ANCIENT HISTORY CULTURE 7 FOLKLORE OF ADIVASI INDIA

Ancient India was the land of Indigenous / Adivasi / tribal or Deshaj peoples who in the anthropological language are called autochthons. Gradually in the course of time more powerful people encroached in their habitats and enslaved them socially, culturally, politically and religiously them in North and Central India. The well known autochthons among these peoples whose history and culture had already developed to a certain level were the Nishads, Nags, Bhils, Gonds, Santhals, Warlis, etc such indigenous groups of the country.

Today their folklore and culture is in great danger of vanishing due to the lack of recognition by the more able peoples or castes of India. One idea is being popularised that the traditional identity of these 85% peoples be conveniently vanished and that they be assimilated in the Dalits category. A historical fact or mistake that no one shall absolve them, hence it is the time to alert the persons working for the overall human and cultural rights of Adivasis, poor, marginalised and indigenous peoples, to take a note to study the ancient history, traditional culture, folklore and original identity of these 85% peoples of India.

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BHAGORIA 2009 BEGINS TOMORROW

The Bhil festival of love and romance of Western India begins tomorrow as the last weekly market prior to the Hindu festival of Holi. As it is much talked and discussed earlier in these pages, due to the acute shortage of rains in the Western India, failures of crops, fall in the annual income in the Tribal or Adivasi villages, the celebration of the the festival of Bhagoria will be badly affected.

As such the tribals who have migrated in the distant lands, in search of daily wages have already begun to return to their Bhil Habitats for the annual celebration of this festival. In the tribal region of the Bhagoria Bhils, in some 10-12 weekly markets shall host the festival of Bhagoria tomorrow, starting with the Bhagoria festival of Kalyanpura some 20 k.m. away from the district head quarter of Jhabua. Even though the Bhils have returned with some hard earned money from the distant places, but it shall be interesting to note whether they shall save this money for food, medicine, repay of loans etc, or the romance in which they spend more than their capacity.

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TWENTY SEVEN TRIBALS DIE OF ONE MARRIAGE PARTY

Last week a tribal marriage party of the Bhils was gladly returning mounted in three normal size tractors from a village called Bedavalli near Meghnagar railway station to their village Umria some 30 km away in a hilly region near Bamania Railway station on Delhi-Mumbai railway line. On the way near Agral village, one of the tractors met with a serious accident with a cement loaded truck, killing 27 members of the marriage party. Some 16 of the Bhils mounted, died on the spot without any first aid and the rest them in the Civil Hospital of Madhya Pradesh Government at the district hospital in Jhabua, while further suffering the negligence by the Government doctors. Among those who died, where of one clan (gotra) among whom three familys members were completely vanished in the fatal accident and others were men, women and children.

Due to the poverty they hire or ride cheap means of transportation which are technically not very safe, no insurance and sufficient compensation for the casualties suffered. The ones who died after the accident being wounded badly did not get sufficient medical assistance in the civil hospital of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh.

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BHIL MARRIAGE AND FOLKLORE

The ancient indigenous communities of India who are today more than 500 namely the Adivasis or the tribals have something to retain through their oral tradition. This whole of their oral tradition including material, verbal and performing art altogether comprises of their valuable folklore of the indigenous society. Much of the elements of indigenous folklore are assimilated in the Hindu society as their own. A systematic retention, collection, codification and research has deprived from storing their tribal communities of the age old ancestral heritage. These elements certainly should be treated individual properties of these tribes, rather than calling them as Hindu culture, thus depriving them further of having something good and sublime in their social and cultural life.
In this heap of Adivasi folk-culture of India, there are massive elements of tribal of folklore one better than the other.

One of the rite, ritual, custom or tradition relating to marriage among the Bhils of Western India, depict over a hundred of such romantic, colourful and historical elements of their ancient symbols of folklore. Owing to honest and just documentation, and proper support by the Government of India including of the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan Gujarat and Maharashtra, the beautiful and significant folklore of the Bhils in these states is vanishing.

The folkloric elements of Bhil marriage, we see today still persisting are the reading of omens, solidarity of the clansmen, hospitality, sharing of views, clan council, singing of hundreds of folksongs, folkdances, plastering and beautifying of the houses, paintings, tattoos, totems, participation in folk duties traditionally assigned to various age and sex groups, community games, tribal orchestra, mimicries, clan competitions, deciding of bride price, presentation of gifts, sharing of country liquor, costumes, ornaments, body decoration, honeymoon, etc are some of the important elements of their traditional bhil folklore involved.

All these elements are an invitation to the members of community to participate in the folkloric life of the society. If one witnesses the marriage rites, rituals and customs in progress, which normally takes place in 6 to 8 days and nights one can see the traditional folklore, social life of an indigenous community of India that had beautiful life and charm once upon a time in the past persisting even today. This charm is in great danger of vanishing now due to the imposition of Hindu culture unjustly and their life style on these simple and traditional communities.

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PARTIAL RESTORATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

From all over the world, needless to count money, food grains and other basic facilities for the tribals have reached generously to the poor of the poor tribals of Jhabua. No doubt, both Central and state Governments too, in their planning and providing have kept generous measures for the vital needs of the Tribals and Adivasis or indigenous peoples. But on the grass root level a strong desire by the non tribals was to totally deprive them educationally, medically and including for the food for survival.

The supply of items for the mid day meal has been 60% to 70% has been evacuated by the teachers in the villages the students say for whom it is supposed to come.

This year thanks to the Chief Minister of the Madhya Pradesh state Mr. Shivraj singh Chauhan that the responsibility has been entrusted to the tribals for the availing of the rations, preparation and serving mid day meal to the children. But the tribals, who are systematically being corrupted, will rise now to the honest and transparent state....?

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TRIBAL MIGRATION AND DEPRIVATION

The region of Bhagoria Bhils comprising of Jhabua, Alirajpur, Ratlam, Dhar, Pachmahal, and other civil districts of India are faced with severe famine due to only 20% or less annual rain fall. Hence it is facing non availability of drinking water, food, and fodder for human beings and animals for minimum survival. The officials are happy if there are continual famines, for they get sufficient funds from India and abroad to evacuate for them with no accountability to any one. Hence if you ask the records of the past 30 years under the right to information’s, they will not be available for social and public accountability, which is must for the donors. The relief funds those come from the national and international agencies for the tribals, marginalised and the most needy, is well managed l by the corrupt administers, officials and NGOs who have accumulated a large funds for themselves for the generations to come.

In the district of Jhabua villages after villages inhabited by the Bhils and other tribals or tribes have been deserted almost 75% or more, either by foot or by trains to distant places. Even those places of migration, they are harassed and unseated, allowed to encamp in the nearness of any major towns attributing them as thieves or robbers, but whereas who is actual thieves or robbers..... Some others......

There is an urgent task to be done by the national and international funding agencies, to unearth the records of at least past 30 years as whether their money funded for such purposes in India or in the tribals districts of the country, have reached at all, before send the next fund..... Most of these at least 98% of the NOGs are non tribals and they only come to tribal areas to evacuate their easily manageable funds and not for the love of the tribals / Adivasis / indigenous or the marginalised ones.

Is there any panacea for this....? Who shall stand for the basic human rights of the deprived ones and denied like this.....? Will the tribals be deprived forever.... for their overall human and cultural rights....?

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A BIRTH SONG OF BHILS

The Bhils have a few thousand folk songs or folk poetry to solemise their social and cultural events in day today life. Here is a folksong describing the birth event.

I shall order a swing for my child from Piyor (in-law's place)
O my husband, too young to be one!
I shall have a pond dug before your eyes,
For me to bathe in !
I shall fill the house with sumptuous beds,
And sleep peacefully on such sumptuous beds.
I shall order a swing for my child from piyor.

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