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Continuous Issue-47|February – March 2021

Challenges of Tribal cultural Traditions and Customs: A study of

Abstract Today, the tribals of Gujarat are facing a different problem because they are getting caught up in the so- called development process. The tribals are stuck in a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, they are forced to migrate and migrate in the name of development. On the other hand, the culture of tribals is being destroyed by various means. Such as the tribalization of Sanskritization due to the effect of modernization and urbanization. Due to such problems, tribals are facing the problem of survival. The tribals are being forced to forget their indigenous identity. Tribals are being brought into the mainstream through religion. They are being misled and separated from their culture in the name of religion. The influence of Hindu and Christianity is increasing among the tribals. Religious thinking is being imposed on the tribals through various newspapers and other organized methods. Media is playing an important role in this process. Adivasis are forgetting their traditional and indigenous culture and imitating other's culture. Imitation of Hindu and Christian culture is taking place on a large scale. Both religions are trying to propagate religious thinking and there are also attempts to create communal disputes between religions. Both religions are unilaterally propagated in tribal areas. In the name of religion, the converted Hindu and Christian tribals are forced to fight among themselves. Due to the influence of these religions, tribals are leaving their culture behind and practicing Hindu and Christianity on a large scale. Key Words: Tribal, Cultural, Religion.

Introduction Culture is an intrinsic part of all societies in the world. Each society has its own different culture. And society cannot be established without it and is considered an important part of life. Similarly, the Adivasis of Gujarat have their own culture, which is prestigious and culturally different from other societies. The culture of Adivasis is dependent on nature, that is why tribals and water, forest and land are related to each other’s close relationship. It is considered an ideal culture in the world. The Adivasis are identified with their culture. In this way, culture is a means of saving the existence of society. Culture is essential for the survival of society. For example, culture can be compared with a parent. A child cannot live without its parents, in the same way Adivasis cannot live without natural culture. They practice unity with nature by saving each other’s existence (Hardiman, D. 2002).

Religion is indeed a universal feature of human culture. Not because all societies promote faith in spirits, but because everyone recognizes in some form or the other. And are extra-inspiring of reality. Apart from its psychological significance, such a religion is a dynamic force that binds social groups together. Coordinates their activities and provides a spiritual backdrop for every phase of their social life. It means how religion has a reciprocal relationship with social institutions and every social fact and religion has complementary validation. Sometimes religion helps to maintain the practice of social cooperation. For example, the head of a village has given his help to anyone who asks. Religion for some time supports authority and thus helps in positive maintenance of customs. The first chieftain is always worshiped in any tribal village, he goes to the group of deities. For this reason, the surviving chief also gets an aura of religious acceptance around him, allowing him to exert control over the villagers (Naik, T. B.1956).

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KCG-Portal of Journals British classified about Tribals The British attempted to have classified information about the tribals. In the 1871 census report, they were classified as “Aborigines”. A person, animal, or plant that has been in a country or region from earliest times. Aborigines, the original native fauna or flora of a region. In the census report of 1881 and 1891, they were specified again as “Aboriginal”. Under the category of agricultural and pastoral castes formed a sub-heading called ‘forest tribes’ in the census report of 1901, they were classified as ‘’Animists” Animism is the doctrine that every natural thing in the universe has a soul. Animism comes from the Latin word anima, meaning life, or soul. People often think of “primitive” beliefs when they think of animism, but you’ll find the belief in the spiritual life of natural objects in all major religions. and in 1911 as “tribal animists or people following tribal religion” in the census report of 1921, they were specified as “hill and forest tribes”. The 1931 census described them as ‘primitive tribes’ and in the census report of 1941 they were classified as “tribes” only (Verma, R. C. 1995). If Spencer has assumed that the experience of ghosts speeds up beliefs about souls and thus “animism”, and assumes the assumption that starting from the beginning of religion to see doubles in water and dreams According to Taylor's perception, why should it be accepted? Spencer's doctrine “the cult of the ancestors” was converted to universal worship of the nature of “naturism”, so that “no psychical mechanism necessitating it”. From time to time, they appear again that the concentration of the dead is not “primitive” for the various forms of Max Muller’s “naturism,” so that the gods and their names gave good terms to the words, giving simple meanings developed as additional meanings, because in response to “marvellous forces” of humanity (Trompf, G. W., 2011). The British deployed anthropological terminology to classify these unequal people. The concept of jangli was translated into the word ‘jungle tribe’ so that they can be defined in the context of their habitat forest (which means forest instead of ‘wild’ in English) and their relation organization to tribal based ‘Tribe’ in some cases, they were defined by colonial rulers as ‘animist’ in the form of their ‘primitive’ religiousness. In the twentieth century, the bureaucracy of ‘Scheduled Tribe’ was labeled in response to this many of them have claimed that, for tribals, or ‘native residents’ (Hardiman, D. 1999).

Overview of Tribal communities of Gujarat

The Bhil community is a primitive people. According to the 2011 census, the Bhils are the largest tribal group in . They constitute about 38% of the total scheduled tribal population of India. The Bhil tribe is found in the states of Maharashtra, , Gujarat, Rajasthan, . It is spread in the central region of the Indian headland, most of it in the area covered by the forest-clad mountains trinity, Sahyadri and Satpura in the Vindhyas. The tribals are spread over the districts of the eastern belt of Gujarat state. This tribal belt is connected with South Rajasthan in the north, Madhya Pradesh in the east and Maharashtra in the south. In which Bhil tribals be inherent in on a large scale. Most of Gujarat’s Adivasi population lives in the hilly highlands on the eastern border of the state. The 2011 Census of India recognizes thirty tribes in the state of Gujarat. The tribals of Gujarat constitute 15 percent of the total population. They are especially spread in the districts of Aravalli, Mahisagar, Dahod, Panchmahal, Chhotaudipur, Bharuch, Narmada, , Navsari, Vapi, Valsad and Dang.

In the period after independence, two things have happened for the tribals as a result of the apportionment of the state. First, Bhil physical and social geography was abolished by the linguistic division of states. Some Bhils are included in Rajasthan, some in Gujarat and others in Madhya Pradesh. In which there was an attempt to eliminate Bhil and Adivasi language by dividing Gujarati into Hindi and Marathi language state. He was Gujaratised in Gujarat. The tribals had to do their schooling in the state language, ignoring their own language and dialects. They lag behind speaking and writing in Gujarati with mainstream non-tribals. For the same reason they can be easily identified as tribals by pronunciation. The tribals on the other hand were Hinduized by the state. In each census the column for religion was increasingly filled as Hindu. For example, Gamit was prefixed as Hindu Gamit, Vasava as Hindu Vasava and Bhil as Hindu Bhil. And during admission to schools, this Hindu identity was reinforced in the school records and forcibly written Hindu in the school certificate and the Janjati certificate. And to discuss Hindu in schools in the course of hymns and education. Different Hindu sects have contributed to the Hinduization of tribals such as ‘Swami Narayan’, ‘Sita Ram’ and ‘Sat Keval’ etc. The

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KCG-Portal of Journals Bhagat or Bhakti movement and later a host of other movements hastened the process of Hindisation. Upward mobiles moved tribals to Hindu sects faster than others (Lobo, L. 2002). Hindu fundamentalists claim that the Adivasis origin is Hindu. They support the classification of the Indian state of the Scheduled Tribes as , if clearly claimed otherwise. However, state classified systems are also political interventions: After independence, nationalist anthropologists argued against granting a specific religious identity to the Adivasis and professor of sociology, G.S. Ghurye claimed that they were “backward Hindus”. According to this view, differentiating “Adivasi” from “castes” and claiming an “aboriginal” status for Adivasis was a move suggestive of the colonial policy of divide and rule. And yet the “Scheduled Tribes” category was not completely dissolved it was protected, though with the Adivasi classified as Hindus (Baviskar, A. (2005).

What the sinister bombast of the Hindu right obscures is that the fact that they themselves are engaged in a programmed of hegemonizing Adivasis, involving in this case the inculcation of loyalty a nation state which is defined in terms of a monolithic, syndicated form of Hinduism. In it, they are competing with whole social reformers, government officials, non-government workers and various religious secularists, who are trying to win the allegiance of tribals for their views. These ‘related citizens’ are run in an agenda in almost all cases, which defines the tribal in the case of ‘backwardness’ and ‘wildness’ which can be overcome only through the conversion of values of ‘decent’ (Hardiman, D. 1999).

the concept of the processes of social change in the exposure of non-tribal societies has been estimated. It is clear from the limits of the conditions used to capture these processes; the most common ‘Sanskritization’ and ‘’ sometimes also use ‘Kshatriyatism’ and ‘Rajputism’ as an anthropological measure of ‘Sanskritization’. These words describe different social processes at work, although these processes consistently and overlap in the real empirical reality. There is a tendency among social scientists so that they can be used for each other. The difficulties arising from the use of such words are often overcome by the use of common words in the form of ‘acculturation ‘, ‘assimilation’ and ‘absorption’. However, the main processes in which the change of tribes in the tribe means Hindutva and Sanskritization (Xaxa, V. 1999).

Tribal land transferred to religiosity

Hindu religious organizations such as “Bharat Seva Sangh” (BSS), “Vishwa Hindu Parishad” (VHP), “Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh” (RSS) in tribal areas are active in all talukas of the district and monitor their activities at the taluka headquarters. If we look at the example, the main centre of BSS in Dadiapada is a group of religious , Bhagats and . They are primarily run to combat missionary activities in the region. And on social occasions such as marriage and death occasions, Hindus try to get rituals done in the Punja system. Sometimes, they conduct Yagn (purification ceremony) for those people. And in every village, Hanuman’s temple is built, in which all the people of the village are fed food on Hanuman Jayanti.

Other Hindu sects such as ‘Swadhya Parivar’, ‘Swaminarayan’ also gave similar emphasis on devotion, vegetarianism, and teetotalism. Some Hindu “saints” like Pandurang Shastri Ataval, Narayandasji Swami, Morari Bapu and Asaram Bapus shisyas have entered this area. Unlike Christian missionaries, the Hindu community generally would not have asked their tribal followers to abandon their traditional gods and goddesses. Nevertheless, Hindutva essentially pushes the local gods into the periphery. Some Hindu sects are also active in Dang. The first way to enter the moksha path was the Vaishnava devotional sect. Another Hindu sect, Sat Kaval has also established its network in Dengs. The followers put a separate tilak on their forehead and refused to take onions, saffron, and meat-eating food. They gather for satsanga (bhajan singing congregation) on full moon day. To join tribals in this sect, to become an addict, the sub-free (Kanungo, P., & Joshi, S. 2009).

Religious conversion is a process of converting one person to another religion. Who abandons one’s own religion? A person who adopts another religion is called a convert. But when it comes to the tribal community, it is a cultural community. He is neither a Christian nor a Hindu, tribal believes in nature. The tribal community is going towards human-born religiosity under the influence of modernization and

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KCG-Portal of Journals urbanization somewhere. This effect is a social issue and social problem of tribal conversion in Gujarat (Patel, V. N. 2017). Impacts of Hinduization on Tribal

The appearance of Hindu nationalism in the early 20th century started attacking minority communities. And tried to stop the tribals from converting to other religions especially Islam and Christianity. In which fundamental religious organizations (Sangh Parivar), such as Hindu Mahasabha (Great Assembly of Hindus), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), etc. do not want the abolition of caste system but exploitation of the exploiting class. Their sole aim is to strengthen Hindu nationalism by strengthening the moral and religious life of the people founded on Hinduism. Therefore, patriotism is maintained with religious allegiance (Theo, Habil, Roy Lazar).

Especially in tribal areas. They have devised new rituals, such as bathing the tribals in the hot springs, attending them in havans, yagnas and then declaring that they have become Hindus. Then it is said that all the people living in India are Hindus. For the same reason, the category of tribals is not recognized as Indigenous. Due to this the word used is Vanvasi (Forest dweller). Accordingly, the point of origin of the tribal, their unique culture and norms is underestimated. While the people involved in the Adivasi Ghar wapsi (homecoming) claim that the tribals are Hindus. Because Adivasi is a culture, it is not part of any religion, which is common among tribals all over the world. In this sense, it is subject to culture rather than religion. Tribals are nature worshipers and animists. Religion is determined by a belief, gods, sacred books, communist ceremonies and rituals. Most of the tribals have been non-vegetarian beef eaters. And are unaware of and other gods of Hinduism, and tribals are not aware of Hindu festivals. The Gita is unaware of the knowledge of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Vedas. Has been inspiring in his life in his own way (Puniyani, R. (2015). Christian missionary activity in Tribal areas

In various tribal areas in India, missionaries from various denominations of Christianity have worked with a view to convert them. Along with converting to Christianity, they provide social services such as education and medical assistance. In most areas of tribal population in India, religious conversion activities are also carried out by Christian missionaries. Christian missionaries have played an important role in providing humanitarian services in selected tribal areas to increase the expansion of the activity of religious conversion. Such services include health facilities, activities to improve the economic condition of the tribals, setting up educational institutions for poverty alleviation and educational development, and removing illiteracy besides running orphanages. Such efforts continue even today. As a result, religious conversion became simpler and easier and wider with the passage of time. It is clear that under the influence of various activities by the Christian missionaries, the spread of education and the health level of the tribals has improved and along with it awakening. In addition, he has been provided with a model of Western way of life. Like celebrating a personal birthday and Christmas. However, religious conversion among the tribals has also led to some effects on tribal communities which have become problematic for the tribal community. Religious conversion has provided tribal Christians with religious unity, education as well as a pattern of Westernization in the form of Western values and morals. Adivasis have abandoned their original tribal religion due to conversion. Such as going to church, adopting the Christian clothing system, adopting Western clothing and customs. Due to such westernization, a conflict arises between the native customs and traditions of the tribals and the Christian customs adopted by the converted tribals and their traditions. Christian missionaries attained modernity and, along with it, represented an alternative to evangelical Christianity that was prevailed. Although this was not supported by science. In his treatment mission, he believed that the successor medical knowledge was of limited efficacy only. Just as Christ has the power of love and compassion for the sick and injured, and his work in it provides relief from pain and suffering. Furthermore, his hatred for the practice of demonology seen by him as a tool of the devil prevented him from practicing the customs most tribes expected of his healers (Patel, V. N. 2017).

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KCG-Portal of Journals The main impediments to Christian medicine were, however, continuing to be confidant about the efficacy of the majority of Aborigines, and in fact, the imperative of radical reformism. And the tribal elders believed that the missionaries worked hard against the indigenous form of medicine. His victory was a major threat to political and moral hegemony. For these two reasons, community leaders have, for the most part, carried out the dedicated and selfless medical work of the missionaries among the tribals (Hardiman, D. 2006). Christian missionaries, Protestant as well as Catholics are settled at the taluka headquarters and schools, milk cooperatives, dispensaries and free legal aid centres are run in the taluka. From a religious point of view, it is said by Christian Protestant that Maryam Mata came from Spain here in Gujarat in Korvi village of Dadiapada. A fair is organized here on the occasion of Shivaratri, in which many tribals from Gujarat come to visit, in which many people do pilgrimage (Pinto, S.1995).

Conclusion Historically, Adivasis have been placed on the mainstream margins of Indian society through the caste system. Adivasis are traditionally considered to be outside the caste structure. And it is considered completely impure according to the order of the Brahmin caste. Tribal societies, in turn, consider themselves distinct from the majority Hindu population of India as well as other organized forms of religion. In post-independence India, the state has pushed through a systematic process of separating tribal communities from their land and resources in the name of progress and development. References

I. Baviskar, A. (1995). In the Belly of the River. Tribal Conflicts over Development in the Narmada Valley. II. Hardiman, D. (1999). Christianity and the Adivasis of Gujarat. Economic and Political Weekly, 2667. III. Hardiman, D. (2002). Christianity and the Adivasis of Gujarat’, in Labour. IV. Hardiman, D. (2006). Christian therapy: Medical missionaries and the Adivasis of Western India, 1880–1930. In Healing Bodies, Saving Souls (pp. 137-167). Brill Rodopi. V. Kanungo, P., & Joshi, S. (2009). Carving out a White Marble Deity from a Rugged Black Stone? Hindutva Rehabilitates Ramayan’s Shabari in a Temple. International Journal of Hindu Studies, 13(3), 279-299. VI. Lobo, L. (2002). Adivasis, Hindutva and post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. Economic and Political Weekly, 4844-4849. VII. Naik, T. B. (1956). The Bhils: a study. Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh. VIII. Patel, V. N. (2017). Religious Conversion among Tribes of India: Reflections from Sociology. International Journal of Advances in Social Sciences, 5(1), 01-04. IX. Patel, V. N. (2017). Religious Conversion among Tribes of India: Reflections from Sociology. International Journal of Advances in Social Sciences, 5(1), 01-04. X. Pinto, S. (1995). Communalisation of Tribals in South Gujarat. Economic and Political Weekly, 2416-2419. XI. Puniyani, R. (2015). Ghar Wapsi and Freedom of Religion. Religion and society, 60(3), 64-94. XII. Theo, Habil, Roy Lazar. A Ghar Wapsi – But Which or Whose Home? Department of Christian Studies, University of Madras. XIII. Trompf, G. W. (2011). Durkheim on Original and Aboriginal Religion: Issues of Method. Relegere: Studies in Religion and Reception, 1(2), 263-82. XIV. Verma, R. C. (1995). Indian tribes through the ages. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. XV. Xaxa, V. (1999). Transformation of tribes in India: Terms of discourse. Economic and political weekly, 1519-1524. Websites

I. https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/adivasi-vs-vanvasi-the-hinduization-of-tribals-in- india/217974

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*************************************************************************** Gambhirbhai Rupjibhai Vasava PhD scholar Centre for Gandhian Thought and Peace Studies School of Social Sciences Central University of Gujarat Gandhinagar

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