“Adivasi [Adibasi] – which is derived from Sanskrit – is applied to the dark-skinned or Austro-Asiatic indigenous groups of India (usually those from Eastern India). It is a commonly-used term in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha. It is also used by the local Mongoloid tribes of North Eastern India for the migrant workers who were brought in as indentured labourers to work in tea plantations during the colonial period. ‘Tribal’ is a very broad term in the English language, as we all know, and includes all the different indigenous groups of India.” – Santali poet, scholar and translator Ivy Imogene Hansdak (email dated 27 March 2020)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=23032
SARAH ELIZABETH WEBB, The Hindu, February 16, 2013 I have been patient — tolerant even — of the constant threat of sexual harassment that comes with travelling as a Western Woman. I anticipated it and took precautions by dressing conservatively and even wearing a fake wedding ring to ward off unwanted attention. I am conscious of … Read more
View a slideshow here >> Excerpts from the Concept Note What does it mean to be a Dalit woman, an Adivasi woman? At this conference, which is conceptualized, organized and co-ordinated by Dalit and Adivasi women, we frame these fundamental questions along with questions of the community and society at large. We examine the … Read more
Balu Diwa is a young Warli artist from the Thane district of Maharashtra. He spent a week since Christmas at Tejgadh and had dialogues and interactive workshop with tribal children at Tejgadh. The clip sent captures the Warli life as represented in Warli paintings, presenting their traditional way of life as well as presenting the … Read more
Pradeep Marawi belongs to the Gond community and is a practising Gondi artist from Bhopal. He and his wife spent a fortnight at the Adivasi Academy to do Gondi painting at the Bhasha Van (Forest of Languages) being created at the Adivasi Academy. Bhasha Van is essentially a pathway of trees at the Academy’s campus … Read more
Adivasi, ( Hindi: “Original Inhabitants”) official name (in India) Scheduled Tribes, any of various ethnic groups considered to be the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent. The term is used primarily in India and Bangladesh. In the constitution of India, promulgated in 1950, most of these groups were listed—or scheduled—as targets for social and economic development. Since … Read more