Indian Tribal culture

Tribal culture: Indian context

1. Tribal culture: Indian context Cultural Communication Submitted to: Submitted by: Dr. Nagendra Kumar Singh Vivek Kumar PhD sem 1

2. A tribe is a group of people, usually staying in jungle areas, in a small locality, absolutely illiterate poor, hardly clad in clothes, usually dark and frail, fully living within their own community whose marriage always takes place among themselves, engaged in hunting and searching for roots, shoots and fruits as their veg food and roasted animals as non- veg food, completely oblivious of the country‘s political and economic condition, resisting all efforts of development and have a strong dislike for strangers and educated modern community. Prof S.C. Dube has remarked that ―Partly because of the isolation and partly because of their limited world view, characterized by lack of historical depth and an overall tradition – orientation, they are integrated themes and special cultural focus give them a separate cultural identity and they often posses latent and manifest value attitude, and motivational system which are remarkably different from those of the other people. Culture is often described as social rather than individual, local rather than universal, learned rather than instinctive, historical rather than biological, evolved rather than planned, distributed rather than centralized, and cultivated rather than coarse. Scholars distinguish between cultural expressions and their foundations. Expressions include activities such as singing, dancing, dressing, and artistry—the usual media representations of Indians. The foundations include marrying, child-rearing, socializing, governing, worshiping . What is Tribe and concept of Tribal culture:

3. In the Indian context, efforts have been made to find common denominators if not a common definition of the word tribe. Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes report for the year 1952 has listed eight such common features. These are: These live away from the civilized world in the inaccessible part lying in the forests and hills They belong to either one of the three stocks- Negritos , Australoids or Mongoloids. They speak the same tribal dialect, Profess primitive soul known as ―Animism in which the worship of ghosts and spirits is the most important element. Follow primitive occupations such as gleaning, hunting, and gathering of forest product. They are largely carnivorous or flesh and meat eaters. They live either naked or semi- naked using tree-barks and leaves for clothing, and They have nomadic habits and love for drink and dance. Feature of tribes in Indian context:

4. To promote tribal culture like tribal folk songs, folk dance, folk music( Alar tribe known as precision instrument tribes) To understand fair and festivals of different tribes across the country. To unfold the rich and diverse cultural heritage of indigenous residents and to promote brotherhood and cultural interaction. To understand socioeconomic condition of tribal's. To develop intitution how environment plays crucial life in their sustenance under different circumstances. Brief of objectives SOCIO-CULTURAL: Have their own culture , cosmology and belief system. Have their own language without any script. Simple societies with no rigid social stratification. Strong belongings to their community and considered themselves the sons of soil. Objectives of tribal culture

5. RELIGION: Have their own deities and belief system. Forms of religion are generally: Animism ( worship of soul and ancestors ) Animatism ( worship of any non living bodies like stone )( Banjara community believes in totem). Totemism ( worship of any tree or animal founding ancestors ) Naturism ( worship of nature like river or wood ) POLITICAL: Earlier had stateless system i.e. without any tribal chief. Manage law and order through family and kinship ties( Girisa of Banaskantha still believes in this tradition) Later on state system came, can select tribal chief. Today this autonomy lost and they are part of local administrations ECONOMICAL: Economically self sufficient cling to primitive technology( Anagami tribes of Nagaland known for wet rice cultivation) Lack monetary economy. Dependent on barter system. More rely on earning today's need and meal. Do not bother about future requirements.

6. A tribe harbors an environment for generating new ideas for work and life whilst also fostering a sense of community which is vital for healthy productive life. These tribes provide a sense of purpose, a reason to interact with others and even provide health and well being effect. Tribal culture provide insight to be a collective part of society that can feel you positive , empowered and strong. It showed tribal pride as a supreme goal, which increases the pride in single state i.e. nationality. Tribal culture shows hyper nationalism in today's world as the tribes pride matter first. The bigger the foe, the more powerful is the tribe. Impact on society and by society:

7. EXPLOITATIVE CONTACT WITH BRITISH The Britishers wanted to rule over the Tribal's . They wanted to siphon off the resources from Tribal's areas especially rich in mineral resources. They wanted to preach Christianity under the pretext of rationality(sentinels of A ndaman and N icobar island grps were tried to converted in Christianity by pastor and killed in response) CULTURAL CONTACT WITH OUTSIDERS Existence of mineral resources in tribal areas . Entry of missionaries and administrators . Entry of specialist man like medicine man, vendors and agents. Development of transport and communication facilitating entry of outsiders. Displacement of tribal population from their habitat due to industrial construction and irrigation projects.

8. We have become disconnected from our tribe in the modern world. We know our people are out there – somewhere, anywhere – but we feel lost and disconnected from them. We seek them, we scroll past them, but they keep eluding us. Without our tribe, we may wind up feeling distanced, depressed, spiritually disconnected, even sick. In modern Western democracies, individualism has begun to reign supreme. The goal of many is to be an individual who marches to the beat of their own drum unrestrained by others. Individuals who prefer tribalism are often looked at with suspicion or disdain. But what if our quest for individualism and independence is actually making us miserable? What if belonging to a tight-knit group that requires loyalty and self-sacrifice is actually the key to feeling fulfilled? There is no doubt change in cultural practices is occurring, considering it as other side of the coin, the cultural practices (expression to foundation) has to preserved in its original format.   Summary and Suggestions:

9. As we each weave our intricate life story, the average human traverses numerous tribes as societal, emotional and cultural needs develop. From family to workplace and everything in between, the multi-faceted influences upon a person’s life are what makes them individual. Finding your tribe gives you a sense of belonging and you will know it innately, the same way you know when you taste something delicious. Finding your tribe is rich food for your soul. Culture is a product of the language we use (words create our reality), and the behaviors that accompany those words. The words we use to describe ourselves, our work, and others, creates the world we live in. Preserving and Glorifying the tribal culture is key to success of a great nation like India which comprises different tribes and different culture under an umbrella. Conclusion:

10. Thank you