An Ethnographic Case Study on Paniya Tribe in Wayanad

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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 .

 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.

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.

In order to entirely comprehend tribal culture in India, to understand the uniqueness of their culture, a detailed study is very much required by travelling within the society. Their customs mirror their confidence in simplicity. Tribal people generally firmly cling to their identity, despite external influences that had threatened tribal culture, especially after the post-independence chaotic period. However it is observed that Christianity has brought about a change that can be termed as a 'total transformation' in tribal lifestyle and outlook, particularly in the North-eastern states of India.

Tribal people in India were originally primitive and lived a joint communal life. They were mostly involved in slash and burn cultivation or primitive agriculture. Some were pastoral and artisan occupations are also taken up by some tribes.

Tribals generally believe in spirits and supernatural forces though they do not have any formal religion. However their interactions with mainstream religions have changed their religious practices. Most of the north east tribes have embraced Christianity and the central Indian tribes have adopted some form of Hinduism. They practice their old customs in parallel. There is no caste system among tribes though the position of chief is ancestral in some tribes. Most of the them are governed by a group of elders. Their marriage practices include monogamy, polygyny and polyandry. Some of them practice levirate and sororate; levirate marriage is the forced marriage of a widow to the brother of her deceased husband; sororate marriage is the forced marriage of the sister of a deceased or infertile wife to marry or having sex with her brother-in-law, the widower/husband.

The concept of bride price for marriage, instead of dowry is present among many Indian tribes. This is sharp contrast with the dowry system in mainstream Indian communities. Elopement is also an acceptable form of marriage among some tribes.

Divorces can be easily obtained in tribal communities on grounds of infidelity, sterility and laziness. Tribal families can either be nuclear families or extended/ joint families. Sexual division of labour is prevalent in tribal communities, however specialization of trades is not prevalent as seen in urban societies. Most of the tribal communities did not have any concept of currency, private property or rigid political system. Collective ownership seems to be dominant as forest land, flora and fauna are considered community resources (Haseena, 2015).

Indian tribes are known for their colourful dress, dance and music. They have festivals and rituals in connection with birth of child, puberty, seasons, harvest etc… Their literature is nonexistent as their dialects have no script. Tribal art generally reflects the creative energy found in rural areas that acts as an undercurrent to the craftsmanship of the tribal people. Tribal art ranges through a wide range of art forms, such as wall paintings, tribal dances, tribal music, and so on. They are the ones close to nature and this thing is regional. They have a set of belief system that allows them to interpret things in their own native ways and this influences them in their art even. Tribal and folk art have the inclusion of fairs, festivals, local deities, fantasy in their representation.

Where folk music is a mere rustic reflection of the larger Indian society, tribal music often represents cultures that are very different. Some of these tribal cultures are throwbacks to cultural conditions as they were thousands of years ago. Tribal and folk music is not taught in the same way that Indian classical music is taught. There is no formal period of apprenticeship where the student is able to devote their entire life to learning the music, the economics of rural life does not permit this sort of thing. The musical practitioners must still attend to their normal duties of hunting, agriculture or whatever their chosen profession is. Music in the villages is learned almost by osmosis. From childhood the music is heard and imbibed along with ones mother's milk. There are numerous public activities that allow the villagers to practice and hone their skills. These are the normal functions which syncronize village life with the universe. The music is an indispensable component of functions such as weddings, engagements, and births. There are also many songs associated with planting and harvesting. In these activities the villagers routinely sing of their hopes, fears and aspirations.

Folk music is also used for educational purposes. For instance, in Andra Pradesh there is a function when a girl has her first menses. In this function, the elderly women in the community gather at the house, the girl is given rich food and other gifts. During this function the women sing songs that are extremely bawdy. To an outsider this would seem uncharacteristic of obviously respectable community members. However the function of such songs is to provide the girl first instructions on her emerging womanhood and what her future marital duties will be (H S Saksena, 2006).

To ensure higher rate of economic growth, the newly elected Congress Government with Dr. Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister adopted in 1991 popularly called New Economic Policy as part of Structural Adjustment Programmes on the advice of IMF and World Bank. According to this policy, the Government was to prune down its expenditure so as to recue budget deficits for achieving price stability. But more important element of new economic policy was the adoption of what are called Structural Adjustment Reforms which sought to change the nature of Indian economic system by ultimately establishing a free market economy. Under this Structural Adjustment Programme, the role of public sector in economic development had been diluted and that of private sector enhanced and expanded.

According to (HemantPratap Singh,2015), the main objectives behind the launching of the New –Economic Policy (NEP):-

 To convert Indian economy in to the arena of Globalization and to give it a new thrust on market orientation

 The NEP intended to bring down the rate of inflation and to remove imbalances in payment  It intended to move towards higher economic growth rate and to build sufficient foreign exchange reserves  It wanted to achieve economic stabilization and to convert the economy in to a market economy by removing all kinds of unnecessary restrictions  It wanted to permit the international flow of goods, services, capital, human resources and technology, without many restrictions

The last quarter of the 20th century has been a wave of economic policy reforms in the developing world, with one country after another taking the Liberalization cure,

often imposed by the international financial institutions. This wave of reform had been preceded by a quarter-century of state directed effort at economic development, during which time the goals of economic self reliance and import substitution industrialization were the hallmarks of development strategies in the less developed countries. The term ―liberalization‖ in this context implies economic liberalization. The other important aspects of the policy are –Privatization of the public sector, Globalization and market friendly state. Privatization is also one of the aspects of the new economic policy that can note wide range of ideas. Privatization refers to a process that reduces the involvement of the state, public sector in economic activities of a nation.

Globalization represents one of the aspects of the New Economic Policy. It made the economy outwardly oriented such that its activities are now governed both by domestic market and the world market. The general usages of the term Globalization can be:-

 Interaction and interdependence among countries  Integration of world economy  Deterritorisation

The term Globalization was first coined in 1980s. But even before this, there were interaction among nations. But in the modern days, Globalization has launched all spheres of life such as economy, education, technology, cultural phenomenon, social aspects etc. The term Global Village is also frequently used to high light the significance of the Globalization. In simple words it is a process of increasing economic integration and growing economic interdependence between countries in the world economy. .

The origin of globalization in India need to be the analysed in terms of economic changes brought about in the country in the last decades of 20th century. The definite move towards economic Globalization came in the summer of 1991 when the country found itself in the midst of a series balance of payment crisis and was bailed out by the IMF and that World Bank offered programs of stabilization and structural adjustment which India was hardly in a position to refuse. Also, the economic policies

of India up to the 1980 had been that of import substitution and protectionism. The anti-globalisation movement is famously broad, encompassing environmentalists, anarchists, unionists, the hard left, some of the soft left, those campaigning for fair development in poorer countries and others who want to tear the whole thing down, in the same way that the original Luddites attacked mechanised spinning machines.

Not everyone agrees that globalisation is necessarily evil, or that globalised corporations are running the lives of individuals or are more powerful than nations. Some say that the spread of globalisation, free markets and free trade into the developing world is the best way to beat poverty - the only problem is that free markets and free trade do not yet truly exist. Globalisation can be seen as a positive, negative or even marginal process. And regardless of whether it works for good or ill, globalisation's exact meaning will continue to be the subject of debate among those who oppose, support or simply observe it. Today globalization is being challenged around the world. With effects of globalization, India has witnessed development, at a more rapid rate than ever before. Also we have learnt that globalization is more harmful for the developing and the under developed countries as it generates profit only for the developed economies. So, the research intends to study whether there is any connection between Globalization and tribal life and to understand the impact of globalisation on Paniya tribe.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

India is a land of different cultures, traditions, languages, religions and geographic characteristics. Indian tribal culture speaks volumes about the diversity of the country. Tribal culture, their traditions and practices reveal almost all the aspects of Indian culture and civilization. According to R.N.Mukherjee, a tribe is that human group, whose members have common interest, territory, language, social law and economic occupation. The different tribes in India if ever counted can move up to a mind boggling number, with all their ethnicities and impressions. Majority of the tribal population of present Kerala live in the hilly areas. But some of the hill tribes come down to the low lying areas and interact with the people of the plains and maintain contact with the outer world.

Wayanad has the highest tribal population in Kerala (28%) (Aerthayil,2008). The communities which live in the region are Paniyans, Kurichians, UraliKurumans, Kattunaykkans, Adiyans, Pulayans, Mullukurumans and Kalanadis.The process of globalization can be defined the way it has to be seen, economic, political, social, cultural or any other, which started early ages of the recorded human history. In 1991, India opened up for liberalization and privatization. Also the process of globalization has its impact on indigenous communities. The Paniya tribes engaged in shifting cultivation, gathering of forest products and hunting, but now most of them have become agricultural labourers under the settlers. When shifting cultivation was prevalent, they had an important role in farming, feeding the family, maintaining social relations etc... When cash economy was introduced, they became the controller of cash and household (Haseena, 2015). Then comes the relevance of the study ―Globalization and Social Life: An Ethnographic Case Study of Paniya Tribe in Wayanad‖.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

After India adopted the path of globalization in the 1990s, many positive changes have happened in our country. India has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world and a leading country in Information Technology. On the Human Development Index, India is ranked lowest means, there is a contradiction in our development paradigm. The so called development has not reached the majority of the people, especially tribals. Not many in depth ethnographic studies have been conducted on the socio cultural changes happened to Paniya tribe in the context of globalization in Kerala. Thus the understanding of the study may contribute to the disciplinary needs of Tribal Studies, Cultural Studies, Anthropolgy, Social work, Sociology etc. So this study has its own significance.

DEFINITIONS OF CONCEPTS

Globalization

Conceptual Definition - ―Globalization is the result of powerful governments, especially that of the United States, pushing trade deals and other accords down the throats of the world‘s people to make it easier for corporations and the wealthy to dominate the economies of nations around the world without having obligations to the people of those nations‖ (Chomsky, 2016).

Operational Definition- Globalization is a continuous process of amalgamating the economy and culture in a global scenario for better trade and economic benefits in which the developed countries taking advantages of the resources in developing countries and witnesses the miserable conditions of autochthonous people.

Tribe

Conceptual Definition - ―A tribe is an indigenous, homogenous unit, speaking a common language, claiming ancestry, living in a particular geographical area, backward in technology, pre-literate, loyally observing social and political customs based on kinship‖ (M.M.Thomas, 1965).

Operational Definition - Paniya tribe is a closely well knit community in Eachome, having their own rich customs, traditions, rites and is being marginalized by the external world.

Social Life Conceptual Definition - ―Social life is the combination of various components: activities, people and places. While all of those components are required to define a social life, the nature of each component is different for every person, and can change for every person, as affected by a variety of external influences‖ (Alexander, 2003). Operational Definition - Social life in the context refers to the economic, political, social and health aspects of Paniya tribe in Eachome, Wayanad.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

The very purpose of the Review of Literature is to get a comprehensive and broadknowledge of the study on Paniya, which will surely help to pave a solid foundation for the further construction of the chapters of the study. This review also helped the Ethnographer to get extensive understanding on the contributions of ideas of the previous scholars who studied on tribes in general and particularly on Paniya tribe. The main aim of the review of literature is to thoroughly understand the prior studies done, which would give an even better understanding of various factors and concepts that are significant in tribal life and globalization. A variety of sources were investigated and reviewed.

Tribes

(A.Paul, 2008)defines tribe is a group of people who live in a particular place, speak the same language and obey a chief or elders. Its members have a common way of life. The tribe is one of the earliest forms of society. Tribe ranges in size from a few hundred people to more than a million. They may be organized into clans, families or customary ways of doing things". The etymological meaning of the word ‗Tribe‘, is derived from a Latin root, term ‗Tribuz‘ which means race or subdivision of race of people.

A tribe is viewed, developmentally or historically, as a social group existing before the development of nation states, or outside them. A tribe is a group of distinct people, dependent on their land for their livelihood, who are largely self-sufficient, and not integrated into the national society. It is perhaps the term most readily understood and used by the general public to describe such communities. There are an estimated one hundred and fifty million tribal individuals worldwide, constituting around forty percent of indigenous individuals. Although nearly all tribal people are indigenous, some are not indigenous to the areas where they now live.The distinction between tribal and indigenous is important because tribal peoples have a special status acknowledged in international law. They often face particular issues in addition to those faced by the wider category of indigenous people (James, 2006). Many people

used the term "tribal society" to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of social, especially familial, descent group. A customary tribe in these terms is a face- to-face community, relatively bound by kinship relations, reciprocal exchange, and strong ties to place (Corry, 2011).

(Sharma, 1987)an eminent scholar in anthropology confirms this fact in the book Social Anthropology and Indian Tribes. He observes that the tribals are casteless and classless society. In several parts of India, the tribals are made Scheduled Caste as they have adopted Hinduism as their religion. He also explores various aspects of tribal life in India. In this book a chapter is dedicated to explain the important characteristics of Primitive Religion. He continues to explain some of the religious topics such as Mana, Animism, Beliefs and Practices, Faith in Rebirth, Magic, Totem and Taboo. In another chapter he continues to writes on the topic ‗Primitive Language‘. He refers to various theories about the evolution of language. In an another chapter Ram Nath deals with Primitive Art, Mythology, Folklore, Primitive Painting, Sculpture, Music, Dance and Craft in the primal societies. He also deals with one of the very important topic: ‗Government and Law in Primitive Societies‘. Government is the institution form of the state, which is a sovereign political organization of the people settled in a particular country. The government runs the administration. Each of the tribal group has local self government with their leaders such as the chieftain, the headman and council. They are also having their own primitive unwritten law and order system, which is to be followed by all members of the community. They follow their own style of administration, judgment and punishment.

(Lakra, 2000)in his book, Tribal India: Communities, Customs and Culture, affirms various details of tribes in India. He writes some of the importantfact that tribals in India do not present a homogenous ethnic stock. They differfrom one another in physical appearance, language, and forms of socio-culturalpatterns. Their language comes from three dominant language families: TheAustric, the Dravidian and the Tibeto- Chinese. According to statistics based onthe Censes of India 1971 nearly 74 lakh tribals speak their own tribal languages.The rest of the tribals have the languages of the non-tribal neighbours as theirmother tongue. Majority of the tribals living in Central India speak one or moresubsidiary languages in addition to their own. Regarding the Tribal Religion hewrites, it is often held that the tribals of India follow

their own distinctive religiousbeliefs and practices, but as the Censes data tells us majority of them (over 80%) are Hindus. Tribal following Christianity, Buddhism, Islam and other religions are lesser in number. About the tribal skills and economy he writes, tribals in India follow more than one mode of livelihood. The statistics reveals that bulks of the tribals in the country are land-based people. That means they are agriculturist, though some of them depend on forests. Some are artisans and still others are cattle keepers. In post-independence era a few educated tribals are found employed with white collar jobs including administration. Basically the tribals are attached to their land and are traditional cultivators. Today many of the tribals are influenced by the modernism. It is because of the rapid growth of urbanization and industrialization the tribals have found their ways of traditional life at stake. (Betellie, 1992) argued that when anthropologists speak of tribes they mean communities of people who have remained outside of the state and civilization, whether out of choice or necessity, which was the reason of calling them ‗non- civilized,‘ but not uncivilized. In India, they all stood more or less outside of Hindu civilization. (Fernandes, 1991) writes in his article that the tribes are called Adivasi in Sanskrit and Hindi which literally means the original settlers. The fact that most of them were still live in rural, forest and mountain areas proves that they have been living here from the beginning or from very ancient times. The Government of India, however, do not recognize the tribals as Indigenous People and have not signed the ILO Convention 169 of 1989 which restricts the displacement of the tribals, demands adequate rehabilitation and safeguards for the tribal‘s culture. Several Indian scholars have expressed disagreement with the UN definition of the Indigenous People.

(Singh, 1994) has given a detailed account in his work on Tribalism and Sanskritazation phenomena. Due to long association with the tribal people, the minority non-tribal communities also adopted many social customs and traditions of tribal culture which clearly had distinct advantage over their own tradition and social customs e.g., cross cousins marriage of tribal tradition has been adopted by the non- tribal castes to win over the dowry problems. Tribalism of larger society is the function of upper hand of tribal culture.

(Singh, 1997) explains in his article on concept of tribe. He is of view that the colonial period witnessed the transformation of forest dwellers into tribes and the process of transformation of tribes into castes. All the ethnographers earlier described communities as tribe. But the distinction between tribe and caste did not fully emerge until the census of 1901. D. Hobetson in Punjab was aware of all pervasiveness of caste 65 structures and caste values. And make a distinction between caste and tribe. Occupation was the primary basis of castes, reinforced by status and caste values. A tribe was bound by the notions of ‗Common origin, common habitat, common customs and modes of thought‘. A tribe particularly a clan was strongly linked with territory. The tribes successively were described in the censuses and ethnographic literature as hill tribes, forest tribes, primitive tribes and backward tribes. It was under the government of India Act of 1935 and the constitution of India that the nomenclature of the Scheduled Tribes fully emerged. Soon after Independence the tribes were somewhat differently defined for administrative reasons. It should be noted that primitiveness and backwardness were the tests applied in preparing the list of Scheduled Tribes in 1950 and 1956. In revising the list in 1965 other criteria looked for were indications of primitive traits, distinctive culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact with communities at large and backwardness. In different language area the tribes started defining themselves locally and nationally as adimjati, adivasi, janajati, etc. Globalization paradoxically has highlighted identity of all groups particularly tribes and galvanized their resistance and consolidation. The basic problem today is to guarantee the rights of tribal people over their resources and to create an apparatus that will ensure their own benefit.

(H S Saksena, 2006) reveals that the all tribal societies were pre-literate scantily dressed, relatively out off from other societies of the wider world, had few personal effects, lived in similar types of habitations and the values of accumulation, investment, gain, profit and surplus were largely alien to them.

(M B Alphale, 1984)Observed that there is high percentage of disparity among the tribals and the general population due to their backwardness, ignorance and poverty. The yields of the tribals are poor because they continue to cultivate land in their traditional primitive manner. Fragmentation of land is another problem in this area. Much of the land is situated on slopes which results in the erosion of soil. Lack of

improved seeds, lack of manure and chemical fertilizers, lack of cash resources on easy terms, lack of working livestock, lack of innovation in the methods of cultivation and lack of other supporting enterprises like dairying and transfer of lands from the tribal to non-tribal have disarranged the entire life of the tribal persons. Agriculture is among the most crucial activities of the tribal. Several years ago the tribal people owned most of the land is areas where they predominantly lived and cultivated it. But several factors such as poor economic conditions, poor fertility of land, and increase in population let the tribal people fall the prey to indebtedness. The most convenient way to be relieved of this situation appeared to the tribal people in the form of alienating their lands. The process of alienation started several decades back and it remained unimpeded till very recent times. It needs to be mentioned that despite the healthy enactments with regard to the land restoration referred to above, there have been reported instances of land grabbing by non-tribal. Land alienation over the years has been the single biggest cause of the acute backwardness of the tribal economy. This problem will have to be tackled more deep from all concerns to protect the interests of the tribal.

(Elwin, 1959) says that keeping the sketchy general background of the tribes in mind we may now pass on to the tribal policies of the colonial Government and the present Independent Government, the exposition of which would automatically justify the usefulness of assigning safeguards to the Scheduled Tribes by the National Government. The approaches of these two administrative machineries show a striking difference in terms of deep motivational principles while the approach adopted by the British Government was fundamentally political being purely guided by their colonial interest, the present Government‘s attitude prompted by a desire of welfare and an uncompromising concern for the socio-economic upliftment of our tribal folk. This basic difference in attitudes is, thus, an important point to note which should not be lost sight of while assessing the nature of their respective policies towards our tribal brethren.

(Sahay, 1987)writes about their general policy of isolation characterized by non- intervention or limited intervention under political need was their often covert and sometimes direct encouragement to the Christian missionary activities, in the tribal areas. It is of course, an undeniable fact that the Christian missionaries had done

something for the wellbeing of the tribes, the scope of which was wide. That was an activity of high spirited social service and reforms as a result of which many of the tribal areas had schools, hospitals, etc. The missionaries, therefore, must be deemed as the pioneers who initiated the process of socio-economic transformation in the hitherto stagnant tribal life. Although the service for the suffering humanity, is considered to be a duty for the Christian missionaries but at the same time it is coupled with the right of conversion.

Shrinivas M. N. (1944) stated that the large-scale conversion of many tribal groups, especially of the States in Eastern India, which had far reaching implications. With the passage of time it became more and more apparent to the people here that the primary goal of the missionaries was conversion and ―the opening of schools, hospitals and either welfare agencies (were) only bait in the trap of conversion‖. Instances are not lacking about their resorting to unfair means of all sorts including material inducement, political favor, etc., for conversion. A careful analysis of the missionary activities thus leads to the conclusion that under the garb of humanitarianism, the obnoxious political motives of the colonial rulers were rampant. It was a sort of intellectual and moral aggression on Indian life strongly patronized by the British Government which aimed gradually, to alienate a chunk of the population from the main national stream by generating a kind of sentimental and emotional detachment with the rest of the people – a process which could be effectively carried out under the auspices of the policy of Isolation.

The Tribals and Land and Forests

Nehru‘s Panchsheel for the tribals included respect for the tribal rights on land and forests. But the Government of India and the State Governments have not honored this commitment. On the contrary they have pursued an anti-tribal policy despite their hypocritical sympathetic pronouncements. The Forest Policy is an illustration of this. The 1894 Forest Policy of the Colonial Government was the first onslaught on the rights of tribals on their forests. The rights were converted into concessions. The tribals were allowed forest lands for cultivation. There was no State control over the private forests of the tribals.

(Behura, 1995)reported that there was no restriction on free-grazing in the forests. The 1952 Forest Policy of Government of India withdrew the concessions given to the tribals by the 1894 policy. The 1988 National Forest Policy prohibited the Jhum or shifting cultivation because of its alleged adverse effects on forest environment and land productivity. Several scholars have argued that Jhum cultivation with a 18-20 year cycle 70 is environment friendly. Jhum (shifting) cultivation was practiced by atleast 109 tribes in 233 blocks of 62 districts spread over 16 States affecting 1 million hectares.

(K.Chopra, 1989)wrote that the alienation and destruction of the tribal lands and forests have disrupted the very basis of tribal life. The Commissionaire for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in 1961 Report had complained that more and more rights of the tribals were being taken away. The Government did not pay any attention to this.

(Gare, 1982)has written in his article about some realities of tribal life. He found that the phenomenon of land alienation, exploitation against indebtedness, bounded labour practice continue till today. The developmental measures promoted by State Government through Education, Agricultural Development, Public works, and Co- operative Labour Organization didn‘t bring satisfactory improvement in Tribal life till the end of fourth five-year plan. The problem of welfare measures faced by the tribals in India varies from one region to another. Hence, the Government decided to implement a new strategy, i.e., ‗Tribal Sub Plan‘during the Fifth Five Year Plan to concentrate on their needs in tribal regions.

(Gare, Tribal economic development programme, 1983)writes in his research study, the exploitation of tribal in land and forest is major cause of tribal‘s economic underdevelopment and improvement. The majority of tribal hold small and limited agriculture lands and cultivate through traditional seeds method without irrigation. The tribal‘s‘ forest wealth has been ruined due to excessive cutting of timber by the forest labour co-operative societies. Hence, the tribes today survive on agriculture land and farm labour practices. The tribal‘s economic problems are related with unproductive agriculture and hunger.

(S.Gaikwad, 1986)in his study on ‗Role of Minor Forest Produce in Tribal Economy,‘ noted that the tribal communities in India largely occupy forested regions that for a long period in their history. They lived in isolation but in harmony with the nature. The forests not only provide them food, material to build houses, fuel for cooking, light and warmth, fodder for their cattle, but also satisfy their deep-rooted sentiments. ‗Tribal life is connected in a way or the other with forests right from birth to death. Forests occupy the central position in tribal economy. Tribal life is profoundly affected by whatever happens to the forest. Forest is for them a whole way of life, and hence the development cannot make much headway without the contribution of forestry sector. Minor Forest Produce (MFP) includes all items of forest produce except timber. Collection and sale of (MFP) forms the major economic activity of livelihood for majority of the tribes. Various items of MFP possess the potential of an economic revolution among the tribal. Tribal‘s collect many items of daily use as well as Minor Food Products items from the forests traditionally, which are necessary for their day-to-day sustenance. During drought and adverse conditions, the tribal households live only on edible products collected from forests. MFP items have a vital role and a viable potential of an economic revolution among the tribes residing in forests. A special drive is necessary for the collection, processing, preservation, storage and marketing of the MFP and their derivatives.

(C.S.Belshaw, 1972)writes that though a lot has been done for their social and economic betterment, yet a great deal remains to be done. Before analyzing the strategies of tribal development programmes it seems imperative to comment on the background of policy makers, planners and administrators. Anthropologists everywhere have been acknowledged as doctors specializing in tribal and their problems. Unfortunately, our government could not, in the initial stages, utilize their specialized knowledge due to some pre-conceived notions cultivated and promoted by some vested interests that successfully influenced the thinking of our early leaders and administrators. This situation led us to a stage where important decisions, often involving vital policy issues about tribal, their problems and developments, were taken without taking any advice from anthropologists or considering their views. Such a State of affairs continued till a decade back or so when government realized its folly and started involving anthropologists in various committees and commissions, though on a very modest scale. But the damage had been done.

The Constitution on Tribals

The Constitution of India does not define Scheduled Tribes as such. However, Article 366 (25) refers to Scheduled Tribes as, such tribes or tribal communities or groups as are deemed under Article 342 of the Constitution. According to Article 342 of the Constitution, the Scheduled Tribes are the tribes or tribal communities that have been India has the second largest tribal concentration in the world. In India, Scheduled Tribes are spread across the country mainly in forest and hilly regions. The essential characteristics of these communities are their particular geographical location, distinct culture, economic backwardness and aloofness from the society at large. These people, in our country, are treated as low, despised and untouchable by the prevailing adherence to manmade social norms and caste system. They are compelled to perform duties which are considered inferior and degrading like flaying the dead animals, cleaning the latrines and removing the garbage, guarding the cremation grounds and grave yards, weaving, drum-beating, entertainment of upper caste people etc. It was Mahatma Gandhi who fought hard to recognize them as free citizens of India and called them the Harijans or the Children of the Forest God. Upon independence in 1947, the Government of India spent lot of resources to improve the life of the Scheduled Tribes through legislations, developmental programmes and various progressive welfare schemes. The Constitution provides social, cultural, educational and service safeguards for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs), apart from specific and general legislations enacted to safeguard and protect the interest of SC/STs.

The word 'Tribe' denotes a group of people living in primitive and ruthless conditions. These tribes are a social group living in a fixed territory having no such specialization of functions and the people living in these social groups are known as tribes or tribal people. Tribes also have several sub groups and collectively they are known as 'Tribal Society'. Tribes are the inhabitants of forests since pre history and even in this modern world this trend is followed by many people. Tribes constitute around 8.6 percent of the total Indian population, and of the total tribal population around 80 percent are found in Central India.

India has the second largest tribal population in the world. In India, Scheduled Tribes are mainly spread across the forests and hilly regions of India. Tribes in India are

mainly characterised by their geographical location and distinct culture. In India, tribes are treated very low, are execrated and are even treated as untouchables by the prevailing adherence to social norms and caste system. The tribal people were compelled to perform duties which were considered inferior because of their economic backwardness and illiteracy. Since, these people were ill treated and were not enjoying equal status with other people which is guaranteed to all the citizens of India by Article 14 of The Constitution of India i.e., " The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India", so there was a need to provide these tribal people some rights for their welfare and development (Affairs, 2017).

Paniya Tribe

In the beginning of twentieth century, many scholars took interest in the tribal studies in general and Paniya in particular. Some of the studies based on Paniya are mentioned as follows.Thurston, an eminent anthropologist, he is regarded as a pioneer of tribal study in India. He published a book titled as Caste and Tribes of South India vol.1-7. ("Paniyan" in and KadamkiRangachari.Madras Government Press. Vol. 6, 57- 71.It was reprinted in 1975 by Cosmo Publications, Delhi). This was the mainreference material available at earliest days or prime resource which was availablefor any researchers on Paniya. In this book he refers most of the tribes of southIndia; he gives several pages for giving various details of Paniya(Thurston, 1909).

The Paniya tribe was previously enslaved by upper castes, is extremely marginalized and deprived. The Paniya live in colonies (clusters of houses in a small geographical area) in peripheral areas; they rarely interact socially outside their own colony. Colonies have poor transportation linkages and are particularly vulnerable to flooding during monsoons. Paniya are predominantly landless–75% of Paniya households each own less than 10 cents of land (100 cents being an acre) – and have poor housing and living conditions; for example, 50% of households have no sanitation facilities. Paniya have low levels of education; 57% of women and 46% of men have never been to school. They spend a significant proportion of their household income on alcohol and tobacco, which represent 17% of total expenditure on food consumption. Hygienic practices common in Kerala are not universally adopted; over a quarter of

the households do not systematically boil their drinking water. Their health needs are great (e.g. 60% are underweight, 15% are anaemic, 11% have a goitre). The Paniya have low rates of health care utilization; among those who had experienced a severe episode of illness, 30% did not use any health service. Although there are special tribal schemes and programs, the Paniya are less likely to avail themselves of these, compared to other tribal groups. Finally, the Paniya also demonstrate high levels of resignation to their situation and have been found to underreport their health conditions, which is an indication of their extreme levels of deprivation and marginalization (K.S. Mohindra, 2010). (Parthasarathy, 2003)has made several studies on the tribes of Nilgiris. He has published several articles in the contemporary journals and magazines. He has published one of the recent book. Beside of these above mentioned scholars there are several others who ventured into the study of Paniya tribe of south India.

Tribals and Globalization

Globalization creates an impact on the local cultural domain and this interaction is an ongoing process. Different cultural units feel the effect of globalization differently. The larger cultural units imbibe it, while the small scale cultural unit confront it, though gradually, most of them succumb to its pressure (Sudan, 2005).

Globalization and rapid technological change have made knowledge a critical determinant of competitiveness in the world economy. In both developed and developing countries there is an increasing institutional awareness of the importance of knowledge for business performance, economic growth and development (Navaretti, 2000).

With globalization, the information revolution and increasing demands for a highly skilled workforce, it is clear that nations must accord high priority to building the capacity to effectively utilize technology in education. During the last two decades or so the study of the forces that shape the rate of economic growth has become one of the most active areas of research in economics (Rebelo, 1998).

No wonder the life of Adivasis became miserable due to the problems in agriculture, which was a direct consequence of globalization. For tribals, globalization is

associated with rising prices, loss of job, lack of health care and tribal development programmes(Raj, 2005).

Wayanad with the highest concentration of tribals and with major cash crops of coffee, pepper and tea, is atypical example of how agricultural crisis has affected the livelihood of tribals. The huge fall in prices has savaged the district of Wayanad. Pepper price has fallen from Rs.27,000 a quintal in 1997 to about 5,400 in 2004. Grown in 70,000 hectors, farmers and their labourers suffer (Sainath, 2004).

In the post-reform period, the central government was consistently increasing the price of essential commodities with a view to reducing subsidy of the Government as part of the policy of globalization. The result has been disastrous for tribals, as they donot get food grains as they used to, especially when they are experiencing decreasing income. Thus globalization has led the tribals to greater poverty and misery (Aerthayil, 2005).

Concepts

In Paulo Freire's hands, literacy is a weapon for social change. Education once again becomes the means by which people can perceive, interpret, criticize and finally transform the world about them. Freire's attack on the ―culture of silence‖ inhabited by the vast numbers of illiterate peasants in Brazil's poorest areas contributed in an extraordinary way to the development of a sense of purpose and identity among the oppressed and demoralized majority. His work was the result of a process of reflection in the midst of a struggle to create a new social order. He became the authentic voice of the ―third world‖, but his methodology and philosophy were also important in the industrialized countries where a new culture of silence threatened to dominate an overconsuming and overmanaged population, where education too often meant merely socialization. Of all those writing and thinking about education over the past several decades, Freire may well be finally the most influential. Speaking from and for the ―third world‖, and implicitly for all underprivileged people, he proposes a view of education as something positive and also hazardous, a means of liberating people and enabling them to participate in the historical process.

The central problem for man 1 is the problem of humanization. This has become inescapably and urgently the concern of man because history shows us that both humanization and dehumanization can be real alternatives. But of these too, only humanization can be man's true vocation. To achieve this therefore there is a need for liberation. But the process of liberation must essentially not be one concerned with individuals and persons as such but a social process. This is because the dehumanization of man has been taking place as the product of an unjust and exploitative social order. The struggle for this liberation must therefore be carried out by the oppressed to restore the humanity of both the oppressors and the oppressed. The oppressor class is too dehumanized to lead a liberation struggle as it has thrived on the dehumanization of the oppressed. In this summary, for the purposes of accuracy, we follow Paulo Freire's original usage in Pedagogy of the Oppressed of terms such as 'man' and 'mankind', although he later accepted that the use of more inclusive language would be preferable.

There are, however, inherent dangers in this liberation struggle that has to be carried out by the oppressed. The oppressed at first tend to see liberation as a way of replacing oppressors, that is, to be like the oppressors. For the oppressor, to be in this world means to have and to have more. For the oppressed, to be in this world is to be under and to be like the oppressor – to yearn to have and have more. In other words, the oppressed internalize the image of the oppressor within themselves. Therefore the struggle for liberation by the oppressed, together with those in solidarity with them, becomes a struggle by man in the process of achieving freedom with no distinction between oppressed and the oppressor (Friere, 1968). The World Systems Theory, developed by sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, is an approach to world history and social change that suggests there is a world economic system in which some countries benefit while others are exploited. The main characteristics of this theory, which will be discussed in more detail throughout the lesson, are:

 The world systems theory is established on a three-level hierarchy consisting of core, periphery, and semi-periphery areas.  The core countries dominate and exploit the peripheral countries for labour and raw materials.  The peripheral countries are dependent on core countries for capital.

 The semi-peripheral countries share characteristics of both core and peripheral countries.  This theory emphasizes the social structure of global inequality.

Core Countries

Core countries are dominant capitalist countries that exploit peripheral countries for labour and raw materials. They are strong in military power and not dependent on any one state or country. They serve the interests of the economically powerful. They are focused on higher skill and capital-intensive production. Core countries are powerful, and this power allows them to pay lower prices for raw goods and exploit cheap labor, which constantly reinforces the unequal status between core and peripheral countries.Today, the United States is an example of a core country. The U.S. has large amounts of capital, and its labour forces are relatively well paid.

Periphery Countries

Periphery countries fall on the other end of the economic scale. These countries lack a strong central government and may be controlled by other states. These countries export raw materials to the core countries, and they are dependent on core countries for capital and have underdeveloped industry. These countries also have low-skill, labour-intensive production, or, in other words, cheap labor. Periphery countries are commonly also referred to as third-world countries. Eastern Europe and Latin America were the first peripheral zones.

Semi-Periphery Countries

Semi-periphery countries fall in the middle of the economic spectrum. These countries share characteristics of both core and periphery countries. These are core regions in decline or periphery regions attempting to improve their economic position. These countries are sometimes exploited by core countries, but they also may exploit periphery countries themselves. For example, India is largely dependent on core countries for capital, but India has a growing technology industry and an emerging consumer market (Hurst, 2017).

Conclusion

Tribal study is nothing new to the present research world. There are many studies already done on this for the last two centuries. Many scholars have paid their attention on it and contributed very much to the field of tribal studies. Tribals are spread through out the world, large numbers of the tribal population are found in African, South American and Asian countries. In this study on Paniya in Wayanad, the Ethnographer has made use of the literatures contributed by well known, prior and contemporary anthropologists and sociologists of the world. Many researchers have spent their precious time towards the tribal study and brought lot of insights into this, on various aspects of tribal life, issues and challenges. Here, the Ethnographer found her study unique in its own way that so many studies had been conducted on Paniya tribe; but the ―Globalization and Social Life: An Ethnographic Case Study on Paniya Tribe in Wayanad‖ is a study trying to understand the effects of globalization among Paniya tribe in Eachome, Wayanad, which was not yet conducted by any researcher among them.

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

This chapter clearly describes the research methods used to conduct the study. Here, the Ethnographer explains how the necessary data and information address the research and the research questions. Reasons and justifications for the research design, research instruments, data sources, data collection techniques and ethnographic case presentation techniques used are provided. This chapter exposes the research design and various aspects of methodology such as the unit, sources of data etc. Next, it describes the tool for data collection and the method for collecting data which were used to analyse the study. Finally, the chapter concludes with the limitations of the study.

Title of the Study

Globalization and Social Life: An Ethnographic Case Study on Paniya Tribe in Wayanad

General Research Question

What are the socio cultural changes to the life of Paniya tribe in Wayanad in the context of globalization?

Specific Research Questions

 What are the major changes in the cultural life of Paniya tribe with the advent of globalization?

 What are the changes taking place in their health and medical systems in the context of globalization?

 What are the changes happened in the educational system of Paniya tribe in Wayanad in connection with globalization?

 What are the major changes in their livelihood in connection with globalization?

Research Design

Unit of the Study

The Paniya tribe settled in Eachome, Wayanad was selected as the unit of the study.

Area of the Study

Eachome in Panamarampanchayat, MananthavadyTaluk, Wayanad district was the area of the Study.

Data Collection

Primary data and secondary data were used in the study. Primary data was collected through field visits by the Ethnographer lasting 15 days during which the former lived and interacted with the Paniya community. The field work was primarily conducted in the month of October and later in June. Secondary data was collected from books, articles, internet and other key informants.

Method and Tool of Data Collection

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; interview guide was the tool prepared.

Limitation of the Study

The study was feasible to gather information about the community. But the Ethnographer faced time constraint as a limitation. Due to the constraint, the people in the community had the problem of being open to the Ethnographer.

ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE PRESENTATION

Introduction

Ethnography literally means to ―write a culture.‖ Ethnographers look for patterns, describe local relationships (formal and informal), understandings and meanings, and try to make sense of a place and a case in relation to the entire social setting and all social relationships. Ethnography is an approach to research and not a specific data collection technique. It is a multiple technique approach — an ethnographer can adapt and use a mix of methods appropriate to a situation. Frequently, though, ethnographers rely on participant observation to gather data. As a participant observer, the ethnographer is socially and physically immersed in the case to accumulate local knowledge. Yet, in doing so, the ethnographer must be constantly self-critical and reflexive to ensure an analytical description and interpretation of the case.In this way, the collection of data progresses through observations and chains of conversations and informants, and the emphasis on sampling is not adequacy in a statistical or numerical sense but in identifying events and people that contribute to the narrative. This narrative, however, can be subject to testing before it is accepted.

There are two approaches in Ethnographic Case Study: - The Emic Approach and the Etic Approach. The Emic Approach investigates how local people think. How they perceive and categorize the world, their rules for behavior, what has meaning for them, and how they imagine and explain things. The Etic (scientist-oriented) Approach shifts the focus from local observations, categories, explanations, and interpretations to those of the Ethnographer. The Etic Approach realizes that members of a culture often are too involved in what they are doing... to interpret their cultures impartially. When using the Etic Approach, the Ethnographer emphasizes what he or she considers important.

Although Emics and Etics are sometimes regarded as inherently in conflict and one can be preferred to the exclusion of the other, the complementarilyof Emic and Etic approaches to Ethnographic Research has been widely recognized, especially in the areas of interest concerning the characteristics of human nature as well as the form and function of human social systems. An Emic account comes from a person within the culture. Almost anything from within a culture can provide an Emic account. An

Etic account is a description of a behavior or belief by a scientific observer (a student or scholar), in terms that can be applied across cultures; that is, an Etic account attempts to be 'Culturally Neutral', limiting any ethnocentric, political, and/or cultural bias or alienation by the observer.When these two approaches are combined, the ―richest‖ view of a culture or society can be understood. On its own, an Emic Approach would struggle with applying overarching values to a single culture. The Etic Approach is helpful in enabling ethnographers to see more than one aspect of one culture, and in applying observations to cultures around the world.

The Ethnographer conducted the Ethnographic Study on Paniya tribe, Eachome, Wayanad, Kerala. The Ethnographer lived with the indigenous people for two weeks; observed and analyzed their life in combined approach of the Emic and the Etic. The Ethnographer travelled all the way and could understand their life to an extent.She could interact with them about the pre-1991 life and the major shifts happened in their culture, health, education, livelihood and other aspects during post-1991, soon after the implementation of New Economic Policy in India which paved way to Globalisation.

CULTURAL LIFE

The Paniya, also known as Paniyar and Paniyan, are an ethnic group in India. They primarily inhabit in Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur and Malappuram districts. The Paniya speak the Paniya language, which belongs to the Dravidian family. The Paniya have historically worked as agricultural labourers. They are believed to have been brought to Wayanad by the king of Malabar, and thereafter tilled the land as serfs. Following the abolishment of the slave-holding system, the Paniya were resettled in different areas established by the government. Paniyas were also historically reputed for their boldness and recklessness. For this reason, they were often employed in fields. The language they were spoken was Paniya language. Tribal village is known as Hamlet or Ooru and an Ooru is having around 15-25 houses.

Like every community, Paniya tribe is having their own culture. Vattakkali and Daivamthullal are considered to be the rituals of Paniya tribe and it is a part of their indigenous heritage. Daivamthullal can be performed only by the Chief of the Hamlet. Vattakkali is performed by common people during their marriage celebration, Vayassariyikkal (when a girl attains puberty) and Funeral. Men would be performing

Vattakkali during the time of funeral. Now, the artform is being performed for VarshikaGramolsav, a competition conducted by TUDI (an NGO working for the betterment of Paniya people) for uniting all the tribes in Wayanad and other tribal fests. Also the Ethnographer observed that it is used as a medium for campaign and for the purposes of advocacy; performing Vattakkali during the inauguration of Jalanidhi Project and they would be paid for the performance. She could learn how a tradition becomes a business.Vattakkali is not taught by an expert, people themselves learn it and do. ―If two families are having issues, it will be solved during the performance through interaction‖.

When the Ethnographer interacted with the people over there, they told ―we feel a sense of oneness while performing Vattakkali as the intention of all the members is to perform well‘.

―Our confidence level got increased when we started actively involving the ritual. Also we could learn how to motivate others to perform better‖.

―Tudi, an instrument among the Paniya gives a special feel while performing Vattakkali.‖

There are several changes happened in Vattakkali. Saradha, 65 years old told ―in our times, all the participants were performing Vattakkali in similar way, but now it‘s not like that‖

Arun 21 years old ―we recreate our own version in playing; it may be sounds like ‗yo- yo, hi-hi‘ or variety of steps. It‘s a part of the shift happened in our society. Everything needs change, right?‖

―Huge difference in our way of playing and youngsters‘. Everybody should know how to perform it,‖

Murukan 54 years old shared his anxiety ―If the present generation is unaware of playing Vattakkali, I don‘t know how its future would be.‖

Some of the youngsters told the Ethnographer that we don‘t know how to perform Vattakkali as its prevalence is quiet low in the society.

Also Paniya have witnessed changes in food habits. They were indigenous people depending on forest for getting food. During the interaction with the community, the Ethnographer came to know that few decades before; they were having leaves, crabs and fishes from stream. The Ethnographer noticed that the consumption of betel leaves is higher among Paniya. The senior members of the community are saying ―we are able to manage having salt with rice, but our children can‘t, we are healthier now only because we have consumed lot of leaves, tubercrops, crabs and fishes in our childhood‖. ―Now people don‘t want traditional food and its availability is also quiet low‖.

―We prefer having fried rice or meat, its not ok for us to have traditional food always‖ by a youth representative.

Mooppan of a hamlet told ―I like to have bamboo rice and other traditional food items; but it‘s sad to say that there are no forests visible now.‖

―We usually made curry out of leaves, jack nut, mushroom, crab etc… we only bought vegetables for Onam and Vishu; otherwise we did buy only Salt and Onion. Now we depend on market most of the times.‖

Suku 48 years old told that he is feeling happy about being a Paniya. He also told ―religious conversions to Pentecost are common here, they insist people to change their religion, they insisted me, I told I won‘t change my culture, they will provide money and food to tribes and attract them by satisfying their needs‖.

An oldlady who wasconverted to Pentecost told ―they are coming to us like you just came in and stay until night; conducting prayers and go. They will be taking care of us even when we are sick or not feeling good, they will provide money and medicines too, we have stopped going for cultural events and other programmes; if we do, we will be sick, they told‖. The Ethnographer could learn how religion takes advantage of people‘s ignorance.

Youth during interaction mentioned ―parents have told us to respect elders by standing; but generally we don‘t do. We respect them, but not by standing‖. Some of them told ―we stand up and respect even our siblings.‖ Other young group told ―we do have respect, but don‘t have fear towards them‖

Mooppan is considered to be the Chief of the community. His major powers are dispute settlement and decision taking.―If any disputes or issues happened in past, Mooppan was the person dealing with the issue; now people themselves or neighbours or politicians or relatives would try to tackle the problem‖. Most of the senior members and middle aged people told that they need Mooppan to be the Real Chief. Then it‘s easy to deal with problems. Now there is no control on anything‖.

―I think the shift happened in the power of Chief has made lot of changes in our community. In past, a Chief had been considered the head of hamlets and people obeyed him. It was justice oriented. Now Chief has nominal power and the young generation doesn‘t agree with him and people don‘t consider him now. In past, he was the person initiating every celebration- birth, puberty, marriage… now people would be calling other Chiefs from some other colonies for celebrations and other programmes according to their wish and give them money. If any issue happens, people would solve it by involving party members or the members of religious organizations.‘saidSaritha.

Most of the houses in the community are concreted as part of LakshamVeedu Project, an initiative by Government to rehabilitate people of below poverty level by constructing them houses. In traditional days, their houses were thatched and constructed with leaves. While interaction old age people told ―it‘s natural to get reside in a thatched house. It has a special feel.Government has constructed concrete houses for us, but we do anoint the floor with cowdung; otherwise we can‘t sleep‖. Many of the middle aged and youngsters told ―we like to live in concrete houses as it is safe and easy to maintain‖.―we prefer concrete houses as it is easy to maintain, but anointing is necessary‖ said Sumathi of 39 years.

Almost all the houses are having gas connectionand are electrified and they do have television.When the Ethnographer asked about the attraction towards vehicles and the high class culture, youth and the middle aged responded like ―obviously, we like to imitate the upper class here. We are feeling to move towards modern culture and like to have bike and car of our own‖. Some of them responded ―we can‘t dream of having our own vehicles; it‘s not possible, then why should we dream?‖ Some senior citizens responded ―I didn‘t feel any attraction towards high class people and their culture. We are proud of our own‖.

Paniya tribes in Wayanad are a group of advanced indigenous people having a tendency to move towards the globalised world. The technological explosion among them is comparatively high especially due to the advent of mobile phones, social networking sites during 1990s. So, their communication pattern has been changed a lot. In past, they would be going homes and informing people the matters.―If somebody died we would inform people by going their houses and telling them; but now we wd be using mobile phones for every purpose‖. The usage of technology is more common among youth ―we use mobile phone and social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Watsapp etc… for chatting and uploading pictures. ―I have friends, but interaction got reduced due to the emergence of tv and mobile phones‖. It shows how badly the human relations got affected. It‘s a very important medium to communicate. Babu 32 years old told ―I use mobile phone only for the purpose of calling, I don‘t even text but present generation is quiet different; they recharge internet and communicate through that. By 2000, our community witnessed major changes like technological advancement. Several products from various countries found place in our market and even our tribe also got influenced‖.

For attire, Paniya males wore a lengthy cloth wrapped around the waist, which is known as a mundu. A smaller mundu is also slung over the shoulders to cover the body. Paniya females or panichi dressed a long cloth, with a smaller one above the breast area and around the armpits. In addition, they wore a red or black aratti scarf around the waist.

Until the late 1990s, they used their traditional attire; piece of cloth covering the bodyparts. Then, they started using sarees, maxis, kurtas etc… and started having attraction towards jeans and t-shirts and unseen hairstyles became a trend now days. Even the uniform system has changed; until 2005 Sarvodaya School had a pattern of wearing long skirt and shirt. Then a move had happened towards kurtha and over coat.The Paniyas bury their dead in formal funeral rites. Typically, the place of burial is close to the padi. The interment is accompanied by a seven-day mourning period by family members.

Vasu 61 years old ―when we were young we went for catching fishes and crabs.We used to play kuttikolum and other traditional gamesWe spent time going to relatives‘ houses;women went for collecting firewood. Now Sundays would be free, I spend

time in doing some works in my field.‖ ―ourPanchayat has given one radio to one colony and we would be listening to that sometimes; I love listening to old songs‖.

Young boys told ―we would be spending time with friends;roaming around, riding bike and coming back home by evening. We love to watchTV; especially new songs. We used to play cricket but now paddy fields are not that common. So we can‘t play‖.

The inhabitants were actively talking about friendship. Girls responded ―We would be talking to boyfriends if necessary. There is no personal conversation between us, if they come and talk to us then we would be responding. We always keep a distance with them, otherwise people would be having a feeling that they are lovers. We are scared of what others think.‖ The Ethnographer observed the shy feeling of girls towards opposite sex. ―we can‘t trust today‘s boys. Our parents told not to mingle with boys even if we love to. They told us not to sit along with boys, don‘t eat from their plates‖. Aswathy 22 years old told ―when I was a child I used to play with boys. When I went through puberty my parents told me that I am a girl, not a child. This is not the time to play with boys and you can have girl friends. Once I played Kakku with boys and my parents asked mewhy do you want to spoil our clan‘s name? You have to get married properly‖. When they asked, if they get good boy friends in future, will they mind in communicating it with their parents; some told ‗I may‘,‗I am shy‘.

Old people said ―if we interact with opposite sex in past, our parents get worry, consider it as a mistake and they beat us for the behavior. Evennow I instruct my granddaughters too not to mingle with others, we are scared that whether they get elope with others‖.

Young men told ―we have friends among Muslims and other denominations of Hinduism. They don‘t discriminate us as tribals; we are good friends. When they come home, they will be having food. We don‘t discuss caste and other unnecessary things. We can mingle with girls in the community; but bit difficult to mingle with people like you.‖ Women do interact with their friends/relatives/neighbours during watching serials,kudumbasree or marriage occasions. They don‘t have associations or groups of their own.Educated youth told that they have the freedom to tell their parents about their affairs and marriage. Children really wish to have an open talk

with their parents,they r telling that parents are not that open ―parents will restrict us of talking about love‖.

Then, coming to marriage, girls told ―we prefer arranged marriage as our parents wish. We give importance to their happiness and to avoid lose talks among the community members. For them, love marriage means elopement. They are telling that if you love and marry a guy, you can‘t lead a proper life for onesecond; you will be quarrelling and fighting each other. In arranged marriage it doesn‘t happen.‖

‖In my place, lot of people get eloped,so my parents told me not to do that, if I find a man by myself sure my parents will disagree‖ said Kavya. All of them told ‗we are not interested in love marrisge, but the Ethnographer came to know that most of them are having lovers‖. When the Ethnographer told about her concept of love marriage, then they agreed that it‘s good to find a guy of her own.

Middle aged man told ―Iloved and got eloped. In that kind of marriage, the expense would be low; and don‘t want to give the girl properties. Let my son find his own partner. Present generation is having lovers since High School; they don‘t mind if what others think‖.

Raju 30 years old told ―I support arranged marriage. It‘s good to form a good family. I don‘t support elopement, if I know any girl in my family is planning to find a guy by her own, obviously I will take measures of separating them‖.

Maruthan explained the major changes happened in marriage- dressing style changed; bride would be wearing adorned saree and for men it is mundu and shirt. Change has happened inVattakkali during marriage. In past they were dancing Vattakkali and now movie songs will be played instead of performing Vattakkali. Before 1990s, thalikettuwas a sacred of marriage and it was conducted in houses where the bride and the bridegroom would be sitting on mat. Now mandapam (stage) will be constructed in houses and the ceremony takes place and it will be decorated with flowers. Also marriages are commonly taken place in temples now. ―the bridegroom should satisfy the basic needs of bride since the engagement; needs in the form of salt, soap (washing and bathing), oil etc…that was a tradition and it was known as Valyakalyanam. Now, instead of satisfying the needs, the bride will be given ornaments and it is a prestige issue for people among us.‖

―In past, marriage was a late night ceremony.The Chief receives the bridegroom by giving him a lamp before entering the courtyard, bridegroom‘s close relative would hand over rice and places it on the courtyard and starts playing tudi. After that the bride and the groom will cover their head with a white cloth and they will be sitting on top of the spread rice. Elder people and relatives would pour water on them from the pot. Then the bride will be made up by bridegroom‘s relatives and he will be made up by her brothers. This was a tradition followed until 2005. Now people are spending around 1 lakh Rs. for marriage reception; fried rice and meat will be eaten. There was a period when kanji, pea and leaves were given.‖

An oldman told ―man would marry a girl only according to the wish of his family, nobody dared to oppose. Now elopement is common because of theoveruse of mobiles‖. ―If yours is an arranged marriage, then you don‘t have to worry about fight. I don‘t agree with love marriage, especially inter caste marriage. We are not supposed to think beyond our culture‖.

The Ethnographer found it interesting to know the perspective of the Chief in Nellikkal Colony: -―I support love marriage because the expense would be low. In arranged marriage, people would be dancing full night and they will be tired. So why do these traditions to make people tired? My granddaughter went away with a guy. Her parents were sad I told them why do u worry, she went and you didn‘t lose anything time or money‖.

―My son wants to marry a girl according to our wish. He believes in love marriage, the girl doesn‘t look after his parents. I personally support arranged marriage; otherwise husbands would beat and dominate us‖.

Among Paniya, the property will be divided among sons. The younger son will take care of parents and he will be getting larger amount of assets.

Until 1990, the names of Paniya tribe were closely associated to their cultivation, vegetables and animals like Chunda, Noonji,Cheera, Neela, etc… Children of the last decade of 20th century got modern names like Nikhil, Akhil, Preetha, Aswathy, Aparna etc…

HEALTH AND MEDICAL SYSTEMS

Paniya tribe practiced their own traditional system of medicine. The medical treatment of diseases of most of these tribals involved mysticism, magical incantations, sacrificial practices and divining. They also utilize a wide variety of herbs in treating the physical symptoms. These medicinal herbs were identified and collected in forests.

Lifestyle diseases were least identified in past. Now Blood Pressure and cholesterol are general among Paniya. An old lady in the community told ―My parents didn‘t have problems with eyesight or hearing. I don‘t know the reason why people are being affected with these now days and when we go hospital doctors don‘t discriminate us as tribals. When we were small there was no hospital facilitity and we depended on our traditional medicines.‖

―Now the medical facilities are accessible and we go in search of allopathic medicines as it is easy to cure. Doctors instruct us to stop chewing, but we can‘t as it is part of our culture‖.

―If anything silly happens, we go to Primary Health Centre, Vilambukandam. If anything serious, we would be going to District hospital, Mananthavady or Medical College, Kozhikode.‖

An old lady shared ―We do get the free services provided by Government, then why should we go for other alternative options‖. ―We are unaware of indigenous medicines as the ancestors didn‘t communicate us about the treatment and the medicinal plants. We are unable to recognize the plants. Our ancestors might not think about passing the information from one generation to another.‖

The Chief told ―It is a belief among us that if the treatment secrets are revealed; it won‘t work. If we ask them about the treatment and the medicines, they would be coming to beat us and they consider it to be an abnormal act. Our ancestors became experts in indigenous medicines only through observation, not by getting classes‖.

Young people in the tribe mentioned ―We are not interested in traditional medicines, we don‘t feel like to learn about it. If anything happens we would be going to allopathic hospitals for treatment‖.

The Ethnographer understood that the older generation is aware of some plants and leaves used for treatment;tulasi, pepper and panikkoorkka for fever,grinded murivela or mimosa for wounds, boiled thumbaleaf for improving stamina, turmeric and neem for wounds, chilly leaf is good for swelling, turmeric for spider bite, broiled garlic for menstrual pain, adalodakam for cough, broiled onion juice is good for ear ache, onion and neem for chicken pox etc…

―We have heard that our ancestors know about treatments for cancer and other diseases. My Achachan did have knowledge on medicines and cured people coming from different parts especially withspondilosis; arthritis etc… But after his death, nobody else in the family has an idea about indigenous medicines.‖

―We know that medicines for menstrual pain are available in forest. Our grandparents can recognize the medicines and for the pain they would be preparing it for relatives; not for outsiders. Even now it is remained secrets.‖ said youth

―Home delivery was once common in the community especially before 1995. There was midwife among us to take the delivery, take care of the mother and the baby. But now home delivery is a least happening phenomenon. People would be going to General Hospital, District Hospital and Medical College for delivery,surgery and other treatments.‖

While conducting Focused Group Discussion among children, the Ethnographer came to understand majorityof the children after 1995 were born in hospitals. Also the mortality rates in the community got reduced because of the advancement of health facilities; the rate of infant mortality and maternal mortality are low; female feticide and infanticide cannot be seen among the tribe.

EDUCATION

Paniya have an overall literacy rate around 50 percent. Though males have high literacy rate compared to females. The educational attainment among

literatesindicates the situation as half of them have attained below primary level education only.

While the interaction with children they told ―Teachers give creative homeworks like travelogue, my dreams etc…Teachers use malayalam words frequently to make us understood; translating each word into Malayalam like mango to manga that we are unable to understand English properly. If we are unable to understand Malayalam; teachers translate it into paniya language.‖

‗Sarvodaya‘ is a Jesuit School established in the year 1869 in Eachome. Majorities and minorities of the community are going to the same school now. Once it was only used by upper caste and upper class people.

‖ Sindhu 39 years old said―teachers during our times didn‘t give attention to tribal students as they were considered to be backward and not that studious‖.

Oldlady shared―I didn‘t go to school, I was unable to face people but now I can. I am able to talk to policemen now. I have overcome fear after the interaction with people in tudi and outsiders. Present generation is not scared of talking to people. When we do have enough opportunity to mingle with people, our fear naturally gets over.‖

Mooppan explained ―I didn‘t go to school. I learnt everything informally. In our times, we learnt things through observation. We understood life through the shared knowledge given by parents or elders from one generation to another.‖

Middle aged man:- ―when we went to school, girls and boys didn‘t sit together. We were sitting separately; having food separately. We used to talk to girls in our class; but not that interaction happened.‖

Young boy mentioned:- ―we usually sit together, having food together. Most of the time, we boys go and have lunch from shop and girls bring food from their home‖.

When the Ethnographer asked about ambition then girls replied ―we love to be successful people in life. We want to study and achieve a good position in society.‖ Most of them wanted to be police women, teachers and engineers. But boys‘ reply was quiet different. ―When we were kids, we wanted to be somebody great. Later it has gone. We need to make money. But we don‘t have any particular ambition now.‖

When 18 years old girl was asked about ambition, her mother responded ―what if she desires, we can‘t reach anywhere because we are marginalized.‖ Then the girl told ―some students of other castes don‘t come and sit near us because we are marginalized. My friends got married and stopped studying. So I didn‘t feel like to continue my studies.‖

Saritha, 42 years old during the interaction told ―education has caused changes among paniya. All the major changes happened during the dawn of 2000, soon after the implementation of New Economic Policy in India. When people are getting educated they would be looking forward for life and for better advanced culture. Now days children who are going School are shame of speaking paniya dialect. I prefer our dialect and always speak it. Some paniyas are speaking malayalam and adapting with malayali culture‖. Also the Ethnographer observed during ChalackalColony visit,adolescent girls sang movie songs when they were asked to sing. They were reluctant to sing their traditional songs.

She continued ―Young generation is moving towards alcohol and panmasalas. In past,things were available, but children didn‘t try it. Now they have the tendency to test everything.‖ When the Ethnographer asked about the impact of globalization among Paniya tribe, she responded ―ofcourse, there are impacts. The major changes happened during 2000s. I am working with TUDI for the upliftment of paniya. So I know the changes happened in their life including lifestyle, food, TV,mobile phones, home delivery etc.. Paniya has changed a lot.‖

LIVELIHOOD

The Paniya have historically worked as agricultural labourers. They are believed to have been brought to Wayanad by the king of Malabar, and thereafter tilled the land as serfs. Following the abolishment of the slave-holding system, the Paniya were resettled in different areas established by the government. Paniyas were also historically reputed for their boldness and recklessness. For this reason, they were often employed in fields. They were bought and sold like commodities. The trading of Paniya was done at Valliyoorkkav temple during festival times. They worked in paddy fields and were living in hill slopes and paddy fields adjacent to the land belonging to the landlords and were known by his landlord‘s tharavadu name. It is said that they were even sold by landlords when land transactions were made. Even

after the abolition of bonded labour, they were depending on their former landlords for support and employment. With the arrival of coffee plantations in Wayanad by 19th century, they were used as labourers for clearing forests, and developing lands for the purpose of coffee plantation.

Paniya was a group of people involved in daily wage work in the fields of Feudals and they were getting rice as reward.Most of the Paniya now including women are depending on daily wages. They would be going to the fields of Upper class people and doing work there and getting money as reward. Many of them going for MGNREGS and earning money. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 later renamed as the "Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act", is an Indian social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

Middle aged man told ―I am a cooli. I am getting Rs.500 as daily wage and for women it is Rs.350. All of us are having bank accounts and pass books, but we usually do keep money in our hands.‖ ―Majority of us are Coolies. But among us there are teachers, artists, forest officers and many graduates.‖

―Woman would be going for household works. But are not that involved in Kudumbasree. Once we were part of that; but some women from other hamlet went away with the money. So we stopped and didn‘t begin a new group. But some women are involved in the group.‖ When the Ethnographer asked about the involvement of fathers in Ayalkoottam, children responded ―fathers have created a group-drunkards group‖.

Conclusion

The Ethnographic presentation demonstrates the socio-cultural fabric of Paniya tribe and the changes that the powers of globalization have brought in the mindset of Paniya tribe. The Ethnographer observed the materialistic culture and the use and throw attitude in their daily life. She strongly felt that the impact of globalization has disintegrated the age old Paniya community and they are no more bound by the divine leader; Mooppan.

DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS

Introduction

The present chapter is a discussion based inferences derived from the observations and the contents of the focus group discussions that the Ethnographer had with the Paniya tribe at Eachome, Wayanad. The study being undertaken in the ethnographic mode, was meant to elicit the changes that had happened post-1990s when India launched the New Economic Policy (NEP ). The phase beyond 1990s witnessed a tremendous wave of social change happening in the Paniya community on account of the drastic changes on account of the NEP.

The Context

As a prelude it needs to be stated at the outset that the majority of tribal population in Kerala hails from the Paniya tribe. Individuals belonging to the Paniya tribe inhabit Wayanad and the neighbouring districts of Malappuram and Kannur. They derive the name ―Paniyan‖ which invokes the characteristics of worker. Historically, there was an aura of servitude draped on the Paniyas right from the feudal times. The Paniyas were sold in bond, to their landlords along with the plantations. Even in the present day, the Paniyas operate as the workers undertaking low-skilled labour for the enterprising non-tribals.

Their deity of worship is Kali; they are also the worshippers of the banyan tree, perhaps an indication of animism. They do not have much understanding about other formal religion. In their tribe they refrain from cutting banyan trees and they believe that they will ‗fall terribly ill‘ if they attempted to cut down such ‗divine‘ trees.

As far as marriage is concerned monogamy as a rule is practiced here; also, widow remarriage was permitted like in other tribes. Bride price is paid by the male among the Paniya, and they do not permit child marriage.

The government‘s introduction of well-intended welfare programmes has brought tremendous changes to the lives of Paniya especially in the wake of the implementation of New Economic Policy in 1991. This is largely conceived to be the point of introduction of the strong wave of globalization in India. The term Globalization was first coined in 1980s. Globalization is considered to be a

phenomenon with ramifications to touch all spheres of social life such as economy, education, occupation patterns, technology, culture, rituals and practices, food habits, trends in fashion and lifestyle, etc. The term ‗global village‘is also frequently used to highlight the significance of the Globalization. In simple words, it is a process of increasing access to markets promoting economic interdependence between countries in the world economy. Indirectly, at the academic level we may regard it as an amalgamation of Macro Economics and Sociology, where the economy and culture integrate.

The Paniya tribe in Wayanad witnessed the major changes during the twilight of 1990s and the dawn of 21st century. The major changes in the context of the present study are posited to have happened along the dimensions of culture, medical systems, education and the livelihood.

Art and Culture being exoticised

Vattakkali, a traditional dance form was once an inevitable part of their culture, and preceded every major life event - community gatherings, marriage and even funeral rites. Vattakkali was not taught by experts, people themselves learn it by doing. During the interaction, the ethnographer could understand that the younger generation harboured a passive attitude towards vattakkali. The very same indifference extended to knowing their culture. Some of the youngsters confessed that they did not know how to perform vattakkali. Over the years, the number of occasions during which it was to be performed had been limited. Off late it has relegated to become a mere demonstration of an art form for the general society.Murukan, a 54 year old male, shared his anxiety:

―If the present generation is unaware of playing Vattakkali, I really don‘t know what itsfuture would be.‖

As of now, vattakkali is performed during tribal festivals. One such occasion is the VarshikaGramolsav, a competition conducted by TUDI for uniting all the tribes in Wayanad. TheEthnographer observed that vattakkaliis used as a medium for campaign and for the purposes of advocacy. They had performed vattakkali during the inauguration of Jalanidhi Project and they were paid for the performance. Thus, tribal

practices have been exoticised and apparently it may be noticed that the traditions are fast becoming a business.Arun, a 21 year oldPaniya male observes:

―…we recreate our own version (far removed from the real context) in playing; it may sound like ‗yo-yo, hi-hi‘ accompanying a variety of steps. It‘s a part of the all the shifts happened in our society. Everything needs a change, right?‖

The above statement is perhaps a reflection on how the young generation imbibes their culture in a different manner and how they perceive their culture. This may be still strongly put, how the ‗modern society‘ has made them think on how they must look in order to be accepted. For a fact it implies a sort of manipulation, a construction of an identity as prescribed by the larger society. Everything needs to be sensual and exotic as required by the ‗sensation-driven‘ large, external world.

The Ethnographer also at this point of discussion needs to look at alterity, some sort of a radical otherness, a position from which she is able to reflect on what academicians do as an exercise of dialoguing with the active majority. As observed by Srinivasan R., who worked among the indigenous people, the ethnographer also reflects on an alternative perspective within a silent minority especially the seniors in the community :

―social scientists visit the community, exoticize their traditions and customs, and extract what they could to benefit their own agendas, rather than those of the community.‖

Food and Culinary

The paniyais an indigenous community that depends on forest for consumption. During the interaction with the community, the Ethnographer came to know that until a few decades ago, they consumed much from nature having edible leaves from the forests, and crabs and fishes from streams bordering the forests. The elderly of the community shares: ―…we are able to manage having salt with rice, but our children can‘t, we are healthier now only because we have consumed lot of leaves, tubercrops, crabs and fishes in our childhood‖

―Now people don‘t want traditional food and its availability is also quiet low‖.

A youth the ethnographer interviewed affirms the above observation; he adds:

―We prefer having meat fried rice, … it‘s not ok for us to have traditional food always, right?‖

Religion

Organised religion apparently seems to take advantage of the vulnerabilities and passiveness of the minority indigenous communities. The Ethnographer noticed hints of attempts by a Pentacost group to convert Paniya tribe into their faith. The particular group increases their membership by satisfying the needs of the tribe. Suku, a 48 year oldpaniyamale comments:

―…religious conversions to Pentecost are common here….they invite and cajole people to change their religion…they will provide money and food to tribes and attract them by satisfying their needs….they insisted with me too, but I told I won‘t change my culture,‖

An old lady who had been‗converted‘ to the Pentecostal faith explains:

―they are coming to us inviting us to come in and stay until night just to conduct prayers and then leave … but they make it a point to take care of us even when we are sick or not feeling good … they provide money and medicines too. On our part, we have stopped going for cultural events and other programmes part of our paniya traditions.‖

―Because if we do, we will fall sick, we are told‖.

This is the best example of how organized religion is being manipulative and how it capitalises on the ignorance of tribes and the passiveness of their culture.

Leadership

The mooppan is considered to be the Chief of the community and is responsible for initiating every celebration there. His major powers include adjudication and dispute settlement, as well as decision taking. Some from among the Paniya believe that if the mooppan gets the real power back, most of the issues would be tackled. They perceive that the mooppanhas a strong sense of ‗justice‘ and would work for the welfare of people. An opinion that emerged regarding the traditional leadership went:

―In the past,if any disputes or issues ensued, the mooppanwould be the person dealing with such issues. Now people by themselves or neighbours or politicians or relatives would try to tackle the problem‖.

Most of the senior and middle-aged community members wished that the mooppanremained the ‗real Chief.‘ Because in their perception:

―it becomes easy to deal with problems. … now there is absolutely no control over anything‖.

Housing and Lifestyle

Most of the older generation held a special attachment towards ‗thatched‘ and ‗cowdung‘anointed houses; it gave the inhabitants a very natural feel. Younger generation on the other hand explained that they found concrete houses to be ‗more safe.‘ During various FGDs, nearly all the middle-aged and the youthshared:

―we like to live in concrete houses as it is safe and easy to maintain‖

Sumathi a paniya woman of 39 years shares the same view:

― …we prefer concrete houses as it is easy to maintain, and cow-dung waxing (anointing) is not necessary‖

Anointing,a process of waxing the floors of the residence was once a part of their culture. They believe that it was good for maintaining health. While having an interaction with the Director of TUDI, the Ethnographer understood that panchayat would be constructing concrete houses for tribes as part of LakshamVeedu Project. Every 3 year the houses would be ‗renovated.‘The officials consider this as a golden opportunity to milk money form the passive and simple paniyas. These corrupt men would take as much as eighty percent of the funds earmarked for ‗renovation‘.

The above transaction may be seen as a macro-level trend wherein the dominant culture dominates and manipulates the social systems and practices designed by the former to subjugate the passive minority. In the opinion of the ethnographer, this is how the savage world exploits the autochthonous people. It was also only natural for the former to render them always dependent.The so called superior people don‘t give value to the traditional culture and trying to dominate the indigenous population by

manipulating and applying their way of life and making them always dependent on them. This almost follows the designs and dynamics as proposed in theory of cultural domination and dependency. The world systems theory also holds good in explaining such transactions where in the dominant majority manipulates social systems and transactions to subtly dominate over a passive minority.

The same phenomenon also subtly seeps into the subconsciousness of the passive and simple Paniyas. This trades off in a subtle conflict between the older generation largely driven by traditions and the younger generation that is fed on a culture and psyche driven by the modernity as idealized by the majority culture. The latter groups are receptive to the trends driven by global forces as seen in advertisements and lifestyle as portrayed in modern feature films. Some among the elderly paniya responded:

―we can‘t dream of having our own vehicles; it‘s not possible, then why should we dream?‖

―I didn‘t feel any attraction towards high class people and their culture… we are proud of our own‖.

The younger paniya mentioned that they were really inclined to imitate the ‗elite,‘:

―…we love to have houses like them, vehicles like them and also be like them.‖

This is a kind of a predisposition of young Paniya people towards upward social mobility where they like to place themselves among the ‗elite‘ in the larger society. This idea of aspiring to be counted among the ‗elite‘ can be discussed in the context of how the discourse has been largely driven by advertisements seen on the cable networks that the Paniya community access. The idea of the ‗ideal‘ and ‗elite‘ lifestyles portrayed in the movies drive their subconscious and their tastes.

However, the Ethnographer observed that the young generation was struggling to claim a space among the elite, upper class group. It was also painful to observe how they were always rejected as they were considered to be ‗backward‘ or inferior to the larger dominant culture. At the same time, the younger paniyawere disregarded and looked down on by senior members of the paniyacommunity as they did not

‗understand or respect their culture and heritage‘ and were perceived incapable of finding‗anymeaning‘in their traditions. As the future paniya generation, the ethnographer thought that neither were they accepted by their own community, nor were they accepted by the mainstream driven by the dominant majority, nor did they know about their real culture and nor standing. In short, the younger paniya, the future of the entire paniya community were at cross-roads as they were caught between the aspirations of being embraced by the larger dominant culture and rejection by the larger ‗ideal‘ society.

Indigenous Medical Practices

The paniya had rich indigenous traditions of medicine. Internally, the held many secret panacea for many of the modern day illnesses considered chronic or terminal. At the macro-level many of these indigenous systems of medical practice were stolen covertly taken away, and patented. This may be regarded as the enforcement of rules and regulations of the Nation state on the aboriginal community.

The participant of an FGD shared:

―We are unaware of indigenous medicines as our ancestors didnot communicate about the treatment nor the medicinal plants. As of now, although we are paniyas, we are unable to recognize the plants. Our ancestors might not think about passing the information from one generation to another.‖

A mooppan shared his assessment of the ‗sacredness‘ attributed to their indigenous medical practice:

―It is a strong conviction among us, that if the treatment secrets are revealed, it won‘t work. If we ask them about the treatment and the medicines, they would be very sensitive and would even come to beat us. They consider sharing such ‗secrets‘ to be a taboo. Moreover, Our ancestors became experts on indigenous medicines only through observation…They acquired their competence through hearsay and practicing with the senior paniya medicine men and not by getting classes‖.

Young people in the tribe had their views:

―We are not interested in traditional medicines, we don‘t feel like to learn about it. If anything happens we would be going to allopathic hospitals for treatment‖.

The Ethnographer understood that the older generation is aware of some plants and leaves used in the treatment of various common ailments. For instance tulasi, pepper and panikkoorkkatreated fever; ground murivela or mimosa was used for healing cuts and wounds; boiled thumba leaf helped improve stamina; turmeric and neem healed wounds; chilly leaf is good for swelling (edema); turmeric treated spider bite; broiled garlic reduced menstrual pain; adalodakamwas a good expectorant for cough; broiled onion extract reduced ear ache; onion and neem for chicken pox, etc.. The wealth of therapeutic blend was endless.

The knowledge and wisdom was fast dying with the many among the paniya seniors refusing to share this indigenous wisdom. One of the middle-aged paniya observed:

―We have heard that our ancestors know about treatments for cancer and other diseases. My Achachan did have specialized knowledge on medicines and healed people coming from different parts forspondylitis and arthritis which were bone ailment. But after his death, nobody else in the family has an idea about indigenous medicines.‖

The Ethnographer observes how culture dies and how cultural deterioration happens among ecosystem people.

While conducting Focused Group Discussion among children, the Ethnographer came to understand majority of the children after 1995 were born in hospitals. On the flipside of the sad story were observations on how the mortality rates in the community got reduced because of the advancement of health facilities; the rate of infant mortality and maternal mortality were substantially low when compared to the rates among tribal communities in other states; female feticide and infanticide cannot be seen among the paniyas. The Ethnographer felt the pain on how the health improved at the cost of losing grip over the richness of indigenous systems of medicine. What is even disheartening is the manner in which the indigenous wisdom has been taken away and patented for commercial use by multinationals, often based in other parts of the world.

Education and Occupation

The Paniya have an overall literacy rate of around 50 percent. But what is alarming is that the ‗other‘ half of them attaineducation below the primary level. The malepaniya claims higher literacy rate when compared to females.

Paniya was a group of people, by nature and tradition are disposed to involved in daily wage work in the fields. The same found them inclined to employment with feudals landlords during the early 1900s and they were happy to be remunerated in kind by way of a measure of rice. As in the past, most of the paniyas, including women are depending on daily wages. They would be going to the fields of upper- class people and doing work there and getting money as reward. With the change in times many of them engage in the MGNREGS and earn money.

Marriage

The paniya tribe by culture was monogamous and discouraged child marriage. They were endogamous too. The Ethnographer found it interesting to understand the perspective of the mooppan of the Nellikkal Colony regarding marriage practices as they change:

―I support love marriage because the expense would be low. In arranged marriage, people would be dancing the entire night and they will be tired. So why practice such traditions that make people tired? My granddaughter went away with a guy. Her parents were very sad. I simply asked them why do you worry, she went and you didn‘t lose anything- time or money‖.

Technology and ICT

Among Paniya, the telecommunications, networking through friendship on social media have increased the density of interconnections within the system as well as more specifically and relevantly with the world outside the paniya world.

Women during the FGDs share:

―we watch serials everyday and curious to know what is happening to their life. So, we don‘t miss even an episode. If anybody is not having a TV in their house, they would be assembled in the nearby dwelling for watching soap operas.‖

The young generation of paniya tribe confesses of their abundant use of various social networking sites:

―…we use mobile phones and social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, etc… for chatting and uploading pictures. I have friends, but interaction got reduced due to the emergence of TV and mobile phones‖.

All the above discussions and observations by the Ethnographer only highlight how drastically human relationships have affected by the very subtle and unconscious engagement of the media as designed by corporates, resulting in media imperialism.

The global village's implications on sociological structures are yet to be fully realized. Not only does multimedia have the ability to impact individuals differently for cultural reasons, messages also affects people due to religion, politics, beliefs, business, money etc. The time in which messages are received also affects how a message is understood.

Today human society struggles neurologically. Our brain is constantly adapting and morphing to the modifications of technological advancements. Through technology, the creation of social media allows people to constantly comment on each other‘s posts as well as creating them to share with the multi-media global world. Social media has connected people with jobs that they couldn‘t have received before because of their geographic location. New social media has connected the world so cultures can be learned through interactions on social media as well as maintaining relationships from opposing countries.

The Impact overarching Globalisation

The dissociation that the Ethnographer witnessed between the old generation of paniya and the new generation of the same community was exciting (from their perspective) as well as appalling. The tribes and villages experience ―placelessness, fragmentation of identity, and dissolution of social bonds.‖ Throughout a similar study, which took place between 2004-2013, the author Srinivasan reports from the rising gap between the proposed technologies (such as videos, websites, databases) and the ‗techno-solutionism‘ that he wants to prevent.

The same conflict is reflected in the Ethnographer as she emerges from the study. Computers and smart phones are an integral part of the everyday life—no matter where we go—and can no longer be presented as liberating tools. This being said one needs to see how ‗ICT for development‘ has been awkwardly positioned. This induces in the Ethnographer a new, yet regressive attitude that could be at best bedescribed as ‗radical modesty‘ (if not ‗vital pessimism‘).

At this point in time the Ethnographer needs to present the growing awkwardness and pain at the loss of indigenous wisdom and cultural practices as against the pain of the paniya being eliminated from the mainstream if they refused the various schemes and designs in education, health and technology that is designed to ‗develop‘ and mainstream the passive, noble paniya. As rightly put by another author in a similar study:

―It was neither the technology nor institutions that connected the people I had met. Instead, the very few threads of kinship I noted were related to revered individuals, regarded by most with collective respect and as a source of inspiration.‖

Social Changes as driven by Globalisation

The tribe has been affected by the continuous process of transition that followed globalization starting at a fast pace during the early1990s and taking shape over the millennium; all the major changes described above on various domains- cultural, health and education. It may be inferred that all the changes witnessed after the implementation of New Economic Policy in India. Globalization has its impact on every community. Experience over the last decade and a half if taken as an indicator, shows that globalisation is a reality that cannot be stopped nor reversed, whatever be its effects. Globalisation is not a process visible to the tribe, but is subtly affecting and changing their subconscious. As a phenomenon, globalization as a process has transformed the world into a global village, where the economy and culture integrate. When this amalgamation takes place, something amounting to a cultural invasion happens transforming the social life of passive receptive tribes leading to the destruction of the little traditions to begin with ending up with a new lifestyle painted as ‗ideal‘ and actual by the larger dominant society. The great tradition dominates the little/indigenous tradition by applying their supremacy over them and here the cultural

imperialism of the superior assemblage takes place. The phenomenon started being common in India by the end of 20th century.

Terms such as media imperialism, cultural dependency and domination, ideological imperialism and economic imperialism have all been used to describe the same basic notion of cultural imperialism and these conditions are clearly evident in the present life of Paniya tribe in Wayanad. Media imperialism is considered to be the over- concentration of mass media affecting people in which their identity would be lessened due to the media hegemony.Women told ―we watch serials everyday and curious to know what is happening to their life. So, we don‘t miss even an episode. If anybody is not having a TV in their house, they would be assembled in the nearby dwelling for watching soap operas.‖ The young generation of paniya tribe confess of their abundant use of various social networking sites:

―…we use mobile phones and social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, etc. for chatting and uploading pictures.I have friends, but interaction got reduced due to the emergence of TV and mobile phones‖.

All the above discussions and observations by the ethnographer only highlight how drastically human relationships have affected by the very subtle and unconscious engagement of the media as designed by corporates, resulting in media imperialism.

Ideological imperialism is a new term describes how the ideologies created by superior population influence the minorities in our society and it leads to the destruction of their culture. For eg:- the attitudes of young Paniya generation depicts how the ideological imperialism affets them. ―We prefer having fried rice or meat, it‘s not ok for us to have traditional food always‖ by a youth representative. Arun 21 years old ―we recreate our own version in playing; it may sound like ‗yo-yo, hi-hi‘ or variety of steps. It‘s a part of the shift happened in our society. Everything needs change, right?‖ It says how the upward ideologies dominate the minority culture.

Young men share

―…we have friends among Muslims and other denominations of Hinduism. They don‘t discriminate us as tribals; we are good friends. When they come

home, they will be having food. We don‘t discuss caste and other controversial things‖

This explains how friendships have grown to another level of considering one‘s caste and culture. Economic imperialism is a phenomenon in which the higher class will be utilizing the economy and taking the profit. In this process, the rich becomes richer and the poor tribes are getting poorer because of the unequal access to resources. With all these impacts of globalization, a culture of silence is being generated. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968), Paulo Freire talks about oppressors and the oppressed distinction, differentiates thepositions in an unjust society: the oppressor and the oppressed. Freire champions that education should allow the oppressed to regain their sense of humanity by overcoming their condition.By not giving adequate rights of taking important decisions regarding their life, the culture of quiet is well known among the Paniya.

Conclusion

The phenomenon of globalization that had been unleashed onto India starts with the NEP introduced in 1991. This phenomenon has had drastic impact on the general population who are part of the larger majority in every aspect of their lives: 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 body of the analysis tells us how the youngsters have moved away from the spirit of their art and dance in a manner to satisfy the mainstream by performing their arts in a manner as seen exotic to the mainstream society. They have moved away from their traditional foods and therein destroyed their indigenous agricultural practices and in the process also destroying their livelihoods. Gone are the days when they would gather among themselves under the leadership of the Mooppan to share their wisdom, their agonies and joys in music and dance. The Mooppan now remains a mere figure

head unable to control them in their trespasses and transgressions upon their own culture. Organised religion is slowly taking away them from what their God - mother nature. Technology by way of mobile telephony and satellite television has tainted them with the tastes and ways of the new world that looks at instant gratification and consumerist culture.

Their housing has change from the thatched comfortable small hutments to imposing concrete structures that warm up the once cool forest. They have time-saving devices and gadgets reflecting on their aspiration to emulate the ‗Elite‘ as depicted in the stories they watch. Slow and steadily, the cool green forests will be destroyed by waste - plastic, electronic and concrete debris - capable of polluting and creating irreparable damage. On account of these they would also eventually lose the flora and fauna that provided for their livelihood and resource for indigenous medicine. With this gone the indigenous wisdom too will once vanish.

All this is driven by globalization which is an invisible force and a carefully designed change bound to support the western concept of materialism. The new world order would be of people who donotregard traditional culture and trying to dominate the indigenous population by manipulating and applying their way of life. In the process the passive, receptive and noble paniya lose their identity as also their resilience to sustain what is unique about their existence and in the end render them without conviction in them and also always dependent on them. The same phenomenon as an overarching outcome of globalization follows the designs and dynamics as proposed in theory of cultural domination and dependency. The world systems theory also holds good in explaining such transactions, where in the dominant majority manipulates social systems and transactions to subtly dominate over a passive minority who live in a realm of noble, deemed equally insignificant and intangible to a material driven majority.

SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

 Since globalisation has adversely affected many aspects of the life of Paniya

tribes, the government and society at large has the responsibility to take

protective measures for the marginalized group. Also the tribals should

pressurize the government to protect their rights against the currents of

globalization. For this, they should organize themselves as tribals and work

jointly with all like-minded organizations to work for the tribal cause. Thus

together with all organizations of civil society and even of political parties,

tribals should work to counter the evil effects of globalization.

 Awareness building, training programmes and non-formal education at the

grass root level (as Friere mentioned) in districts where tribal presence is

strong, are needed to empower the tribals.

 All tribal organizations should be willing to consolidate and work together for

the goal of empowerment and development of Paniya tribe.

 Compelled transformation of traditional people towards the modern life is not

necessary

 While constructing new types of buildings, the traditional sort of things have

to be preserved rather than damaging

 Once in a while they should be given opportunities to exhibit their cultural art

forms and materials by preserving their tradition and a feeling of oneness

should be generated among them.

 Tourism is not that common in the Paniya village. But it would be an

inclination in the near future. So Paniya should take care of preserving their

culture. Tourism will be an opening for them to generate income by setting up

eco-tourism, which assimilate the preservation of ecology and tourism.

 Proper support and encouragement should be given to the youth of paniya tribe from the government.Government should provide opportunities to utilize the abilities of youth in a better way and also proper steps to respect the values and culture of paniya tribe.  People within the community should be well aware of their tradition. For that, a selected leader should be there among them who would take the responsibility to arrange programmes that would help them to understand their tradition.  Officials should ensure frequently that the community‘s resources are not

getting exploited in the name of globalization

 Government should ensure that their needs are being satisfied; not only

immediate needs; satisfying their needs for sustainable development.

 It is necessary to protect tribes for the conservation of nature. If the

agricultural sector is given more importance, their livelihood would be

improved and the forest will be preserved, as they are closely associated to

nature.

 Activists, academicians and other persons from civil society should also be

willing to give the necessary support to the tribals. However, it is ultimately

through the tribals themselves that lasting development and liberation of

tribals can be realized. Only then will the tribals be able to face the adverse

impact of globalization and move together with all sections of people, towards

their socio economic development and emancipation.

CONCLUSION

Introduction

The study titled ―Globalization and Social Life: An Ethnographic Case Study on Paniya Tribe in Wayanad‖ is an Ethnographic study meant to document the transitions happening to the paniya tribal community base in Eachome, Wayanad around a watershed year 1991 when the NEP was introduced. The study, basically a narrative reflection on how the community perceived themselves prior to and after

1991, examines the socio cultural changes happening to the life of Paniya tribe in

Wayanad in the context of globalization. It documents the changes to their socio- cultural life, health and medical practices, educational system as well as livelihood in the backdrop of what is seemed as globalization. The study adopted an Ethnographic

Case Study design in order to extract a deep narrative of the community absorbed from multiple perspectives of the people in the tribe. Primary data was collected through intensive field visits by the Ethnographer lasting over a fortnight through non-participant observation, unstructured interviews and Focused Group Discussions.

The changes to Social Life of the Paniya

Rise of Globalisation has a sturdy impact on different aspects of human life. It has always made considerable changes in the life style of the whole universe. While tracing the history of this phenomenon, we could ponder that it was by the 2000s, that globalisation began to firmly build its stairs in order to realise a complete transformation of the world. The possibilities of accessing resources have made easier, the arousal of globalisation.

When it comes to the case of tribal communities, it is unignorable fact that countless numbers of changes have been encountered by the communities. With special emphasize on paniya community, the dissertation gets in to the different

impacts that have created by globalization within this tribe. Different from other forward mainstream communities, who have access to various types of resources,power - political and material, as well as a high standard of living, tribal communities are seen as passive and vulnerable, forcing them to be completely marginalised from every realm of social life.

It is an appreciable fact that the effects of globalization have made an impact on the ‗backward‘ communities on the basis of various indices determined by the mainstream; it provided them with immense, versatile opportunities. Introspection perhaps would tell us that out of the entire world population, only a small proportion remain confident and conscious of the changes brought about by ‗globalization‘. Others, the majority remain passive travellerswho participate in this transition without much reflection. The Paniyacommunity too is no different.

The phenomena of globalization unleashed in India with the introduction of the New Economic Policy in 1991, has had a tremendous impact on the various aspects of social life - the dress worn; food habits; the soap operas watched and the music and themes discussed and listened; in access and preference of health; in their understanding of philosophy and religion. Given the measure of impact on the mainstream, one need not go too far to assess its impact on the passive Paniya, who lived on the peripheries on the terms and conditions prescribed by the dominion.

The Paniya youth have moved away in spirit from their ‗own‘art and dance forms, practising and performing their arts in a manner deemed exotic by the mainstream society. The Mooppan, once a power-centre remains a frail figurehead limited by the laws of the land, unable to limit the transgressions upon their own culture. Gone is the spirit of fellowship that their gregariousness brought.Their traditional foods, the indigenous agricultural practices and livelihoods too have drastically changed.Technology by way of mobile telephony and satellite television has tainted their tastes and has induced instant gratification and consumerist culture. Organised religion is slowly gaining sway over them rendering impressionable to suggestion of the mainstream in dangerous ways and dissipating their identities.

Their housing has change from the comfortable thatched huts to imposing concrete structures that warm up the once cool forest and affect the aesthetic beauty once part of nature. They engage time-saving devices and gadgets reflecting on their aspiration

to emulate the ‗elite‘. The ethnographer shares the fears of the Paniya elderly, that steadily, the verdant forests will be polluted with waste- plastic, electronic and concrete debris - remnants of modernitycapable of irreparable damage. Further, they would eventually lose the flora and fauna that once provided for their livelihood and resource for indigenous medicine. With this gone, it is not too far before the indigenous wisdom and practices get extinguished. And then everything that civilisation has built is lost.

All this is driven by globalization which is an invisible force, at large, carefully designed to manipulate the vulnerable in a manner to suit materialism. The new world order would consist of a regime with total regard traditional culture and trying to dominate the indigenous population by manipulating and applying their way of life. This engagement is vital for the promotion of globalisation because these indigenous, ecosystem live in spaces that hides away vast resources. In the process of disempowerment and disenfranchisement, the passive, receptive Paniya lose their identity as also their resilience to sustain what is unique about their existence. The phenomena may be regarded as an overarching outcome of globalisation as enshrined in theory of cultural domination and dependency, as well as the world systems theory. Both these frameworks explain such transactions, wherein the dominant majority manipulates social systems and transactions to subtly dominate over a passive minority who live in a realm of intangible nobility.

Conclusion

Thus, the dissertation actually looks in to the impacts that globalization has created in different realms - education, health, culture and the livelihood - of the

Paniyacommunity of Wayanad. It has been found that the Paniyatraditions have been very strongly affected. With regard to the socio-cultural sphere, the study has shown that globalization has widely affected the cultural life and practices of the tribals, so that they are getting uprooted from their cultural root and identity and moving towards the ‗ideal‘ as constructed by the elite. Alternate food preferences had affected the production of traditional crops with cascade effect on their livelihood and health.

The alternate living practices and concrete housing has not only destroyed the aesthetics of their verdant environment but has also substantially reduced their relationship with nature. While most of the youngsters in the community welcome the

‗progressive‘ changes brought about by globalization, the aged people could be identified as lamenting over the loss of their distinct tradition and cultural practices as

‗retrograde‘. From the perspective of the majority, transformation is necessity and unavoidable as it happens with the changing of times. Though such a fact is in consideration, we should also look into the loss of immense wisdom and indigenous practices so essential in preserving the world and humanity.

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APPENDIX

INTERVIEW GUIDE

Hints:-

 Shift in food habits

 Lifestyle diseases

 Power structure and leadership

 Shift in attires

 Changes happened in communication

 Influence of Media

 Shift from indigenous stay to concrete

 Leisure time

 Lifestyle and traditions

 Changes in friendship, love

 Changes in marriage ceremonies

 Changes in their unique rites like Vattakkali

 Changes in the expression of respect for others

 Changes in heritage and heirloom

 Changes in home delivery

 Shift from ethnomedicines to allopathic medicines

 Knowledge and attitudes of young generation on Ethnomedicines

 Birth rates and Mortality rates

 Involvement in MNREGS and other income generation activities

 Involvement of women in improving the family status

 Participation of women in Kudumbasree/SHGs

 Language/accent used by teachers/students

 Major changes happened in the infrastructure

 Changes in the uniform system

 Changes in the attitudes of students

 Peer group relationship