Sonali Mukherjee CHANGING DYNAMICS OF KINSHIP AND MARRIAGE: IMPLICATIONS OF MINING AMONG THE MARIA OF BASTAR Introduction Discerning the complexities of kinship systems of various pre- industrial societies dominated anthropological investigations in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Since then it continued to engage the attention of anthropologists till about 1970s when it was seriously challenged by studies reflecting on gender and political economy. Kinship was seen not only as nodal point of tribal societies but also a principle of social organization among these communities. A turning point in kinship studies was brought about by David Schneider (1984) who highlighted the western anthropologists’ ethnocentric biases and their inability to distinguish between various facets of kinship structures in the pre-industrial societies. While tracing the trajectory of kinship studies in India, Uberoi (1993) observes that development in this particular field of study has followed the changing paradigms and concerns of anthropology and sociology in the west. Of late the feminist theorists brought a fresh perspective to anthropological investigation. Special attention began to be focused on the household as site of production and reproduction (Uberoi, 1993). Work of Collier and Yanagisako (1987) established the relationship between kinship and gender. They pointed out that gender asymmetries were crucial to the understanding of kinship systems cross-culturally. Differential positions of the various kin need to be understood in a relative perspective so as to have a complete picture of the society being studied. The study explores the changing kinship boundaries and their implications on the social life of Maria, a central Indian tribe. It traces the emergence of newer structures in the domain of kinship and affinity. All such changes are explained on the basis of infusion of other cultures from outside the region into the studied area. The industrial policy and administrative decisions have been instrumental in creating new matrimonial alliances leading to formation and consolidation of new family norms, rules of residence and kinship obligations. Maria women of Bastar have entered into wedlock SONALI MUKHERJEE, Associate Fellow, Council for Social Development, Delhi, E-mail: [email protected] 346 THE EASTERN ANTHROPOLOGIST 66: 2-3 (2013) with men from other tribes, castes and region which have not only affected the traditional kinship boundaries but have created new boundaries beyond the Maria society. Background Maria traditionally inhabit the inaccessible areas in Dantewada district of Chattishgarh State. Historically speaking, south Bastar is a land which remained unexplored3 for a long period of time. It is pre-dominantly occupied by the Maria, who lived a life of relative seclusion, within their own cultural norms and patterns. Bailadila range of mountains4 which is situated in the south of Bastar was hunting and foraging ground of the local tribals, as the thickly spread-out forest was the home of the wild animals like Sambhar, Bison, Double-horned antelope, etc.. Other than the blacksmiths, who dug out iron ore with their own indigenous method and made tools with their traditional technology, no one explored the vast expanse of iron wealth. In fact, only after the project, conducted by the Geology Department of the Government of Colonial India, was known the mineral content of that region. In 1938, H. Crookshank (cited from Crookshank 1963), Superintending Geologist, Geological Survey of India published his work, The Iron Ores of the Bailadila Range, Bastar State. In 1963, another manuscript for the Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India, volume 87 was prepared by him. These popularized the rich iron ore reserves of this area. He had identified the principal ore deposits and numbered them. These deposits are, till date identified by these numbers only. Iron being an important resource in that area, government of India decided to extract iron ore to its benefit and export them abroad and in turn, earn good revenue. Accordingly, Indian Bureau of Mines began exploring and in 1963, National Mineral Development Corporation Limited (NMDC) took over from them. The Bailadila range of hills was developed for the first time, by setting up a mine at Deposit-14 which went into production in 1968. In fact, the first township was set up at the base of the Bailadila hills where Deposit 14 is located, in the village named Kirandul. The colony which was set up near the mining area was named as Kailashnagar. After Kirandul, another township (named Bacheli) has been set up at village Bade Bacheli at the base of the hill where deposit 5 is located and the colony near the mining area was named Akashnagar. It was not an easy task as dense forest extended over the entire Bailadila range of mountains which is the reservoir of iron ore. These forests and the valleys in between the mountains and hillocks were the home of ferocious animals and tribals respectively. The tribals practiced step cultivation along the slopes of the mountains. Forests were used by the tribals for foraging. Before actually starting the extraction work, roads needed to be built to reach CHANGING DYNAMICS OF KINSHIP AND MARRIAGE 347 the deposits of iron ore. Clearing of the forest land, blasting of the mountains, construction of the roads, etc., were some of the initial works which were leased out to many small contractors who in turn hired local labour to fulfill these jobs. Slowly and slowly, the tribals came forward to work under the contractors. Maximum number of them came from the villages of Molesnar, Kilepal, Poro Kameli, Dugeli, and Dhurli. The number of women who came to work was much more than the number of men. The lure of cash money made the poor tribals work as per the terms of the contractors. Gradually the area got cleared, road construction work started and the first mining camp, made by NMDC, was opened at Bhansi. When the actual mining work started, more skilled labourers and technical staff were required, who mostly came from outside Bastar, especially from the states of Kerela, Andhra Pradesh, and other districts of Madhya Pradesh. Initially, due to tough living conditions, only men from the outside world ventured into that area. These men were either unmarried or came here leaving their families (wives and children) back home. Therefore, Maria women were employed by these men for doing various domestic chores like cooking, washing, etc. The lifestyle of these outsiders which included their clothes, shoes, sun-cap and usage of luxury items like soap, oil, powder, fancy plastic combs, dark glasses, mirrors, shaving set, wrist watches, etc. aroused curiosity among the local people, especially the women. When these contractors got familiarized with the local surroundings and the native way of life, they shifted out into their own camps or make-shift houses and with them shifted many tribal girls to attend to their daily household chores. Slowly these men won the confidence of the girls by giving them small gifts like, colourful bindis, bangles, cheap synthetic sarees, etc. Maria society does not prohibit pre-marital sexual relationships; therefore, such a pattern of relationship did not prohibit the Maria women, many of whom were even married, to come closer to the outside men. Gradually, they were enticed into a sexual relation with them. In the late 60s and 70s, many of these couples were forcefully married by the order of the district commissioner (Srivastava, 1990). Only few of these marriages sustained and they settled in and around that area. This present work is situated in Bade Bacheli and Bacheli. Standard social science methods of data collection like ethnographic method, observation and case study methods were used. All those people who were actually affected by those marriages that took place in late 60’s and early 70’s and others who could give relevant information have become old and some of them have even died, therefore it became difficult to understand the sequence of events that took place at the onset of industrialization in this area.. Present generation of the youth seemed unaffected by these marriages as either it was long before their birth or they were too young at that time. But this does not imply that they are completely unaware of the happenings then as some definitive impressions could be deciphered from their avoidance of the subject. Therefore 348 THE EASTERN ANTHROPOLOGIST 66: 2-3 (2013) it was thought essential to capture some of the case studies. This paper is based on case studies of inter-community marriages. Principles of Descent Traditionally the Maria are divided into various patrilineal clans locally called jati. Social relationships have been broadly categorized into agnatic kinship and affinal kinship. Individuals of extended households are usually related by agnatic kinship. Those individuals having no actual genealogical connection but believe to have descended from a common one, are members of the same clan. After marriage, women take up their husbands’ clan names as their own. The Maria are divided into seventeen clans (see table 1). Every clan has its own deity, a pen. The clan deity usually resides in the place or temples earmarked for them. On important ceremonial and ritual occasion, the pen moves out of the temple and undertakes a ceremonial ride among the devotees. Angdev is the moving idol of the pen. The names of various clan gods (pen) and their places of worship have been given below. The Maria clans are unilineal descent groups. All the clans have a name and each member of the same clan worship the same clan God (Pen). It is believed that all the members of a clan are related to one another agnatically, that is, they are the descendants of a common male ancestor. There is a tendency for clan members to form clusters of households around the same area, though there is no strict ruling regarding this.