Impact Of Globalization In Orissa Cultural Studies Essay

In the era of globalization every culture is changing under the spell of it and there is hardly any exception from the respect of this process. Therefore the local became global with the influence of globalization. Culture in one several aspects what is very underline influence by the progression globalization. It has become an essential element in the everyday life of human-being as it creates some specific identity in the realm of society. So culture with the meaningful effect of globalization plays an important role in every society. On the whole men cannot live without culture, so every human-being must be linked with any particular cultural activities. The tribal culture is also a part of the society and it has some particular impact on the notion of culture.

Tribal culture forms an important part of the colorful spectrum of Orissa. Besides, Orissa is the homeland of the largest variety of tribal communities numbering sixty-two, including 13 primitive tribal groups, which are now at various stages of socioeconomic development. They express their cultural identity and distinctiveness in their social organization, language, rituals, festivals including their dresses-ornaments and arts-crafts. Mostly in Orissa the tribes are living in the forest and hilly region. So they are general worshipper of nature and every facet of their life is intimately connected with religious belief, ritual practices, livestock sacrifices and beliefs in supernatural power. It is these aspects of their culture that give solidity to their social structure. With the advent of time, traces of borrowing from Hindu religious ceremonies are noticed among the tribals of Orissa The region of hills and forests which stretches almost across the entire Orissa is home to many tribes. They are the descendants of early inhabitants. They are described as “the children of nature”.

The tribes, despite their poverty and struggle for survival, have tried to retain their rich and varied heritage of colorful dance and music forming integral part of their day today life. It is through the songs and dances the tribes seek to satisfy their inner urge for revealing their soul..Tribal people love natural surroundings, the villages, the hills, streams, the forest, wild flowers and animals. The community life of the tribal people in which almost everything is equally shared is based on the principle of equitable distribution. A tribal never feels lonely or helpless in the vast sea of humanity. There is no question of theft and robbery in their culture.

Unlike the Hindus, the tribes have no caste system. They enjoy equal rights in their social and religious ceremonies. The tribal groups inhabit different ecological and geo-climatic conditions in different concentrations throughout the Orissa and are distinct biological isolates with characteristic cultural and socio-economic background.

The tribes earn their livelihood by hard physical labour and it is a thing of pride and honor for them. With collective cooperation. The tribal are also expert in arts and crafts. They are also expert in beautiful wall paintings and floral designs, which depict geometric designs and stylistic figures of plants and animals. They are master in the art of personal decoration. Thus these are some of the values in tribal culture, which are worth preserving.

As tribes constitute a major segment (21.13% of total population, numbering 81.45 lakhs as per 2001 Census) of Orissa, non-tribal living in close proximity with them for centuries are considerably influenced by tribal traditions and cultures. Both tribes and non-tribes in Orissa are influenced by each other’s lifestyle to a great extent. And probably for this reason Orissa culture is an integrated, composite culture. The supreme God of Hindus, Lord Jagannath, had been the God of primitive tribe, Savaras or Saoras. Half-hewnwooden deities of the adivasis (schedule tribes) have great iconographical similarity with Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra. The tribal society of Orissa has undergone great changes under the impact of new economic and political forces. In the name of development their society and culture should not be distorted or disintegrated. It is the duty and responsibility of the modern civilization to preserve the valuable ingredients of the endangered tribal culture and tradition with all its distinctiveness and purity. It is expected that the Museum of Tribal Arts and Artifacts will have a positive and constructive contribution towards this goal (Mohapatra 2005).

After the impact of globalization the tribal culture has been changed significantly in both the ways positive as well as off-putting. Positively with the impact of globalization the culture became very popular in local level also internationally. Globalization is not mere for the development of technology and the economy. At the same time it stands for an exchange of culture, language, artifacts in the global plane. Therefore the Orissa tribal culture became very popular, because of dance, handicrafts such as, wooden product stone product and some other hand maid product sale in the global market. Some time this cultural artifacts we confronted with in the milieu. Rustom Bharucha is a one of author, he says about how the multiculturalism closely interconnected with intercultural in the global label, [therefore, with the image that catalyzed my thinking of interculturalism as the exchange of cultures across nations. I recall a performance of one of our very many ‘folk’ dance-theatre traditions in India called Chhau from the eastern state of Orissa, which I was seeing for the first time in Calcutta in 1977. Chhau. however, was merely the backdrop for another ‘performance’ that was going on simultaneously in front of the stage. This real-life improvisation was being enacted rather unconsciously by a group of interculturalists from the first world, who were totally absorbed in clicking their cameras throughout the Chhau dance. I remember seeing the backs of these interculturalists, and a very glittering array of cameras, zoom lenses, videos, and projectors, which at that point in time signified for me, at a very visceral level, an image of western technology and power: the power of capital. Today, when I look back on this image, I realise that my first exposure to interculturalism was already refracted insofar as I was seeing at least two things at the same time: the Chhau dance on a makeshift stage, cut by the In a more reflexive mode (Bharucha 1999).

The negative part of the globalization on the tribal culture is that, how the globalization has a great impact on the tribal culture. It clearly shows that, the tribal culture is now in threat, because there is a lot of issues which is openly impact the culture and livelihood of the tribal people. The land has play an important role for the tribal life, it closely linked with the tribal life and culture , livelihood also one of the key issue in the discourse of globalization.

Orissa is a one of the backward regions of the country, therefore the state government adopted globalization for the economic achievement and for which allowed the global market in the state. After this process many MNC and TNCs settled their industries and projects in the hilly and forest region. In Orissa frequently the developmental projects have been establishing in the tribal regions, such as, mining, damn and SEZ. In these developmental projects, the natives are forcefully displace from their land what certainly leads the tribal people has lost their culture and livelihood.

The land, water and forest are prime indispensables for the tribal life, as they are out and out depended on these. Forests land and water not only support the sustenance of one another, but also support the existence of life on earth. It is though the balanced utilization of these vital resources that man is able to lead a healthy and harmonious life. Among the various man-made factors/developments (like mining, industrial use, timber extraction, etc.) responsible for spoiling this harmonious relationship between natural resources and human life, shifting cultivation has been alleged to be a significant one. In its destructive role, it affects land, water and forests in the following ways.

According to The Samaj newspaper report, [Seeds and kendu leaves those had kept the tribal people alive since generations. “When there is no forest where to get forest produces,” when 39, 78,516 mt of sal seeds was produced has dwindled to few hundred tones in 2004. The tribal people dependency on forest is also gradually declining (Mishra 2005).

In the land act there is an apparent provision that in no case the tribal land can be taken away without their approval and concern. The PESA act also hails the tribal culture, land right and their participation in the local governance. Despite of such provisions the tribal culture and livelihood are not protected considerably. Perhaps it will no be out of place to the brink to interrogation the adverse impacts of globalization on innocent tribes; to a certain extent it is diminishing their culture and their life as a whole.