Worship & rituals

“Bomman thatha told me that our gods live in stones, big rocks and trees. We won’t cut aal maram (Ficus religiosa) because gods will be in that tree. Even the water in the area around the tree should be used neatly and not destroyed. In our community our god Ajji (grandmother) lives in Ellamalai mountain. She is also called Thrithri Eributham. […] Before fishing or taking tubers, we will pray to god and only then we will take it.” – Wildlife conservationist Ramesh in “Bomman thatha and his forest”, a conversation with his grandfather on “bonding between adivasi people and the forest” (At the Edge of Existence, 29 October 2014)
https://cultureandconservation.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/bomman-thatha-and-his-forest/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=8262

Landless Kol tribe forest dwellers: Permission required to plant or use trees such as neem, amla and mahua – Uttar Pradesh

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Though the Kols are anthropologically tribal, they are recognized as a Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh. Not only has this deprived them of their traditional source of living-the forest, it has largely left them dependant and landless, languishing in silica quarries and sand mines. The Kols mainly inhabit the backward Bundelkhand and Baghelkhand regions bordering … Read more

Video | Hanmi: A Treasure Trove of Oral Heritage – Karnataka

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Hanmi is the one of the few artists who has mastered the oral epic songs and other verbal art. She belongs to Gamokkalu tribe from Uttara Kannada district Karnataka. Sadly now Hanmi is the only person in her community who can sing the entire Mahabharata and we are losing time. There is an urgent need … Read more

“Was Narmada valley the centre of human evolution?”: Excavations along one of India’s seven holy rivers

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Was India home to one or more unknown hominin species, fossils of which we have not yet been discovered? And did they interbreed with the pre-existing hominid groups in the region? There is no definitive theory that can answer these questions but archaeologists agree that most of these scenarios are possible. What they also agree … Read more

Poetry on the beauty of nature and its close association with mankind: “Tribal literature is as rich as any other literature in the world”

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Mizo writer Darchhawna, who was awarded the Padmashree recently, praised tribal literature at a conference here today. He spoke on the concluding day of the Tribal Literary Conference and said tribal literature is as rich as any other literature in the world. Referring to elements of poetry in tribal literature, he said a poem describes … Read more

Audio & eBook | Kota music and “signs of indigeneity” in the Nilgiri Hills – Tamil Nadu

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Listen to “Konjenetre bommeyetre mānte nōṭē” and other beautiful songs of the Kota community (with detailed explanations) on Kota God Song >> Richard K. Wolf (Harvard University) and Frank Heidemann (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich) | Read the full introduction >> […] Many tribals also engage in activities that articulate tribal values in intra-community and … Read more