Environment Preservation

In the management of renewable resources, forests have undeniably a vital role, and today, as never before, their conservation is an urgency. In view of this dire necessity the series Man and Forest tries to highlight the relevance of indigenous knowledge of various South Asian tribal communities in the sustainable management of forests/local resources — more specially against the growing challenges of economic development vis-a-vis environmental hazards and a rapidly declining resource base. A scientific inquiry into indigenous knowledge is an effort to discover/rediscover the tribals’ traditional modes of production and conservation. For them it is the only source to cope with the problems of modernity affecting their lives and precarious environments. Forest Tribes of Orissa: The Kuttia Kondh is the sixth monograph in the series Man and Forest and, after the publication of an account of the forest world of the Dongaria Kondh in 2002, the second volume to deal with an aboriginal tribe of Orissa. Being a tribal community in transition, the authors have tried to document and thus safeguard its local traditional knowledge of conservation, use and management of forests and natural resources. They give an account of how the Kuttia Kondh classify trees and other plants, hills, forests, crops and animals. Their subsistence economy, agricultural system, social organization, religious beliefs and other important socio-cultural aspects of forest life have been extensively treated. The lifestyle of this tribal community is finally reflected on the background of forest policy and the impact it has on their livelihood. The present book is, as most of the volumes in the series, the outcome of nearly ten years’ research venture involving an interdisciplinary, intercultural team of sociologists, ethnobotanists, social anthropologists and other social scientists.

Tribal people living in the remote areas of the territory forms an indispensable part of the Indian population. More than 250 different tribal groups inhabit in India, of which 62 tribal groups live in Orissa, each varying in culture, language, economic life and level of literacy. The thirteen tribal groups, namely Birhor, Bondo, Didayi, Dongria-Khond, Juangs, Kharias, Kutia Khond, Lanjia Saoras, Lodhas, Mankidias, Paudi Bhuinyas, Soura and Chuktia Bhunjia, having pre-agricultural level of technology and extremely low level of literacy have been recognized as “Primitive Tribesû of Orissa. These tribal groups remain confined to their own small world and a probe into its history clearly shows that after a few generations the past turns into mythology. It was realized only after the Independence that to have a well-developed and prosperous nation, the needs and problems of the tribals were to be addressed and their welfare to be taken care thereof. The book presents an in-depth study of the various measures and provisions adopted, schemes introduced and plans implemented, since the Fifth Five-Year Plan, to redress the problems of the tribals; and apprises the readers about the on-going attempts in bringing them to the national mainstream through the 13 Micro Projects. Besides, the book presents an extensive detail of the ethnographic features of the entire Primitive Tribes with particular reference to their economic activities, social sanctions and varied problems faced by them. The realistic description of their pathetic life, deprived of all modern facilities, is highly touching and makes one wonder, do such people really exist in the 21st Century? The book will universally appeal to all readers and is highly recommended for the scholars of sociology and anthropology in particular.