Tribal Textiles Of Odisha: An Empirical Study in Eight Tribal Districts of Odisha

Abstract

Tribal textile has its distinction in terms of its uniqueness reflecting the racial feeling and their cultural identity. There are separate costumes which are being used for different ceremonies and occasions. The age and the position in the society is also reflected in tribal dressing material. Although textile weaving in tribal community originated with the basic need to cover the body it has now become so much important given their use and acceptance by larger community as well. The tribal textile is used extensively by outside people also and this provides an ample opportunity and scope for exploring the same for supplementation of livelihood of the community. This study primarily focuses on assessing the potential of existing tribal weavers for supplementing their livelihood. The objectives of the study are as follows: 1. To identify economically feasible tribal textiles products across selected PTGs of Odisha. 2. To find out the customary practices and cultural values linked to the identified tribal textiles. 3. To understand the implication and possibilities of supporting tribal livelihoods based on value chain analysis of identified textiles. 4. To develop strategy and road map for promotion of identified tribal textiles, appropriate Institutional arrangements, market linkages and capacity building strategies. 5. Explore the possibilities of obtaining Intellectual property rights (Copyrights) for tribal textiles for weaving community Looking at the objectives of the study and the information analysis requirement the study has adopted Mixed Research Method. It may not be possible to arrive at the suitable conclusion using only quantitative research method. Mixed research methods research is the type of research in which elements of qualitative and quantitative approaches (e.g., use of qualitative and quantitative viewpoints, data collection, analysis, inference techniques) are combined for the purpose of breadth and depth of understanding and corroboration. This type of research combines the deductive logic of quantitative technique and inductive logic of qualitative techniques to reach to a holistic conclusion of the subject under study.