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

Understanding the lifestyle, rituals and social customs of seven indigenous tribes: “India’s first live tribal museum” – Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum

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As per the last news reports, India’s first live Tribal Museum has registered a marked increase in tourist footfall this year. And if data is to be analysed, the footfall of domestic and international tourists has considerably increased since it has been inaugurated on a year-on-year basis. | Read the full report on Times Travel … Read more

“Our hunting, our economy and even our festivities were interlinked to iron smelting”: The Asur community’s last custodians of a traditional technique – Jharkhand

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Laldeo Asur passes his days basking in the mellow winter sun, his 70-year-old body now too frail for the rigours of village life. But it is not his advancing age he is too concerned about but the advance of modernity on his tribe, the Asurs. Laldeo knows that after him there will be none to … Read more

Economic policies of the colonial and post-colonial states: The Kurichia community of Wayanad – Kerala

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Impacts of socio economic changes on tribes of Waynad in the colonial and post colonial period: A study with special reference to Kurichias by Rajan, E K | Read the full chapter here >> CHAPTER – VI  ECONOMIC IMPACT OF COLONIAL AND POST-COLONIAL TRIBAL PEOPLE  In this chapter a detailed discussion on the economic policies … Read more

Admirable demographic regime of India’s tribes thanks to living in tune with the natural resources of their environment

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By Arup Maharatna, Mainstream […] Thus, the relatively low infant and child mortality (vis-à-vis adults) in the tribal population, if true, could provide a clue simultaneously to their relatively high CWR on the one hand and a stability of their relative population size vis-à-vis a secular decline for the Hindus over the first half of the … Read more

“We are so much more than that”: Book by S. Swarnalatha documenting the lives her own community, the Irula, who are known for their knowledge of nature and medicinal herbs – Tamil Nadu & Kerala

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“My grandmother told me if someone ever pointed out our dance movements are peculiar, we should tell them these are the feline steps of a hunter” | To read the full story, click here >> Swarnalatha belongs to the tribal Irula community, known for their snake-catching skills. “We are so much more than that. We … Read more