Protests by Adivasis are not new to Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. There have been numerous protests against displacement or atrocities by security forces engaged in anti-Maoist operations. On 25 August, however, the city saw a different kind of tribal agitation when hundreds of Adivasis raised their voice against the Catholic Church. They were protesting against what they see as an attempt by the Church to appropriate their indigenous cultural symbols.
At the heart of the controversy is a statue of Mother Mary dressed in a white saree with a red border, wearing bangles and ear studs, and holding Baby Jesus in a child sling — an image that makes the Christian icon resemble the local Adivasi women. The statue was unveiled in May by Ranchi Cardinal P Telesphor Toppo at a parish church in Kumba Toli village in Singhpur tehsil of Ranchi district. The Adivasi protesters allege that the statue hurts their sentiments. And it’s the saree that they find the most offensive.
“The Christian priests use various ploys to bring Adivasis into their fold. There is a conspiracy to destroy the Adivasi culture and way of life,” says Prem Sahi Munda, vice-president of the Adivasi Jan Parishad and one of the leaders of the agitation. “We are Sarna Adivasis who worship Singbonga, a deity representing nature. The Christian missionaries consider our belief system inferior and have always tried to impose their values on us.”
Though Munda also questions the RSS-led Sangh Parivar for trying to portray Adivasis as Hindus, he says he is called an “RSS agent” whenever he speaks out against the imposition of Christian values on the indigenous people or opposes conversion by Christian missionaries.
Another activist and freelance journalist Gladson Dungdung, however, sees the entire episode as silly. “That statue does not invoke the faith that a ‘normal’ statue of Mother Mary would invoke. Nor do I believe that it is cultural appropriation just because she is shown wearing a white saree with a red border,” he says.
In Kumba Toli, the majority of villagers are Munda Adivasis, who see themselves as followers of the animistic Sarna religion. The small number of tribal Christians in their midst are bewildered by the turn of events. “Our Sarna brothers wrongly allege that the Church is trying to appropriate Adivasi culture,” says a local Christian tribal. “We only wished to feel closer to our Adivasi heritage. Mother Mary in Adivasi clothes seems more familiar to us than her traditionally accepted image.”
The parish church in the village was set up only last year. The Christian villagers say they don’t want to be alienated from their Adivasi roots. They allege they are being wrongly accused of trying to convert others to their faith. “Look at the Prabhat Tara School we run in this village. Of the nearly 1,500 students, only 100 are Christians. We are not converting anyone,” says another Christian villager.
Beneath this seemingly isolated incident is a slowly brewing conflict. Activists in Jharkhand claim that there are 32 lakh followers of the indigenous Sarna faith in the state. Christians comprise around 3 percent of Jharkhand’s population.
Most of them are Adivasis whose forefathers embraced Christianity. The Adivasi Christians of the state have always taken pride in not having let their cultures and languages die out as a result of the change in their faith. Over the past five years, however, disturbing fissures have appeared in this syncretism.
“Even though conversions are rare these days, it continues to be an irritant,” says Professor Karma Uraon, an anthropologist from Ranchi University. Uraon believes a large section of the Sarna Adivasis resent the Christians because they feel the latter do not respect their indigenous beliefs and practices.
Activist Dayamani Barla blames the Sangh Parivar for trying to sway the Sarna Adivasis’ minds against the tribal Christians. “There is clearly an attempt to alienate the Christians from their Adivasi identity on one side,” she says. “This has had an impact on the Church as well. In recent times, the Church too has been instructing them not to celebrate Adivasi festivals such as Karam and Sarhul. Dividing Adivasis on religious lines, at a time when our land is being grabbed by corporations at gunpoint, seems like a conspiracy.” Dayamani, a Christian, celebrates Christmas as well as Sarhul and Karam, through which the Adivasis express their gratitude to the forests.
“Adivasis have always upheld the idea of two religions co-existing within the same community. They have fought against State atrocities and displacement together,” says Niranjan Kumar Kujur, a young Adivasi filmmaker. “Breaking this bond helps those who want to take over Adivasi lands and impose their way of life. When Adivasi children join a Hindu-run or a Christian-run school, their beliefs are influenced accordingly. Lessons in tolerance and respect for other faiths are the need of the hour.”
Indeed, the controversy over Mother Mary’s statue underlines the threat that religious divides pose to the Adivasis’ common heritage. Many Adivasi journalists and intellectuals feel there is an urgent need for the community to come together and find ways to reclaim the harmonious, Adivasi way of life.
