The present study carried out at Kandhmal district of Odisha which was once famous for human sacrifice to appease darni-the earth deity; in fact in the name of such sacrifice chiefly female infanticide was practised by the Kandh and Pano community which was known as merriah. The present empirical study at the hilly-forest terrain of Kandhamal among the Pano or Kui Domanga community, categorized as Scheduled Caste-the stigma of untouchability has been imposed without any valid reason. Earlier the Pano was categorized as Hill Tribe and till our investigation all the tribal characteristics are very much evident among them; the cultural attributes are also equally practised and applicable to their immediate and inalienable neighbour -the Kandh, who is Scheduled Tribe. The inclusion and exclusion of a community largely depending on birth, descent and kinship which are examined in the treatise. The present treatise will highlight their myth, distinct belief system, customary laws, the concept of purity and pollution nullified in view of their participation in most sacred and important ritual activities-kedu laka or buffalo sacrifice instead of earlier human sacrifice, to appease earth deity-the darni. The indigenous cultural roots of Pano or Kui Domanga also speaks about the claim of and inclusion of them as Scheduled Tribe like the Kandh. The administrators, planners and concerned officials of NGOs will get an insight view of social reality which will enable them in refining their approach of understanding the problem and also may extend their endorsement in favour of Scheduled Tribe status.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ajit K Danda
Prof. Ajit K. Danda, FNASc, (Born 1936), is a Ph.D. from Cornell University (U.S.A.) and former Director, Anthropological Survey of India. He held many important positions in various academic institutions and research organizations in this country and abroad. He has diverse areas of research specialization in cultural anthropology viz. tribal economy, peasant transformations, ethnicity and development, research methodology etc. he served in many important committees/commissions constituted by the state and central government.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Amitabha Sarkar
Dr. Amitabha Sarkar has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Calcutta University. His valuable empirical research in the arena of anthropology is ethnography, primitive art, culture change with special emphasis on the impact of industrialization and cultural ecology. Dr. Sarkar has published two books – Toto: Society and Change, and Dhodia: Industrialisation and Change in a Primitive Community. About twenty-six research papers have appeared so far in various leading scientific journals. He was nominated by the American Biographical Institute, Inc. U.S.A. and is a recipient of the Man of the Year, 1994, an international diploma of Cultural Honor and the 20th Century Achievement award. He joined the Anthropological Survey of India in 1977 and is serving as the Anthropologist and Head of the Department at the Anthropological Survey of India in Jagdalpur, Bastar (Madhya Pradesh).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Samira Dasgupta
Dr. (Mrs.) Samira Dasgupta (b. 1953) is a research personnel in the Cultural Anthropology Division of Anthropological Survey of India. She obtained her B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Anthropology from the University of Calcutta. Her special interest is to study tribal ethnography, culture ecology and culture change in which these tribal people face a bi-cultural situation. She has till now completed several research projects from Anthropological Survey of India, Calcutta and submitted the reports to the office ad carried out extensive field work in the Chotanagpur plateau of Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and also in various remote and isolated pockets of Bastar districts of M.P. She has also authored a book Birijia: Society and Contributor of articles and research papers to reputed journals and at this moment she has published about twenty three research papers in her credit. Dr. (Mrs. Dasgupta has joined the Anthropological Survey of India in 1977 and presently posted at it’s Sub-Regional Centre, Jagdalpur, Bastar (M.P.)
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