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Banan women wearing traditional attire in Margachala, Arthakhand.

Vanavasi is a collective term applied to tribal groups within Satria, particularly within Arthakhand. It refers to Autochthonous peoples who live either as hunter-gatherers or within sedentary communities and who have through intentional or accidental isolation been sheltered from wider Satrian society.

Due to the collective nature of the term, Vanavasi covers a diverse range of different ethnocultural groups. It includes Sataro-Euclean peoples, Purvan peoples, and several other groups including isolated peoples. While Vanavasi populations are present across Satria, their presence is most significant in Arthakhand where they make up 13% of the total population. Vanivasi presence is especially prominent within the states of Margachala, Pattinnarana and Macha Pradesh, where this figure is closer to 30%. Exact numbers of Vanivasi are hard to quantify due to the difficulty with censusing such communities which are often geographically isolated, illiterate, and where there can exist both distrust of outsiders and language barriers.

As a result of their separation from wider Satrian society, Vanivasi groups have developed their own unique cultural and religious practices unlike those practiced by the urban majority. This separation has brought with it issues in the modern era, as the Vanivasi are often perceived as savage peoples and subjected to either forced urbanisation or violence. Much of this has come due to the pressures of agriculture, forestry and mining concerns which have forcibly taken Vanivasi occupied land for economic exploitation. Urbanised Vanivasi also face cultural and economic discrimination.

Name

The name Vanavasi is derived from the Parbhan "vanavāsi" (forest dwellers), a compound of vana meaning forests and vāsin, meaning dweller or inhabitant. The term girijan (mountain people) has also been applied to tribal peoples in hilly our mountainous areas, but has not received the same level of official recognition. During Etrurian rule, the Vanavasi were known as aborigeni (aboriginals), while in Estmerish the term Satrian aborigines was archaically used before the adoption of the term Vanivasi.

The use of the term Vanavasi has received criticism from Vanavasi rights activists and several modern anthropologists as being a product of the pejorative view of such peoples taken both by the colonial administration and post-independence governments, dismissing their rich cultural heritage and labelling them as forest peoples in a way which implies concepts such as "primitiveness" and even savagery. This has led to a promotion of the term aboriginal peoples to describe Vanivasi peoples, which recognises their status as original inhabitants of Satria and is seen to be less negatively charged.

Demographics

Vanavasi distribution map by state, based on the 2019 census. Margachala had the highest percentage at 34.6%, while Nadipatnam was the lowest with 1.7%

There are conflicting numbers of Vanavasi tribes to be officially recognised. Under the categories put in place by the government of Arthakand, there are 56 officially recognised Vanavasi tribes (VT). This figure, however, is rejected by the All-Satrian Aboriginal People's Rally as being too restrictive and ignoring of the self-identification of several tribal subgroups and groups which identify with aboriginal status despite semi or total urbanisation. According to the ASAPR, the number is closer to 100 such tribes in Arthakhand and several in other Satrian states.

Arthakhand is the nation with the highest population of Vanavasi peoples, with 13% of the total population or almost 14 million people. The largest concentration of Vanavasi people is found within the mountainous highlands of Margachala, where populations of Purvan peoples such as the Banan present, as well as Sataro-Euclean peoples such as the Gorboli. Southeast Margachala is home to the Maucho peoples, who speak isolated languages and are believed to have been the original inhabitants of eastern Satria before the arrival of the Purvan peoples.

The east of the country has a higher concentration of Purvan Vanavasi peoples, with all the Vanavasi in Pattinnarana being Purvan. This concentration becomes lower in the north, though Purvan groups are still predominant. In the south of the country, while some Purvan groups are present, most Vanavasi are of Sataro-Euclean descent and speak Sataro-Euclean languages.

History

Origins

The origins of the Vanavasi are varied between the different cutural groups that share the label, but generally can be traced back to the fall of the Sattar Valley Civilisation and first migrations of Sataro-Euclean peoples into the Sattar valley. The SVC, which is generally believed to have been genetically related to the modern Purvan peoples, is believed to have collapsed as a result of both environmental factors such as drought and manmade factors such as warfare. While other proto-Purvan civilisations are attested, this breakdown of the large urbanised culture is believed to have precipitated a regression in much of Satria to hunter-gatherer and nomadic-pastoralist lifestyles. When Sataro-Euclean peoples arrived around 1800 BCE, they would settle by conquest as well as assimilation and form new settlements within Satria. Other groups were also present in the area during this period.

Ancient Satria

The migration of nomadic Sataro-Euclean warrior-aristocracies from modern day Zorasan brought with it a new social structure and belief system, Bhaga. The Vanavasi remained relatively separate from this belief system, living in isolated areas and rarely interacting with the new states. When they did, it usually came in the form of warfare, with subjugated Vanavasi people typically occupying a low rank within society. The emergence of Ashrama as a religious movement in opposition replaced Bhaga as the dominant belief system, bringing with it the ideas of Jati. Under the criterion of Jati, the Vanavasi were initially regarded as being second-tier beings as they were not in a state of formal bondage. This theological classification allowed the Vanavasi to be left alone for much of the Ashramic period, and facilitated the emergence of Vanavasi statelets which often coexisted with the dominions of Ashramic rulers. While the Vanavasi often practiced communal land ownership and lived within more egalitarian societies than the urbanised Satrians, in some areas Vanavasi aristocracies were present. Some such states, such as Tiduakkanan in modern day Madhya Pradesh, even counted among their dominon non-Vanavasi subjects.

Medieval Satria

An Aditha king and his army in a procession, from a mural in Ujarkot Fort.

The rise of the Sangma dynasty as a central, if loose, political authority over the majority of Satria brought several challenges to the Vanavasi. In many areas, the local Vanavasi rulers were forced to swear alliegance to the Sangma dynasty or their local Thakur. Despite this, the Sangma made few forays into the day to day lives of the Vanavasi, who were simply seen to be benign and not worth the effort that would be required to directly conquer them. Several tribes, such as the Tadvi of southeast Arthakhand, were renowned as warriors and scouts and provided mercenaries to serve within the armies of the Sangma. However, the Sangma era also saw several attempts at proselytism among the Vanavasi by both Ashrama and Tulyata missionaries, who sought to spread their faith. An example of this is that of Mahaguru Dubu Bai, a Vanavasi Mahaguru who led the conversion of his tribe to Ashrama around 100 CE.

As Sangma authority was weakened by the succession of civil wars, some Ashramised Vanavasi sought to improve their tribe's status to that of a Thakurate as opposed to being deemed as outsiders. This was especially important in the light of Jati, which recognised the aristocracy of Thakurates and other landed states to be higher in caste than those of the Vanavasi tribes. In order to gain this prestige, a Vanavasi chief would invite Ashrama clergy to his court, where they would help establish the trappings of a Thakurate and then, if this process were successful, declare the chief to be part of a more noble chain of reincarnation and change his recognised caste status. This process, referred to as Adigathakura, was responsible for the creation of a significant number of smaller states, as well as a warrior caste in its own right. This situation remained constant during the periods which succeeded the Sangma dynasty, such as the Arthakhand Confederacy and Togoti Khaganate.

Colonial period

Eugenio Passariello, the governor associated with the preservation of Vanavasi culture.

The advent of colonial rule did not immediately affect the livelihoods of the Vanavasi, with the policies of apathetic, laissez-faire rule of the Arthakhand Confederacy being more or less preserved. The Vanavasi were seen as a sort of exotic fascination to many of the colonists, who elevated them to an almost fantastic status with stories of egalitarian jungle paradises and beautiful warrior princesses. This attitude, which was in many ways a polar opposite to the stance taken towards fetishist Bahians during the colonial period, was likely a product of several factors such as the comparatively small numbers of Vanavasi and their attitude of isolation as opposed to resistance. The lower prevalence of violent rituals has also been blamed, with the idea of peaceful, tree-worshipping silvans appealing to the romantic sensibilities of much of the colonial administration. Despite this, clashes between Vanavasi and the colonial administration did occur and were occasionally highly violent, such as the Banjara massacre which saw the slaughter of a Gorboli tribe over their control of iron deposits. Some Vanavasi were recruited into the colonial armies, serving primarily as scouts and messengers.

An important figure in the colonial period for his defence of Vanavasi rights was Governor Eugenio Passariello, the second governor of colonial Arthakhand. Passariello was a liberal, and his staunchly Catholic upbringing led him to value missionary efforts. The Vanavasi were seen to be more open to missionary work, given their comparative lack of established religion. Passariello, who held the position of governor from 1865 until his death in 1887, set a precedence for non-intervention within Vanavasi affairs aside from religious missionary work and is often credited with preserving their culture in a way few other colonial governors did. Passariello was also influential for his personal interest in the discipline of anthropology which was still a fledgling academic field. Several anthropological studies were conducted, with Giovenzio D'Intino's Strutture politiche e sociali degli Aborigeni satriani being considered among the founding texts which defined ethnography as a tool of research.

After independence

Members of the Indigenous Self-Determination Army stand at attention, 1952.

The Vanavasi of Purvasima were negatively affected during the First Satrian War, with the indiscriminate nature of the conflict resulting in large numbers of casualties. This was compounded by the intense militarisation of the Arthakhand-Ajahadya border, which was made possible in part by the forced movement of large numbers of Vanavasi from their traditional homes to prefabricated settlements within secured zones. The People's Democratic Congress-led government saw the development of Arthakhand's poorer rural areas as a major goal of its government, and viewed the Vanavasi as a potential impediment to this process. Under the Basic Agricultural Land Law of 1950, land was alloted to single title deed holders. This effectively undermined the traditional common ownership of land practiced by the Vanavasi and centralised land ownership among tribal leaders. While this was effectively ignored by some tribal leaders, many were convinced by vague promises to sell their lands to industrialists who then evicted the Vanavasi. This was combined with the Rural Schooling Law which effectively banned instruction in non-recognised languages and mandated all Arthakhandis received schooling. These policies were both highly destructive to the traditional societies of the Vanavasi.

In late 1951, following several ignored petitions by Vanavasi activists against the government's legislative moves, the Vanavasi turned to more violent resistance. The Indigenous Self-Determination Army was founded, a loose coalition of local Vanavasi militias who gained arms from Ajahadya and the Association of Emerging Socialist Economies and conducted attacks on Arthakhandi military and governmental targets. It was notorious for its attacks on rural schools, which were seen as symbols of the attack upon Vanavasi identity, and for the assassination and kidnapping for ransom of several prominent industrialists. The Arthakhandi government responded harshly, intensifying its military efforts as well as legislative restrictions upon the Vanavasi. The 1956 census did not provide options for Vanavasi identification, and gave no recognition to tribal religions or languages. However, by 1958, tensions with Ajahadya had risen to the extent that Arthakhand could no longer pursue an internal conflict due to the threat of a conventional war. A peace agreement was signed with the ISDA, which repealed the Basic Agricultural Land Law and Rural Schooling Law and promised the establishment of a Vanavasi Land Claims Court to sort out historical grievances.

Despite this accord, tensions between the two groups remains. The Vanavasi Land Claims Court is only able to make non-binding suggestions to the Arthakhandi government, and many claims are outstanding. Vanavasi still face discrimination on an official level, while forced evictions of Vanavasi tribes are still common occurences. An example of this was the 1973 Ci'am expulsion, where the Ci'am tribe were pushed from their land with support from state forces in order to support a logging concern. In 2011, Arthakhand saw the Vanavasi Language March, where over 100,000 Vanavasi marched in the capital city Nadipatnam to push for the recognition of Vanavasi languages as regional languages. A bill to put this in place was proposed and accepted by the government, but has still not been formally enacted with the government blaming the "administrative difficulties of designating Vanavasi languages".

Religion

Sarna grove worshippers in Margachala

The Vanavasi follow a diverse range of religions, ranging from traditional pre-Bhagic systems of worship to folk Ashram, Irfan and Sotirianity. Many of the traditional Vanavasi belief systems are highly unique in their geographic setting, lacking concepts such as reincarnation as seen in the vast majority of Satrian faiths. The majority of Vanavasi faiths are classified by anthropologists as forms of animism, centering on the presence of nature spirits which inhabit geographic localities and which are believed to be able to influence the material world. Many of these belief systems have been widely documented by anthropological studies, such as the practice of Sarna worship, which revolves around the appeasement of forest spirits called Daha paoco in order to ward off bad luck. One of the more established Vanavasi faiths is that of Kadawism, which is believed to be descended from the traditional faith of the Purvan peoples with substantial influence from Ashrama, though several academics have theorised that the relationship could have been more mutual with Purvan beliefs influencing the development of Ashrama. Kadawists believe in reincarnation, but also incoroprate distinctly animist methods of worship.

The Vanavasi have often been subjected to efforts to force conversion, as well as pacifistic missionary efforts. Under the Sangma dynasty, there are numerous records of entire tribes of Vanavasi being converted to Tulyata or Ashrama by saints, while the presence of Irfan among the some northern Vanavasi groups reveals that this faith too made inroads in some areas. During the period of Euclean rule, significant efforts were made to convert the Vanavasi to Sotirianity with mixed successes. These missionary projects were especially successful in Auttamasaripa, where the majority of the Vanavasi peoples follow the Episemialist Church due to missionary efforts operating out of Soravian Kassar. In the modern day, Charismatic Amendist movements maintain missionary efforts, as well as several Ashramic and Irfanic groups.

Modern issues

Economic deprivation

A Vanavasi woman making breakfast. Many Vanavasi live off very staple diets due to poverty.

Vanavasi communities conventionally operate under an economic model centred upon subsistence agriculture, with limited trading with outside communities in order to acquire staples such as salt and metal tools in return for artesan items and fruits. This economic model has remained constant for centuries, but is threatened in the modern era by the expansion of industry into forested areas which has led to habitat destruction and ecological imbalances. This disrupts the food chain in such areas, making hunting less feasible. The destruction of forests has also affected agriculture, forcing many traditional methods to be abandoned. Advances in farming technology have helped some Vanavasi communities, but the cost of technology like tractors is still prohibitively expensive for many tribal communities. Land purchases and siezures have been especially destructive to Vanavasi communities, as many have been forced to leave their traditional lands and seek refuge either in new areas or even in more urbanised rural settings. Amidst this, many Vanavasi men have decided to move to the cities and take up manual labour positions in order to secure a wage and support their communities this way. Such workers often face discrimination and are underpaid, and as they are predominantly illiterate they are unable to contest their working conditions. The growth of tourism in Satria following detente between Ajahadya and its neighbours has resulted in the growth of demand for artesian Vanavasi craftworks and art, which has given some Vanavasi communities a new source of revenue.

The Vanavasi face economic deprivation according to all published metrics used to measure economic success. In the 2019 census, 53% of Vanavasi households were classified as being in the lowest income bracket, as opposed to roughly 8% of non-tribal households. While such indicators are low across rural communities in general, the Vanavasi face greater levels of discrimination and are often significantly poorer than other rural communities. For example, as most Vanavasi do not have complete identification papers it can be hard for them to gain access to food stamps or other government welfare programs aimed at tackling rural poverty. Vanavasi households are very large, meaning that parents have more mouths to feed and resources are more stretched. Due to educational issues, very few Vanavasi are able to seek high-paying employment, leading to a lack of precedence and so-called generational poverty.

Education

A protest at a Vanavasi school in Machadesh. Low funding and poor resources in such schools are a source of tension.

Vanavasi face many issues pertaining to unequal access to education. As Vanavasi communities are mainly located in isolated, rural areas, it can be hard to find teachers willing to take up such placements. This means that many Vanavasi communities are forced to provide their own teachers, many of whom have not received long term formal education themselves. While the Rural Schooling Law was repealed in 1958, it resulted in a breach of trust between many Vanavasi and the state education system. Its replacement, the Tribal School Provisioning Bill, mandated the construction of new schools in rural areas which would allow Vanavasi to learn Samundrese and gain basic literacy and numeracy skills, while also permitting instruction in their tribal languages. This policy struggled due to the lack of teachers who spoke tribal languages, as the vast majority of those who had left their communities and attended public schooling did not wish to return to their old villages and were employed in new industries. This resulted in a recruitment drive for teachers, as well as promises of grants to teachers who learnt tribal languages and worked in tribal areas. While this improved the situation somewhat, the Tribal Schools still suffered from chronic underfunding and teacher shortages. Several scandals surrounding sexual assault and physical abuse in government schools increased the lack of engagement by Vanavasi communities, with many withholding their children.

The election of the Alternative for Democracy government in the early 2000s saw the first major policy moves to improve the situation in tribal schools for almost 40 years, as the government consulted with the Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and local tribal elders in order to determine an approach which could help rectify the issues. A major issue which these leaders raised was fears that government schools would lead to an erosion of the traditional cultural practices and lead to a destruction of Vanavasi identity. What was instituted was a community-driven educational model wherein traditional knowledges would be taught alongside conventional subjects such as mathematics and geography. Despite this initiative, which was accompanied by a significant increase in funding for rural and tribal schools, Vanavasi are still disadvantaged in the educational sector. School attendance rates for Vanavasi between the ages of 5 and 12 are estimated to be 63%, counting community-run village schools, with attendance dropping off significantly at older ages. For example, only 3% of Vanavasi attend university, and even here the drop-out rate is high. This has led to high rates of illiteracy, with only 52% of Vanavasi males being functionally literate. The rate is even lower among females, who face added obstacles to schooling such as child marriage and domestic responsibilities.

Healthcare

A mobile health unit in Pattinnarana, one of the initiatives aimed at tackling healthcare inequalities.

Healthcare statistics among Vanavasi are consistently poor. The average lifespan for Vanavasi males is 63 years, which is ten years less than the same figure for the average Arthakhandi male. For females, the average lifespan is 66 years, which is nine years lower than the average. Vanavasi also suffer far higher rates of infant mortality at birth, as well as sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI), and from higher mortality rates for preventable diseases such as influenza. These issues predominantly stem from a drastic lack in medical care in tribal areas. Only two hospitals are operational in Vanavasi-dominated rural areas, and these both suffer from underfunding and lacks of even basic medical supplies. Most Vanavasi must seek out help in urban hospitals, which is often a difficult task due to the remote nature of their settlements. There is a significant lack of medical practitioners who are able to speak tribal languages, which further complicates matters and makes descriptions of symptoms worse. Even among people of Vanavasi descent in urban areas, those with Vanavasi last names often found themselves passed over in waitlists for medical procedures. Inability to access medicines is another key issue, with widely available anti-malaria pills being unavailable in Vanavasi areas. Female menstrual products are also unheard of, as well as contraceptives which have resulted in some Vanavasi areas having higher prevalences of HIV than the general population.

In response to this issue, the 2003 Alternative for Democracy government put in place several measures. It offered to pay the tuition of medical students who volunteered to learn a tribal language and spend at least three years in a rural community, as well as lowering the threshholds for entrance into medical programs for students of a Vanavasi background and offering more scholarships to such groups. A significant change was the introduction of the Mobile Health Response Group (MHRG), mobile healthcare clinics which are able to move around rural areas in order to treat Vanavasi patients. Vaccination campaigns were also instituted, aiming to eradicate diseases such as smallpox and polio which still caused several deaths each year. There have also been efforts to provide basic first aid training and a basic understanding of diseases and sanitary practices, with the goal of lowering the spread of illnesses within tribal populations.

Political disenfranchisement

Punai Cumakhari, leader of the Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. She is often called "the mother of Vanavasi activism".

One of the most significant barriers to political solutions to the problems faced by the Vanavasi in Arthakhand has been the lack of Vanavasi interaction with the political system. The roots of this issue date back to the colonial era, as the Etrurian administration under Eugenio Passariello sought to insulate the Vanavasi from urban society in order to protect their traditional way of life which was seen to be remniscent of paradise and unspoilt by modernity. Following independence, the Democratic People's Congress saw the traditional livelihoods of the Vanavasi as being barriers to the group's development and pushed for a devaluation and decline in Vanavasi identity. Many Vanavasi, especially those who had moved to urban areas and gained an education, opposed this initiative and were inspired by far left politics. Fearing the development of an indigenous far-left movement, especially in light of the Indigenous Self-Determination Army's resistance against land purchases, the Arthakhandi government put in place policies which would serve to limit Vanavasi participation in elections and thereby lower their chances of resisting policies which negatively affected them. Many of these policies, such as requiring complete identification papers when voting, are still in place today.

A mass sit-in as part of the 2011 Vanavasi Language March.

In the modern era, Vanavasi political engagement is still highly limited. While voting turnout differs from state to state, the overall percentage of Vanavasi of voting age who voted is estimated to be around 40%. For most Vanavasi, the most significant barriers to electoral participation come through ineligibility, as many Vanavasi lack the necessary official documents to legally vote, and through physical incapacity due to the lack of voting booths in many rural areas. Another key difficulty is in political awareness, as most Vanavasi in isolated areas have little access to news from outside and are therefore uninformed on political issues. This, coupled with the negative policies of the DPC, has led to a strong sense of political loyalty, with most Vanavasi voters voting in favour of the Arthakhandi Section of the Worker's Internationale. Several smaller parties centred upon Vanavasi minority have run with varying success in local elections, and are significantly represented in the regional legislature of Machadesh where they typically gain between 10% and 20% of the vote.

Vanavasi have often resorted to extra-parliamentary methods of political expression in order to gain results. While armed uprisings such as the Indigenous Self-Determination Army Insurgency in the 1950s and ongoing Karatakemi Insurgency waged by the Landless People's Revolutionary Movement represent a more violent version of this, there have been significant non-violent protests against discrimination and rural economic projects. These include sitins, hunger strikes, and the famous Vanavasi Language March which saw hundreds of thousands of participants. Such mass actions also serve to gain the attention of non-Vanavasi people, who are often unaware of the plight of Vanavasi in rural areas as the media often overlooks discrimination against tribal peoples or even villianises them in support of industrial interests.