Tribal Customs & Traditions : An Anthropological Study Of The Bonda, Kutia Kondh & Lanjia Saora Tribes Of Orissa: VOL-I

Abstract

The cultural heritage of any society, whether primitive or modern, is built on its age-old customs and traditions. The members of the community, who through socialization get themselves acquainted with and adhere to the social customs, usages, conventions, folk-ways, mores, norms, ethos, values and ideologies play their roles as actors in the social system not only in defining the social identity of the society to which they belong but also in transmitting them to future generations. In the process of transmission the customs undergo modification, reinterpretation and adaptation with the changing situation although some customs persist for a longer period. Factors, both endogenous and exogenous, are responsible for effecting such change and in course of time several old customs become obsolete and new ones emerge. It is inevitable that at a given point of time, many erstwhile customs merge into traditions and become a part of myths and social history of the community. In the context of changing scenario in the tribal world, it is necessary to document the traditions and customs of some of the important tribal communities of the State before they vanish. In these studies humble attempt has been made to record various customs and traditions associated with marriage, family, divorce, adoption, fostering, minority and guardianship, property inheritance, and transaction succession and administration of law and justice along with the dynamics of culture change. The present volume, which is the first one in the series, relates to three important Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Southern Odisha namely the Bondo, the Kutia Kandha and the Lanjia Saora. The Bondo is a numerically small and archaic tribal group of Odisha. They inhabit a compact under Khairput block of Malkangiri district. They were well known for their aggressive andhomicidal tendencies. The Kutia Kandha constitutes a primitive section of the Kandha tribe of Odisha found in Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts. The tribesmen are known for their buffalo sacrifice ritual, called "Kedu" to worship their Earth Goddess - "Dharni Penu". The Lanjia Saora, is a primitive section of the Saora tribe of Odisha who inhabit a compact mountainous territory that comes under Gajapati and Rayagada districts. One unique feature of the tribe is the absence of clan/sib organization among them. Instead, the extended family called Birinda, acts as a substitute of the clan.