Sociological research opens up with several dimensions of research methodologies and methods that fit with the objective of the study. Sociological research encompasses with adventures and zeal to explore new domain of knowledge. Ethnographic research is amongst one of it. At its core, sociology examines the structures, institutions, and dynamics that shape human behaviour and social interactions. It is a part of qualitative research to study and understand social phenomena within specific cultural groups or communities. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the culture they are studying, often for an extended period, to gain a deep understanding of the community’s beliefs, behaviors, practices, and social structures. For example, an ethnographic study when deals with tribal communities to understand about their culture and lifestyles often opts for participant observation and resides with a particular community so that it becomes easier to understand their daily life rituals and also the significance of those rituals in their lives.
In sociological domain, conducting an ethnographic study can gain attention to understand various underlying factors of the tribal communities, who are also recognised as marginalized communities. Being marginalised tribal peoples live in isolations however, they possess certain features that make them unique, by cultural, social and political entity. Their habits and rituals have a marked dissimilarity with other people.Tribal people in India are also recognised as Adivasi meaning “aboriginal inhabitants”. Also, there are various terms used in relation to them such as Atavika, Vanavasi (“forest dwellers”), or Girijan (“hill people”), amongst Adivasi carries the specific meaning of being the original and autochthonous inhabitants of a given region and was specifically coined for that purpose in the 1930s. Over time, unlike the terms “aborigines” or “tribes”, the word “adivasi” has developed a connotation of past autonomy which was disrupted during the British colonial period in India and has not been restored. They generally live outside the mainstream society. Most ordinary Indians known little about them. There are some 573 communities recognized by the government as Scheduled Tribes and therefore eligible to receive special benefits and to compete for reserved seats in legislatures and schools. They range in size from the Gonds (roughly 7.4 million) and the Santals (approximately 4.2 million) to only eighteen Chaimals in the Andaman Islands. Central Indian states have the country’s largest tribes, and, taken as a whole, roughly 75 percent of the total tribal population live there.
But in present times it is seen that they are in the process of absorption. N.K Bose in “Hindu Method of Tribal Absorption” has also stated that the tribes get absorbed in the Hindu society. He has described how the Juangs, Oraos and Mundas has adopted the Hindu way of life by accepting the caste structure. Hence, they are treated as hardly differentiable from neighboring Hindu peasantry. Some of the well-known tribes in this category are said to be Bhils, Bhumijs. Majhis, Khasas and Raj-Gonds. Many a time these tribal communities are forced to change their cultural practices to get into the mainstream of the society. These tribal communities hence face a lot of hindrances to continue their cultural practises and often fear of losing their cultural identity. However, for social acceptance, they leave behind their own customs and take up the traditions of other communities.
In this context, we can bring the example of “Sankritization” which refers to the process where the people belonging in the lower stratum imitate or take up the lifestyle of the upper castes and leave some of their own habits like liquor drinking or beef eating to get accepted by the upper caste people or to be one of them. Sociologists and anthropologists often refer to this process to describe the change in tribal society. But one thing that Xaxa pointed out is that the tribes are completely outside the Hindu caste system and that is why they are referred to as tribes but for the process of Sanskritization, the tribes have to enter into the Hindu society first. So, in the case of tribes, the process can be better referred to as Hindunization.
In the 1950s a policy of protection was adopted towards all the tribal peoples in India. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru once wrote: “There is no point in trying to make them a second rate copy of ourselves…they are people who sing and dance and try to enjoy life; not people who sit in stock exchanges, shout at each other, and think themselves civilized.”So in one hand it is stated that they can preserve their traditions but in the other hand they have to integrate with the mainstream society to survive and gain acceptance. So we can see that that this statement of preserving their culture often turns into a paradox. Here the sociologists can actually help by studying these communities thoroughly where major concentration should be given to their everydaypractises and the problems that they are facing for carrying out their practises.
In connection to the ethnographic study on tribal communities, it has been observed that Savara tribes are neither Sanskritized nor Hindunized. They are able to keep their original culture and identity alive. They still practice their exotic religious practices.
To understand their complex set of foreign cultural practices, myths and rituals it is very essential to carry out an intensive ethnographic study. Their daily lived experiences were captured by interaction and interpretation to get a richer understanding of their social relations and workings of the society. Their cultural practices can better be understood by listening to their narratives and personal stories and experiences and even participating in their cultural rituals and practice that will help an ethnographer to achieve a clearer understanding about that community.
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