A Panoramic View of Tribal Hindu Cultural Interphase by Sandhya Jain

[Guest guest]

Namaskar Mitra,

 

A Panoramic View of Tribal-Hindu Cultural Interface by Sandhya Jain published by

Rupa & Co, Delhi. Excerpts from the book below, including comments from Keralite

friend, have uploaded the Introduction chapter.

http://www.esamskriti.com/html/new_inside.asp?cat_name=history&cid=1114&sid=180

 

"The British claimed that India’s Adivasi population lay beyond the pale

of mainstream Hindu society. Yet even a cursory mapping of the

spiritual-cultural landscape reveals a deep symbiotic relationship between

tribals and non-tribals, which is amply reflected in the ancient literature and

in inscriptions. Indeed, it was also noted by colonial anthropologists and

ethnographers (mainly British officials), who deliberately delinked tribals

from Hindu society through imposition of racial categories and Census

classifications.

 

Tribals have made an enormous contribution to India’s civilization; all

major gods of the Indic tradition have tribal links. Shiva was worshipped by

forest-dwelling communities in large parts of the country, as were

Vishnu’s incarnations as Varaha (boar) and Narasimha (lion). Vishnu in

fact evolved out of several distinct deities, notably Vasudeva, supreme lord of

the Vrishni/Satvata tribe; Krishna of the Yadava clan; Gopala of the Abhira

tribe; and Narayana of the Hindukush mountains. Similarly, Gautama Buddha

hailed from the Sakya tribe; Vardhaman Mahavira was a scion of the Jnatrikas.

 

There is to this day a close relationship between the Kurumba, Lambadi, Yenadi,

Yerukula and Chenchu tribes and Shri Venkateshwar of Tirupathi. Lord Ayyappam

in Kerala and Mata Vaishno Devi in Jammu also appear to have tribal links. All

these gods and temples, as also that of Jagannath in Puri, enjoy preeminent

status in the classical Hindu pantheon.

 

Even caste, long regarded as the keynote of Hindu society, possibly originated

in the tribal clan or gotra. The term ‘jat’ or ‘jati’

is used equally for caste and tribe in most Indian languages and tribal

dialects. Moreover, the defining characteristics of tribes apply equally to

castes, such as claims of descent from a common ancestor, common language,

endogamy and clan exogamy, caste/tribal councils, certain taboos in matters of

diet and marriage alliances, presence of hierarchy within groups, and limited

self-sufficiency.

 

Mahatma Gandhi insisted that tribals are an inalienable part of Hindu society.

This work suggests that tribal society constitutes the keynote and the bedrock

of Hindu civilization."

 

If you like mail feedback to author at jsandhya (AT) satyam (DOT) net.in

Comments from Keralite friend Sandy - "Ah, one of my favourite theories. It is

true. Ayappa, Venkateshwara, Jagannatha were all pre-Aryan tribal gods

assimilated by Vedic Hinduism and given blood-familial and incarnation ties

into the Hindu pantheon. I can speak for Ayappa, one of the main deities of

Kerala is transformed into the son of the union of Shiva and Vishnu. Balrama is

nudged out and makes way for Buddha as the ninth incarnation (tho I’d like

to see full fledged non-neo Buddhist Hindu worship of Buddha)."

Share the Wealth, with prem and om

sanjeev