Pictorial epitaphs of the Bison Horn Maria
Jagdalpur in Bastar houses what is cited as India’s best anthropological museum that charts out histories and lives of the various tribes in the area.
In reality, it’s another missed opportunity. While the museum itself is fascinating, there are no guides to talk about the displays. The guard, when asked, remarked disinterestedly “Just read the descriptions.”
Sudha and I began to do this unhappily, but then we got lucky. We suddenly heard someone start explaining some details in English, and rushed to see someone explain about the region in detail to a foreigner couple. We checked if we could join, and he drew us in with a friendly gesture.
Awesh Ali later told us that he had spent over 7 years in the area, often living with the tribes in their homes. He’s listed as a guide on Lonely Planet, and has a firsthand account of various tribes.
Of the many tribes in the area, the Bison Horn Maria were the most interesting, at least for us. The tribesmen wear an elaborate headgear with, you guessed it, bison horns, that gives them the name.
They are famous for their Red Ant chutney made from grinding eggs of red ants that they have with rice and meat along with a local brew called mahua. We saw a few of the tribesmen in Jagdalpur city where they played their traditional drums.
The Bison Horn Maria build small memorials for their dead. Earlier, these were like totem poles carved from wood, but later ones had pictures on them. The memorials dot the highway; we stopped at a few while driving around to take some photos.
An interesting memorial was a four-sided structure, painted with various scenes from the deceased man’s life, his wishes and local talismans. One side was painted with fish, with a merman and mermaid in between. Another depicted a harvest festival. A third side showed scenes from his life, including his visiting the city and seeing a bus & car. A fourth showed other scenes, including a helicopter he had once seen, a local goddess mounted on an elephant and more.
Awesh told us that there were other tribes far removed from civilizations that had their own codes of honour. For instance, it was not uncivil for a stranger to the village to point at a woman’s breasts, or even touch them, as it indicated he was hungry and he wanted milk. However, it was forbidden for him to touch her shoulder, as it was a place reserved for her husband.
Another interesting practice for the Bison Horn Maria involved housing all young adults from the age of puberty in a single hut called ghotul, males and females alike. They believed that it helped them learn more about their bodies and of the opposite sex, and the youngsters learnt how to be respectful by observing the elder teenagers.
The anthropological museum has a cluster of huts depicting local life, and one of them has a large mural on a mud wall showing a festival. Various elements are painted into the scene, including a helicopter as well as a couple of local goddesses. It also has a god dangling upside down called Ulta Bhairav, mostly an early form of Shiva. Most tribal gods/goddesses were animistic, and grew from their close relationship with nature. Shiva, or early forms, were worshipped: He was an ascetic, lived amongst animals, wore bark and animal hides and his followers smoked local hemp and drank toddy. Shiva was also closely associated with fertility and regeneration.
Learning about these tribes makes one wonder about the numerous unwritten codes we believe essential for our own societies. Various others have formed their own, and while we may see these as primitive, they might see many of our codes as weird.
