Cultural Identity and Sustainability in Santal Indigenous Community of Birbhum District, India
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Archaeologies: Journal of the World Archaeological Congress (Ó 2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11759-020-09413-8
Cultural Identity and Sustainability in Santal Indigenous Community of Birbhum District, India Asmita Basu , Army Institute of Management, Kolkata, India; NIT, Durgapur, India E-mail: [email protected] Accepted: 31 October 2020 / Published online: 18 November 2020
ABSTRACT ________________________________________________________________
ARCHAEOLOGIES Volume 16 Number 3 December 2020
The aboriginal inhabitants residing in India are known as the Tribal population. These indigenous people are scattered in different parts of the country including the state of West Bengal in the eastern part of India. In West Bengal, different districts such as Birbhum, Purulia and Midnapore are important seats of the indigenous inhabitants and their unique cultural and historical background, distinct from the other populations of the region. The Santhal population formed a larger portion in these districts during the early part of 20th century. They possess remarkable cultural identity which is expressed through their songs, music, arts and crafts, their unique indigenous forms of belief and styles of worship. The present research is based on an extensive field survey of the Santhal villages located in the Birbhum district in eastern India. The study aims to highlight the unique artistic manifestations of the Santhal tribe focusing on the sohrai paintings, the themes that are reflected point out the uniqueness of their heritage, tradition and cultural identity. It is also important to sustain the cultural aspects, both tangible and intangible of this indigenous population which involves an inter-disciplinary approach. Corporate Social Responsibility implemented by different companies in India for social development may also aid in sustaining the indigenous community and hence build a mutually beneficial corporate-community engagement model. Re´sume´ de recherche: Les habitants aborige`nes re´sidant en Inde sont connus comme la population tribale. Ces peuples indige`nes sont e´parpille´s dans diffe´rentes re´gions du pays, notamment l’e´tat du Bengale occidental dans la partie orientale de l’Inde. Dans le Bengale occidental, diffe´rents districts tels que Birbhum, Purulia et Midnapore sont des sites importants pour les habitants indige`nes et leurs ante´ce´dents culturels et historiques uniques, lesquels se distinguent des autres populations de la re´gion. La population Santal constituait une portion plus importante de ces districts au cours de la premie`re partie du 20e`me sie`cle. Ses membres posse`dent une identite´ culturelle remarquable s’exprimant par leurs chansons, leur
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Ó 2020 World Archaeological Congress
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Cultural Identity and Sustainability in Santal Indigenous Community 493 of Birbhum District, India musique, leurs arts et objets artisanaux, leurs formes indige`nes uniques de croyance et styles de pratiques religieuses. La pre´sent
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