BLOCK 1 Many Are of the Opinion That the Tribals Being Away from The
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BLOCK 1 Many are of the opinion that the tribals being away from the mainstream of life of the country, living in the mountains and dense forests, have no past or a recorded history. There may not be any written records but the oral history could be of some importance to know the origin of the tribals and the unique culture that they inherit and practice. Our whole concentration in this course will be to make an assessment of the situation of the tribes in India constituting 8.74 % of India’s population. As we have said earlier the Indian government has termed these classes of people as scheduled tribes and popularly they are known as Adivasis. These groups of people have their own unique culture, customs, and way of living, myths and so on that they have inherited from their fore fathers that distinguish them from the other groups. But the recent developments and progress in the field of science and technology have created some amount of disturbance amoung the tribals. Although there are a number of measures taken to maintain the cultural identity of the tribals but hardly anything benefits them. Unit 1 familiarizes us with the Historical Roots of the Tribals. Many are of the view that they do not have any past. But in this unit we will be dealing with themes like what do we understand by the term tribals, some of the historical facts about them and the sources that support these views. Unit 2 studies the Tribal Folklore and Cultural Expressions. This unit studies the culture and the folklore of the tribals, the role that folklore plays in the life of the tribals, the various cultural expressions, the organization of the administration, the various socio-religious customs and the feasts and celebrations. Unit 3 highlights the Impact of Scientific Culture and Globalization on the Tribals. Here we will pay attention to the policies that are introduced by the government and modern ways of development like industrialization that have had a great impact on the tribal culture. The instability of the states in different fields adversely affects the growth and development of the tribals. Unit 4 probes into the Social Organization and Administration of the Tribals. They have different ways of administration and dislike any interference by the states. Kinship is the basis of 1 all the bonds that exist. The tribals have been free to exercise their customary laws regarding inheritance, marriage and other social practices. Even though the tribals may not have a written record of the past that they have gone through, the culture and the customs that they have inherited from their ancestors reveal a lot of things. They have their own unique identity which is very much threatened by some of the wrong policies of Governments and political parties which calls for remedial measures. 2 BPYE-012-TRIBAL AND DALIT PHILOSOPHY (4 credits) COURSE INTRODUCTION A tribe looked at from the historical point of view could be those social groups that have grown outside the states or mainstream of the country. On the other hand they considered to be the original people of the land or even those settled first in the continents of Asia, Africa, Australia and even America. Some of the thinkers are of the opinion that tribes could be the intermediate stage between the band and states and others say that tribes developed only after states and we need to study them only according to their relation to the larger whole that is state. Looked at from an Indian context these very people are known as the “Adivasees” meaning the first settlers in a particular geographical region. The government of India terms these groups of people as Scheduled tribes. The Indian government is well aware of the tribal population in the country and has made a list of all the tribes and they have been guaranteed some special privileges and rights, not with the intention of making them ahead of others but in bringing them into the mainstream of life of the country. Who then are the Dalits? They are the ones who by virtue of their caste membership were placed socially, economically, culturally and politically at the very bottom of a hierarchical society. They make up about 16 per cent of the Indian population and number about 138 million. They have been called by various names, such as `Untouchables’, `Harijans’, `Outcastes’, `Pariahs’ But the term `Dalit’ that is being used today is a name that the untouchables have given themselves. "Dalit" means ground down, downtrodden, oppressed, but it now is being used by the low castes in a spirit of pride and militancy. The name "dalit" is not only a rejection of the very idea of pollution or impurity or "untouchability," but also, it reveals a sense of unified class, of a movement toward equality. It speaks of a new stage in the movement of Untouchables in India. This course, consisting of sixteen units, draws our attention to important social groups and highlights the philosophical visions implied in their traditional customs, beliefs and practices. 1 Block 1 focuses on the historical aspect of the tribals looking at their origin and the past, their cultural expressions, the impact of the modern development and globalization, and the way the tribals have organised themselves. Block 2 looks at the tribals from a philosophical point of view and tries to highlight their philosophical outlook towards life, the values and the morality that they uphold and the spirituality that they practice. Block 3 deals with the story of the dalits, one of the social sections in the Hindu society or more so Indian society, looking at the violence and the discrimination that this group of people undergoes. Block 4 highlights the philosophical outlook towards the dalits, the way the dalits look at themselves and the others view of them, the marginalization and deconstruction and bringing them to the mainstream of life. 2 UNIT 1 HISTORICAL ROOTS OF THE TRIBALS Contents 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Definition 1.3 Tribal Population 1.4 The Mundas 1.5 The Oraons 1.6 Exodus from the Indus Valley 1.7 Final Settlement 1.8 Present Perspectives 1.9 Let Us Sum Up 1.10 Key Words 1.11 Further Readings and References 1.12 Answers to Check Your Progress 1.0 OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to get to know who the tribes are in general and to have an insight of the history of some major tribes living in the hilly terrains of the eastern regions of India. This region is full of dense forests and hill ranges and underneath in the womb of the earth there lie many rich minerals. Here in remote regions live the simple honest and unsophisticated people whom we call the primitive people, tribes or the Adivasees. 1.1 INTRODUCTION In this Unit we will focus our attention to the history of two major tribal races, first, the Kolarian race whom historians preferred to call the Munda race which comprises of the tribes like the Mundas, the Santals, Kharias, Hos, Asurs and Korwas and second, the Dravidian race in this region embracing the tribes like Oraons, Gonds and the Maltos. All these tribes live mainly in the states of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chattisgarh and the adjacent 1 districts of MP. These tribes are also in a very good number working in the Tea estates in Assam and settled there since 19th century. The history of these tribes go far back in the past thousands of years ago reaching to the ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjodaro of the Indus Valley. Besides their history other aspects of the tribal life too are quite interesting. Their languages and literature, customs and rituals, their religion and philosophy, their social and political organizations, arts and culture, dance , songs and the whole tribal ethos may as well be an engrossing study. As for now we will limit our study to the historical roots of these tribes and their struggles for survival through ages. So far the writers in the past on the tribal history and even the tribals in general thought of forts of Rohtasgarh or Ruidasgarh on the Kaimur hills in South Bihar belonging to their ancestors. But off and on some of the tribal people of this region spoke of Ajamgarh, Harappa ;and Mohenjodaro and the long sojourn of their ancestors through the valley of the twin rivers Ganges and Yamuna. These names do come in their folk songs. The history of the Mundas and the Oraons caught the attention of some researchers ever since some archeological findings came to light during the last century. Archeologists, anthropologists, linguists and historians began to take keen interests in them. The academic interests grew. This study may be the continuation of this curious search about the past of the ancestors of the Mundas and the Oraons. Several questions arise as to the origin of these tribes, their possible exodus from the Indus Valley and their long journey southeast to reach the Mountain regions of Chotanagpur now called Jharkhand the name given to it by the Mughal emperors in 16th century. Before going further, we may try to understand what the connotation tribe means and what are the other names in use for them. 1.2 DEFINITION The word “tribe” appears to have been derived etymologically from the Latin word “tribus” which means “group”. The Romans used terms like” tribus barbari” meaning the the Barbarian group or tribes with beards and shabby hair unlike the Romans. In English such people were named as primitive people(L .