Hope Amidst Hopelessness: Life Histories of Illiterate Oraon Tribal Women in Jharkhand, India A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Nijhar Jharia Minz IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Dr. Rosemarie J. Park, Advisor April, 2012 © Nijhar Jharia Minz 2012 i Acknowledgements This journey began many years ago, there were detours even breaks on the way but by the grace of God and by encouragements and prayer supports of family and friends I am able to reach my goal. My heart is full of gratitude to all those who have walked with me in this journey. Thanks and Praise to the Living triune God who guided, provided and sustained me with wisdom, courage and perseverance throughout this journey. My deepest gratitude goes to my husband, Jhakmak Neeraj Ekka who has been by my side during every phase of this work. Being a theologian himself he took time to sit with me, talk to me, discuss and help me articulate my points logically and descriptively. His thoughtful insights and comments were very helpful in the formation and development of this work. His presence and encouragement sustained me and gave me hope to finish this work. I owe much more than the words could conevey to him. He was Mr. mom not only to our four young children but to me. He cared for all inside and outside the house. In all these he remained a pilliar of strength and a wonderful friend and companion for me. Neeraj you are a gift from God and I am thankful to God for you for your love and support. I am grateful to our four wonderful children who were patient and understanding especially last year when I was busy with my writing. Maani Grace being the oldest sister cared for her younger siblings, Urbas kept Jhumpa and Puna occupied in games, Puna Bel came often to help in the kitchen and Jhumpa patiently waited for mom to be done with her “math” so she can have her mom back. Thank you Maani, Urbas, Puna and Jhumpa for your prayers and support. ii I am truly indebted and thankful to my parents Nirmal and Paracleta Minz who gave me deep roots, strong wings and unconditional love and abiding faith in the triune God. And with courage entrusted me into the hands of the Lord to be what I wanted to be…Thank you for being my teachers and mentors. To my sisters Sona, Shanti and Akay for their support and examples I thank you. My extened family in India deserves special regcognition for their support and prayers. This work would not have taken its shape without the incredible stories of six remarkable women who became my friends and sisters. My deepest thanks to them for sharing their life stories and letting me wander into their lives. They gave me the gift of their trust and accepted me as one of their own. I am sincerely and heartily grateful to my advisor Dr. Rosemarie Park for the support and guidance she showed me throughout my student life at the University of Minnesota and especially during dissertation writing. She patiently allowed me to be my own …own best-own worst and learn from my mistakes. I thank all my Doctoral Committee members… Dr. Shari Peterson who encouraged me to write, Dr. Michael Goh who willingly accepted my request to be in the committee and shared insights for my dissertation and Dr. Rebecca Ropers-Huilman encouraging me to go beyond dissertation writing. I am thankful to Dr. Fry for helping my eyes open to be an interpretive reserarcher. I owe earnest thanks to Dr. Gary Leske who trusted in me and supported me throughout my program. My deep gratitude and appreciation goes to Rev. Duane and Mrs. Connie Olson for strenuous task of proof reading. Thank you for your thoughtful comments, support and prayers. I am obligated to my friends and classmates especially Dr. Mary Laeger- iii Hagemeister and Dr. Emily Goff who boosted me morally and provided me great information resources. Thanks to Kristen Mastel, Beth Petsan and Katie Levin for technical help during writing and formatting this dissertation. I owe sincere and ernest thankfulness to the Director Rev. Charles Lingquist and council memebers of World Mission Prayer League for granting our family home assignment to travel to the USA and also take study leave to complete this long awaited work. Special thanks to housing committee for providing a wonderful comfortable house to make my writing possible. Many friends and prayer partners who supported me and my family with prayers and financial support, for whom, I wish to record my deep sense of gratitude, especially to my mentor and uncle Rev. Dr. Duain and aunt Donna Vierow, Daniel and Janet Kunau, Nancy Hanson, Byron and Donna Engen, Pastor Norm and Dee Berg, Rev. Dr. Steve Ramp, Patty, Chance and Sommer, John and Sue Lundholm, Sherren and Duane Foss, Harriet Peterson, Daryl Johnson, Pastor Margie Gulker, Heidi Wyatt Pastor Kjiel and Heidi Ferris, Kris O’Brian, Dale and Susan Howard, Marie and Howard Hanson, Mary and Dan Deardorff, Mindi and Dave Pederson, Pastor Lyle and Pat Ness, Rev. Dr. Del and Kathy Jacobson, Lynne and Jim Moratzka,Martha Kunau, Sara Kunau, Eric and Neva Hornor, Pastor Steve Dornbusch, Pastor Matt and Lacee Anderson, Al, Debbie and Daniel Klaver, Ardel and Dennis Rattmann you all were piller of support to me and my family thank you. My appreciation to the faculty, staff and students of Navin Doman Theological College, Jharkhand, India; World Mission Prayer League friends and to the pastors, supporters and friends of Christ Lutheran Church, Blaine,MN; Hope Lutheran Church, iv Villages, FL; St. John Lutheran Church, Summerfield, FL; Woodlake Lutheran Church, Richfield, MN; Zion Lutheran Church, Buffalo Lake, MN; Calvary Lutheran Church, Golden Valley, MN; Westminister Presbiterian Church, MS; St. Timothy Lutheran Church, San Joes, CA; Living Hope Lutheran Church, WI; Redeemer Lutheran, Henderson, MN; Hope Lutheran Church, Floodwood, MN, and New Hope Lutheran Church, Minong, WI for their continuous prayers and support to me and my family. v DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to many wise, dedicated courageious and sacrificial women who were unable to attend school of any kind. Especially to my bari fufu (older paternal aunt) Late Jaimani Bara and choti fufu (younger paternal aunt) Late Premnica Minz. Their lives inspired me to take up study in illiteracy. vi Abstract Hope Amidst Hopelessness: Life Histories of Illiterate Oraon Tribal Women in Jharkhand, India This interpretive study asked the question: “What education and literacy insights can be gained from the studies of the life stories of illiterate Oraon women in Jharkhand, India?” Life history methodology was used to gain insights into the lived experiences of illiterate women. I hoped to provide meaning and give voice to the voiceless. Observations, in-depth and open-ended interviews were used for data collection. The six Oraon tribal women shared their life experiences in Sadri language with the researcher who was from the same group. Six themes were identified: First, our lives are heavy and painful because of daily hard work; second, we do everything to send our children to school hoping that their lives will be better than ours; third, why do our husbands who went to school live as if they have never been to school?; fourth, no one is there to listen to us; fifth, we look forward to cultural gatherings because they give us joy and satisfaction and sixth occasionally our hopes are raised by those in power but soon we are forgotten. The study emphasizes the role of women as major providers and loss of women’s work. The women felt shame because of illiteracy. The focus of the women’s lives was their children. Also the lack of support from spouses and feelings of isolation permeated their lives. Their lives were in flux due to change in household and loss of tribal identity. The one brighter spot was their joy in celebration. vii The study recommendations are for more in-depth study of Oraon women and in-depth study of the education system as related to the cultural identity of Oroans. The influence of patriarchy on women’s lives in the Oraon community. Adult education recommendations are for the implementation of culturally sensitive and comprehensive literacy campaign among Oraon women. The study of Oraon songs and dance can be used as a tool for literacy. Using a Frieran model of literacy is recommended for training adult educators from the Oraon community. Village involvement and supervision of community action programs is needed. viii Table of Contents Acknowledgements…….………………………………………………………………i Dedication………………………………………………………………………………v Abstract…..…………………………………………………………………………….vi Table of Contents……..……………………………………………………………….viii Map of India…………………………………………………………………………..xiv Map of Jharkhand, India………………………………………………………………xv Definition of Terms……………………………………………………………………xvi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY ................................................ 1 My Personal Interest in the Topic ................................................................................... 1 Tribal Women and Literacy............................................................................................. 4 Tribal Women ........................................................................................................... 5 Oraon Women .......................................................................................................... 8 Literacy ..................................................................................................................