Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from Their Invisibility. the Encounter Between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India
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Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India Presented by: Carmina Peñarrocha Giménez Supervised by: Dr. Rosana Peris Pichastor Dr. Daniel Pinazo Calatayud PhD Dissertation Doctoral Programme 14003 Castellón de la Plana, May 2017 Development Cooperation Cover Design. Warli Tree of Life [image online] Available at: https://es.pinterest.com/SANOOSMOM/warli-painting [Accessed 1 January 2017] Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India Doctoral Programme 14003 Thesis Dissertation Development Cooperation Presented by: Carmina Peñarrocha Giménez Supervised by: Dr. Rosa Ana Peris Pichastor Dr. Daniel Pinazo Calatayud ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Department of Developmental, Educational and Social Psychology and Methodology Interuniversity Institute of Local Development (IIDL/UJI) Castellón de la Plana, May 2017 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India 2 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India The village spirits of the village, the house spirit of the house, our elders, our foreparents, our ancestors, the path you made, the road you showed, we follow after you, we emulate your example. We invite you, we call upon you. You sit with us, you talk with us. A cup of rice beer, a plate of mixed gruel. You drink with us, you eat with us. (prayer word used by the tribal priests) 3 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India 4 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India Dedicated to the Adivasis and Jesuits in Gujarat and Jharkhand; their encounters, struggles and joys, and the immense support of my family, who were there with me day in and day out along the way 5 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India 6 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India Acknowledgements This thesis has been concluded due to many reasons. One of them is the satisfying number of people who were involved as well as the support from organisations and institutions. What follows is the list of these institutions to which I want to express my deep gratitude. It is very hard to approach a different country, a country that is far away in distance as well as in customs, culture and sociopolitical situation. India has been this place, but interestingly enough, it is a place where I do not feel uncomfortable or strange. Therefore, guided by my geographic journey both physical and academic, I pay tribute to: New Delhi: Indian Social Institute (Jesuit Centre for Research, Training and action for Socioeconomic Development and Human Rights); Jesuits in Social Action (JESA); and The Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk. Gujarat state: Jesuit institutions: Premal Jyoti, St. Xavier’s College, Adilok, Human Development and Research Centre, Gujarvani (Ahmedabad); AAdi Aushadhi (Dediapada); Adivasi Sevalaya Educational Trust (Sabarkantha district); Rajpipla Social Service Society (Rajpipla); Hangati Trust (Mandal); Shakti-Larhrc (Songadh); Navsarjan (Surat); Jivan Jyot (Bardipada); Shamgahan (Dangs); Vyara; Gujarat Sahitya Prakash (Anand). Others: The Sisters of Charity of St. Anne (Sabarkantha) and Shamgahan (Dangs district); St. Mary's Mahila Shikshan Kendra (Gomtipur); Nivalda Dispensary Carmelite Missionaries; Bhasha Research and Publication Centre (Baroda); Adivasi Academy (Tejgadh, Chhota Udepur); Tribal Research and Training Institute (Vidyapith University, Ahmedabad). Jharkhand state: Jesuit institutions: Sadbhãvnã, St. Xavier’s College, Xavier’s Institute for Social Services (XISS), Satya Barathi, Manresa House, St. Albert College, 7 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India and Lievens’ Institute of Film & Electronic media (Ranchi); Bagaicha, and Jharna (Namkum); Sarwada; Kishor Nagar, and Agricultural Training Centre (Namkun), St. Ignatius School (Gumla); Tarunoday Regional Theology Centre (Kanke); and Loyola School (Khunti). Other entities: The Daughters of St. Anne, The Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, and Jharkhand Save the Forest Movement (Ranchi). In general, I would like to thank all the people who belong to the mentioned institutions and centres; their immense support, consideration, and in many cases the love and passion I perceived through the interviews when they shared their own lives with me. Special thanks to Joseph Marianus Kujur, who I will always consider my master in India, my guide in the journey through the research and in the journey towards the Adivasis, his own people. Also my deep gratitude to Domingo Larumbe, the first Spanish Jesuit missionary I met in whose mission I found the sparkle that started my love for the Adivasis, and his niece Beatriz Larumbe, my travel companion, who shared with me the first encounter in Adivasi Sevalaya. Thanks to Sobers D’cunha, who showed me that a Jesuit is ready for everything and needs nothing. Thanks to Indu Gameti, the first Adivasi woman who also interviewed me with her questions. Thanks to all the Jesuits who spent some of their time with me; to the few tribal Jesuits in Gujarat and to the many tribal Jesuits in Jharkhand, where I had the privilege of interviewing the five last Belgian missionaries who remain in Ranchi Jesuit Province. Futhermore, I had the opportunity to meet José María Corral, whose books based on his life with the Adivasis have been a great inspiration, just before he passed away in 2014. In Spain, different people among my friends and colleagues have collaborated and shared this passion with me. It is a pleasant task to recall so many people. I will mention Paloma Garrido, Rafael Pérez, Oscar Climent, Mª. José Gómez Sevilla, Dori Apanewicz, Rosana 8 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India Clemente, and Fernando Pérez. Thanks to my dear Roberto Quiroz for his support from a distance. Thanks to my supervisors, Rosana Peris and Daniel Pinazo, who have been working with me month after month for almost four years. I would also like to express my gratitude to Inmaculada Fortanet, Vice- Rector for Internationalisation, Cooperation and Multilingualism under whose aegis the word Cooperation began to materialize into actions and projects at Universitat Jaume I. 9 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India 10 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India Table of Contents 11 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India 12 Rescuing the Identity of the Adivasis from their Invisibility. The Encounter between Jesuits and the Indigenous Peoples of India Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................... 31 The Tribal World of India and the Society of Jesus ....... 41 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................... 41 1.1.1 Historical background .......................................................................... 43 1.1.1.1 The Aryan people ................................................................................................. 43 1.1.1.2 The Emperor Ashoka and Buddhism ............................................................... 44 1.1.1.3 The Brahmins ........................................................................................................ 45 1.1.1.4 Maharajas and British ........................................................................................... 47 1.2 The Adivasis of India ................................................................. 52 1.2.1 Adivasi culture and religious thought ................................................ 53 1.2.2 Organizational structure ...................................................................... 63 1.2.3 Adivasi women ...................................................................................... 65 1.3 The Adivasi people in modern times ......................................... 68 1.3.1 The tribal belt ........................................................................................ 68 1.3.1.1 Gujarat and the tribal population ....................................................................... 70 1.3.1.2 Jharkhand and the tribal population .................................................................. 75 1.3.2 Tribes, Adivasis and Indigenous people of India ............................ 79 1.3.3 Survival and struggle ............................................................................. 85 1.3.4 Identity insights ..................................................................................... 93 1.4 The Society of Jesus ................................................................... 95 1.4.1 Contextualization