Nature And Indigeneity

Abstract

Nirmal Kumar Mahato’s Sorrow Songs of Woods is a richly textured ethnographic and historical account of the Adivasi or indigenous people of Manbhum. Territorially speaking, Manbhum was a single district in British India, but it currently sprawls across the states of Bihar and West Bengal. Essentially, Mahato provides an environmental history of the Adivasi people by setting up a dialogue of sorts between the official archive and a range of indigenous sources, including myths, oral accounts, and lived experiences. The author is keen to emphasize that his study is a critique of the outsider, uppercaste, and elitist gaze, by stating that he is no stranger to Manbhum and that he speaks for his community. Sorrow Songs of Woods,