Adivasi - v40-41_No.1-2

Abstract

This volume of Adivasi contains ten scientific papers on various themes pertaining to tribal and folk society, their culture, and development. The paper "Revisiting Tribes and Reconsidering Tribal Development" begins with an assertion that failures of tribal development strategies are the failures of our appreciation of tribes, their cultures and societies. It throws new light on our basic assumptions regarding tribes dispelling some of our misconceptions by way of revisiting tribes. The author critically examines tribal development strategies and pleads for their reconsideration. The second paper, " 'The Story of the Fowler': Popular Hinduism in South Orissa" elaborately discusses the story of the fowler' collected from south Orissa. By stressing the importance of study of village theatre, the author interprets and analyses the story from social anthropological perspectives. The third paper, " Globalization as an Anthropological Perspective: Some Issues and Debates" brings to light some issues and debates on globalization as a process and examines them with the help of empirical findings from different societies. It also discusses the scope of anthropological study of globalization. In "Feeding the Dead: Rituals of Transformation among the Gadaba of Koraput. " the author focuses his ethnographic study on secondary burial ritual among the Gadaba of Koraput, Orissa, and theoretically deals with death ritual as a transitional phase of rite de passage. The fifth paper, "Transfer of Children and Inter-group Relations in a mixed Tribal and Caste Society" deals with the phenomenon of symbolic transfer of children in mixed tribal and caste societies for improvement of health conditions, and to help them survive. The author discusses case studies collected from rural Orissa. "Voices of Gods: Ecstatic Alekhs and Local Configurations of Mahima Dharma" highlights the sub-regional diversity of the religious life and living of Mahima ascetics. The author tries to deal with the field data at a theoretical plane and develop new perspectives on the discourses on Mahima Dharma. The paper, 'Industrialization in a 'tribal zone': The Desia of Koraput and a Hydro-electric Power Plant" brings to surface the interrelations between the system, of value ideas of the indigenous population (Desia) and their strategies to adopt to the new situation. "Changing Annual Hunting Festival, Chaitra Paraba: An Outsider's view" discusses many aspects of the annual hunting festival observed; by the denizens of Koraput. The paper deals with the changing perspectives of that ritual practice and constructs an opinion on the changing value system of the people. In `Healing Practices and Mahima Dharma: A Short Note on Recent Fieldwork in Western Orissa" the author tries to establish the association of healing with the practice of Mahima cult, and discusses the role of Mahima monks in it. He explains the practice of the cult at a functional level. The author of the paper on "The Munda" describes various aspects of the Munda society and culture, and discusses the impact of change and modernization on them. It is hoped that these articles will be of immense help not only to academicians, researchers, development practitioners committed to research and development of tribal people but also will serve the purpose general readers.