Tribal people lead a very simple existence, their worldview promotes peace and harmony. The way indigenous communities live their lives, teaches the world about sustainability. To understand the tribal community in a better way it is important to understand Tribal Philosophy first. When one talks about Tribal Philosophy, Tribalism is the term to describe it.
Tribalism- A Way of Sustainability
- Tribal communities believe in worshipping Nature. It is so because they believe that human existence is only because of this nature. Indigenous people have always protected Land, Forest and water bodies.
- Tribes are known for their sustainable dependence on nature. Their constant access to forests have not lead to exploitation due to key sustainable practices they have followed for centuries. In fact, regions with tribal populations in the country boast of the densest forest cover. In a way, we can say that in modern times, where deforestation is a crisis, tribal communities are the warriors who are protecting countless forests and the life within them.
- Indigenous communities believe in gender equality, most having an ideal sex ratio as well as equal practices in their day to day life. For this one can refer to Census 2011 of the Indian Government.
- Tribal communities never promote nor prioritize the individual above the rest, the sense of ‘community’ is the most important practice which makes their way of life beautiful and abundantly equal.
When we see the history of tribes in this country, they were always self-sustainable. That was until capitalist interventions and “discoveries” forcefully barreled into their world in the name of development and started destroying their homes and nature. Even various Indian governments in power have written so many policies that have been detrimental to these indigenous ways of being. They were slowly forced into being financial dependent, socially marginalized and politically weak. However, that has not affected their tribalism and their way of life.
In the time of COVID-19, tribal communities are steadfastly holding on to their principles of Tribalism. I say this because they have not resorted to panic due to the virus, rather found ways to deal with it efficiently. For example, the Ho tribe of West Singhbhum in Jharkhand has passed the resolution that if someone comes to their village, they will be requested to stay outside of the village in a school. In the school, all quarantine arrangements have been made for them. People have been sticking to this resolution as they prioritize the community’s well-being and persons have quarantined themselves and have been looked after by the community thus.
There are some critical challenges being faced by the tribe. For example, due to the lockdown and the general economic conditions, their livelihoods are at stake and they aren’t able to function in the market system. However, true to their tribalism they have managed to keep their entire community afloat. The Manki & Munda system is working very well because Mundas & Mankis are approaching various levels of governance, NGOs, CSR organizations to just arrange stable food supplies and are providing verified lists of their community so that no family or person goes unfed. Over 2400 households have benefited from this. For those who don’t know about the Manki & Munda System- “Munda is the head of one particular village and he has power to take decision on behalf of that village and Manki is the head of many villages and all the Mundas report to him.”
Through my personal experiences of working alongside them during this time, I observed that each and every person of this community cooperated with us during the process of Ration distribution. In fact, the tribe collectively took a decision that the most vulnerable members of their village must get ration first followed by the rest. In fact, rules of social distancing were followed more strictly than we expected during the distribution process, we were worried about the logistics of handling crowds. Our worries were in vain because the process could not have been smoother.
I am writing this after seeing very distressing visuals and realities of migrant laborers struggling to survive. The system has failed them continuously since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am angered at the apathy of the so called civilized society who don’t seem to notice the hardships of the very people whose labour they have consumed so eagerly.
Maybe this article will compel them to think and make their cities more humane in the future rather than depending on and propagating materialist and capitalist governance and social ways of being. Hope politicians and the larger society will learn from tribalism and make our world more beautiful, peaceful and equal after this Pandemic.
Author- Sudarshan Kumar Sawra
Alumni of Tata Institute of Social Science, Mumbai.
Email- Sudarshansawra@gmail.com