Suchergebnisse

AbstractUsing different archives, I show how indigeneity was constructed by the Santal themselves during the second half of the nineteenth century, through various figures such as rebels and prophets. This has produced a Santal indigenous knowledge at the interface of orality and writing, revolving around two dimensions—an emergent historical consciousness and a feeling of shared identity, which still informs Adivasi resistance today, enabling them to voice assertion over natural resources. The sacralization of the landscape through pilgrimages and ritual commemorations entails the liberation of formerly encompassed identities, allowing the subaltern communities a certain visibility in the public sphere. Providing a new imagining against dispossession and memory loss, indigenous knowledge, which combines multi-scripturality and ritual innovations, becomes a resource for politics of representation as well as of a common Santal identity.

For most Santals, the pilgrimage to Logo Buru in Jharkhand means to revive the sense of belonging to a sacred landscape, seen as a "pristine place" untouched by development. This is particularly important for those who work in mines or in the steel plants. Most of the Santal writers, active in Logo Buru, claim to be the disciples of Ragunath Murmu, the playwright and social reformer who invented a Santali script in the Thirties. For Adivasis coming from other states, the performance gives them the opportunity to share the revival of a tradition which is strong in Jharkhand, since it is linked to the politics of that State, created in 2000. The article shows that the pilgrimage to Logo Buru, organized by Santal writers and activists and patronized by politicians, can be viewed as a critical archive generating different interpretations, to produce a way of sharing which makes sense for all, bestowing the participants with a new 'authenticity'. ; For most Santals, the pilgrimage to Logo Buru in Jharkhand means to revive the sense of belonging to a sacred landscape, seen as a "pristine place" untouched by development. This is particularly important for those who work in mines or in the steel plants. Most of the Santal writers, active in Logo Buru, claim to be the disciples of Ragunath Murmu, the playwright and social reformer who invented a Santali script in the Thirties. For Adivasis coming from other states, the performance gives them the opportunity to share the revival of a tradition which is strong in Jharkhand, since it is linked to the politics of that State, created in 2000. The article shows that the pilgrimage to Logo Buru, organized by Santal writers and activists and patronized by politicians, can be viewed as a critical archive generating different interpretations, to produce a way of sharing which makes sense for all, bestowing the participants with a new 'authenticity'.

In Tulunadu those who meet a violent death fighting for a just cause may become demi-gods, or bhūtas. Here, death is a kind of apotheosis, where those who fought against injustice become divine figures after death, receiving a cult in a shrine. Quite different is the story of those who simply experienced a violent death before they even managed to get married. They return as ghosts, pretas, and their kin suffer from their absence, but still fear the pretas and try to appease them by all available means. The paradox is that when pretas manifest themselves their unwanted presence is frightening, while at the same time their absence is experienced as grief. This creates a kind of double bind, which villagers may try to resolve by celebrating the marriage of ghosts, enabling their deceased siblings to marry. This marriage induces the families of bride and bridegroom to unite in their grief, while trying to appease the young ghosts who torment them. This ritual, often held secretly, was documented by a photographer from the fisherman caste who had himself experienced similar fear when his brother-in-law, still a bachelor, committed suicide. The paper reflects on the fear he experienced, wondering if the ritual could really appease the kin.

In India as elsewhere, peripheries have frequently been viewed through the eyes of the centre. This book aims at reversing the gaze, presenting the perspectives of low castes, tribes, or other subalterns in a way that amplifies their ability to voice their own concerns. This volume takes a multidimensional perspective, citing political, economic and cultural factors as expressions of the autonomous assertions of these groups. Questioning the exclusive definitions of the Brahmanical, folk and tribal elements, the articles bring together the empowering possibilities enabled by three recent theoretical developments: of anthropologies questioning the fringes of mainstream society in India; critically engaged histories from below, which problematize subaltern identities; and a conceptual emphasis on everyday ethnography as an arena for negotiations and transactions which contest wider networks of power and hegemony. This book will be useful to those in sociology, anthropology, politics, history, study of religions, minority studies, cultural studies and those interested in social development, and issues of marginality, tribes and subaltern identity.

Desde 1867, los misioneros escandinavos originarios del contexto pietista, deciden formar una Iglesia « nacional » santal adaptada a las normas culturales de esta tribu del nor-este de la India. En vez de compartir los ideales de los pensadores hindúes de la época, partidarios de una « religión universal », los misioneros se afirman como los defensores de los Santal y se convierten en reformadores sociales.
Pero los misioneros se encuentran ante la imposibilidad de proteger a los Santal contra los intermediarios hindúes que los explotan. Por otra parte, los fundadores pierden poco a poco sus poderes frente a los comités de apoyo creados en Escandinavia. La misión se somete, cada vez más, a las exigencias de las Iglesias luteranas con lo que pierden su carárcter nacional.

Contributed articles presented at an international conference, organized by Indian Council of Social Science Research, National Center for Scientific Research, France and the French Foundation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, paris, held at New Delhi