A PREFATORY NOTE ON THE CULTURAL ECOLOGY OF MAL PAHARIYAS OF JHARKHAND

Cultural ecology, which appears to be a new phrase, has been used to refer to the nature of human adaptations that people have developed with their ‘social and physical environments’ (Charles O. Frake 1962). The adaptations that have been conceptualized as being associated with biological and cultural processes are considered inevitable as they enable the population enough to live successfully in their given and changing environmental settings (David Joralemon, 2010). As cultural ecology provides opportunities for understanding the adaptation processes of communities both diachronically as well as synchronically, in this study, it has been used as a methodological framework/perspective for exploring the socio-cultural life of the Mal Pahariyas of Jharkhand concerning their social and physical adaptations. In other words, this study looks at the role of (their) natural environment in the construction and contemplation of their social organizations and overall collective behaviours. However, this study also pays attention to the limitation in the relationship between the Mal Pahariyas and their natural environment because the relationship that seems to be eternal depends entirely on the nature and level of the livelihood dependency of the people on their environment. Therefore, it can be understood that, for many of the indigenous and tribal communities, their association with the environment enables their survivability through its vital role that resulted in the establishment of a strong reciprocal relationship between the people and their natural environment and beyond. as studies on the reciprocal relationships between the indigenous and tribal communities and their environment are scarce, particularly in the context of Jharkhand, and the Mal Pahariyas, to be specific, a research proposal entitled “A Study on the Cultural Ecological Knowledge of the Mal Pahariyas of Jharkhand" had been submitted to the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) for consideration for financial support and subsequently, the project proposal had received funding for its implementation with effect from February 15, 2024. Therefore, the aim of this note on the cultural ecology of the Mal Pahariyas of Jharkhand is to give an outline of the ongoing project and also to do an indicative role of the whole research programme, which promises many academic things as outcomes at its successful completion of the first year.