My explorations in ethnic and tribal art of various forms are posted here. You could either scroll down and read all the articles or click on the articles that interest you.
A kaleidoscope of glimpses into various cultures within Asia. Each tribe, each ethnicity expresses its identity in various ways – music, dance, textiles, costumes, food, language, life format etc.
It is impossible for an individual to capture the complete essence of any tribe – either one’s own or another’s – but it is possible to experience the diversity and be nothing less than awestruck by the beauty of human society.
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Sometimes the customs and traditions are so different from the ones I have been exposed to until now, that it is hard not to be alarmed and to remain unjudgemental. But the only way to view any custom is to see it as a part of the complete picture, within the paradigm that has given birth to the custom. It is only then that the view is fair.
Every society has its reasons for doing what they do. The set of rules that have evolved have withstood the test of inter-generational transmission. Therefore they are always internally consistent within the system and provide answers to all of the issues faced by that particular society. When viewed from outside, a traveller usually only gets a limited view and she sees a single custom / tradition without seeing all the evolutionary factors and the paradigm within which this is perfectly valid. Given that this is merely a slice of the whole life model, which is quite likely to be different from her own, this view is likely to cause the viewer some dissonance and sometimes result in an imbalanced judgement.
Of course it is not only the limitedness of the view that causes this bias. Sometimes the close-mindedness of the viewer also contributes to this.
It has taken me many journeys into the lives and minds of others to realise that unless the context is known and empathised with, the judgement is unfair and therefore invalid.
I try to make a deliberate effort to ‘understand’ and ‘empathise’ instead of judging.
It is in that spirit that I have written my articles. My respect for their lives is total (and unconditional) even though my information about their paradigm is not.
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The posts have been listed below in order of posting. You could either choose to scroll down all the way and read all or click on the titles that interest you.
Photos of an absolutely amazing experience! Visitors reacted beyond expectation to the people in the photos, to the photos, to the expressions of human emotion, to the expressions of tribal identity, to the captions, and to the entire cultural effort!
I am in Kutch. One of the districts of Gujarat. Which is one of the 28 states of India.
This little portion tucked away in a corner of India bordering the desert is an amazing mosaic of diverse cultures. Of tribes and sub tribes – and their unique ways of life.
Being here reminds me that India is so so delightful! That the wonders never cease. Every trip exposes me to one more unknown facet – one more awing legend, one more practice, one more stimulating, mind opening practice!
One lifetime is certainly not enough to even get a glimpse of all the cultural aspects of India .,… the idea of reincarnation sounds very attractive now ………it will allow me enough time to see all of this beautiful country!
So let me begin again. I am in Kutch.
On a nearby hill there is a temple, home to a Goddess, commonly called Maata. Rabari tribes have immense faith in this Maata and once a year a fair is held at the temple in her honor.
So families from all over the region arrive at the temple to offer worship.
Sounds like any other fair in India?
Now comes the unique delightful part :
The devotees – who are tribal herders, walk miles and miles from their villages to come to this remote temple to worship. But they do not come alone. They bring their women and children. And they bring their herds. Of goats and sheep and camels. To worship and ask for blessings.
What blessing might a sheep ask for I wonder. Goddess please make my wool siky? What might the camels ask for? I cannot even begin to imagine! And I would ask them but I do not know the camel-dialect that these herders are so fluent in.
So here they all gather together on this particular day every year, humans and herds, to pray to their goddess, asking for blessings and offering gratitude.
And here I am with my camera to witness the event.
A few photos from this unique and delightful gathering.
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The fair had just begun, and worshippers were just arriving – but I had to leave….
Turbans serve many uses for Indian men. They provide relief from the sun and a touch of color to the simple male costume. The loose ends are used as handkerchiefs, masks and often as handfans – much needed accessories in the Indian heat & dust.
But until recently I did not know that the way in which a turban is tied also communicates the profession of the wearer.This fact I discovered at a museum in Udaipur on a recent trip.
A little photo essay follows. The pictures from the Bagaur Haveli musueum are of turbans displayed behind glass and do not do justice to the objects.
Preceding those are images of men from Rajasthan – looking very fashionable and carrying off their magnificent colorful headdresses with perfect ease.
Read the captions relating to the professions associated with the tie.
Not a single tourist present besides me. No Indian tourist. No foreign tourist.No men tourists. No women tourists. ONLY locals. ONLY villagers. And me.
This is simply not a place for outsiders.
Because one might either die of shock at seeing the humongous crowds or one might die of awe at seeing the beauty of the colors of the Garasia tribe present here.
Young and old, men and women jostle and rush in both directions fighting for foot space, struggling to give attention to all the wonderful things on offer here. This is their time for celebration. It is their time of merriment. And their time to find brides and grooms.
Veils and turbans of all colors dot the scene and it becomes hard to focus on any one as a few dozen others scream out for attention. Its like having a hundred of your kids nudging you at once for attention. It probably drove my camera lenses a bit crazy – not knowing what to feast on.
This fair held annually about 60 km from the nearest railhead is a village fair.A classic Indian village fair. A local state transport bus from the bus stand in Udaipur is the easiest (an possibly the only) way to get here. I sat amidst villagers – men and women going beyond my destination conducting their regular daily life. A young twenty year old man sat on the seat in front of mine and entertained himself on this journey (an unbeknownst to him, also entertained me) by flirting with 2 different girls on 2 different cell phones. A long ride made interesting with forced eavesdropping!
Coming back to the fair – these fairs have been the subject of many old Bollywood movies. A family favorite ‘Teesri Kasam’ features the most beautiful woman of Indian cinema Waheeda Rehman playing the role of a dancing girl who performs at fairs.
Other movie plots use the crowded setting of a fair as the starting point of many stories – with children getting separated from their parents in these fairs and lovers using the crowds as a cover for eloping.
In the olden these fairs were the only forms of entertainment. Offered there were mega-shopping opportunities – things brought in from all parts of the country, eating opportunities with food from different parts of India and the latest rides and games.
But in these villages, the ‘olden days’ as I knew them (from movies ) have survived. And the essential character of the “village fair” lives up to my imagination and surpasses it. Because my imagination – created on the basis of B&W movies did not prepare me for the colors of tribal Rajasthan!
The shopping, the food, the giant wheels, the smiles and the chatter all were as imagined – with the addition of countless rainbows thrown in.
And once people had partaken of all these purchaseable joys, then the real fun began. The drinking, the dancing and the courtship takes over the night.
Yes, this is India. Rural India. Non Victorian India.
A short video of the fair at around noon, when people had just begun to gather from other villages. The crowds at this time were about 25% of the crowds I saw at the time I left at about 6pm. And I was told that the 6pm crowd was probably 50% of the final number expected at night.
Much higher than the numbers Mumbai CST station at 6 pm – which I used to think was an unbeatable record. But I was probably wrong.
This visit was something I was totally unprepared for until a day before my trip. One conversation with a local contractor made me aware of this and I made arrangements to head out. Mentally I had no idea what I was getting into. Had I known I would have made better arrangements and stayed the night and taken part in the night festivities as well.
This gives me a reason to return to this enchanting event in a small hamlet in Rajasthan
A festival of devotion and of celebration of love.
Shiva and Parvati are the epitome of love in Hindu mythology and this is one of the stories about their love. It is said that Parvati had gone home to her parental home for a few days. Shiva eagerly awaited her return and festivities were arranged to celebrate her arrival.
In honor of that day, Rajasthan celebrates the Gangaur festival. Women decorate and worship statues of Parvati (alias Gauri), get together with their community of other women relatives, neighbours and friends and participate in community rituals of singing and preparing feasts for the family. They fast for several days – some to offer gratitude for happy marriages, others to pray for marital bliss. On the final day women dress up as brides and visit the lake or the river for the final puja.
A short video of the the Gangaur festival in Udaipur 2012.
An old folk saying “We are only puppets, our strings are being pulled by unknown forces”
This is an article about puppets – from a place that is famous for their puppet crafts and puppet shows – Rajasthan, and it is about the puppeteers themselves.
The slideshow consists if 3 parts
Part 1 Puppets exhibited at the Bagaur Haveli Museum, Udaipur
Part 2 : A young man whose family has been hand-crafting puppetes for generations demonstrates the scultping of a puppet from a block of wood while the women prepare the costumes.
Part 3 : The same Puppeteer performs a puppet show at the Bagaur Haveli. The most spectacular feat is the one in which his horseriding puppets performs acrobatics with two fire torches in his hands as he rides his black steed.
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A few notes from an afternoon of conversation with the puppeteers and their family at Devaali village.
* The biggest difference they see between the olden days and today, is that puppet shows earlier were structured to be as long as 2-3 hours and all the viewers sat through the show with interest. It was fulfilling to be an entertainer in those days. Today, the show lasts for barely 15 minutes. To hold the attention of the audience, puppeteers now display dramatic acts of skill rather than use their skill as a medium for narrating legends and tales. In smaller villages narration is still the active focus of the puppet shows, but with the advent of electronic entertainment, this medium is losing its appeal as an entertainment form.
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The wood used for puppets made for shows is different from the wood used for puppets made as souveniers / home decor.
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All the puppetteers belong to a single clan and although they have settled in a few places around Rajasthan, they all know each other though extended families.
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The family heads are dedicated to the art & craft that their clan has practiced for generations and determined to see that it survives. It is heartening to see that the son – now around 25 years of age - is following the family tradition of making and performing puppet shows.
Note: Please note that this article contains images of raw meat. If this is offensive to you do not read further.
“Mom what’s for dinner” “Stir Fried Python”
This would have seemed a bit outlandish had I not seen this first hand in a Bidayuh community home in tribal Sarawak, Borneo.
Most tribes of Sarawak live in home called ‘longhouses’ that have private quarters as well as shared spaces. The shared space fosters social bonding that was once critical in the days of the headhunting inter-tribe war.
The housing structures are made of bamboo and wood and are built on stilts with each tribe following a unique design that is a tribal signature.
And so as I climbed up the stairs to reach the common hallway with the driver and the hotel guide, I see 2 men washing something at a tap.
They looked ordinary and they exhibited no signs of doing anything extraordinary and so I did not notice them.
But my driver did – and pointed out the extraordinary event that I was about to witness – for the first (and I am sure also the last ) time!
They were preparing a python for cooking!
The fat python had just been chopped into 4 parts and the first part was now being scaled. Just like a fish is scaled!
Then the man slit the foot long piece lengthwise and got rid of the innards and opened it up flat. It looked like a clean large chunk of white meat.
The second man continuously poured water over the man’s hands and the snake to keep the working area clean.
The head had been discarded so upon my request they took it out of a bag in which all the unwanted parts were kept. Yellow eyes.
I had no idea that looking into those eyes could still evoke some primal fear in me…
The men cleaned all the pieces and then it was handed over to the women to cook.
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I asked if traps need to be laid out to catch snakes. And they said that these creatures are abundantly available so one just has to go looking and something could be found easily. Trap-laying was for hard times when hunters were faced with scarcity.
I didn’t stay for dinner – [as I was not invited ] and went on to the next experience in the longhouse.
) have survived. And the essential character of the “village fair” lives up to my imagination and surpasses it. Because my imagination – created on the basis of B&W movies did not prepare me for the colors of tribal Rajasthan!
