As a country we Indian love to talk about our rich cultural heritage. But as individuals we have scant regard for our history and ethos. The low footfalls and the dilapidated conditions of our museums stand testimony to this.
The Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum in Bhopal however is a cut above. Located in the tony VIP section of the city at Shyamala Hills, the museum sits unobtrusively till one enters its premises. On an average day, it books around three hundred entries at a cost of Rs 10 per head. It’s a small price to pay considering the immersive journey one undertakes inside the imposing halls that showcase tribal cultures of at least seven major tribes in the state – the Gond, Bheel, Korku, Baiga, Sahariya, Kol and Bhariya – through their crafts.
What sets this gallery apart from the others in the country is the manner in which the exhibits are set up. One doesn’t have to peep through stained and dust dimmed glass panels to examine the artefacts. Here the tribal way of life is celebrated with life size structures where the visitors can move around and inside the huts. The kitchen, courtyard, place of worship, granaries are all as one would find in a real tribal home. The vessels placed in the kitchen, the coir cot in the courtyard, the shelves and planks constructed to hold small articles of utilities all transport the visitor into a land which the urban bred mind may find hard to imagine.
The mystiques of tribal life abound in the various items that are used by them in their daily life and while performing religious rituals. The musical instruments used by tribes also play a significant role during worship. The sculptures that line the courtyards are also a tribute to some god or spiritual energy. One has to understand that for the tribes everything is related to an invisible power. Items of practical use also have supernatural connotations.
The simplicity, the connect with mother nature and the spirituality of the tribes are all showcased through structures that loom from the high ceilings of the museum or from the walls. Some are also mounted on frames that occupy central positions on the floor. The curator and designers have kept the focus on tribal art and how it connects with their culture.
The branches of the huge trees created in the verandahs of the museum have intricately carved tribal motifs. The giant bangle is a representation of the bracelet given to a bride at a tribal wedding. Carved on it are figures of a pair of oxen or farmers standing in a field of crops along with various objects that are used for invoking the supernatural. Most of these artefacts along with cultural symbols hold a deep meaning and have been passed down through generations.
The aesthetically designed gallery exhibiting the traditional games of tribal communities gives a glimpse into the simplicity and innovativeness of the natives and showcases the different ways in which the children engage themselves. The huge banyan tree in the centre of the gallery with artefacts used as toys hanging from the branches gives an earthy effect.
As reverence to the supernatural is deeply embedded in tribal culture, there are areas dedicated to the manner in which tribal communities worship the nature be it the trees, rivers, earth, mountain. The innumerable powers worshipped by tribals have been recreated in the form of terracotta figurines.
The museum provides deep insights into an ancient way of living and is a great source of information for young students and research scholars. If aggressively marketed by the Madhya Pradesh government, the Tribal Museum can be an important destination for not just tourists but also for educational institutions outside Madhya Pradesh. Till that happens I would highly recommend it to tourist and scholars interested in studying different communities.
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