Anthropology

“[I]ndigenous people in India also feel the claustrophobic confines of their identity which has been imposed on them by others, be it the colonial administrator, the colonial anthropologist.” – Santali poet, scholar and translator Ivy Imogene Hansdak in “Is tribal identity relevant in today’s world?”, Inaugural Speech, National Conference “Tribes In Transition-II: Reaffirming Indigenous Identity Through Narrative” (2017)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23032

Visual anthropological records of the adivasi communities’ lives and traditions: A project facilitated by Video Volunteers – Gujarat

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“We learnt how to make a story. We never gave importance to the story before, but now we do.” – Jyotiben, trainer “Even in the age of information overload, it is surprising that so little information is available on the tribals. So many histories- personal, political, oral, visual, gastronomic, medical, linguistic, are tucked away in little … Read more

Listen patiently to the tribals, with their immense knowledge and creativity: The key to preserving nature while ending widespread exploitation and stigmatization of women

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In contemporary practice, the tribal memory is greatly undermined. There is general insistence that tribal children attend schools where non-tribal children attend schools, that they use medicines manufactured for others and that they adopt common agricultural practices. All because the world has very little time to listen patiently to the tribals, with their immense knowledge … Read more

A holistic view of the world of adivasis under the British: Understanding the encroaching colonial ideals and intentions in the name of development and civilization

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Adivasis in Colonial India – Survival, Resistance and Negotiation by Biswamoy Pati (Orient BlackSwan, 2011) How do we define ‘adivasis’? A post-modernist approach will situate them as ‘colonial constructs’. However, as this book goes to show, tribals were not just a colonial creation. They were a part of south Asian reality at the time of India’s … Read more

Tip | Get inspired by the “success stories” of tribal education in India and beyond

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Networking, respect for the culture nurtured by local communities and knowing the aspirations of modern tribal youth – these factors help rural children realize their full potential. In recent time, modernity has triggered tribal consciousness empathetically. Increasingly available facilities are pushing the educated and informed tribal groups to seek (new) identity among majority in the Indian society. […] So it is very … Read more

Indigenous Knowledge Systems of the Rabha community: Protecting elephants – Assam

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Source: Elephants in Ethnicity and Folklore of Rabha tribes of Assam | Tata Fellowships in FolkloreAddress: http://indianfolklore.org/TataFellowships/?p=736Date Visited: Sun Sep 11 2016 11:49:42 GMT+0200 (CEST) [Bold typeface added above for emphasis]