Kawar

Abstract

The Kawar is one the 62 tribes living in Odisha who are very simple and tradition bound. This photo hand book on the Kawar is an outcome of an ethnographic study reflecting their way of life and living, ecology, culture and the process of change and development.Numerically, a small tribal community, the Kawars are largely concentrated in Sundergarh district. It is said that they are immigrants from their original habitat in Ranchi district in the neighbouring state of Jharkhand. They are a Dravidian tribe, may be an off shoot of the Gond tribe who trace their origin from the Kauravas of ancient era. They mostly thrive on agriculture supplemented by wage earning and forest collections for their subsistence. They are very much community oriented and custom bound who faithfully obey the culturally established norms to maintain social harmony. During their leisure time they enjoy their life by performance of traditional dance and songs in different festivals and the marriage ceremony. Both men and women take part in Karma folk dance and songs. As a small tribal group, the Kawars have preserved their cultural identity.Although in these days, they have come across the development process, they have tried to make the best of both the worlds by keeping the time tested values of their culture and at the same time accepting the change that is inevitable. This has brought some noticeable changes in their life style.This photographic documentation on the life style of the Kawar is a part of the series on the "Tribes of Odisha" published by SCSTRTI. It is hoped that this book would be of immense help for the tribal lovers, tourists, researchers and general readers.