An Ethnographic Case Study on Paniya Tribe in Wayanad
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GLOBALISATION AND SOCIAL LIFE: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY ON PANIYA TRIBE IN WAYANAD A Dissertation submitted to the University of Kerala in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Work Submitted by MS.RAGIN MARY TOMS EXAM CODE: 91514402 CANDIDATE CODE: 91515115021 SUBJECT CODE: SW 2.4.5 Department of Social Work Loyola College of Social Sciences Sreekariyam, Trivandrum- 695017, Kerala UNIVERSITY OF KERALA 2015 – 2017 1 CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL This is to certify that this dissertation entitled, ―GLOBALISATION AND SOCIAL LIFE: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY ON PANIYA TRIBE IN WAYANAD‖ is a record of genuine work done by Ms.RAGIN MARY TOMS,IVth Semester Student inMaster of Social Work Course of this College under my guidance and supervision and it is hereby approved for submission. Thiruvananthapuram 22/08/2017 Fr.Saji. J Staff Guide Department of Social Work Loyola College of Social Sciences Trivandrum Recommended for forwarding to the University of Kerala DR. SONNY JOSE Head of the Department Of Social Work Loyola College of Social Sciences Trivandrum Recommended for forwarding to the University of Kerala DR. SAJI P. JACOB Principal I/C Loyola College of Social Science Trivandrum 2 DECLARATION I, RAGIN MARY TOMS , hereby declare that the dissertation ‗‗GLOBALISATION AND SOCIAL LIFE: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY ON PANIYA TRIBE IN WAYANAD‘‘ is a bona fide work done by me for the award of the degree of MASTER OF SOCIAL WORK of the University of Kerala during the year 2015- 2017. I further declare that this work is not partly or wholly submitted for any other purposes and the data included in this report, collected from various sources, are true to the best of my knowledge. Trivandrum RAGIN MARY TOMS 22/08/2017 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I am grateful to God for the good health and wellbeing that were necessary to complete the study. The completion of the research work was not just tedious, but a process which required the support and cooperation from multifarious sources. That implies, the work is successfully completed only with their whole hearted support and incredible cooperation in my work. I owe my whole- hearted gratitude to my research guide Fr.Saji. J, who has always spared time and critically monitor every stage of the research and for the timely suggestions, guidance and help throughout the study and without him thestudy would not have been successful. I would like to thank DR.Sonny Jose, Head of the Department, Social Work. I admire his optimism and the faith he had in me for undertaking the dissertation. I express my sincere gratitude towards him for his useful comments and constant encouragement. I acknowledge Fr.Ranjit George S.J. for the constant support and sharing his ideas regarding the topic. I express my sincere gratitude to DR.Saji P. Jacob,Principal in charge, DR.Sunil Kumar, Librarianand all other faculty members of the Department of Social Work having allowed me, with all support, to complete my work as part of the curriculum. I acknowledge and appreciate Fr.BabyChalil, Director, TUDI and the Paniya community in Eachome, Wayanadfor spending their valuable time to share the experiences which in turn helped me to complete the study successfully. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my dear friends, Ms.SangeethaBal, Ms.Anju M. Jacob, Mr.Sain Mathew and Ms.RovinaXavi, without their precious support it would not be possible to complete the research. I thank my family who stood by me and my friends for their support and encouragement. I am grateful to all who have in one way or the other helped me in accomplishing the work by contributing their valuable comments and suggestions. RAGIN MARY TOMS 4 CONTENTS CERTIFICATE DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT CHAPTERS PAGE.NO: CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 7-15 CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 16-30 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 31-32 CHAPTER 4:ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE PRESENTATION 33-46 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS 47-60 CHAPTER 6: SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION 61-66 BIBLIOGRAPHY 67-69 APPENDIX 70-71 5 ABSTRACT Tribals are also known as indigenous or ecosystem people closely associated to nature and its resources. One has to love tribal culture in India to understand the uniqueness of their culture. Warm hospitality, simple ways of living and sincere judgment of the opinions are some of the traits that mark the tribal cultures of India. Their custom depicts their belief in simplicity. The forces of globalization have made changes in the life of Paniya; especially their world views the dress they wear; their food habits wherein fast food and beverages replace their traditional food; the soap operas they watch with themes and characters drawn from the ‗West‘; in the music and themes they discuss; in their access and preference of health practices; in their radical thinking in philosophy and religion. Given the measure of impact on the mainstream how much more would this be on the passive minority of the paniya who have been driven away from their own abode of verdant forests to live on the peripheries determined and dominated by the majority on the terms and conditions laid down by the dominion. The ethnographic case study design has been adopted for the purpose of the study. A deep narrative of the community has been absorbed from multiple perspectives in order to give voice to the people in the tribe. Non-participant observation, unstructured interview and Focused Group Discussion were used by the Ethnographer to collect data due to the explorative nature of the topic. 6 INTRODUCTION A tribe is a group of people in a primitive community or barbarous stage of development usually considering them to be having a common ancestor. Tribals are also known as indigenous or ecosystem people closely associated to nature and its resources. Their social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national population and their status is regulated wholly or partially by their customs or traditions or by their own rules or regulations. They view both themselves and nature as part of an extended ecological family that shares ancestry and origins. Their cultural models of nature include humans as an aspect of the complexity of life. This is known as kin centric approach of tribals. They are known as aboriginals, national minorities, first people or autochthonous people. The major features of tribal population are:- They are the descendants of the original inhabitants of a territory. They are ecosystem people, engaging in cultivations, hunting, gathering or fishing who use multi-use strategy of appropriation of nature. They practice a small-scale, labor- intensive form of rural production which produce little surplus and has low energy needs. They do not have centralized political institutions, organize their life at the level of community , and make decisions on a consensus basis. They share a common language, culture, moral values, beliefs, clothing and other identifying characteristics as well as relationship to a particular territory. They have a different world view, consisting of a custodial and non-materialist attitude to land and natural resources based on a symbolic interchange with the natural universe. They are subjugated by a dominant culture and society . 7 They consist of individuals who subjectively consider themselves to be indigenous. They control, legally or not, immense areas of natural resources. Tribals are having unwritten knowledge on natural resources transmitted from one generation to another. They themselves are the most important intellectual resource among indigenous population. They would be sharing their knowledge through:- Personal wisdom . The experience accumulated over historical times and transmitted from one generation to another by a certain cultural group. The experiences socially shared by the members of a same time‘s generation. The experience shared into the household or the domestic group to which the individual belongs. The personal experience, particular to each individual. Social life in general can be termed as an individual's interpersonal relationships with people within their immediate surroundings or general public. Tribal social life can include their education system, culture, livelihood, health and medical practices. Indian tribal people play a key part in constructing the cultural heritage of India. They occupy a major part in the history of India as they are considered as the true habitants of India. The tribal people are scattered in different parts of India and they form a considerable number of the population of India. The traditional and cultural distinction of each tribal community has made them distinguishable from each other and their cultural and traditional heritage add colour and variation to the Indian culture as a whole and form a compact culture. They primarily live in various ecological and geo-climatic conditions ranging from plains, forests, hills and inaccessible areas that perhaps lie dotted in the panoramic Indian terrain. One has to love tribal culture in India to understand the uniqueness of their culture. Warm hospitality, simple ways of living and sincere judgment of the opinions are some of the traits that mark the tribal cultures of India. Their custom depicts their belief in simplicity. 8 Most of the tribes in India possess their own gods and goddesses, reflecting the dependence of tribal people on nature and animism. Except for the few most of the tribes in India are sociable, hospitable, and fun loving along with strong community bonds. Some of the tribes shares patriarchal cultural ties and some of them are women oriented. They have their own festivals and celebrations. However it is seen that Christianity has brought a change that can be termed as a total transformation in the tribal lifestyle and out look particularly in the North Eastern states of India.