Romanticising ‘indigenous peoples’ in the West just as in urban India

The impulse to romanticise ‘indigenous peoples’ is still a powerful force in scholarship and public debate, and not only in the West but also in urban India, where ‘tribal’ (adivasi or ‘first-inhabitant’) textiles are fashionable, tribal dances grace government parades, and publishing on tribal cultures is big business. Most large-format photographic books of tribal life in India (Baldizonne 1999), for example, only perpetuate images of tribal people as guardians of static culture by conflating historical and contemporary contexts. Read more >>

Source: Tribal Transitions at SOAS – Research Description
Address : http://www.soas.ac.uk/tribaltransitions/description/
Date Visited: Thu Dec 20 2012 11:10:31 GMT+0100 (CET)

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Supporting village crafts for eco-friendly development and communal harmony at Ashadullapur – West Bengal

Projects managed by AGSSBK provide for women empowerment. Capacity building programmes aim at fostering communal harmony in 8 villages of Sattore and Kasba Gram Panchayat of Birbhum District of West Bengal. Educational projects help local people to understand and spread their own cultural heritage. It is located in the region of Bolpur where Rabindranath Tagore set up the University of Santiniketan. At nearby Sriniketan, India’s first Nobel … Read more

Pottery & Terracotta art work in Ashadullapur (Santiniketan) – West Bengal

Opening Programme Training Cum Production on Pottery & Terracotta art work Venue: Ashadullapur | Date:  4th October 2012 | at:  2:00pmModerator: Sanyasi Lohar Learn more about the Ashadullapur Gramin Silpa & Sastha Bidhan Kendra >> Elements Contributors Introduction and Tea Sanyasi Lohar/ Jakob Dörr Opening Ceremony: A Santal song Nilmoni Hansda, Khukumoni Hansda, Maloti Baski, Pansuri Baski, Sumi … Read more

Santal musical instrument workshops – West Bengal

A workshop for the Santal flute called Tiryo and Murli was held 16th September 2012 at Ghosaldanga near Santiniketan. The workshop marked the beginning of a major effort, namely to actively involve Santali villagers and youths in the revival of their musical heritage. There was much excitement right from the start. The group discussed which … Read more