Indian Journal of Research in Anthropology

In India, Village occupies an essential place in the social as well as cultural landscape. Indian village had a substantial unit of diversity. In the history of Indian social sciences, village continuously treated as the basic unit of Indian society. Village studies were for long more or less the stock-in trade of social anthropologists of India. After reviewing number of literatures, it has drawn that the idea of village studies in India started in post-colonial period. Therefore, the present paper aims to illustrate the tradition of village studies in Anthropology from preindependent phase to post-independent phase.

This durable ethnographic study explores the Indigenous knowledge of the local landscape of the Juang one of the Particular Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) of Odisha. Following an ethno-ecology method supported by the case study method, an attempt has been made to highlight the emic view of the tribal people based on their knowledge and worldview. All parts of their natural environment, like hills, streams, forests, vegetation soil type etc. are integral parts of their cultural ambience. Classifying the resources found within their lives and livelihood activities incorporates the bio-physical tenets that include the use, composition, position, and size of the objects and belief system as an inseparable part of their culture. Explanations attributed to naming the natural objects and material goods reveal that with the change in contents due to internal demands and/or external interventions, the context of livelihood changes however, even with the decline of biodiversity, the traditional knowledge remains unchanged.

Education is a powerful means of development in any community. Various formal and nonformal forms of education exist in different societies. Education has been institutionalized in the form of formal education in the schools and higher educational institutions in the remote and tribal areas gradually with the changing educational policies and programmes in the independent India with the advent of developing educational infrastructure and awareness in the remote areas. This resulted in the gradual increase in the percentage of literacy rate. But, perhaps few groups could not come up effectively in full pace along with their cohabits and become part of this developing change in their villages and surroundings, due to their situational demerits. Agaria tribe is one of such groups residing in the adjacent part of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. A survey of Agaria tribe in done utilizing the scientific research methods in the few pockets of this area ranging from Dindori district in Madhya Pradesh to Kawardh and Bilaspur districts in Chhattisgarh. This paper includes the situational analysis of socio-economic and educational status of the Agaria people residing in the districts of Chhattisgarh.

Health is the primary basis of human origin and its development. Only a healthy person makes a healthy society. A healthy society continuously interacts with the environmental conditions for its development. Health and wellness depend on individual health conditions of each individual. There are many beliefs related to health in the hill Korwa tribes, in which their lifestyle, food habits, socio-cultural and religious beliefs etc. are included. This study is based on health related beliefs of particularly backward “Hill Korwa” tribe located in Bagicha block of Chhattisgarh state. Two gram panchayats of Bagicha block, Pandrapath and Kamarima villages, have been selected on the basis of majority of tribals. The purpose of this study is to find out the beliefs system and treatment methods related to health in hill Korwa tribes. This study is based on primary data, in which qualitative research method has been used to collect the data. Unstructured interview, group interview and interview guide have been included under qualitative research. In the present study several causes of disease were seen in the hill Korwa tribes, in which witch craft, evil eye, wrath of ancestors, for the treatment of diseases related to these, the tribal people go to the Devair of the village ask them to do the exorcism, worship-recitation, special rituals etc. get done. If the cause of the disease is natural and other, then the diseases related to it are treated by using medicines collected from the forest.

This paper is an attempt to understand the emerging tribal migration patterns in five districts of Chhattisgarh and its impact on our society, culture, economic development and education. In this context, the present paper attempts to examine and it helps us to understand the current migration trend. Majority of the tribals migrate to others states due to better job opportunities, higher wages and good payment systems. The study found that economic and social factors significantly influence tribal migration. The elaboration of both primary and secondary data on tribal people migration helps us to understand the dynamics of present day mobility of tribals in Chhattisgarh.