi’s lifetime of working with and for the tribals, is an important step towards helping “mainstream” culture to learn about and understand the people of the forests — and perhaps, ultimately, the forests themselves.
The Book of the Hunter, Mahasweta Devi, translated by Sagaree and Mandira Sengupta, Seagull, 2002, p.138, Rs. 325.
Source: The Hindu : “Forgotten tales” by UMA MAHADEVAN-DASGUPTA, The Hindu, 7 July 2002
Address : http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lr/2002/07/07/stories/2002070700220500.htm
Date Visited: Mon Mar 09 2015 17:42:23 GMT+0100 (CET)
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Learn more about colonial policies, the Forest Rights Act, its importance for ecology, biodiversity, ethnobotany and nutrition, and about the usage of Adivasi (Adibasi) communities in different states of India: in legal and historical records, in textbooks, scholarly papers and the media >>
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More about the work of his foundation which “aims to accelerate use of modern science and technology for agricultural and rural development to improve lives and livelihoods of communities.” – www.mssrf.org | Regarding the issues of food security raised above, and the nutritional value of indigenous grains, seeds and millets, read an in-depth report that concludes that “the tribal food basket has always been diverse and nutritious” >>
Find up-to-date information provided by, for and about Indian authors, researchers, officials, and educators | More search options >>
Search tips: in the search field seen below, combine the name of any particular state, language or region with that of any tribal (Adivasi) community; add keywords of special interest (health, nutrition endangered language, illegal mining, sacred grove); learn about the rights of Scheduled Tribes such as the Forest Rights Act (FRA); and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, women’s rights, and children’s right to education; specify any other issue or news item you want to learn more about (biodiversity, climate change, ecology, economic development, ethnobotany, ethnomedicine, global warming, effective measures to prevent rural poverty, bonded labour, and human trafficking).
For a list of websites included in a single search, click here. To search Indian periodicals, magazines, web portals and other sources safely, click here. To find an Indian PhD thesis on a particular tribal community, region and related issues, click here >>
Learn more about water-related issues that affect India’s tribal communities >>
“National development and the development of tribal communities are linked to each other.” – Droupadi Murmu | Speeches by the 15th President of India >>
“Together, we must endeavour to strengthen tribal communities which are the role model in preservation of water, forest and land, and learn from their connection with nature and the surrounding environment for the sake of the entire human race.” – journalist and tribal rights activist Dayamani Barla in The Wire >>
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