"'In this country, groups which correspond closely to the anthropologists' conception of tribes have lived in long association with communities of an entirely different type. Except in a few areas, it is very difficult to come across communities which retain all their pristine tribal character. In fact, most such tribal groups show in varying degrees elements of continuity with the larger society of India (...) In India hardly any of the tribes exists as a separate society and they have all been absorbed, in varying degrees, into the wider society of India. The on-going process of absorption is not recent but dates back to the most ancient times'. Prof. BĂ©teille had found that 'ethnically speaking, most of the tribes in present-day India share their origins with the neighbouring non-tribal population. India has been a melting-pot of races and ethnic groups, and historians and anthropologists find it difficult to arrange the various distinct cultural, ethnic and linguistic groups in the chronological sequence of their appearance in the sub-continent.'"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Adivasi
56 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Adivasi →
Related Quotes
"Prof. Béteille (...) contrasts the category of caste, slightly reinforced and rigidified under colonial rule but othe…"
"No very strict line can be drawn between Animists and low-class Hindus."
"...the wild jungle tribes in Central India, though the persons who profess the latter stoutly advance a claim to be c…"
"In the case of all other religions there is one main underlying difficulty, namely the difficulty of saying where Hin…"
"The classification 'Animist' has never been satisfactory and it would be much better if it were to disappear altogeth…"
"Fluctuations in the figures of earlier censuses show how much the proper classification of tribal religions has depen…"
"The Hinduism of the Central Provinces is largely tinctured by nature and animal worship... there are usually a number…"
"Again, the problem of determining how far the various religions of India are mutually exclusive and how far they over…"
"Abhas Chatterjee, the Brahmin-born revivalist married to a lady from the Oraon tribe, writes: 'This Sanatana Dharma h…"
"The dividing line between Hinduism and Animism is uncertain"