Book/magazine Reviews

Indigenous Vision: Peoples of India Attitudes to the Environment
Portrait of Life Styles: Man and His House in the Himalayas

Brought out by the India International Centre, in collaboration with UNDP, Indigenous Vision focuses on the intimate relationship of tribal peoples to their environment. This collection of 22 papers, by leading academics, scientists, poets, artists, writers and environmentalists, is rich in myths, traditions and art.

The section, "Perspective", maps out the divergent world-views of modern Western culture and traditional peoples in India. In indigenous belief systems, where everything is sacred and value-laden, the essence is in living in partnership with nature, rather than exploiting it. The sacred forests of indigenous peoples, still present in some parts of India, are a living testimony to the traditional, cosmocentric world-view.

"Myth," looks at some of the rites and celebration o the Mother Earth by the Kondhs, Mundas, Oraons and other tribal groups. In the section, "Imagination," Haku Shah and Geeti Sen, in "Maati: Born form the Earth," explore the importance of clay images as a medium through which the tribal peoples of Gujarat sanctify the Earth.

"Eco-balance" presents a number of case studies of traditional ways of life based on community participation and conservation of resources. Suprava Patnaik, and ecologist with Development Alternatives, has co-authored, with P.S. Ramakrishnan, the paper "Jhum: Slash and Burn Cultivation." Shifting agriculture, or jhum as it is called by the tribal peoples in north-east India, provides optimal yields over the long run through adherence to an appropriate jhum cycle (the fallow period between two successive croppings).

"Changing Realities," documents the barrage of impacts on traditional ways of life, including the money economy, Rural Housing Schemes, resettlement programmes, imposed irrigation projects, alien technologies, Forest Department officials, dams, tourism, do-gooders and hostile attitudes of others. It is indeed a sad fact that today as the mainstream is "discovering" sustainable development tribal peoples are marginalised or facing extinction everywhere. Indigenous Vision is powerful and provocative, a challenge to our lifestyles, values and development priorities. As Ramesh Kumar Biswas pleads, "Will we learn something from the gentle way the tribals treat the earth, and is there a future for us at all if we don’t.

Reviewed by David Slider

Potrait of Life Styles is for anthropoligists, ethnologists, architects and laypersons interested in the customs and lives of tribals in the Himalayas. Photographs, sketches and text are used to describe the dwellings of various tribes. These dwellings have evolved on the appropriate technology model, in response to climatic conditions and availability of local resources.

There is a general description in terms of living spaces and their sub-divisions. Each space has a clearly defined use and hierarchy. The inner portions are reserved for the most trusted members of the family and lower caste people are not permitted beyond the threshold. The description of the method of building these abodes is enlightening.

A bleak picture emerges of the lifestyles of people in these areas. Life is quite tough and Gods must be propitiated often. The societal hierarchy is quite rigid. Property most often goes to the youngest brother. Multiple wives are allowed.

The books is neither light not overly dense and makes for sustained reading. Edited by Gerard Toffin, Sterling Publishers Private ltd., 243 pages with lots of illustrations, Rs. 500.

Reviewed by Jyotsna

 

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