Adivasi - v1_No.1

Abstract

This journal is being published under the auspices of the Tribal Research Bureau. The Bureau was constituted by the Government of Orissa in 1953. It is going to complete the 2nd year of its birth. It has been fortunate in having some well-known Scholars and Social workers like Shrimati Malati Chaudhuri, Prof. Nirmal Kumar. Bose; Shri P. C. Bhanja Deo and Dr. N. Dutta-Maiumdar, I. A, S., amongst its members to guide its deliberations.

The Bureau is now being reorganised, with an Assistant Director and two Research Officers. A Research Assistant is also proposed to be appointed. The Bureau is at present located in a hall with the Secretariat Training Class at the New Capital. It is in the process of being furnished. Thus, although the Bureau came into being about two years ago, it has struggled to exist against odds. In the beginning for the pay and prospects offered it was difficult to find suitable persons to fill up the two Research Scholars' posts and the posts were being successively vacated and filled several times. In the result one of the posts remained vacant all the time. Shri Sahu, a trained man from the Tata Institute of Social Science was with us for a brief period, He left us on 11-8-53 as he found a better job else where. Shri Mahapatra was another of the Research Scholars, who also left us on 16-11-54 on better prospects. Our present Research Scholars, are Shri Ray, who joined on 24-5-54 and Shri Biswas, who came to us on 30-3-55 only.

The. Bureau was set up with the object of studying the main tribal problems, for collecting data that would be helpful for formulating realistic welfare schemes and above all for making scientific study of the different tribal groups, with a view (i) to find out their special characteristics and problems, (ii) to study the process of culture change among them and to suggest ways and means of canalising it, if possible, In desired directions, and (iii) to evaluate the diffusion of culture and effects of culture contacts between tribal and non-tribal population of the State. At present the Research Scholars are engaged in field work amongst the Juangs of Keonjhar and Bhuyans of Bonai for study of the problems of the "Reproductive life of Juangs and social, Economic and Religious Associations of shifting cultivation among Paudi Bhuyans of Bonai". In the mean time they have submitted a few reports on subjects like "Acculturation of the Shabaras in village Nuapali," "Eranga Kolhs of Bonai," "Problem of Shifting Cultivation in Orissa" and " Preliminary report on the Paudi Bhuyans of Bonai," Some charts, posters and maps have been prepared and a good number of articles have been collected for the tribal museum. With the reorganisation of the Bureau, it is proposed to intensify the work and to take up specific problems for scientific study. The first to be tackled will be the "Meria" or ''Juro" practice of the Kondhs.