The Jharkhand government has planned to observe the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, commonly known as the International Tribal Day, in a big way this year.

It will organise a two-day Janjati Mahotsav (tribal festival) in Ranchi, beginning on Tuesday, August 9, which is observed as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

The festival will feature not only art and culture but also a series of seminars on serious topics related to tribal issues. Tribal artists from different states will showcase folk dances while dignitaries from India and abroad will discuss on tribal philosophy, literature, history and anthropology during the maiden festival.The festival will be opened by JMM supremo and Rajya Sabha member Shibu Soren at the Morabadi Ground in Ranchi on Tuesday, while the closing ceremony will be graced by Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday.

Many prominent tribal personalities from various fields such as sports and music have been specially invited to attend the festival. While the cultural programme will be held at the Morabadi Ground, the seminars will be held at Dr Ram Dayal Munda Tribal Welfare Research Institute, popularly known as Tribal Research Institute, nearby.

A group of workers were found busy on Sunday to complete on time a huge pandal where various programmes highlighting tribal art and culture of the state, besides fashion shows and exhibitions will be held. There will be stalls on tribal cuisines and tribal products too.

“For the first time after the formation of the state, a grand event of Jharkhand Tribal Festival is being organised on August 9 and 10 to mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Apart from Jharkhand, representatives of tribal communities from other states and many other people will attend this programme. The government will strive to strengthen the tribals through more such programmes in coming years,” chief minister Hemant Soren said while unveiling the logo of the festival in Ranchi on Thursday.

A worker busy in decoration work at the Morabadi Ground; Tribal Research Institute in Ranchi that will host a series of seminars during the festival. Manob Chowdhary

“The seminars and symposium are an effort to unravel the many pages of tribal history which is yet to be explored. It will help us to know and recognise this community better. The Jharkhand government has taken the decision to take the civilisation and culture of the tribal community on the national stage,” said Soren.

Tribal Research Institute director Ranendra Kumar said: “Four seminars will be held on August 9 and 10 that will be addressed by over 40 experts from various fields.”

The topics will be broadly divided into four sections — history, anthropology, philosophy and literature of the tribals, he informed.Speaking on tribal movement in the anthropology seminar, H.C. Behera will elaborate on “Colonial roots of contemporary land administration, tribal land tenure security and livelihood with special focus on Jharkhand”, while Konato G. Chophy will virtually speak on “Rethinking the concept of revelation in tribal movement in India”.In the seminar on tribal history, Vinita Damodaran from the UK will delve into “What the Adivasis of Eastern India can tell us about environmental crises”, while Sangeeta Dasgupta will throw some light on “Rewriting indigenous history”.

Manob Chowdhary

During this seminar, Virginous Xaxa will also speak on “Engaging with tribal identity with reference to Jharkhand”, while Joseph Bara will explore “Pre-colonial history of tribals in Central India”.Speakers at the seminar on tribal philosophy will explore “tribal knowledge system” and “understanding tribal philosophy through folklore, music and other art forms”, among other topics.

Pintu Barua and his troupe from Assam will perform the Bihu dance, while the Darua folk dance of Odisha will be presented by Pallavi Darua and Ishwar Darua from Odisha. There will be teams from Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh who will perform Karma folk dances and Kummukoya respectively.

Teams from Madhya Pradesh will perform the Bhil dance while the artistes from Mizoram will present traditional Mizo dances.There will also be football matches among tribal teams at the Morabadi football stadium.