Looking at the photos from ‘Humans of Gondwana’ is just a split-second capture of a diversely colourful lifestyles of the Gondwana, a tribal community in central India. Chhattisgarh-based journalists Ramesh Kasa, Shatali Shedmake and Harshit Charles, made this project a reality, having brought a three-day exhibition of numerous works to Lamakaan — timed well with August being a month of awareness around indigenous peoples.
With their following of Koyapunem , a nature-oriented religion, it is easy to see the earth-revering characteristics of their lifestyles.
The epicentre areas for these tribes are the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. Northern Telangana, western Odisha and southern Uttar Pradesh are also homelands for the Gonds— essentially deep into jungles and away from urban disruptions, the beauty of these settings can be seen by perusing the photographs.
Inspired by Humans of New York, this project presents a focus on a universe away from the city life, complete with personalised captions from the subjects photographed.
Particularly eye-catching is one of an old woman who got Chulha and Sikka tattoos for the neck and forehead at the age of five and seven. The photo is mesmerising as it reflects a tradition that stood for a long time but not any more. Her determined gaze is unrelenting and there’s a strength about this which is quite evocative. The caption for the image adds, “After my marriage, I continued to tattoo on my both hands, legs, back and the neck covering almost the full body. I paid seven rupees to get the neck tattoo, which we call Sikka . There are very few girls with tattoo over the neck. But the passion of neck tattooing has vanished now.”
Festivals and other celebratory occasions are covered by Humans of Gondwana. One image captures the proud stance of a dancer of Koku Dhola ; it features a feathered bison horns headpiece, a Dhola drum, foot bellsand a coloured gown.
A profound legacy
The exhibition not only shows their lifestyle; it also serves as a collective and cohesive expression of the will of tribal peoples in a fast developing India.
The founding of the Gondwana Praja Party in 2014 was established for the restoration and protection of their heritage lands in central India. Its founding member Heera Singh Markam is the only member of Parliament from this party.
The simplicity of their happiness and the gravity of the Gond people’s troubles encourages us to take a second look at own lives and how we see the predicaments of other groups.
One success story is of the Dongria Khond tribe and how they resisted the Vedanta mining company to protect the Niyamgiri hill, their deity in Odisha state.
Issues of displacement and lack of resources are just a few of the many trials and tribulations indigenous peoples go through on a day-to-day basis— and how they respond with a shining resilience is something everyone around the world can learn.
Check out ‘Humans on Gondwana’ on Facebook.
