Tigers, Tiger Spirits and Were-tigers in Tribal Orissa

Authors

  • Stefano Beggiora University of Venice Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v7i1-3.93

Keywords:

environment, Kondhs, Orissa, Religion and Nature, ritual, shamanism, theriomorphism, tribal culture

Abstract

In the last years, several tiger sightings have been reported in rural areas of Orissa, in both villages and market towns. According to local rangers, such an anomalous behaviour is due to an unprecedented growth of the tiger's population, and the consequent need for more territory. Conversely, local indigenous populations (adivasi) look at the strange conduct of these animals as a manifestation of the presence of the spirits of the jungle. Alternatively, this is believed to be a peculiar phenomenon of therianthropy, that is, a metamorphosis in which a human animal takes the form of big cat (Oriya: palta bagha). In this article I will discuss were-tigers and rituals to counter such transformations among the Kondhs. On the one hand, I will explore how colonial literature reported incidents of therianthropy in Orissa and how such phenomena were dealt with. On the other, I will present and discuss my own ethnographies of were-tigers, a field of research I engaged with in the last 12 years in Orissa. The analysis of the presence of the tiger and the ways it interacts with the religion and culture of the Kondhs reveal previously unexplored areas of inquiry. The tiger is the symbol and essence of nature but it also represents its power. As such, it is dynamic, chaotic and creative. By assuming a divine form, the tiger becomes the Goddess, and thus serves as a point of contact for further explorations of Eastern Saktism, tribal culture and variegated patterns of popular Hindu folklore.

Author Biography

  • Stefano Beggiora, University of Venice

    Stefano Beggiora is lecturer in Contemporary History of India in the Department of Asian and Mediterranean African Studies at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Italy), where he received his Ph.D. in 2006. Dr Beggiora specialises in South-Asian shamanism and has published several articles and book chapters on Indian ādivāsī (Saoras, Kondhs and Apa Tanis) with particular emphasis on colonial history, laws for the safeguarding of Scheduled Tribes and Castes and the contemporary history of political movements of India. After completing a postdoctoral research project funded by the European Social Fund, he published a book on Indian Economics: India e Nordest: il mercato del terzo Millennio (Venezia: Cafoscarina, 2009). Dr Beggiora is author of Sonum: Spiriti della Giungla. Lo Sciamanismo delle Tribù Saora dell’Orissa (FrancoAngeli, 2003), Sacrifici umani e guerriglia nell’India Britannica (Itinera Progetti, 2010) and many ethnographic documentaries. He is currently working on a book on the transformation of tribal religious life as a result of globalisation and the growth of India’s economic power.

References

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Published

2013-10-08

Issue

Section

Second Tantra: Conflict, Ethics, Environment

How to Cite

Beggiora, S. (2013). Tigers, Tiger Spirits and Were-tigers in Tribal Orissa. Religions of South Asia, 7(1-3), 93-107. https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v7i1-3.93