Impact of Modernisation on Tribal Religious
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IMPACT OF MODERNISATION ON TRIBAL RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS: A CASE STUDY OF ROURKELA A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, in Partial Fulfilment of Requirement of the Award of the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES Submitted by Nancy Ekka Under the Guidance of Prof. Seemita Mohanty Associate Professor Department of Humanities and Social Sciences NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROURKELA – 769008, ODISHA May 2013 Dr. Seemita Mohanty Associate Professor Department of Humanities and Social Sciences National Institute of Technology, Rourkela E- mail: [email protected], [email protected] Phone: +91661 2462692 (o), Fax: +91 661 246 2690 CERTIFICATE Date: 6.05.2012 This is to certify that the dissertation entitled “Impact of Modernisation on Tribal Religious Customs and Traditions: A Case Study of Rourkela” being submitted by Nancy Ekka for the award of the Masters of Arts in Development Studies of NIT Rourkela is a record of bona-fide research work carried out by her under my supervision and guidance. The contents of this thesis, in full or part, have not been submitted to any other university or institution for the award of any degree. Dr Seemita Mohanty (Research Supervisor) i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It is my humble duty to record my gratitude and indebtedness to everyone concerned with my present work. I want to express my immense gratitude to Prof. Seemita Mohanty, HOD, Humanities and Social Sciences Department, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha and my research supervisor for her patient guidance and encouragement. I am sure it would not have been possible without the kind support and guidance she showed me throughout my dissertation writing. Besides my advisor, I would to thank the rest of the faculty members: Prof. B. Patniak, Prof. N.R. Mishra, Prof. N. Sethi, Prof. J. Pradhan, Prof. A.K. Rath, Prof. N. Kipgen and Prof. R.K Biswal for their time to time insightful comments and their valuable suggestions during the dissertation work. My sincere thanks also go to the respondents, that is, the villagers, ANM workers and also to the village school teachers for their sincere cooperation during the data collection. I am also thankful to my senior Aradhana di, friends Amarjeet, Subhashree, Saswat and Prasanti for their timely help. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to them. Above all, I convey my gratitude to the almighty God and my dear parents for their blessings and support, which motivated me to carry out this work. Nancy Ekka ii ABSTRACT The objective of the study was to measure the impact of modernisation on the religious customs and traditions of the tribals residing in Rourkela. The study was confined to the four major tribes, viz. Kisan, Oraon, Kharia and Mundas, who reside in different settlements located in Rourkela. A major issue that the study reveals is the large-scale impact of modernisation and urbanisation on indigenous tribal areas of Rourkela that is rapidly eroding the age-old customs and traditions of the tribal groups. The government policy of industrializing remote areas has led to the emergence of high-tech industries and modernisation in the tribal belts. The first and major impact which tribal population faces is in the shape of loss of tribal identity through the establishment of industries that brings in development in the form of technology and its concurrent side-effects. Tribal customs and traditions come under pressure, due to contact with the town culture and a consequent change in the attitudes of the tribals in Rourkela can be seen. It can be seen that tribal religions are no longer in practice and dominant religions like Christianity and Hinduism have taken their place. Magical cures and herbs that the tribals practiced are considered archaic today. Tribal crafts and cultivation have also steadily declined. Yet, on the converse side, the benefits of modernisation also cannot be ignored which has aided the tribals from exploitation and provided them better living condition including education and health care. iii CONTENTS Page no CERTIFICATE i ACNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii CONTENTS iv-v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vi CHAPTER-1 1-11 INTRODUCTION 1-11 1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 3 1.2 RESEARCH PROBLEM 5 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 9 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 9 1.5 DEFINATION OF KEY TERMS 9 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 10 1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY 10 1.8 ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS 11 CHAPTER-2 12-15 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND THEORITICAL 12-15 FRAMEWORK CHAPTER-3 16-17 METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 SELECTION OF STUDY AREA 16 3.2 SAMPLE SIZE AND DATA COLLECTION 16 3.3 TOOLS AND TECHNIQUE 16-17 \ iv CHAPTER-4 18-37 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 18-37 CHAPTER-5 39-40 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 39-40 REFERENCES 42-47 APPENDIX-I 48-56 v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Page No. Table no. Table 4.1 Percentage distributions of tribes found in the five villages covered...................18 Table 4.2 Percentage distribution of Christian and Hindu followers found in each tribe.....19 Table 4.3 Percentage distribution of tribal children going to school in each region............20 Table 4.4 Percentage distribution of family members knowing the cultural songs and dances of their community..................................................................................................................24 Figure no. Fig 4.1 Percentage distribution of tribes ...............................................................................18 Fig 4.2 Percentage distribution of tribals following Christianity and Hinduism...................19 Fig 4.3 Percentage distribution of tribals with different educational qualifications...............21 Fig 4.4 Percentage distribution of educated family members................................................21 Fig 4.5 Percentage distribution of main source of livelihood among tribals..........................23 Fig 4.6 Percentage distribution of family members speaking tribal languages......................24 Fig4.7Percentage distribution of cultural activities followed during ceremonies of celebration...............................................................................................................................28 Fig 4.8 Percentage distribution of cultural activities followed during ceremonies of sorrow.....................................................................................................................................28 vi Fig4.9 Percentage distribution of family members involve in practices of using locally products of your community in daily life................................................................................29 Fig 4.10 Percentage distribution of Community organizes any cultural programs for tribe....30 Fig 4.11 Percentage distribution offer prayers to the dead/deceased......................................30 Fig 4.12 Percentage distribution of cultural activities reveals the glory of god......................31 Fig 4.13 Percentage distribution of is it important for the female members of your family to actively participate in social activities......................................................................................32 Fig 4.14 Percentage distribution of socializing with other communities (non-tribal?)............32 Fig 4.15 Percentage Distribution of Views on Modernisation in Relation to Their Tribes.....33 Fig 4.16 Percentage distribution on views of whether they liked their children and descendants to preserve the religious cultures and traditions.................................................34 Fig 4.17 Percentage distribution on use of modern technologies in agriculture……………..35 vii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The English word tribe has come from the Latin word ‘tribus’ which signifies a particular type of common and political organisation which is alive in all these societies. The name ‘tribe’ refers to a category of people and designates a step of development in human society. As a type of society the term signifies a set of typical features and as a point of advancement it cannotes a definite form of social organisation. (Behura, 1990). Tribal population is found in almost all parts of India and Odisha claims to be the second largest leading tribal state in the country. About 68 million people of the state of India are members of Scheduled Tribes and one of the most studied tribal religions is that of Odisha (Census 2011). Of all the states of India, Odisha has the largest number of tribes, as many as 62. Tribals of Odisha are known as Adivasis, Vanabasis, and Girijanas. They are described as aboriginals of Odisha in anthropological literature. The Adivasi (aborigine), Vanabasi (forest dweller) and Girijana (mountain dweller) represent an impressive 22.13% population of Odisha. Government of India has notified 62 endogamous tribal groups of Odisha as Scheduled Tribes. Surrounded by these 62 local indigenous groups have different sub-tribes who have continued to preserve their original harmony. Government of India and census of India have been enumerating all tribal inhabitants and classifying them into 62 tribal groups. Amongst these Sundergarh district is one of the majority densely settled tribal regions in Odisha according to the “Revised paper presented in the Census Data Dissemination Workshop, “Status of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Odisha (Community Wise): Census 2001” organised by Directorate of Census Operations, Odisha and SC ST Research and Training Institute, Govt. of Odisha, at