Abstract

The Indigenous peoples of India are predominantly viewed from colonial lens. And tribal world, life and culture are conceived from without rather than from within. This paper, a product of a research on culture and embedded meanings among Khadiyas is an attempt to understand the processes of indigenous culture from a ‘perspectives from within’. Tribes have their own mirror of life and philosophical conceptions of reality which other people need to begin to comprehend and accept. In this regards often the philosophy of state and of the tribes are contradictory and tend to be inimical to each other and asymmetrically positioned. Hence, there is an embedded tension between state and indigenous tribal peoples. Such misunderstandings, coupled with the non-recognition of adivasi epistemology, leads to the inferiorisation of the tribal condition, giving legitimacy to discourses that furthers tribal exploitation, marginalization and land alienation. Within this backdrop, this paper attempts to understand tribal culture from within and knowledge produced from such a location. Using a ‘perspectives from within’ ethnographic approach, the paper delves into cultural expressions, world view, philosophies and the meaning of Adivasiness sourced from the lived experience of Khadiya Tribe.