Irula communities: Spread over the three southern States with a language marked by unique features – Tamil Nadu, Karnataka & Kerala

3.10. Cultural Forms of the Irula People The life cycle rituals of the Irulas are markedly different from that of the other Hindu or Christian communities. They perform the life cycle ceremonies with the help of their women by well-established cultural patterns and do not depend on outside intervention to keep itself going. They celebrate … Read more

Need for change of attitudes towards tribal people in India – Andaman

Until there is a widespread change of attitudes towards tribal people in India, where they are still often viewed as ‘primitive’ and ‘backward’, tribes such as the Jarawa will never receive the respect they deserve. The Jarawa’s land and resources must be protected so they are safe from exploitation. It is only when they are … Read more

“You take us to be poor, but we’re not”: Proud Not Primitive, a campaign on communities that can take care of themselves

The Jarawa of the Andaman Islands enjoy a time of opulence. Their forests gives them more than they need. ANVITA ABBI, PROFESSOR OF LINGUISTICS, JAWAHARLAL NEHRU UNIVERSITY The Dongria Kondh grow over 100 crops and harvest almost 200 different wild foods, which provide them with year-round, rich nutrition even in times of drought. Over generations, … Read more

Kondh Adivasis farmers known for their sophisticated practices of agro-forestry: Koraput region, “one of the world’s great biodiversity hotspots” – Odisha

Bastar art and the Hindu-isation of the tribal myth – Chhattisgarh

Niranjan Mahawar, 75 [in 2012], is a self-taught ethnologist of Chhattisgarh. He spent almost five decades in southern Chhattisgarh to study the life and art of the Bastar tribes. […] Today, Mahawar — who was made famous in a series of interviews by the writer Dom Moraes — is considered an authoritative voice on central … Read more