Storytelling

“Having grown up within the largely oral Khasi community in Meghalaya, whose creative expressions mainly comprised song and “iathoh khana” (storytelling), it puzzled me that, in none of the canonical creative writing textbooks, had I come across a discussion on the influences of oral storytelling on craft.” – Janice Pariat in “Decolonising creative writing: It’s about not conforming to techniques of the western canon” (Scroll.in, 4 July 2021)
https://scroll.in/article/999215/decolonising-creative-writing-its-about-not-conforming-to-techniques-of-the-western-canon
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=3382

Reviving native ecology as to restore the wealth of the people: Cultural continuity for the twenty-first century – Kerala

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Places like Kerala where there were numerous sacred groves and related culture, are ecologically disturbed now due to ill conceived developments chartered out by those who did not have any knowledge or concern about nature/ecology. Modernists could not understand the natural significance of the numerous rituals and myths. The tribal communities had their own thoughts … Read more

Audio | Author interview on the usefulness of indigenous knowledge: “Medicine Wheel for the Planet: A journey toward personal and ecological healing”

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An Indigenous ecologist on why we need to stop and listen to save the planet Earth day is April 22. And Earth is not in great shape to celebrate the day. Overheated, overpopulated, overexploited – we’re not being particularly careful with our planet. We talk to Indigenous ecologist Jennifer Grenz, of the University of British … Read more

Lending a voice to the nation’s indigenous population: Adivaani, a trust that publishes books written by Adivasis – Jharkhand and West Bengal

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Garima Mishra, Indian Express New Delhi, Sat Apr 27 2013 | Read the full article >> “Why don’t we have an Adivasi voice?”, “Why don’t we have a ‘for and by’ Adivasi publishing house?”, “Where is the authentic Adivasi narrative?” These questions had haunted Ruby Hembrom when she enrolled for a publishing course in Kolkata last year. … Read more

Forest dwellers in early India – myths and ecology in historical perspective

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Source: “Perceiving the Forest: Early India Studies” in History (February 2001 17: 1-16)URL: https://doi.org/10.1177/025764300101700101 | Backup (PDF, 1MB) >>Date Visited: 6 November 2021 The Aryans describe their enemies as dark in complexion, noseless or flat-nosed, of harsh speech, not honouring the Aryan gods, not observing the Aryan religious ritual, but rich in material possessions and … Read more

Heralding social and economic actions: Hunting and food gathering in Durwa culture – Bastar

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Within the world of food collection […] Hunts such as these, all of them taking place in the months preceding the monsoon and involving only men, made me first realize that ‘hunting’ is not synonymous with ‘meat’ or ‘food’, and that there were other connotations attached to the activity. They inevitably involved rituals and, often, first fruit … Read more