My 20 days in the Stone Age

Anil Kumar Satapathy

Dark, dangerous, mysterious, speaking an unknown language, strangely dressed – these are images that come to our mind when we think of Indian aborigines and our filmy-world more than reinstates this impression. However, those 20 days of my life – after Post Graduation – changed my views and perception towards my state Orissa and its people, culture and tribes. After I completed my post graduation, life took me towards this unknown world, where in I was expected to perform my share of social work. Although for a good part of my life, I had lived in rural Orissa, it was God-send to observe the lives of tribals from close quarters. I was mentally blind at that time and, to be frank, unaware of the troubles and challenges that lay ahead. An adventure trip was in store – to be precise! My brief foray in the Stone Age occurred while staying with Juang tribals – who are one of the most primitive tribes in the world - for 20 days as I studied their socio-economic lifestyle. About Juang tribe Juang (which means leaf-wearers, though hardly anybody found in that attire), is a primitive tribe found in the state of Orissa in India. They are found only in two districts – Dhenkanal and Keonjhar, with most of them residing in the latter. The Juangs, who are frail and small in stature, with flat faces, broad noses with wide nostrils, large mouths and thick lips, are very hard working. Their complexion is generally of a reddish-brown colour. Their huts are very distinctive, usually measuring about 6 ft by 8 ft., with very low doorways. Though a lot has been written about their houses having spacious rooms, separate for males and females, it’s not the thumb true. But with the exposure with the outside world this distinctive identity is becoming a thing of past. Now they are building pukka houses too, though that is directly proportional to their income. Contrary to the notion that the Juangs throng on abundance of natural heritage, they confront numerous obstacles while settling down. Even the forest guards are always on the hunt to nail them when found chopping trees for wood (read houses!), and these scapegoats are compelled to do free work. My First Day As I ventured into the region (I was staying in bayakumutia village, about 25Km fom the district headquarter Kenojhar), a picture of a deep, dark forest, with wild-elephants running amok constantly haunted my mind, as this part of Keonjhar is considered to be an elephant zone and cases of man-elephant conflicts are common during the harvesting season. It was about 5.30 in the evening, when I reached the village. I thought a lot about the comfortable hut I would be given to live in. But my dreams were shattered after I found that I had to adjust myself in a hut that was so small that it could accommodate only one person at a time. The entrance to the hut was on a raised platform and about 1 by ½ meter in dimension! I had to climb and then crawl to enter the room. Really, a crouching routine it was daily! I shared the room with non-living beings like four big pudas (container made of paddy for storing rice) of spherical shapes of about one meter diameter, which restricted my movement and left scant space for me to pass the night. I even found it difficult to keep my bag and baggage in that ‘so called’ room. While adjusting my bed I had to keep torch in my mouth to fix the mosquito net, as my host was not in a position to provide even a kerosene lamp. I ate my dinner with the house owner, who was the only person who could spare a room in the whole village and this was also considered the safest abode in the village, as in all other places there was always a lurking fear of attack by the tuskers. After praying to God, I was on the verge of dozing off; when I saw that my mosquito net was surrounded by a fleet of mice. For the rest of the night, I fought a harrowing battle, as I tried to scare them away, besides confronting the other vagary of weather- chilling cold (which was severe in the mud hut with a thatched roof with just two bed sheets and one jacket to shield myself). The next day I woke up at 7 am. For me, by any standard, it was too early, but to my great surprise the village wore a deserted look, as barring some stray dogs, children and some elderly people, the rest had gone to work. It was the same routine thereafter. It took me five-six odd days to adjust according into their routine, by then I had discovered that Juangs were very courteous, generous and frank people. Food habits The food habits of Juangs were primitive, and they hardly consumed a healthy diet. Their breakfast comprised handia (a country made liquor made of rice) or left-over rice of the previous night, which they ate with some salt, green chilies and onion. Surprisingly, it was a luxury because only a few families could afford it everyday. Interestingly, Junags even eat fried kais or red ants (found in trees). In the noon, I saw children eating rice and salt. They generally ate mustard green (i.e. Sarson ka Saag in winters specially) or preferred vegetables grown in their backyard. In a few villages though, children had the privilege of having lentils (dal) and rice in their lunch all thanks to the government run mid-day meal programme. Juang’s dinner was also similar to their lunch. Interesting facts: During my course of stay there, I came across various facts about Juang tribes. Even polysyllable words and a combination of phrases, no matter how may one used, would fall short to explain these naïve, shy tribes, who are still rotting in poverty even after 61 years of independence.

They live in clusters. Each village has typically two to seven clusters wide apart. Each village has a Village Head or Sardar who looks after the interest of the inhabitants. Though they speak their vernacular Juang language, they now have also adopted Oriya after constant exposure to Oriya speaking people. Their language is known as Kolarian. The average monthly income (in that village) ranges from Rs 1000 to 10,000, depending on the land holding and the number of working hands in a family. In few cases the annual income even more than 20-30000, depending on the land holdings and the number of working hands. Juangs still depend a lot on the barter system for food items or for buying clothes and other materials. Handia is not only considered a good diet, but also a source of income. Sometimes, it also attracts some uninvited guests - the tuskers, who after drinking it cause havoc in village. Besides, once they get a taste of it, they become frequent visitors to the same place. To protect their crops from elephants, the Juangs spend the whole night under the open sky in cold winter nights keeping vigil. Child marriage is rampant. Girls as young as 12 also get married. Both love and arranged marriages are allowed. Polygamy is rare. Dowry is limited to cattle and some household items. Hall or ‘Majang’ plays a significant role in Juang society. Here they perform conventional dance, hold meetings, and usually entertain the visiting guests. Their weapons consist of bow and arrow and a primitive sling made of bamboo. They believe in forest god, and offer fowls to the Sun, whenever confronted with trouble. They also worship Earth for a bountiful harvest. They burn their dead and throw the ashes into any running stream. The most sacred oaths a Juang would take are those on an ant-hill or a tiger-skin. Hunting is rare these days, but they mostly go to the forest in search of wild pigs, rabbits, and occasionally deer. They still depend a lot on the shift cultivation – under which they burn a certain part of the Jungle to grow crops. They then shift to another part in the next year, thereby causing harm to the natural wealth of the region. Juangs treat a person suffering from malaria or a lingering fever by pinching them with iron rods believing it would free them from any curse or witchcraft. With industrialists’ entry into the forest areas in search of minerals and iron mines (as Keonjhar has lot of mineral wealth), there is a spurt of employment in the crushers and young people are employed as drivers.