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Orissa is a thickly tribal inhabited state, consisting of
sixty-two tribes living in different parts of the state - in the
highlands, forests, valleys and in the foot hills. They make their own
traditional ethnic cottage and live in it. In order to proclaim the
self-identity intra group wise, socially and culturally different tribes
live in different places.
Each tribal community has separate mode of living and they differ
significantly in their dress, ornaments, skill in building houses, and
moreover in their way of life. This difference in their life is clearly
decernable from their material culture, art objects from the paintings and
drawings and also from the size and shapes of different objects that they
use. To the tribals, dress is a cultural need and it is also a part of
their tradition.
The
Tribal Dress up
Among the tribals the use of dress is very significant and worthwhile.
The tribals do not use dress just merely to hide their nakedness rather it
reflects the racial feeling and their cultural identity. The tribals use
separate costumes at the time of festivals and ceremonies.
In a specific tribe the dresses from birth
to old age has immense variety. The costumes of the male members of the
tribe and the females are also different. It is a fact that the female
community pays more attention in covering their body. In some tribal
communities the women folk want their male partners to be dressed
elegantly and impressively.
A tribal woman also wears a variety of dresses from her birth to death
corresponding to different stages of her life. For instance, a 'Dhangedi'
(a maiden) adorns fine clothes to attract the attention of others while
the 'Gurumai', the priestess wears formal clothes to worship the goddess
for the betterment of her community. Dress also helps them in many
adversities and also helps to propitiate gods and goddesses who safeguard
them against the malevolent atrocities of the ghosts, spirits, etc.
Dressing According To Individual Position
The tribals also use dress according to the position of individual in the
society like the clan's head, the priest, and the revenue collector etc.
The dress that they use at the time of marriage, birth, death, worship
etc. are also different.
They use dresses keeping in view the occasion, age, sex and other
factors. For example, the priest does not use the normal dress at the time
of worship. And again at the time of dancing they dress in a very
attractive manner. The dancing costume has also special significance. They
also wear dresses in different styles. While dressing they also keep in
their mind the surroundings. They also think of their convenience and
inconvenience while dressing themselves for an occasion.
Especially they do not like to dress very pompously at the time of any
work. But when they go for shopping to the near by market place or to
visit any fair or
festival they dress themselves quite
exuberantly and exquisitely.
The Variance In Attires
Different tribal communities use different kind of dresses, differing in
their colour and size. Their dresses are designed keeping in view their
necessity and their surrounding. The socio-cultural and the religious
views of the tribals slightly contribute for the variety in their dresses.
There are several tribes like the 'Bondo' and 'Gadaba' who weave their own
clothes. While the other tribes purchase their dress from another
community or the neighbouring 'Damas' or 'Panas'.
The tribal dress and ornaments mostly belong to the non-tribal group and
there are very few tribal artisans. The non-tribal artisans like the
weavers they live adjacent to the tribal villages. These people
manufacture the costumes of a specific tribe and sell them in the weekly
village market.
Sometimes these weavers are being paid in cash or in kind in the form of
agricultural products. The tribal costumes are very simple and it provides
immense comfort to the wearer. Generally, in the 'Kandha' community the "Dongria
Kandha", the "Kutia Kandha" and the "Desia Kandha",
"Lanjia Saora" and the 'Santhals' depend on other communities
for their clothes.
Lanjia Saora and some other tribal community make threads by themselves
and give it to the Damas to weave for them. And again they purchase that
cloth from the Damas in cash or kind. While the Bondo and the Didayi, the
Gadabas weave their own clothes though the Dangrias purchase the cloth
from the neighbouring Damas. They knit fine needlework on it and use it.
The Likeness Of Apparel
There is a little similarity among the tribals in their dress those who
live in a specific area. The 'Koyas', the 'Halabs' and the 'Gandias' are
inhabitants of the same districts. Though it seems that they have some
kind of similarity in their costume but in reality they differ from each
other. The Kandhas live in a specific area, like the Kutia Kandha and the
Dongria Kandha both the communities live in two different sides of the
same hill.
But as far as dress is concerned they differ significantly. Similarly,
the 'Mundas' and the Santhals though they live as neighbours they differ
in their dress and culture. The 'Juangs' and the 'Bhuyan' highlander live
in close proximity but they differ in their dress. The 'Kisans' and the
Gonds though live in the same belt they have also difference in their
dress. At times there are similarity of the dress in colour, design and
pattern but they differ in their cultural and social life as well as in
their ritual and rites.
Art - The Essence Of Tribal Life
The artistic nature of the tribals is very innate in their heart and
mind. To them the artistic and aesthetic essence is to make life more
enjoyable and to fulfill the cultural, social and religious needs. Even
there are some tribes they envisage a better future with the help of
art and craft, for the tribals art
objects and the skill of the artist is a fit medium to propitiate their
deities, gods and goddesses.
The
tribal art is not the contemporary one. It has the heraldry of a hoary
past. It was the art, which once widely acclaimed in the midst of the
forest, the mountains, and in the springs. Art is the base and basis of
the tribal life. It is the economic, social and cultural reflection of the
tribal life. Hence art is the yardstick by which they measure their
success.
A Beautiful Blend Of Art
The material culture is also part of their artistic life. Even their
costume and dress materials have the touch of artistic workmanship. It is
also reflection of the art, which had been passed onto them from
generation to generation. That art has the accumulated knowledge of ages,
which has assimilated in their social tradition. It is a medium to express
their inner quest. Dress has multifarious significance in their social
life. At the surface level one can observe that they use dress only to
avoid the nakedness, or to protect from cold, rain and sunshine. But in
fact, the tribal costume exhibits the uniqueness of the specific
community, their self-identity.
The possession of the right kind of dress is a matter of pride and a
great source of enthusiasm. The "Ringa" of the Bondos and the
embroidered shawl of the Dangarias have a special social and cultural
significance. The Dangria shawl has a direct link with the marital
relationship and the success of their conjugal life depends upon it. The
dance costume of the Lanjia Saoras as well as their general dress is a
fine testimony of their rich cultural heritage. At the time of dancing
from the dress of the clan's head "Gamango" they get the trace
of the regal pride and heroism.
The Discovery & Growth
The origin, history and development of tribal textile commensurates with
the general history of man's progress from primitive barbarism to
civilization. The state of nakedness was disgusting, to avoid that the
tribals used leaves as their dress. This was used in a crude form. Then
they used bark of the tree as their dress. This gave them much discomfort,
so they used some bark to avoid this inconvenience.
It was also not so soothing; hence, they started extracting fibres from
the barks and subsequently converted it into thread. Gradually, they came
to know more about fibre, thread etc. and then began the weaving of
clothes. Later on, they also dyed the fibres to make it beautiful. They
also started using turmeric to colour the threads. There are also several
trees in the forest that excrete colour in their bark and the tribals use
the bark of these trees to dye the thread.
Firstly, they boiled the bark and soaked fibres in it. That way they got
various coloured threads and wove according to their requirement.
Sometimes instead of making the coloured threads themselves, they
purchased them from the market and then weaved them. Some tribes like to
wear clothes of a single colour, while others like to use multi-colour
clothes and at times they knitted fine embroidery work on it and made it
fit for their use. Through the dress they reflected their traditional
culture, artistic skillfulness and thoughts, for which their cultural life
flourish on the base of dress. It gave a special lustre to their community
life and differentiated one tribe from the other.
Weaving Of A Cloth
To weave clothes they used their own indigenous technology. They used
bamboo and other trees to get the fibre. They installed the wooden loom in
front of their house or in the backyard and some of them also install it
in the narrow path of the village. They weaved during their leisure time.
Both men and women weave. In some communities only women weave. The women
weave various clothes for them as well as for the male members of their
family.
Preservation Of The Ancient Cultural Heritage
In the olden times the tribals wove their clothes from their loom. But
these days, after they came in contact with the civilized world, they
purchase their clothes from the market, resulting in the decay of their
culture. Now they do not have the slightest inclination to wear
old-fashioned clothes and have even expressed their hesitation to use
their traditional cloth.
After the advent of the industrial textile culture, they have already
forgotten about their looms. In the changing scenario they no more boast
of their tradition and culture. In some of the tribal communities the
dress culture is in a complete state of extinction. And in some other
communities it is in a doormant state or on the way to decay.
In the Kutia Kandha tribe it has almost decayed. In the Didayi community
to find a cloth woven in their own fashion has become a difficult affair.
Among the Bondo community the alien cultural assimilation is so strong
that, forgetting their own traditional dress they have started wearing the
dresses of the non-tribals especially the print sarees manufactured by
textile industries. Among the Santhals the condition is the same as in the
other communities. Though the elderly members of the community wish to
preserve their tradition, the younger generation abhors the idea.
The young ones of the community are not at all worried about the
depletion of their culture and the disintegration of their social and
community life, to which the elder members express their dissatisfaction.
The intrusion of the alien cultures shuns them. Neither are they capable
of restricting it, nor can they fully assimilate it. They are caught in a
dilemma, which is unprecedented in their racial history.
It is a high time to preserve and revive their culture which is gradually
decaying, whole-hearted efforts need to be made by adopting various
measures and techniques to preserve and revive it, or else a great
cultural tradition will be buried in the sandy-shores of time.