The mentioned inspiring lines from the 9 century Tamil poem of Purapporul Venbamaalai by Iyanaarithanaar claims that the indigenous/tribal people of Tamil Nadu have been around for long, say ever since the rocky mountains appeared but before the sand was formed. The comparisons highlight the ancient origin and existence of the Tamil indigenous tribes. The verses of Iyanaarithanaar bring forth the scientific, anthropological and geological significance, thereby proving the illustrious heritage and culture of TamilNadu.
As per the UN, understanding the tribal or indigenous languages is of vital importance to ensure the continuation and transmission of culture, customs and history as part of the heritage and identity of indigenous peoples. It is usually estimated that there are between 6,000 and 7,000 oral languages in the world today. It is ironical and intriguing to know that most of these languages are spoken by very few people, while a handful of them are spoken by an overwhelming majority of the world. About 97% of the world’s population speaks 4% of its languages, while only 3% speaks 96% of them (Bernard 1996). A great majority of these languages are spoken by indigenous peoples, and many (if not most) of them are in danger of becoming extinct.
As highlighted by the United Nations Secretary-General at the opening of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in 2011, “one indigenous language dies every two weeks”. Hence, preservation and transmission of tribal communities’ collective memory and such rich tapestry of tribal past, assumes greater significance in the present context.
The National Conference on Preservation and Promotion of Tribal Cultural Heritage to be conducted by Adi Dravidar and Tribal welfare Department, Government is a pioneering effort of bringing together experts, scholars, and language and cultural enthusiasts to explore the strategies targeted towards the preparation of a repository of methodologies to protect the tribal culture of the state. This conference will provide a great platform and opportunity to revitalize the tribal culture and the languages by examining how the tribal languages can flourish, thrive and adapt in the rapidly evolving socio-cultural milieu of Tamil Nadu.
Tamil Nadu has a vibrant tribal population. It has 37 different tribal communities, of which six communities are particularly vulnerable communities. They have unique expressions and identities in terms of language, art and crafts and lifestyle. Despite Tamil Nadu having a scant tribal population, it is known for its tribal diversity. Some of them are equally inhabited in the plains as well. Most of these tribal groups are primitive in nature. Tribal development is one of the priority goals of governance in Tamil Nadu. The Integrated Tribal Development Programs and Comprehensive Tribal Development Programs are some of the flagship programs that brought tribal development upon the governance radar.
Recently, the Government of Tamil Nadu has announced an ambitious muti-tasked program known as “Tholkudi” meaning “Primitive Society”. Under this new initiative, the government aims for the holistic development of the tribals encompassing the material and cultural aspects of development. Since the material component of development such as livelihood, housing, health and education has been adequately addressed through various schemes and programs, the cultural component of tribal development with special attention to the conservation and promotion of tribal cultural heritage assumes significance.
Indeed, the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003 made it an obligation for every signatory state to conserve and safeguard the intangible cultural heritage. As one of the signatories of the UNESCO Convention, India is bound to safeguard the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of its tribal people.According to the UNESCO, tangible heritage includes buildings and historic places, monuments, artifacts, etc., which are considered worthy of preservation for the future.
These include objects significant to the archaeology, architecture, science or technology of a specific culture. Intangible heritage includes the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated and recognised as part of their cultural heritage by the communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals of a tribe.
Translating the spirit of the UNESCO Convention into viable public policy endeavour is a challenging task. Nevertheless, the Tholkudi program aims to address these challenges by evolving methods and mechanisms for safeguarding the tribal cultural heritage in Tamil Nadu. In this context, the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department of Government of Tamil Nadu plans to convene a national conference on developing a policy framework for preservation and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage of tribes of TamilNadu, particularly the endangered tribal languages.
The scope of the conference revolves around ensuring an informed policy making that entails initiatives covering the following overarching thematic:
- Endangered Tribal Languages and Oral Traditions;
- Teaching and Learning Resources for Endangered Tribal Languages
- Revitalization of Endangered Tribal Languages: New Technologies & New Media
- Documenting and Archiving Endangered Tribal Languages
- Schemes for Preservation and Promotion of Tribal Languages
- Speech Community and Language Safeguarding Practices: The Scheduled Tribes of TamilNadu
The modes of dissemination of information in the conference will be through: Plenary sessions & Delegate sessions
Around 18 delegates will be presenting policy papers in the conference. Most of the delegates are from the fields of Anthropology, Linguistics and Folklore.
How and Why to Preserve More-Than-Language
Safeguarding Tribal Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tamil Nadu
Prof. Sadhana Naithani
Sadhana Naithani is Professor at the Centre of German Studies, and Coordinator of Folklore Unit, JNU, New Delhi. She has been the president of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research (2016-2024) and is a Fellow of the American Folklore Society. She has been awarded Fellowships by the DAAD, the British Council and Fulbright Foundation. She has been a Visiting Professor in Department of Anthropology and Folklore at the University of California, Berkeley in 2007 and 2022-23. She has also been a consultant on several films on folklore, and has made ethnographic films on German villages.
On Suggesting the Policy of Induction of ‘Living Human Treasures’ in the Preservation & Documentation of Tribal Cultural Heritage of Tamil Nadu
Dr. C. Maheswaran
Dr. C. Maheswaran is the former Director of Tribal Research Centre and the former Curator of Department of Museums, Government of Tamil Nadu. He has worked on the indigenous speech varieties of Pachaimalai Malayali Tribes (of Tamil Nadu), Kui-Kandha Tribes (of Odisha), Betta Kuruba Tribes (of Karnataka) and Adiyan Tribes (of Kerala) and published extensively in the fields of Comparative Dravidian, Lexicography, Dialectology and endangerment of indigenous cultures and languages. He was UGC Visiting Fellow ((2016-2017) at the Department of Dravidian & Computational Linguistics, Dravidian University, Kuppam and currently he is the Senior Fellow of ICSSR, New Delhi at the Department of Linguistics, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore.
27th September, 2024
Day 01
Venue: The Westin Chennai
Session – Hall 1
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 02:00 – 4:30 pm | Endangered Tribal Languages and Oral Traditions | Dr. C. Maheswaran, Prof. T. Dharmaraj, Prof. Sadhana Naithani |
Session – Hall 2
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 02:00 – 4:30 pm | Teaching and Learning Resources for Tribal Endangered Languages | Prof. Anvita Abbi, Prof. Sam Mohan Lal, Prof. Minati Pande |
Session – Hall 3
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 02:00 – 4:30 pm | Revitalization of Endangered Languages: New Technologies and New Media | Prof. A. R. D Prasad, Prof. Rajesh Kumar, Thiru. Anand Kanitkar |
28th September, 2024
Day 02
Venue: The Westin Chennai
Session – Hall 1
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Documenting and Archiving Endangered Tribal Languages | Prof. Ramesh Gaur, Dr. M. Muthukumaraswamy, Thiru. Manas Avijit |
Session – Hall 2
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Scheme for Preservation and Promotion of Tribal Languages | Prof. Sujoy Sarkar, Dr. C. R. Sathyananan, Dr. Siddartha Krishnan |
Session – Hall 3
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Speech Community and Language Safeguarding Practices: The Scheduled Tribes of Tamil Nadu | Dr. Tarun Chhabra, Dr. K. Vasamalli, Thiru. Odiyen Lakshmannan |
CONVENER OF THE CONFERENCE
Dr. R. Pavananthi Vembulu
Director, Centre for Social Justice and Equity, MSSW
27.9.2024
154, Hotel – Westin, Velachery Main Rd, TN Police Housing Colony, Velachery, Chennai – 600042
27.9.2024
Cultural Evening Government Museum, Pantheon Rd, Egmore, Chennai – 600008
28.9.2024
Madras School of Social Work, 32, CASA Major Rd, Sulaiman Zackria Avenue, Egmore, Chennai – 600008
27th September, 2024
Day 01
Venue: The Westin Chennai
Session – Hall 1
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 02:00 – 4:30 pm | Endangered Tribal Languages and Oral Traditions | Dr. C. Maheswaran, Prof. T. Dharmaraj, Prof. Sadhana Naithani |
Session – Hall 2
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 02:00 – 4:30 pm | Teaching and Learning Resources for Tribal Endangered Languages | Prof. Anvita Abbi, Prof. Sam Mohan Lal, Prof. Minati Pande |
Session – Hall 3
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 02:00 – 4:30 pm | Revitalization of Endangered Languages: New Technologies and New Media | Prof. A. R. D Prasad, Prof. Rajesh Kumar, Thiru. Anand Kanitkar |
28th September, 2024
Day 02
Venue: The Westin Chennai
Session – Hall 1
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Documenting and Archiving Endangered Tribal Languages | Prof. Ramesh Gaur, Dr. M. Muthukumaraswamy, Thiru. Manas Avijit |
Session – Hall 2
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Scheme for Preservation and Promotion of Tribal Languages | Prof. Sujoy Sarkar, Dr. C. R. Sathyananan, Dr. Siddartha Krishnan |
Session – Hall 3
| Time | Topic | Speakers |
|---|---|---|
| 11:30 am – 1:00 pm | Speech Community and Language Safeguarding Practices: The Scheduled Tribes of Tamil Nadu | Dr. Tarun Chhabra, Dr. K. Vasamalli, Thiru. Odiyen Lakshmannan |
CONVENER OF THE CONFERENCE
Dr. R. Pavananthi Vembulu
Director, Centre for Social Justice and Equity, MSSW
