WORKSHOP PRESENTATION by Fr. George Joseph

TRIBAL COSMOLOGY – A Dissident Stream in Spirituality

Fr. Dr. George Joseph Thenadikulam SJ


The tribal societies of India have a proud possession of a great and unique tradition and culture. As the carriers of the early civilization there is a very close similarity in the ways and visions of their life. The remarkable relation of Human being with God, Fellow being and Nature and the mutual interdependence prevailing among them can be considered as the basic foundation their philosophical vision of Universe. ‘Nothing alone exits but only as a sequence of the other and we the humans are one and all creatures is one’. This vision paves for the basis of tribal life.

Tribals believe that this universe/cosmos is the creation of God and all are part of the divine force. Since the universe is divine and holy. This belief leads them to be generous and fraternal people. A close examination of myths, festivals and folklore, one can really fathom the depth of their awareness of ad insight into the Cosmos.

The origin myth of Oraons

Oraons live in the Chotanagapur region in Jharkand , Orissa, Chatisgrah. Oraons origin myth has three parts: 1) the origin of the Universe 2) the fall and punishment 3) the deliverance from the fall.

God, ‘Dharmes’ created earth from water. He took the assistance of silly creatures like earth-worm, crab, tortoise and kingfisher. It was earth – worm that brought soil from beneath the ocean. From the soil he created the flora and fauna, the animal kingdom and humans. He provided for them and cared them lavishly. All were equal in front of God.

Slowly the evil-doers popped up. It grew to un assumable quantity and God had no other choice than to shower the rain of fire on earth, resulting the destruction of all living beings. One pair of human being (boy and girl) saved from the wrath of God by taking shelter in a crab’s burrow. As a result of the loss of life on earth the offering to God came to an end and God became hungry. On his way to hunt for food his hounds found the hiding pair in the burrow. God took care of them, taught them the lessons of agriculture. He also taught them the ‘danda kata’ pooja which would serve as a defense from enemies and famine. From this pair originated the Oraons tribe.
From this myth we could comprehend some of the cosmic vision of this tribe.
1. God’s creation of earth could be fulfilled only with the assistance of silly creatures like earth-worm and crab. This gives us a message that every one is important in the creation work and they all do have a role to play.
2. There exist good and evil in the universe. Good deeds lead to welfare and evil one to destruction. The tribe believes in and expects divine intervention when ever necessary.
3. The Oraon community intend to eliminate the evil forces through the ‘danda katta’ pooja . This point to the need of religious rituals in life.
4. All the tribal festivals are connected with agriculture and nature. They celebrate life. On each occasion the ‘pahan’ (poojari) reminds the people of the myth of origin.
5. Each festival is a community celebration. They give importance to society than individuals. The fraternal attitude and feeling remains in them.

Tribal spirituality

Spirituality is a way of seeing, a way of feeling and a way of relating to the reality: the Nature, the Human and the Divine. It is an attitude and a relationship between these three principles. According to Indian tradition there are two inner faculties of perception: manh (mind) and budhi (intellect). Manh objectifies everything and analyze reality. Budhi enters into reality becoming one with the perceiving subject. Manah operates with subject-object polarity (I-THOU). Budhi transcends this polarity. Tribal spirituality comes in the second category. There is no subject-object polarity; no sacred-secular division. All are one and life is a continuum. For tribal culture is a web of relationship: A vision of cosmotheandirc unity. It is the core aspect of tribal spirituality.

In 1854 the Seattle tribal Chief wrote a letter to the president of USA. It is an eye-opener to the so called civilized society on the matters of tribal world view and spirituality. “How can you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do no own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how ca you buy them? Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every clearing and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. … .We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the horse, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the body heat of the pony and man- all belong to the same family.

This we know. The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know; all things are connected like the blood which unites one family. …” (J Mattam,ed. 1998) . It is the tribal vision of life and spirituality; A spirituality which upholds cosmic family spirit. We can name it as Earth spirituality.

Features of tribal spirituality

1. Nature friendly
2. Community centered
3. Celebration of life and love
4. Absence of sacred-secular division
5. It is a spirituality of struggle and resistance; a struggle for survival, a struggle for identity. Eg. Plachimada, Muthanga, Chengara,…
6. It is the spirituality of the masses; people on the periphery


The main stream society holds a negative notion about tribal religion and spirituality. They consider it as one of animistic, pantheistic and superstitious in nature. It is a wrong understanding of tribal religion and spirituality. The researcher’s experience, observations and understanding of tribal spirituality proves the contrary. It is a dissident stream in spirituality which is very much holistic, biological and humane. The main stream society needs a new vision and openness to understand the rationality of tribal spirituality.