Hunters and the Holy Man
A Saga of the Bedagampana Tribe
Summary
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Discovering Bedagampana
- Chapter 2 Origin, History, and Oralities
- Introduction
- Origin and History
- Influence of Swamy Male Mahadeshwara
- The Role of Salur Mutt
- Structure of the Bedagampana Community
- Summary
- Chapter 3 Socio-Economic Conditions and Dietary Practices
- Introduction
- Family, Land and Living Conditions
- Family
- Land
- Living Conditions
- Occupations
- Gender of Employees
- Main Occupation
- Migratory and Modern Economic Activities
- Dietary Practices
- Practicing Vegetarian Diet – in years
- Diets Related to Seasonal Change
- Special Food Practices Season Wise
- Summary
- Chapter 4 Cultural Practices and Beliefs
- Introduction
- Cultural Expressions
- Rituals and Traditions
- Religion and Spirituality
- Bedagampana and the Mutt Culture (The Hindu Monastic Institutions)
- Bedagampana and the Veerashaiva Lingayats
- Summary
- Chapter 5 Education, Health, and Infrastructure
- Introduction
- Education Systems
- Educational Details
- School Dropouts in Family
- Dropout Reason for Boys
- Dropout Reason for Girls
- Case Studies
- Case Study 1: Anganwadi School, Shantinagar
- Case Study 2: Government Higher Primary School, Gorasane, Male Mahadeshwara Hills
- Case Study 3: Government High School, Tholasikere
- Case Study 4: Government High School, Indiganatha
- Case Study 5: Veda Agama Sanskrit School- The Mutt School
- Summary
- Health Practices
- Primary Health Centre
- Availability of Free Medicines
- Supply of Sanitary pads in PHCs
- Support by Anganwadi/ ASHA/ ANM workers
- Pregnancy and Health Care
- Age of Pregnancy
- Child gap for Pregnancy
- Pregnancy Complications
- Kind Of Delivery Process
- Post- Natal Care Preferred
- Person Responsible for Post- Natal Care
- Diseases in Last One Year
- Preferred Medicine
- Case Studies
- Case Study 1: Primary Health Centre, Male Mahadeshwar Hills
- Case Study 2: Puttanna — The Naati Vaidya (Traditional Healer)
- Summary
- Infrastructure Development
- Mode of Transportation
- Quality of Transportation Facility
- Difficulties Due to Poor Transportation
- Basic Water Facility
- Basic Electricity Facility
- Toilet Facility
- Water Facility in Toilet
- Use of Toilet by All Family Members
- Need for Toilet facility
- Amount Willing to Spend for Toilet
- Government Policies, Schemes and Benefits
- Availability of Old Age Pension
- Widow Pension
- Assistance to Specially Abled Persons
- Reason behind Not Availing Government Schemes/Benefits
- Involvement with Self-Help Groups (SHGs)
- Summary
- Suggestions and Recommendations
- Improving Transportation Infrastructure
- Enhancing Educational and Healthcare Access
- Water and Sanitation Infrastructure
- Enhancing Awareness and Participation in Government Schemes
- Promoting Community Engagement and Empowerment
- Preserving Traditional and Modern Healthcare Practices
- Epilogue Vegetarianism and Assertion for Scheduled Tribe Inclusion
- Bedagampana as the Only Vegetarian Tribe of India
- Comparison with Other Tribal Communities
- The Case for Granting Scheduled Tribe Status to the Bedagampana Community
- 1. Historical Validation:
- 2. Geographical Isolation:
- 3. Cultural Distinctiveness:
- 4. Lack of Recognition:
- 5. Socio-Economic Backwardness:
- 6. Government Commission Reports and Recommendations:
- Potential Benefits and Implications of Recognition
- 1. Access to Government Schemes and Benefits:
- 2. Economic Development and Employment Opportunities:
- 3. Protection of Land and Forest Rights:
- 4. Preservation of Cultural Heritage:
- 5. Political Representation and Empowerment:
- 6. Improved Infrastructure and Basic Amenities:
- 7. Social Equity and Justice:
- Recommendations and Suggestions
- 1. Formal Recognition as a Scheduled Tribe
- 2. Enhancing Socio-Economic Support
- 3. Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage
- 4. Infrastructure Development
- 5. Political Representation and Empowerment
- 6. Monitoring and Evaluation
- 7. Inter-Governmental and Community Collaboration
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Hunters and the Holy Man
Contents
Chapter 1 Discovering Bedagampana
Chapter 2 Origin, History, and Oralities
Chapter 3 Socio-Economic Conditions and Dietary Practices
Chapter 4 Cultural Practices and Beliefs
Chapter 5 Education, Health, and Infrastructure
Epilogue Vegetarianism and Assertion for Scheduled Tribe Inclusion
Preface
As we move ahead to a world of digitalization and globalization, on the threshold we leave behind many things. It includes our lifestyle, values, societal norms, culture and even our people. Sometimes due to our internal choices, we adopt a different pathway whereas many times external forces push us away towards a cultural change. The book Hunters and the Holy Man: A Saga of Bedagampana Tribe is a narrative of resilient legacy of a tribal group called Bedagampana who over the period of time has loosen their tribal identity due to both internal choices of leaving their primary lifestyle of being hunters and adopting vegetarianism and external elements like cultural assimilation. This tribal society is still in transition where in some aspects of life they have continued their tribal attributes like nature worshipping, a female-oriented society whereas in some other domains, they are now homogenized with their neighboring community of ‘Veerashaiva’.
One of the fundamental factors that has led to their identity loss is the lack of documentation. If we inquire into the existing review of literatures, we find that their existence is comparatively negligible. Hence, this book is an attempt to document their existence, their lifestyle, their way of sustainability and peaceful coexistence with nature, their wandering voices and their persistent struggle for insertion in the Scheduled Tribe category.
This is a story of a hunting tribe who over the period of time became vegetarian. It is a chronicle of indigenous people who exist on ground but are nowhere to be found on the white pages. Similarly, it is a tale of a society who inhabit in dark without electricity, water or road facilities in the mid of a jungle. The work endeavors to bring out the complex threads of their lives to the mainstream world. As they continue to fight for their land, rights and their belongingness, the work is an attempt to preserve their vulnerable identities and culture, give their silenced whispers a voice and rectify the historical injustices.
In this journey of writing this book I would like to thank Shanta Mallikarjuna Swami, the Head Seer of Salur Mutt, Puttanna, a local Bedagampana community leader, K.V. Mahadev, a Bedagampana community priest cum leader for Bedagampana rights, Madaiah, a school teacher, an tribal healer Puttanna and Suresh, a retired teacher of school run by Salur Mutt for their assistance in discovering the past and present of Bedagampana tribe and their demands for a promising future.
I extend my profound wishes to Dr. Nagesh M., Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh, Dr. Debanjana Nag, Faculty Member, Central Tribal University of Andhra Pradesh and Vageesh Kumar Mishra, Research Assistant, Govind Ballabh Pant Social Science Institute, Prayagraj for their contribution in completion of this project.
My profound thanks to Dr. Vaddagere Nagarajaiah, a poet, social activist, and researcher who has helped the work in bringing the cultural and historical background of the Male Mahadeshwara and Bedagampana tribe. His scholarly suggestions based on his field experience have enriched the book.
Details
- Pages
- VIII, 96
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781803748801
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781803748818
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781803748795
- DOI
- 10.3726/b22522
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2024 (December)
- Published
- Chennai, Berlin, Brussels, Lausanne, New York, Oxford. 2024. VII, 104 pp.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG
