Seasons & festivals

“Our boys and girls get an opportunity to set their eyes upon each other during the dance of the Dandari. They also get to interact a little before they can mutually agree to take the matter to the next step. […] As per our customs and traditions the youngsters enjoy liberty in many aspects. It is rare that a selection made during the Dandari-Ghusadi [dance festival] phase gets cancelled.” – Patel of Bandeyer Atram Sone Rao (Telangana), quoted in “Adivasis dance their way to a girl’s heart” (The Hindu, 29 October 2016)
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/telangana/Adivasis-dance-their-way-to-a-girl’s-heart/article16085049.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=22436

Promoting culture in collaboration with other communities: Aimol Custom and Culture Development Organization (ACACDO) – Manipur

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Manipur tribe turns to music to preserve culture | Read the full report here >> IMPHAL: Aimol, a Scheduled Tribe community in Manipur with a small population, is on the warpath to preserve and promote its culture, tradition, costume and ethnic social traditions, which are dying slowly. Members of the community celebrated the first anniversary … Read more

Bringing indigenous knowledge systems into a “pedagogy of the collective”: Kora, Munda, Oraon, Mahli and Santal communities’ egalitarian value system is a source of strength – West Bengal

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Santal educationist Dr. Boro Baski describes the effects of the ‘Pass-Fail’ policy introduced by the West Bengal government in an essay published on on 25th November 2019 by the Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika >> Text: Courtesy Boro Baski by email 7 December 2019Photo © Anandabazar Patrika Adivasi learner and ‘pass-fail’ policy by Dr. Boro BaskiEnglish … Read more

Report on JAGWAR Santal Literary Meet 2013 – Jharkhand

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JAGWARSantal Literary Meet 2013: Santal Onolia Helmel 2013A Report The first Santal Literary Meet – in Santali named “JAGWAR: Santal Onolia Helmel” – was held at the Johar HRD Centre, Dumka, Jharkhand, on 23-24 January 2013. It began with the Inaugural Session in which the Convener, Ms Ivy Imogene Hansdak, spoke of the contributions made … Read more

“We have much to learn from their culture”: Deriving hope and inspiration from the rich tradition of democratic living in Adivasi society

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Cultivating the elements of adivasi way of life in the society at large is the need of the hour, opined renowned development economist Jean Dreze on Wednesday BHUBANESWAR: Cultivating the elements of adivasi way of life in the society at large is the need of the hour, opined renowned development economist Jean Dreze on Wednesday. … Read more

Resources for the classroom: Learning from and about India’s tribal communities, their culture and knowledge systems

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“[I]t is some of the basic values and ideology imbibed in the traditional tribal socio-cultural milieus that should have been emulated and promoted amongst the non-tribal mainstream, not, as has been going on, the other way round.” – Arup Maharatna (Professor, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune), in Who Is Civilised?’: In Praise of Tribal … Read more