Folk Culture

Displaying 1 - 10 of 39
Sainico Ningthoujam
She received the National Award for embroidery in 2004. Today, she is an entrepreneur promoting the art of handmade embroidery and preserving traditional motifs in phanek mayek naibi (a patterned sarong worn by Meitei women).  Following is an edited transcript of the interview…
in Interview
Sainico Ningthoujam
Phanek is a sarong worn by the Meitei people of Manipur as part of their traditional attire. It has distinct weaving patterns and motifs depending on the community wearing it, its history, regional specificity and traditions.  Lower garments like phanek are found across India’s Northeast…
in Article
Sainico Ningthoujam
The sarong is a popular traditional lower garment in East Asian communities and has several distinctions based on the individual history or practices of distinct tribes. In the northeastern region of India alone, the ethnic diversity of people living along the Eastern Himalaya have stylistic…
in Overview
Simran Agarwal and Shruti Chakraborty
With a multiplicity of customs and rituals attached to its celebration, ‘weddings’ sometimes take peculiar and interesting forms in the mosaic of cultures constituting India. We look at courtship and marriage customs in some Indian tribes. (In Pic: A couple from the Garo tribe; Photo Courtesy:…
in Article
अनया थत्ते (Anaya Thatte)
सारांश  आधुनिक युगात लोकपरंपरा दर्शविणारया बहुतांश प्रकारांच्या पुनरूज्जीवन, जतन आणि संवर्धनाचे प्रयत्न फार मोठया प्र्रमाणावर होताना दिसत आहेत. याचे महत्वाचे कारण म्हणजे सांस्कृतिक वारसा ठरलेले हे विविध प्रकार आधुनिक काळात नामशेष होत आहेत अशी भिती निर्माण होत आहे. केवळ मौखिक परंपरेने विकसित…
in Article
Shiva Thorat
Gondhal literally means ‘chaos’ in Marathi. It is a caste-based form of livelihood. Most of the performers, called Gondhali, belong to the Mahar-Mang (Scheduled Castes) communities even today. They perform in rural Maharashtra and parts of Karnataka in praise of King Khandoba. The practice, in a…
in Video
Shiva Thorat
Bhongarya is a festival celebrated by the Pawara community of Khandesh, a region defined by its languages Ahirani, Bhilau and Pawari spoken in parts of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Bhongarya is considered the festival of love because on this occasion young Pawara men and women choose…
in Video
Vasundhara Krishnan
Suma Vishnudas works as a social scientist at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Wayanad, Kerala. She has previously worked as a journalist for Kairali TV in Kerala and as a research associate at Centre for Development Studies (CDS) in Trivandrum. She has a Master’s degree in journalism…
in Interview
Vasundhara Krishnan
Wayanad: The Land of Paddy Fields Located in the Western Ghats in northern Kerala at an elevation of 3,000 feet, Wayanad  is home to one-third of the total tribal population (1,51,443) of Kerala—4,84,839, as per 2011 census. The district, with a forest coverage of 83 per cent of its total…
in Overview
Vasundhara Krishnan
Wayanad district in northern Kerala is a hill station that is home to different tribal communities like the Paniyas, Adiyas, Kurumas, etc. The Paniyas constitute one of the largest tribal communities in Wayanad. The Paniya tribe is also found in the Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram…
in Module