The Tribal Resources OF India

(Medicine, Paintings, Ancient technology etc)

Course faculty –
Professor Dr. Jyoti Prakash Maity
Department of Chemistry
Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT)
KIIT-DU

Presented By –
Abhinav Bisht
Roll no: 21051704
Sec: VB-22 Branch: CSE
Batch: 2021-2025
Subject: EVS

Contents-
 Acknowledgement
 Objectives
 Introduction-
What is a tribe
Tribes of India
What can be referred to as resource
 Medicine
 Cultural tribal resources
 Tribal science and technology as resources
 Conclusion
 Reference
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to earnestly acknowledge the sincere efforts and valuable time
given by my teacher Dr. Jyoti Prakash Maity who gave me the golden
opportunity to work on this project. This project not only provided a platform to
express my own thoughts but also helped to enrich my own self through
research. His valuable guidance and feedback have helped me in completing
this project.

Also, I would like to mention the support system and consideration of my

parents who have always been there in my life.

Last but not the least, my friends who have always been there with my side.
Without them, I could never have completed this task.

Abhinav Bisht
21051704
(1st Year, Sec-VB22, CSE)

ABSTRACT

India has the largest concentration of tribes after Africa. 90 million people
belong to the indigenous communities known as “adivasis” or tribals. There are
573 tribes in India and tribal communities comprise about 8 percent of our
population spread over 15% of its geographical area. The term ‘tribe’ usually
denotes a social group bound together by kin and duty and associated with a
particular territory.

Tribal people live in less accessible parts of the country, not on the open plains
or along the great rivers. They are bonded to each other by rituals, their special
ways of celebrating ceremonies at the time of birth, marriage, and also the first
haircut or the piercing of the earlobes and so on. These mark the fundamental
identity of the tribe and clan.

They are not only forest dwellers but also for centuries they have evolved a way
of life which, on the one hand, is woven around forest ecology and forest
resources, on the other hand, ensures that the forest is protected against the
degradation by man and nature" by evolving their own unique and conservative
systems. This close integration with the forest has helped them create various
ways to sustain themselves in their harsh domain by the development of
various natural medicines as well as lead happy lives by the development of
various tribal art styles and folk to keep the entertained.

OBJECTIVES

 To explain the meaning of the otherwise casually used word, tribe and
generate native cultural awareness.

 To shine light upon the abundant tribal resources of our country.

 To highlight the rich cultural heritage of a diverse nation such as India.

 To bring before our eyes the remarkable progress made by the tribal
people despite being cut off from rest of the world.
INTRODUCTION

Before we learn about the tribal resources of our nation, we first need to
understand what the terms like tribe, tribal people and resource actually signify.

What is a Tribe?

A common definition for a tribe is a group of people that all have common
ancestry, or a common ancestor, a common culture, and live in their own
enclosed society. Other names for a tribe are a clan, which is used in some
European countries, and families. The idea of a tribe goes back to ancient times
when Rome would create divisions within society due to class, family, and
money. These divisions were tribes. This term has evolved while the people it
describes may not have. Many tribes and tribal communities are in areas that
lack industry. They live and create homes that do not accept the conveniences
and behaviour of the present day, like the Aborigines in Australia who live in
the wilderness of the Outback. They choose to be close to the land and follow
the rules and lifestyle of their ancestors.
However, other tribes like the Native Americans in the United States do accept
some of the modern conveniences while still following and carrying out the
beliefs of the past. India is also known for their immense population of tribal
communities with over 84
million people that are part of
tribal communities. Out of the
84 million, they are divided up
over a mere 50 different tribes.
Tribes of INDIA

India houses a vast number of

tribal people, about 8 percent of
our population spread over a
15% of the total geographical
area residing in India belong to
the indigenous communities or
tribals a total 573 tribes in total.

The term tribe usually denotes

a social group bound together
by kin and duty and associated
with a particular territory. The
table given below shows the various tribes of India along with the various states
they belong to.

State Tribes

Andhra Pradesh Andh And Sadhu Andh, Bhil, Bhaghata, Dhulia,rona, Kolam, Gond,
Thoti, Goundu, Kammara, Savaras, Dabba Yerukula, Sugalis, Nakkala,
Pardhan, Gadabas, Chenchus A.k.a Chenchawar, Kattunayakan, Jatapus,
Manna Dhora

Arunachal Singpho, Monpa, Abor, Sherdukpen, Galo, Apatanis

Pradesh

Assam Khasis, Chakma, Dimasa, Gangte, Garos, Hajong, Chutiya

Bihar Gond, Birjia, Asur, Savar, Parhaiya, Chero, Birhor, Santhals, Baiga

Chhattisgarh Nagasia, Biar, Khond, Agariya, Bhattra, Mawasi, Bhaina,

Goa Varli, Dubia, Siddi, Dhodia, Naikda

Gujarat Patelia, Bhil, Dhodia, Bamcha, Barda, Paradhi, Charan, Gamta

Himachal Swangal, Gujjars, Lahaulas, Khas, Pangwala, Lamba, Gaddis

Pradesh

Jammu and Balti, Garra, Sippi, Bakarwal, Mon, Gaddi, Purigpa, Beda
Kashmir

Jharkhand Gonds, Birhors, Savar, Mundas, Santhals, Khaira, Bhumji

Karnataka Gond, Patelia, Barda, Yerava, Bhil, Koraga, Adiyan, Iruliga,

Kerala Malai, Aarayan, Arandan, Uralis, Kurumbas, Arandan, Eranvallan

Madhya Kharia, Bhils, Murias, Birhors, Baigas, Katkari, Kol, Bharia, Khond,
Pradesh Gonds,

Maharashtra Warlis, Khond, Bhaina, Katkari, Bhunjia, Rathawa, Dhodia.

Manipur Thadou, Aimol, Maram, Paite, Chiru, Purum, Kuki, Monsang, Angami

Meghalaya Pawai, Chakma, Raba, Hajong, Lakher, Garos, Jaintias Khasis

Mizoram Dimasa, Raba, Chakma, Lakher, Khasi, Synteng, Kuki, Pawai.

Nagaland Nagas, Angami, Sema, Garo, Kuki, Kachari, Mikir

 Odisha Gadaba, Ghara, Kharia, Khond, Matya, Oraons, Rajuar, Santhals.

Rajasthan Bhils, Damaria, Dhanka, Meenas(Minas), Patelia, Sahariya.

Sikkim Bhutia, Khas, Lepchas.

Tamil Nadu Adiyan, Aranadan, Eravallan, Irular, Kadar, Kanikar, Kotas, Todas.

Telangana Chenchus.

Tripura Bhil, Bhutia, Chaimal, Chakma, Halam, Khasia, Lushai, Mizel, Namte.

Uttarakhand Bhotias, Buksa, Jannsari, Khas, Raji, Tharu.

Uttar Pradesh Bhotia, Buksa, Jaunsari, Kol, Raji, Tharu.

West Bengal Asur, Khond, Hajong, Ho, Parhaiya, Rabha, Santhals, Savar.

Andaman and Oraons, Onges, Sentinelese, Shompens.

Nicobar

Little Andaman Jarawa

North-East Abhors, Chang, Galaong, Mishimi, Singpho, Wancho.

Now that we have discussed about what actually is a tribe and what are the
various tribes that reside India now we can further go along and see what the
term “resource” mentioned here refers to.

What can you refer as a Resource?

Resources or here, tribal resources mean those natural resources and

properties of traditional or contemporary religious or cultural
importance, either on or off Tribal lands, retained by, or reserved by or
for, Tribes through federal treaties, statutes, agreements or executive
orders.

One must keep in mind that these resources not only refer to the
physical acquisitions that they receive from the nature but also all the
scientific as well as cultural practices that help them sustain a happy or
say better life. These factors broaden the term tribal resources which
might more accurately be rephrased to tribal cultural resources.
Now as we have discussed about what the term tribe stands for as well as about
the various tribes that reside in this diverse country, now we can go along
talking about the various tribal resources of our country.

In tribes the people mostly depend on nature for the provision of raw materials,
the Forest Dependence Index, a numeric indicator of the social and economic
dependence of the community in Parambikulam Tiger Reserve highlights 43.5
per cent dependency on the forest resources to meet their livelihood needs and
although some modernization is occurring gradually yet there are many among
them who are reluctant to change their ways. Yet this leads to development of
various skill sets that a person living an urban lifestyle may be unfamiliar to.

Some of the tribal resources have been explained briefly below:

1)Medicine

A peculiarity of the tribal life is their holistic

herbal medicine. Having lived in harmony with
nature for centuries, the tribes have identified
various herbs which can heal a variety of
diseases. They have no side effects. About 70%
of Indian population inhabits in rural areas
and many of them reside in the vicinity of
forest and use various plant parts as food,
medicines, and in many other purposes for
their daily livelihood. Indian people are
using medicinal plants from prehistoric
period. Indigenous healing practices have
been culturally accepted during all phases of
human culture and environmental evolution.

Traditional medicine is widely used and

accounts for about 40% of all health care
delivered. About 85% of traditional medicines are plant derived. Medicinal
plants have a long-standing history in many indigenous communities, and
are an integral part for treating various diseases, particularly to curve daily
ailments and this practice of traditional medicine is based on hundreds of
years of belief and observations.
Almost every section of Indian population uses plants as medicine and
altogether about 7 500 species of plants are being used by several ethnic
communities. Particularly, tribal people collect and preserve locally
available wild and cultivated plant species and practice herbal medicine to
treat a variety of diseases and disorders. Their approach to curing the disease
not only includes taking the medicine, but also following some diets along with
it. They may also suggest some changes in the lifestyle also depending on the
type of diseases. With enormously diversified ethnic groups and rich
biological resources, India represents one of the great emporia of
ethnobotanical wealth.

In developing countries, there is an increasing attempt to incorporate

traditional medicines, especially herbal preparations in the local health care
systems and many modern researchers are involved today to explore the
huge potential of ethnobotanical knowledge for treating various diseases.

However, the ethnomedicinal plants are under threat due to deforestation,

overgrazing and their reckless utilization. So, it indicates the urgent need of
their conservation. Conservation of biological resources as well as their
sustainable use is important in preservation of traditional knowledge.

A few examples of the various tribes that helped in the collection of

various herbal and medicinal plants are given below:

Kodagu is one of the tiniest districts in the Southern part of Karnataka

(India). It is a habitat for more than ten different types of ethnic groups
commonly called ‘Girijana’. An ethnomedicinal survey was undertaken in
the tribal areas of the district to collect information from the traditional
herbal healers on the use of medicinal plants in order to evaluate the
potential medicinal uses of local plants used in curing various ailments.

A study on the medicinal plants used by the indigenous Jaintia tribes

residing in few isolated pockets of northeast India was done through
structured questionnaires
in consultations with the
tribal practitioners and
has resulted in the
documentation of 39
medicinal plant species
belonging to 27 families
and 35 genera. For curing
diverse form of ailments,
the use of aboveground plant parts was higher (76.59%) than the
underground plant parts (23.41%). Of the aboveground plant parts, leaf
was used in the majority of cases (23 species), followed by fruit (4).
Different underground plant forms such as root, tuber, rhizome, bulb
and pseudo-bulb were also found to be in use by the Jaintia tribe as a
medicine. Altogether, 30 types of ailments have been reported to be
cured by using these 39 medicinal plant species.

2)Cultural Tribal Resources (The various folk arts)

FOLK ART

India had always been known as the land that

portrayed cultural and traditional vibrancy
through its conventional arts and crafts. The 35
states and union territories sprawled across the
country have their own distinct cultural and
traditional identities, and are displayed through
various forms of art prevalent there. Every region
in India has its own style and pattern of art,
which is known as folk art. The folk and tribal
arts of India are very ethnic and simple, and yet
colourful and vibrant enough to speak volumes
about the country's rich heritage.

Folk art in India apparently has a great potential

in the international market because of its
traditional aesthetic sensibility and authenticity. The rural folk paintings of
India bear distinctive colourful designs, which are treated with religious and
mystical motifs. Folk art expresses cultural identity by conveying shared
community values and aesthetics. It encompasses a range of utilitarian and
decorative media, including cloth, wood, paper, clay, metal and other items
which are quite popular among foreign tourists because of their ethnic and
traditional beauty.

India is home to more than 2500 tribes and ethnic groups. The rich
diversity of these groups has contributed many art forms including folk
and tribal art. Some of the famous tribal art forms of India are: Warli
paintings, Bhil and Gond painting, Santhal painting, Madhubani
Paintings of Bihar, Saora paintings of Odisha, and Pithoro paintings of
Gujrat. A few of these lovely paintings have been described below:

A)Warli Paintings
Warli paintings come from the Warlis tribe
principally found in “Thane” district in the state of
Maharashtra. The theme of Warli painting is not
mythological but rather activities of daily life like
hunting, harvesting, dancing and sowing.
Unlike other art forms, their colours are not so
bright.

They usually use

red, yellow and white as primary colours for their paintings. At its basic level,
Warli Art is made of a circle, a triangle and a square. Owing to their lifestyle,
their basic inspiration comes from the nature. Due to their linear nature and
monochromatic hues, one can find a lot of similarity with the pre-historic cave
paintings.

B) Madhubani Paintings

Madhubani painting is practiced in Mithila

region of India (especially Bihar) and Nepal.
Main practitioners are women from the
villages who draw on freshly plastered mud
walls of their home as illustration of their
thoughts, hopes and dreams using fingers
and twigs forming two-dimensional imagery
using paste of powdered rice. It also uses
colours derived from vegetables and plants.
The central themes of Mithila paintings are
based on Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Use
of traditional geometric patterns double line border, abstract-like figures of
deities, ornate floral patterns, bold use of colours and bulging eyes and
jolting nose of faces of figures are some of the striking elements of this
painting.
Folk Dances
The isolation has given each Adivasi tribe its own distinct culture, language,
dress sense, ornamentation and food habits. One thing that however is common
to all tribal people is their way of entertainment through singing and dancing.
They dance merrily in groups singing in choruses, playing indigenous
instruments. Almost all Adivasi groups have their own routines of singing and
dancing. The dancing is mainly footwork, in circles or dancing formations. The
dance movements are usually taken from their daily work like reaping harvest,
sowing seeds, grinding grains hunting and fighting skills. Singing and dancing
is often for them in evening after a hard day’s work or occasional, coinciding
with marriage, harvesting full moon day, spring and autumn season, religious
beliefs and so on.

A few examples of such dance forms are Bihu dance from Assam, Nati from
Himachal Pradesh, Garba from Gujrat, Duffmuttu from kelrela among many
others.

Specifically, a few of these dances have been given In detail below:

A)Bihu, Assam
This is a famous Indian folk
dance, which is conducted
during the Bihu festival in
Assam. Local Assamese Men
& women dancers wear some
regional Assamese cloth and
perform their local dance with
brisk steps and fastest hand
movements. They perform
their dance with some local
instruments including Dhol, Pepa, Baahi, Gagana. Most of these
instruments are made with local bamboo and this festival is one of the
most colorful dance festivals in Assam.

You can find some male dancers wearing dhoti and mustard color
headband and women in mustard and red color sari. During this
festival, the sound of flute and dancing to the beat of the drum goes to
such a powerful level, that people cannot resist themselves to join
these groups.

B)Dumhal, Jammu and Kashmir

This is a classical
folk dance, which is
performed by the
men only and this is
originated by the
Wattal tribe in
Kashmir region.

They wear some

colorful dress with
tall caps made with
some beads and
shells during this dance performance and they carry some banner with
some dance movements. Basically, men begin this dance performance
with some musical instruments and they dance in a circular position.

C)Theyyam, Kerela

It is a temple ritual
dance form and
also known as
Kaliyattam and
this is a sacred
dance form, which
is projected as
Hindu Goddess
Kali. Kaliyattam is
a Malayalam work
which means
Daivam or God.

You can find this

dance performance in some villages in Kerala where people perform
some ritualistic acts through this dance during their festive sessions
and in temples daily. There are different types of Theyyams in Kerala
3) Tribal Science & Technology as resources

Although not being familiar to modern technology tribal people have

great skill in practicing the crafts the are well versed with these are the
skills like:

Nursing Knowledge
The expectant mother of the Kandh family is given warm water to drink and warm food to eat
regularly. Experienced and expert old women folk guides the expectant mother everywhere
and in her every work. Some hours before the delivery the expert female folk gently massage
some warm Castrol oil on the abdomen of the pregnant woman downward to the birth canal
and sometimes a little quantity of warm Castrol oil is poured or applied into the birth canal to
make it lubricant for easy delivery.This gentle massage reduces pain of the pregnant woman
and she feels comfort as if a blessing helping hand is with her. After the birth of the child the
baby is bathed by warm water admixture with turmeric and they apply warm oil mixed with
turmeric paste in the birth canal to prevent it from infection.

Tattooing

Tattooing or tikanga is a painful practice for beautification of the body parts of

the Kandh women. The Kandh girls of 10 to 12 years old beautify their body
parts like face, chest, thigh, external parts of the arm, frontal and backside of the
elbow, backside of palm, round of the calf of the leg and on feet by tattoo
marks.13 The professional tattoo workers use thorn of cactus plant to pin the
mark on the skin. This natural nail does not create any infection on the skin.

Art of weaving

Tribal women use a piece of cotton as their under garment (like modern sanitary
napkin) since long past. It is called ‘Topah’ by their local language. It is very
decoratively weave by using white and red cotton thread by local kui women.
Long before the invention of modern sanitary napkin the tribal women used to
use this topah since long past. This shows their sense of hygiene and sanitation.

Dangaria Kandh women use a special towel with beautiful handicraft work of
embroidery. All the female folks of this tribe have the knowledge of this work.
This towel is one of the racial identities of Dangariskandhas. They use different
coloured threads to create magnificent design and decoration on the cloth by a
needle.
Storing hot and cool drinks

Tribal people carry water in a ‘lautumba’ (an organic pot) to drink at the time of
need while working in their agricultural land or while collecting forest products.
They use it because the water in this pot remains cool and safe for a longer
period. It is more hygienic than that of the metal pots.

Manufacturing Mahua Wine

Mahua, the butter nut tree is plentily found in tribal regions. It is the member of
the Sapotaceae family plant. Mahua wine is extracted from the Mahua flower
through distillation process. The knowledge of this process is well known to the
tribes. They make an indigenous Yantra(machine) called Bakayantra (crane like
tool) for this purpose. They let the mahua flowers decompose in an earthen pot
by adding water to it, which produces alcohol in the mixture. Then they boil it
to separate alcohol content from water. The boiling point of water is 100 Celsius
and the boiling point of alcohol is 78 Celsius. Since the boiling pots of alcohol
and water are different, a mixture of alcohol and water can be separated by
fractional distillation. When the temperature reaches 78 Celsius, then the
alcohol vapour passes in to the second pot through the bamboo pipe connecting
to both the pots. They apply water to the second pot to make the alcohol vapour
cool and it becomes liquid. They use it as hot drink in different functions and
ceremonies to enhance the pleasure. Wine is one of the inseparable parts of their
traditions and customs. From birth to death wine is used in each rite, rituals,
functions, ceremonies, traditions and customs.

Now if we consider the meaning of the term resource literally, various activities
like:
 Hunting
 Fishing
 Livestock grazing

Along with the naturally occurring utilities like:

 Forest (timber)
 Oil and natural gas
 Lakes, streams and ponds

Shall also be considered as tribal resources. It would not even be

wrong to put tribal languages and literature under the same category as
tribal resources.
Conclusion

So, from all the resources listed and explained above the abundance of tribal
resources in India is made quite clear, it also depicts how much tribal people
rely on nature to fulfil most of their basic needs. But one must not forget that
it Is not just a one-way relationship.
While deriving several of their raw materials and amenities from nature it is
the tribals who are one of its biggest conservers. They protect the forests not
only as they hold parts of it religiously sacred but also for the keep safe of their
natural habitat.
They prevent deforestation and play great parts in conservation of bio
diversity.
The write-up also highlights that despite being a bit outdated why is it
necessary to pass on these cultural traits to the future generations.
 References

Balasubramanian, M., & Sangha, K. K. (2021). Integrating Capabilities and

Ecosystem Services Approaches to evaluate Indigenous connections with
nature in a global biodiversity hotspot of Western Ghats, India. Global Ecology
and Conservation, 27, e01546. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01546
Datta, T., Patra, A. K., & Dastidar, S. G. (2014). Medicinal plants used by tribal
population of Coochbehar district, West Bengal, India–an ethnobotanical
survey. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine, 4, S478–S482.
https://doi.org/10.12980/apjtb.4.2014c1122
Kapoor, N., Ahmad, N., Nayak, S. K., Singh, S. P., Ilavarasan, P. V., &
Ramamoorthy, P. (2021). Identifying infrastructural gap areas for smart and
sustainable tribal village development: A data science approach from India.
International Journal of Information Management Data Insights, 1(2), 100041.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jjimei.2021.100041
Kolay, S. (2016). Cultural Heritage Preservation of Traditional Indian Art
through Virtual New-media. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 225,
309–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.06.030
Lingaraju, D., Sudarshana, M., & Rajashekar, N. (2013a). Ethnopharmacological
survey of traditional medicinal plants in tribal areas of Kodagu district,
Karnataka, India. Journal of Pharmacy Research, 6(2), 284–297.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopr.2013.02.012
Lingaraju, D., Sudarshana, M., & Rajashekar, N. (2013b). Ethnopharmacological
survey of traditional medicinal plants in tribal areas of Kodagu district,
Karnataka, India. Journal of Pharmacy Research, 6(2), 284–297.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopr.2013.02.012
Living Traditions Tribal and Folk Paintings of India. (2017). Centre for Cultural
Resources and Training Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
Pathak, A. K., Kadian, A., Kushniarevich, A., Montinaro, F., Mondal, M., Ongaro,
L., Singh, M., Kumar, P., Rai, N., Parik, J., Metspalu, E., Rootsi, S., Pagani, L.,
Kivisild, T., Metspalu, M., Chaubey, G., & Villems, R. (2018). The Genetic
Ancestry of Modern Indus Valley Populations from Northwest India. The
American Journal of Human Genetics, 103(6), 918–929.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2018.10.022
Sharma, E. (2015). Tribal Folk Arts of India. Journal of International Academic
Research for Multidisciplinary, 3(5), 300–308.
Soman, D., & Anitha, V. (2020). Community dependence on the natural
resources of Parambikulam Tiger Reserve, Kerala, India. Trees, Forests and
People, 2, 100014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2020.100014
Tilche, A. (2014). Pithorain the Time of Kings, Elephants and Art Dealers: Art
and Social Change in Western India. Visual Anthropology, 28(1), 1–20.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08949468.2015.973255
Tiwary, S. K., Dalai, P., & Prakash, O. (2021). Folklore and Ethno-Rock Art
Studies in the Kaimur Region of India: The Story of the Oraon Tribe. Ancient
Asia, 12. https://doi.org/10.5334/aa.198