Festivals breathe life into the soul of a community. The colonial aftermath of the indentured labour system continues to be felt by the communities, who left their lands and families in the false hope of getting good wages and returning after a few years of work, which eventually led to their exploitation and erosion of traditional practices and customs. Saora is one of the ancient tribes of India, mentioned in great epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata, and has a rich cultural heritage. Although the Saora community in Assam clubbed under the umbrella term ‘tea tribe’, their festivals, norms, rituals, and beliefs are distinct from other tea garden communities.
OBJECTIVES
1. To identify the factors contributing to changes in the festivals celebrated by the Saora community in Pathalibam Saora village.
2. To examine the impact of migration on the traditional practices and customs in festivals of the Saora community in Dibrugarh over time.
3. To access the impact of acculturation, modernization and globalization on their festivals.
4. To understand the strategies of how Saora people of Pathalibam Saora village are preserving their traditional practices and customs in the context of rapid socio-cultural change.
Ethnographic understanding gives us the opportunity to unfold the tale of the challenges and opportunities of how the Saora people are preserving their cultural identity in migrant land. The study is also interesting as it will seek to reveal whether there came a change in the nature-man-spirit relationship, which is the centrepiece of the traditional Saora festival. The study will be a testament to unravelling the linkage between migration, societal transformation, and cultural adaption, which will aid anthropologists, sociologists and others in preserving and promoting cultural heritage and tradition and mitigating cultural loss.
