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![Introduction 3
Beyond this theoretical framework, the imperialist enterprise is, in practice, based
on arguments that give colonization a concrete content. If the argument of the “civi-
lizing mission” is one of the main ones that has served as the Trojan horse of the colo-
nial enterprise, its disqualification by several critics is confirmed by its implemen-
tation in the colonized territories. The economic motives of the colonial enterprise,”
writes Albert Memmi, “are today brought to light by all historians of colonization.
No one believes any longer in the cultural and moral mission, even the original one,
of the colonizer” (Memmi, 1973). Confirming the rejection of this main motive,
Aimé Césaire proposes a definition of colonization that underlines the motivations
underlying the colonial enterprise: “What in principle is colonization? To agree on
what it is not; neither evangelization, nor philanthropic enterprise, nor willingness
to push back the frontiers of ignorance, disease, tyranny, nor enlargement of God,
nor extension of Law; to admit once and for all without will to stumble at the conse-
quences, that the decisive gesture here is of the adventurer and the pirate, of the great
grocer and the shipowner, of the gold-seeker and the merchant, of the appetite and
the strength, with, behind it, the evil shadow cast by a form of civilization which, at
some point in its history, finds itself obliged, internally, to extend the competition of
its antagonistic economies on a global scale” (Césaire, 1955).
The imperialist aims described by these authors are, to cite only the case of French
imperialism, systematized by “doctrinaires du fait colonial” whose important role
in the colonial process gave it “its letters of nobility,” according to Julie d’Adurain
(D’Andurain, 2017). This role was notably not only that of setting the theoretical
framework for efficiently achieving the imperial objectives, but also, at the same
time, that of laying the foundations for the restructuring, the upheaval of the world
of the colonized. An overview of the doctrinal references of French colonization
is proposed by Xavier Yacono, in his book on the History of French Colonization
(1973). The colonial doctrine, which he states is not “unique” but refers to “three
currents of ideas,” is summarized in three words: “exploitation, assimilation, associa-
tion” (Yacono, 1973, p. 53). “Exploitation is the conception of the business world and
is expressed in particular by Jules Ferry’s description of colonization as a means of
placing capital; assimilation: There is no longer any question of ethnic assimilation,
but one speaks of political and administrative assimilation, of “love of the common
homeland,” and some dream of transforming all the colonies, including Black Africa,
into French departments”; “Association might seem a middle way [to compensate]
for the impossibility of assimilating different races” (Yacono, 1973, 53–54). Putting
into perspective, nowadays, the consequences of such ideological conceptions on
colonized societies and the colonized themselves have provoked reflection on the
question of the response and resilience of indigenous societies. Indeed, colonization
was the occasion of the upheaval of the colonial society in its most essential compo-
nents. It called into question the worldview of the colonized to impose on them
a system to which they had to try to adapt. Xavier Yacono lists a certain number
of factors that constitute the barometers of the appreciation of the restructuring of
the world of the colonized. In his book, he describes the “transformations of the
indigenous world” in terms of “revolution”: “demographic revolution,” “economic](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-29-2048.jpg)
![Introduction 5
evolution of relations between colonizers and colonized. The racialist hierarchy insti-
tuted by the masters of empires was shaken and even subverted: white nations called
on nations of color to fight other white nations” (Brocheux et al., 2012). This reality
constitutes one of the aspects of the long process that led to political decolonization,
which was to be enshrined in ‘Resolution 1514 of the UN General Assembly of
December 20, 1960. (Brocheux et al., 2012). “[This] Declaration on the Granting of
Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples […] is at the origin of the creation in
1961 of the Decolonization Committee” (Brocheux et al., 2012). Although (political)
decolonization has been effective for decades, there is still the question of whether
decolonization in other sectors of the life of the former colonies has taken place in a
clear and assumed manner, both by the former colonizers and the former colonized.
It seems difficult to respond in the affirmative, especially concerning the cultural
domain. According to Betts, “That bomb [colonization] caused cultural destruction,
the annihilation of a people’s culture through the imposition of the colonial power’s
cultural system. The mind had to be decolonized as well. Such was the thought of
Ngũgı̃ (1986), well expressed in the eponymous title of his small but provocative
book Decolonizing the mind.” (Betts, 2012). This last analysis on decolonization is
particularly interesting for our reflection on the response and resilience of indigenous
societies. These concepts will, in fact, constitute a kind of means of evaluating this
decolonization while transcending it in order to reflect on the ways and means to
complete or at least advance the process of decolonization of former colonies.
The historical events previously analyzed are at the origin of the emergence of a
current of thought that applies to the analysis of the consequences of colonization.
This current is named postcolonialism. This concept, evoked by the subject of our
book by the reference to the “postcolonial world,” also deserves to be considered.
The term “postcolonial” used in the title can refer to the idea of a chronology as well
as to that of a logic (in this second case, its most recurrent spelling is “postcolonial,”
in one word). Thus, the work is based as much on the idea of the “aftermath” of
colonization as on that of postcolonization. Thus, the texts of postcolonial theorists
prove to be essential reference points for approaching the question of the answer
and the resilience of indigenous societies. From Edward Saïd to Bill Ashcroft et al.,
Homi Bhabha, Achille Mbembe, to name but a few, the postcolonial current will
irrigate the analysis of these concepts and their application to concrete situations.
The concepts of response and resilience, although semantically divergent, refer to
a common reality: that of a backlash, a reaction. The specificity of the first, however,
is based on the idea of positioning, of self-affirmation that it implies. The response
of indigenous societies (or former colonies) to their colonial history can, thus, be
achieved through deconstruction, in the mode of postcolonial thought. For example,
it is a question for these peoples of questioning the entire founding discourse of
colonial imperialism, which aimed to disqualify and inferiorize the colonized in
order to achieve imperial designs. The answer supposes not only deconstructing
the colonialist ideology, but also opposing this discourse of the time with concrete
evidence of its inconsistency. It can be expressed, in particular, by the approach of
these indigenous societies to take an active part in the dynamics of the contemporary
world, to take its place by affirming its specificities which are not fixed, but which](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-31-2048.jpg)
![The numerous conscriptions levied since the Russians entered the
Principalities have taken away not only the worthless slaves but the very
flower of the estates, and great was the dissatisfaction even openly expressed
by the proprietors: “Notre Empereur se trouvera en face de son peuple,” said
one of them; from which an inference may be drawn. On all sides universal
disapprobation was heard; but they were careful not to lay the blame on the
Czar, so their anger was vented on the English and Lord Palmerston, whom
they still persisted in saying was the prime mover of all, and on whom, of
course, their own government was glad to throw the odium. It was not
known, nor would it be believed when affirmed, that the Allied Powers had
caused the rights of the Christians to be recognised in Turkey; and even when
the “Confidential Correspondence” was published, they actually, with the
Emperor’s letter before them, declared that the whole was a forgery and a
tissue of falsehoods.[25] In consequence all their hatred, anger, and fanaticism
were roused against the English as abettors of infidels and downright liars;
their monarch was a martyr, and the English his persecutors. At last, when
they could no longer shut their eyes entirely to the truth, the upper classes
said that they supposed the Emperor wished to acquire the surname of Great,
and that he was willing to become the admiration of future ages and be
spoken of by posterity. If the latter reason be a true one, there is every
probability that his expectations will be realized, only in a manner rather
contrary to what he desired. Perhaps the illusion concerning the wonderful
power of Russia will be further dispelled when they have been enlightened by
a few flashes of the cannon of the Allies, and have been made to feel that of
France and England, for as yet scarcely any of them are acquainted with the
resources of the two countries, thanks to their education and the government
books of instruction. They are truly like people walking in darkness, and are
now moved like chessmen anywhere that the player pleases.
One morning I went to call on a lady, and as usual the parties present were
railing at the English. At last I asked my friend why they did not say
something about the French as well. Her answer was naïve enough: “Oh, we
don’t mind them; but I believe they talk about the English so much because
they fear them the most. Our people you know,” she continued, “are
accustomed to think of the former as a nation they have vanquished, but they
were not prepared to see your countrymen in the light of enemies, the two
countries have been so many centuries friends.” Certainly the communication
with England has existed from time immemorial; even in the remotest ages
commerce was carried on between the two countries, although it was only
established in the reign of Ivan IV.; and it may be remembered by the reader
of Russian history that the daughter of Harold the Unfortunate married a](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-57-2048.jpg)
![Russian prince.[26] I remember a gentleman near Orenburg informing me
that, in digging among the ruins of an ancient Tartar city near his residence,
fragments of English pottery were frequently turned up, yet the very name of
the town had disappeared and was forgotten. An English gentleman in
Moscow once showed me a gold coin, half the size of a fourpenny-piece, of
Ethelred, or Ethelbert, I am not sure which, that had been dug up or found
near the lake of Ladoga, and, as he supposed, had been dropped there by
some British merchant on his way to the fair of Nisny Novogorod, which has
been annually held at that place for centuries beyond record, and was in
former ages the grand emporium of Europe and Asia, whither merchants of
both continents repaired to exchange the manufactures and produce of each.
It is still held in the month of July, and lasts six weeks, and is also still
resorted to by dealers from most of the nations of Europe to purchase
cashmere shawls, &c. I was once very near the place during the time of the
fair, but, as it is not considered “comme il faut” for a lady to be seen there, I
did not visit it. It is the grand market for tea, which is brought thither by the
Chinese to exchange for Russian money. Formerly the Russians gave their
own manufactures of cloth instead of paying in coin for the chests of tea, but
I was assured that their speculations on that head had been entirely ruined by
themselves; “for,” said my informant, “with true Muscovite dishonesty they,
finding that the Chinese did not unroll the bundles of cloth, hit upon the
ingenious plan of making the first few arsheens of good quality, and the
remainder of the veriest rubbish: the unsuspecting Celestials took them as
usual without much examination at the word of the western merchants, and
carried them back to China, the Russian cheats meanwhile laughing in their
sleeve to think how they had taken them in. But they were severely punished
the next year, and have been ever since, for the Chinese tea-dealers were not
to be duped a second time; they attended the fair with their well-packed
chests, but obstinately refused to receive anything but silver money in
payment; so the Russians, who had prepared a vast quantity of cloth, were
obliged to carry it all back again; and as the people cannot do without tea,
they were forced to purchase it for ready cash, and bear the loss as they best
could.” Any one that knows the Russian character and their want of foresight
will have no difficulty in recognising this anecdote as a true trait of the
national mind.
In London we may walk through every street, and, from any indication we
see of the fact, we should never guess that the nation was at war with
anybody. It was far different in St. Petersburg when I left it; there not only
every street but every house gave some intimation of the struggle in which
they are engaged: trade was almost at a stand-still; scarcely any of the shops](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-58-2048.jpg)
![come, who would bless the hands that had dealt chastisement to a tyrant,
and had shown an example that would be felt to the end of time.” He finished
by presenting me with a copy of the imperial proclamation concerning the
miraculous preservation of Odessa, which he laughingly bade me keep as a
precious document, one of the most wonderful productions of the age, and a
most astonishing proof of the extent it was possible to lie in the face of
Heaven. I believe that, although I had been acquainted with the family seven
or eight years, my friend would not have dared to speak so freely, had he not
been aware that the next day I was to leave Russia probably for ever.
Whether my friend’s ideas be just or not, I cannot tell; but how can we
expect that a blessing will be on a city, every stone of whose foundations was
laid at the cost of a human life?[27] The Russians themselves have ever had a
foreboding that St. Petersburg will not long exist, and that evil will befal it.
Perhaps they feel that the myriads whose clay has long ere this mingled with
the morasses into which they were thrown, still cry for vengeance unto
Heaven, and that they will be heard at last.
When I was on the road to Warsaw, I saw the large army that Russia was
sending through Poland to the south and the Principalities; as nearly as I
could calculate there were about sixty thousand men, chiefly infantry of the
line, in three divisions, perhaps at the distance of fifty versts apart. It was not
without a feeling of sincere compassion that I gazed on the poor people’s
faces, and thought how few, how very few, of all those would ever return
again. One division of many thousands was bivouacked on the plains à la belle
étoile; most of them were fast asleep on the bare ground, their arms piled up
near them, with sentinels guarding different points; videttes were stationed at
a distance, looking in their dark coats like bronze statues, with the twilight sky
in the background. Here and there were watch-fires, with a few soldiers
sitting around; scores of ammunition-waggons and gun-carriages were at a
little distance further on, with men standing under arms, and the horses
grazing on the scanty grass of the fields close by. I came up with the second
division early on the next morning; the soldiers were all marching merrily
along to the voices of those in the van of each regiment, who were singing
the war-song of the Russian army; and they really seemed, in the excitement
of the moment, to have forgotten the scanty rations and infamous treatment
they receive, and for which they are compensated by the munificent pay of
nine shillings per annum! I remarked that the officers were dressed precisely
the same as the privates; a small piece of twisted gold lace, from the neck to
the shoulder, was the only distinguishing mark by which they were known.
The reason of their being so attired was because so many had been shot by](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-62-2048.jpg)
![late, that a short anecdote in his favour will, I hope, prove an agreeable
change. During the performance of some military evolution the Czar
despatched a young aide-de-camp to an old general with a particular order.
Whether the officer was confused, or timid, I do not know, but he gave an
exactly contrary one to that which he had received. The astonishment of his
Imperial Majesty may well be imagined when he perceived that the grandest
movement of the day was entirely defeated by some unforeseen stratagem of
the general’s. The Emperor is naturally très emporté; indeed I have heard that
he is subject to fits of ungovernable rage, similar to those that Peter I. was so
frequently attacked with, and, as may be supposed, his anger was unbounded
on this occasion thus to be humiliated in the face of all the officers. He
commanded the general to his presence, and before the crowd of military
there present he called him “Durak!”[28] The venerable old warrior drew back;
his grey hairs were insulted, and his veteran experience called in question; the
angry flush mounted to his brow, but, remembering that it was the voice of
the sovereign that had dared to utter such a term, he made a martial salute
and was silent; but, complaining of sudden indisposition, he was allowed to
retire. The review was nearly over, so the Emperor returned to the palace.
Early the next morning the young aide-de-camp presented himself, and
earnestly begged an audience of his Majesty. On its being accorded, he in the
most frank and manly manner confessed the error of which he had been
guilty, and, expressing sincere regret, entreated that he might be degraded
from his rank, or suffer any punishment, rather than his venerated general
should be thus disgraced. The Emperor heard his account in silence, and on
its termination bade him return to his barracks and report himself under an
arrest. What reparation could now be made by a Czar to the old man whom
he had thus insulted? To the astonishment of the military, another review was
ordered to take place, at which the same regiments were to attend; and when
the whole were assembled, the Emperor, calling the veteran general to his
side, made a public apology for his late conduct, embraced him, and, kissing
him on each cheek, presented him with a star which he himself had worn. I
heard some call this a theatrical representation; I do not believe it was so:
why should the Autocrat of all the Russias not have the credit of possessing
noble sentiments in common with any other gentleman, though he be the
enemy of our country, and though his heart be proud and ambitious? The
young aide-de-camp was not disgraced; indeed, the action redounded so
much to his honour that he became an especial favourite.
After the grand review of which I have before spoken, the troops left the
ground by different routes, and in half an hour the Champ de Mars was as](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-66-2048.jpg)
![although past sixty, commencing in a fine tenor; after him sang the
eldest son, and then the eldest daughter, and so on. The words,
which are really beautiful, were partly composed by Voss; other
verses had been added by the singers themselves. They began by
thanking God for the renewal of another great division of time,
expressed delight that so many were thus joyously assembled, with
hopes for the welfare of those far away: but in the midst of their
rejoicings they affectingly referred to the dead, who were sleeping in
solitude, wrapped in their cold and silent graves, and whose place on
earth was no more seen; and much emotion was excited by the
following verses:—
“Wer weiss, wie mancher modert
Ums Jahr, gesenkt in’s Grab!
Unangemeldet fodert
Der Tod die Menschen ab.
Trotz lauem Frühlingswetter
Wehn oft verwelkte Blätter.
Wer von uns nachbleibt, wünscht dem Freund
Im stillen Grabe Ruh, und weint.”[29]
Tears fell fast from many an eye as each gazed round that circle of
friends and relatives, and all seemed to dread that some beloved
face would be missing ere another New-Year’s Eve found them there
assembled; they were scarcely dried ere the two concluding lines
echoed cheerfully through the hall—
“Wohlauf, und: Gut seyn immerdar
Sey unser Wunsch zum neuen Jahr.”[30]
And then the grand chorus of thanksgiving was sung in gratitude
to Heaven for the hope of an eternal re-union hereafter.
As soon as the New-Year’s hymn had been sung, the sons and
daughters embraced the aged mother and father, and then the
grandchildren came forward to do the same; after them the other](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-74-2048.jpg)
![relatives, according to their proximity of relationship, and finally the
friends who had been invited. Champagne was then handed round;
universal congratulations and affectionate embraces followed, after
which a merry supper restored the gaiety and cheerfulness of the
whole party.
Although I have mentioned the general character which the
Germans bear among the Russians, it must not be concluded
therefrom that they are not very frequently most estimable people;
indeed many of them merit the utmost respect and admiration. It
must be borne in mind that the lower class in Russia hold all
foreigners in detestation, and the Germanic race more than any
other. Until the present war broke out, all strangers to their country
were designated by them “Germans,”[31] for the petty distinctions of
French, English, and so on, were not known to the half-barbarous
serfs; they only knew that they were not Russians, and concluded
therefore that they came from Germany. Now all other nations of
Europe are swallowed up in the designation of English, which at
present is a word of hateful import to them, as our country-people
are held up as the most to be feared and detested.
The French people, as well as the English, live in societies quite
distinct from either the Germans or the Russians; but the French,
being more liked in company, and considered more agreeable, from
their gay and lively temperament, associate much more with the
Russians, who take them as the established model for bon genre
and politeness: their language also is as much used in society as it is
in France, for everybody speaks it; so that, in making friends and
acquaintances, our neighbours get on a great deal better than we
do. Among the Russians the English were certainly greatly respected
by the upper classes, and were perhaps (if it be possible for the
lower classes to like any foreigner) preferred by them, especially in
matters of business.
There are many Italians and Greeks established in the country;
the latter visit a great deal at the houses of the nobility, their
common religion being a bond of union between them. There are](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-75-2048.jpg)
![his authority, held in the most estimation by them; they never
approached its shores without fear and trembling, and they drank of
its waters with awe, as if by so doing they profaned the sacred
stream. Lomonosof, the author, even asserts that the Russian name
for God (Bog) is identical with its designation.
The great attachment of the people to the pictures of their saints,
on which the rich, especially of the merchant class, lavish immense
sums, may be traced to the domestic gods of their ancestors, which
were called Domovi Doukhi, or house-protectors, the Lares and
Penates of the Slaves.[32] In every wealthy shopkeeper’s best
apartment there is a place assigned for the patron saints of the
family, generally in the corner, in which is fixed a closet with a glass
door, entirely filled with them; their settings are very costly,
generally of silver, gold, and precious stones. Every shop possesses
at least one image, and in the piazzas of the Gostinoi Dwor there are
large portraits of the Virgin suspended, before which lamps are
continually kept burning. In the nobility’s houses the saints’ images
are usually placed in the sleeping-room.
The Russians say that on St. Elias’s day it always thunders, which
they religiously believe is caused by the rumbling of his chariot-
wheels among the clouds; as according to their account the saint
takes a drive in heaven on his name’s day. Undoubtedly this
superstition must have been derived from the worship of Peroun, the
Sclavonic Jupiter, which was formerly celebrated on the day now set
apart for the above saint. The form of this idol was almost identical
with that of the classic deity, and, like the Olympian Jove, he held
lightning in his hand and announced his will in thunders. His statue
had a silver head, moustaches and ears of gold, and feet of iron.
Before it a sacred fire was ever burning, which if the priests
neglected they would have been put to death. The profane
representations of the Godhead remarked in a preceding chapter
seem to be merely that of Peroun; the only difference is, that in the
former the figure holds a triangle in his hand instead of lightning.
The heathenish rite mentioned in a preceding chapter, as being](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/28540712-250514154125-1daf59e6/75/Indigenous-Societies-In-The-Postcolonial-World-Responses-And-Resilience-Through-Global-Perspectives-Bina-Sengar-79-2048.jpg)
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- 5. Bina Sengar A. MiaElise Adjoumani Editors Indigenous Societies in the Post-colonial World Responses and Resilience Through Global Perspectives
- 6. Indigenous Societies inthe Post-colonial World
- 8. Bina Sengar ·A. Mia Elise Adjoumani Editors Indigenous Societies in the Post-colonial World Responses and Resilience Through Global Perspectives
- 9. Editors Bina Sengar Department ofHistory and Ancient Indian Culture School of Social Sciences Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University Aurangabad, India A. Mia Elise Adjoumani Department of French Language and Literature Felix Houphouet-Boigny University Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire ISBN 978-981-19-8721-2 ISBN 978-981-19-8722-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8722-9 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore
- 10. This book isdedicated to all the ecological and indigenous communities of world which are nurturing their ancestral knowledge and wisdom with positive resilience for future. Special dedication to Grandpa Larry Sellers, Grandpa Ron Thiry and Grandma Linda Thiry, Uncle Arvind Singh Sengar our Native American/Indian relatives from Oklahoma and India, as they travelled to the ancestral lands while making of this book.
- 11. Foreword This book conveysthe liveliness of the expanding indigenous movement worldwide. It displays the intellectual insights as well as the social accomplishments of the growing collaboration of indigenous peoples. While the indigenous movement itself is too widespread and too diverse to be compressed into a single book, this volume is remarkably successful in documenting the dimensions of indigenous thinking and action. The editors, based in South Asia and West Africa, have gathered impressive analyses of recent social and conceptual advances. The chapters reveal how indige- nous peoples have arisen, in the postcolonial era from the 1970s, reclaiming their recognition, identity, legal status, and political status. Yet the same chapters lay out the serious challenges of continued oppression, neglect, and growing environmental crisis. Thethemeofresiliencestandsoutineachofthechapters—theresilienceofindige- nous peoples, their ways of life, and the innovations by which they defend themselves. Examples include the reaffirmation of identity and environmental nurture for the Seminole, Osage, and people of coastal Ecuador in the Americas; for the Bundelk- hand, Kalasha, and Jungle Mahal peoples in Asia; and the struggle against disease in southern Africa. Resilience arises from more than a single strength in identity. Rather, resilience is an umbrella that provides space for tracing many issues, many perspectives, and their interactions. The approach of indigenous thinking explores several factors at once—it requires overcoming the narrow, positivistic study of one factor at a time. Indigenous identity goes beyond ethnicity, linking multiple levels of human existence, while ecology ranges from local nurture of land and waters to a global concern for the mishandling of the Earth’s resources. Culture and knowledge are not only inherited from the past but expanded in new studies and exchanges, at home, in public gatherings, and in universities. The timeframe of indigenous resilience takes the form of several overlapping periods. The current period—the postcolonial era—centers on the past fifty years of indigenous activism. Indigenous activists have already reshaped the world in polit- ical representation, education, and the growing call for reparations. In this compli- cated postcolonial time, the energies of indigenous peoples must contend with the conflicting influences of former colonial powers, global economic concentration, vii
- 12. viii Foreword and thenew hegemonic powers of national governments. Yet the earlier times remain important to understanding indigenous life. The Indigenous people of today must also hold on to memories of greater autonomy in their precolonial past, before the brutal timeofcolonization.Theymustrevisitthecolonialera,whetheranindigenoussociety experienced colonization for one century or four, as a time of dispossession, loss of land, massacres of populations, and denial of indigenous identity. Colonialism then collapsed into the calamitous warfare of World War II, which brought decolonization through national movements that created over a hundred new nations. Decoloniza- tion brought the hope that colonialism was disappearing, but the shadow of past imperial domination still limited the peoples seeking self-determination. Even more, new directions of capitalist expansion brought environmental degradation and finan- cial consolidation along with decolonization. Still, it was only with the postcolonial era that indigenous movements gained the strength and unity to insist that nations recognize the distinctive communities within their borders. In a remarkable reversal, indigenous peoples began to reverse their marginalization in important ways, such as the formal role of the Arctic peoples in the intergovernmental Arctic Council. Yet indigenous activists have had to struggle against those who oppose toleration within nations, oppressing and expelling communities, as with the expulsion of Rohingya from Myanmar. This is the complex character of the postcolonial era: It is dominated on one side by hegemonic forces and exploited through imperial knowledge; yet on another side, it is a time of reaffirmation and emergence of indigenous thought and identities of all formerly colonized peoples, relying both on their heritage and on new ideas for how to make the Earth livable. The chapters of this book trace the resilience of indigenous societies, not only across these successive time periods but also through three main topical concen- trations—socio-political recognition, identity at multiple levels, and interaction of humans with the Earth through its lands and waters. In struggles for recognition, the peoples of Bundelkhand, a large and forested region south of the Ganges valley, lost much of their land and were divided into two administrative units by the British conquest of the late 18th century. To this day, they call for reunification and recogni- tion of their identity, in a story that is parallel to many others. The Osage people, who inhabited the Ohio River Valley, lost a long but vigorous fight against invaders from the USA and were deported to Oklahoma. Today, they are noted through a ballet troupe that celebrates at once their militancy and their current distinctive partic- ipation in the larger national culture. In a contemporary case, an analysis of the national flags of Central Asian nations shows an application of indigenous thinking: In their revised national symbols, these peoples emphasize local and forward-looking forward images rather than look back to imperial or macro-religious hegemonies. The second section of the book shows that indigenous identity extends to levels beyond ethnicity and nation. Co-editor Mia Elise Adjoumani summarizes the long debate on the “invention” of Africa by colonial powers and then draws on indige- nous outlooks to point toward a postcolonial “reinvention” of the continent by African peoples. Anjali Gavali extends this argument, calling on the peoples of Africa and the African diaspora to adopt an indigenous identity for the future. The reinvention of culture is displayed in the realistic and imaginary writings in African literature
- 13. Foreword ix and alsoby marking identity through the bodies of individual women. The third and largest section of the book focuses on the fundamental concerns of ecology. In a geographical study of biodiversity, physical geography, and human ecology, two studies explore regions of Maharashtra, one focusing on fluctuations in rain- fall and the other on comparison of multiple factors in two distinctive zones. Other studies provide details on the handling of lands among the Seminoles, the balance of ecology and economy along the Pacific littoral of Ecuador, and long-term community survival in the three valleys of Kalasha. Even through Spanish-language proverbs about maize, indigenous Mexicans reaffirm their ancestral knowledge. The chapters of this section on ecological change, when combined with those on issues in identity and the achievement of recognition of indigenous communities, convey a sense of the energy that must be expended to sustain indigenous movements and their alliances. The formal study of indigenous societies takes place at once in community orga- nizations and in universities. “Triangulation,” a term developed in detail by co-editor Bina Sengar, reaches in several directions. It reaches back to the complexity of indige- nous thinking in earlier times and then reformulates those ideas to express indige- nous perspectives on the world of today. Such thinking must grapple with scholarship from imperial communities even as it seeks to amplify the knowledge of indigenous communities. In this encounter, scholars find that the term “indigeneity” tends to reflect a colonial view of indigenous stasis, while the term “triangulation” conveys an active process of analysis. In another terminological step, the term “Adivasi” is coming to embrace all of the peoples of India who have otherwise been known as indigenous or tribal; proponents of Adivasi identity rely on analytical triangulation to explore their unity. Readers will find that this remarkable volume holds chapters that are substan- tial, innovative, and pathbreaking, clarifying the challenges that continue to face indigenous societies, yet also reflecting the growing strength and influence of indige- nous social movements, as they protect their homelands and provide leadership in safeguarding the Earth as a whole. Patrick Manning Emeritus Mellon Professor of World History University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, USA
- 14. Preface Working on thisbook on indigeneity was a journey in itself. As now I write the preface for this edited volume, I could fondly and sometimes with endurance remember several pathways which are taken, and which came across while working through it. We all are living in the historic years of the human history with the COVID-19 around. The pandemic taught us several lessons and prompted us to introspect the way we understand our cultures and identities. While myself along with my co-editor Mr. Elise were working through the collected essay, we also endured the pain of the pandemic-related crisis. The manuscript had to take different meandering paths as we lost some of our dear ones during this writing process. Some of the contrib- utors who were there could not contribute because COVID did not allowed them to pursue further the task. With recurrent perusal and our determination alas, we could bring together some of the excellent authors and scholars to contribute for the collected essays on the pressing issues of indigeneity. The passage of writing book of course does not occur overnight; the idea and its various connected thoughts evolved over a long period of time. My travels and studies through different places of indigenous communities of India, South Asia, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Amer- icas introduced me to problematic of identity, dissensions, and discourses on indi- geneity issues. The neoliberal globalized world at one instance has connected the entire world and mobilized several cultural identities to come together and interact through different platforms of digital media, market systems, virtual popular media, and scholarly networks. At the same time, it has also prompted several dissenting views on the universality of these platforms. The connected world is equally discon- nected through its diversity and assertion for self-identities. Even though we all are similar in our academic and cultural spaces in the globalized world of similar mate- rial life systems, yet we state our dissimilarities and raise voice and space for equity through our expressions. We as diverse identities, which we define as indigeneity in collective in decolonizing world, are seeking equity in representation. Representa- tion is asserted by the indigenous ecological communities in their own ecological spaces, global cultural, political and scholarly spaces. The identities which eventu- ally arise from our ancestry and knowledge systems are manifested through our land and its cultures. With the enforced global homogenization, resilience is happening xi
- 15. xii Preface and proclaimingthe diversity. The diversity is the identifier that our regional local identitieswillresurrectalwaystomakeusunderstandthat“Specificityleadstouniver- sality.” With these expressions of indigeneity which we experienced while working through writing of this book, we brought together with us our scholarly friends and colleagues. All the contributing authors in the volume are sealessly working on their respective spaces for the enlivening and strengthening of the indigenous identities. Significant credit for writing of this book goes to Fulbright USA and India Alliance Grant which received during 2018–2019, as it gave me opportunity to work as a scholar in USA and connect with dedicated scholars in their respec- tive fields. In December 2018, during one of the Fulbright scholars meet in Raleigh, North Carolina, I met co-editors of the book Prof. Elise and Prof. Miguel where we could discuss the nuances and complication within the ideas of plurality and their global acceptance. Thereafter, we retained our communications and connected other scholars also. While exploring the world of Native American cultures through reservations and nations in the South and Central midlands of USA, I visited the very famous Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas and got the opportunity to meet Prof. Jimmy Beason. Member of the Osage tribe of Oklahoma himself, he has brought into both scholarly and popular mediums of expressions representation of native voices. As visiting scholar of Fulbright, I was affiliated to Florida Interna- tional University, Miami, which enabled me to connect widely with scholars from Caribbean, Native American, and African American cultures. Professor Michelle Grant Murray who is performing arts faculty with Miami Dade College not only contributed a significant chapter in the collections of the essay of this book, but we also shared several thoughtful discussions while making of this book. To bring together indigeneity aspects from diverse spaces, especially our approach was to bring together voices from every continent; thus, Prof. Elise and her colleague Prof. Troh empowered us with the voices of African indigeneity and gender resilience from Western parts of Africa. Roche Myburgh brought current theme of pandemic and indigeneity from South Africa; Anjali Gavali gave us perspectives from Indian and African American discourse; essays by Sengar and Koreti discussed the theo- retical aspects of Indigeneity in Indian and global perspectives. Special attention in the microregions of indigeneity came up with writings of Sengar and Illyas, Bhat- tacharya, Vidya and Kisan Algur, Sanjay Swarnkaar, Miguel Reyes, Nirmal Mahato, Saima Siddiqui, and Vanessa Leon where they all explained through their empirical studies the patterns of resilience in the indigenous ecological spaces. Sincere thanks to Prof. Dennis Weidman my mentor and invitee for the Fulbright in Florida Interna- tional University, Miami. My yearlong stay in Miami and consistent discussions with him and colleagues in universities, especially with community members of Micco- sukee and Seminole community Betty Osceola an indigenous rights activist, Samuel Tommie, Montana Cypress, and many more gave me broader perspectives about the global indigenous issues for which I would further like to thank Maria Luisa Veisaga special friend and constant support, an indigenous herself from Latin American and presently director of Andean studies in FIU who brought several perspectives to my thoughts and encouraged me always with my thought process on indigeneity. The work could also take a suitable scholarly shape because of our consistent discussions
- 16. Preface xiii with differentscholars who are expert in the field of indigeneity and gave us consis- tent insights to improve our textual drafts for which we give special thanks to Prof. Heather Goodall as she went through drafts of the manuscript and gave her valuable insights to improve. We also received critical viewpoints from Prof. Dinizulu Gene Tinnie and Prof. Wallis Tinnie, which significantly helped us to improve our drafts. Comments and discussions were with Guy Attewell, Neil Hockey, Prof. Louis Obou, Dr. Klohinwele Koné, Prof. Dominique Traoré, Prof. Deepak Kumar, Prof. Shuja Shakir, Ranbir Singh Phogat ji, Dhruv, Prof. Tink Tinker, Prof. Lee Hester, Prof. Mushtaq Kaw, Prof. Rajan Kumar, Mary Beth Rosenberg, Prof. Sayyed Illyas, Prof. Iqbal Akhtar, Prof. Balram Uprety, Prof. Kevin Grove, Prof. Massimo Marchi, Prof. Ami Rawal, and Prof. Paramita Ghosh. I sincerely thank Paramita for her friendship and several discussions on the manuscript. She went through the entire manuscript and gave her critical review comments on language and styles. Our special thanks are to Prof. Patrick Manning who went through our efforts in entirety and wrote foreword for these collected essays. There are many more persons who made this journey possible, and we sincerely thank them all and believe that this journey will continue to make it grow further. We both also sincerely thank our families, siblings, and young ones who in these two years of home isolations due to COVID kept us motivated to work through the collected essays; credit goes to several digital video call, which kept us connected even while being in quarantine. With gratitude to mother earth and our ancestral legacy, we give these writings with hope that it will add to the knowledge system we built upon our future. Aurangabad, India Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Bina Sengar A. Mia Elise Adjoumani
- 17. Contents Introduction . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Bina Sengar and A. Mia Elise Adjoumani Postcolonialism and Indigeneity: Some Global Issues Ideas of Indigenous Resilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological Society Experiences of the United States of America and India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Bina Sengar Fracturing and Formation of Cultural Spaces of Florida Seminole: From Settlements to Reservation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Bina Sengar Osages or Americans? The Lingering Effects of Colonization on Notions of Osage Resiliency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Jimmy Lee Beason II Role of Symbolism in the Making of Secular Cultural Identities: Experience of Post-soviet Central Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Nandini Bhattacharya Contextualizing the Separate Statehood for the Bundelkhand Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Sanjay Swarnkar Postcolonialism, African American Identities, and Indigenous Narratives The Reinvention of Africa or the Counter-Discourse of an Identity Assignation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 A. Mia Elise Adjoumani xv
- 18. xvi Contents Black Identityand Narratives: Postcolonial Interventions from Global South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Anjali Gavali Omi: Water in Comparison to the Black Female Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Michelle Grant-Murray Confronting Gender Models and Strategies of Resilience in Postcolonial African Novels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Léontine Troh-Gueyes Postcolonialism, Climate Change and Ecological Aspects of Indigeneity Biodiversity Habitats, People, Policies, and Problematics: Through Case Studies of Ecological Systems of Aurangabad and Beed . . . . . . . . . . 189 Bina Sengar and Shaikh Feroz Iliyas The Unintended Outcomes of Sustainable Development: Hybridizing Beaches Through Small-Scale Tourism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 Vanessa León-León Corn, Language, and Culture. Ecological Relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Miguel Reyes Contreras Impact of Fluctuations in Rainfall on the Livelihoods of Families in the Rain Shadow Zone of Maharashtra State: A Historical Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241 Vidya Kachkure and Kisan Algur Saving the Tree for the Forest: Lessons from Pandemics for Postcolonial Indigeneity in South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 Roche F. Myburgh Kalasha People in Pakistan: A Mountain Indigenous Tribe’s Struggles to Protect Identity, Culture, Ancestral Lands, and Survival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 Saima Siddiqui Notion of Resilience Among the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals, Eastern India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 Nirmal Kumar Mahato Adivasi’s of India as Indigenous People in Postcolonial World . . . . . . . . . 315 Shamrao Koreti
- 19. Editors and Contributors Aboutthe Editors Bina Sengar Associate Professor, Department of History and Ancient Indian Culture, School of Social Sciences, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada Univer- sity, Aurangabad, India. She is also Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Awardee (2018–2019) and continues as Faculty Fellow in Global Indige- nous Forum of Florida International University, Miami. Her research areas are in the fields of rural and community histories, cultures, and policy studies for indigenous societies of South Asia, Native American studies, and Global Indigeneity. A. Mia Elise Adjoumani is Associate Professor of General and Comparative Literature at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University, Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). Her research focuses on African Diaspora, Interculturality, Postcolonialism in Franco- phoneandAfrican-Americanliteratures.SheisFulbrightFellow(HowardUniversity, Washington, D.C., 2018–2019). Contributors A. Mia Elise Adjoumani is Professor in French Language and comparative Liter- ature, Maitre-Assistante, Department of French Language and Literature, Felix Houphouet-BoignyUniversity,Abidjan,Côted’IvoireandFulbright-Fellow,Howard University, Washington D.C. (2018–2019). Kisan Algur is Post-doctoral Fellow, International Institute of Population Sciences, Mumbai. Nandini Bhattacharya is Associate Professor at the Department of History, Calcutta Girls College, Kolkata. xvii
- 20. xviii Editors andContributors Miguel Reyes Contreras is Professor of Linguistics, Ixathuaca University, Mexico city, Mexico. Fulbright Fellow, IAIA-Santa Fe (2018–2019). Anjali Gavali is Research Scholar in English Language at Department of English, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India. Michelle Grant-Murray is Associate Professor of Dance and Performing Arts, Miami Dade College, Miami, Florida. Shaikh Feroz Iliyas is Professor of Zoology, Milia College, Beed, Maharashtra, India. Vidya Kachkure is Assistant Professor of Geography (2019–2020), Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India. Shamrao Koreti is Professor of History, Department of History, Nagpur University, Maharashtra, India. Jimmy Lee Beason II is Professor of Social Work and Native American Studies in the Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, Kansas. Vanessa León-León is Professor, ESPOL Polytechnic University, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas, Guayaquil—Ecuador. Léontine Troh-Gueyes is Professor in Comparative Literature and Gender Studies, Maitre-Assistante, Department of Gender Studies, Felix Houphouet-Boigny Univer- sity, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Nirmal Kumar Mahato is Associate Professor, Department of History, Vidyasagar University, Paschim Medinipore, West Bengal, India. Roche F. Myburgh is Senior Lecturer of History and Political Science, Cambridge school in Istanbul and Freelance author, Istanbul, Turkey. Bina Sengar Assistant Professor, Department of History and Ancient Indian Culture, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India. Saima Siddiqui is Adult Program Coordinator, Marlene Street Community Resource Centre (MSCRC), Winnipeg, Canada. Sanjay Swarnkar is Professor of History in Government Girls College, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India.
- 21. List of Figures Ideasof Indigenous Resilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological Society Experiences of the United States of America and India Fig. 1 Model of Subbarao (1958) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fig. 2 Model of Guha (2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fig. 3 Triangulated Ecological Societies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Fracturing and Formation of Cultural Spaces of Florida Seminole: From Settlements to Reservation Fig. 1 Ecoregions of Florida. Source Map based on ecoregions of Florida by Griffits and et al. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Fig. 2 Florida Indians in eighteenth century. Source Map reworked on source map by James W. Covington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Fig. 3 Early settlements of Seminole in Florida. Source Map redrafted based on map by James W. Covington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Fig. 4 Seminole reservations of Florida. Source Map redrafted based on map by James W. Covington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Biodiversity Habitats, People, Policies, and Problematics: Through Case Studies of Ecological Systems of Aurangabad and Beed Fig. 1 Gautala ecological region and Bhil community habitations in the area of Aurangabad as stated in B. Source Google maps and further editing by the authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Fig. 2 Ecological cultures of Beed dependent on Bindusara river. Source Google maps and further editing by the authors . . . . . . . . . . 204 Corn, Language, and Culture. Ecological Relationship Fig. 1 Taxonomy of paroemias (adapted from Maestre Fraile 2013) . . . . . 231 Fig. 2 Typology of paroemias (own elaboration) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 xix
- 22. xx List ofFigures Impact of Fluctuations in Rainfall on the Livelihoods of Families in the Rain Shadow Zone of Maharashtra State: A Historical Perspective Fig. 1 Geography (316): The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244 Fig. 2 Rain-shadow zone of Maharashtra (Authors analysis) . . . . . . . . . . . 253 Notion of Resilience Among the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals, Eastern India Fig. 1 Integrated nature of (i), (ii) and (iii); these tools when applied properly, can bring sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 Fig. 2 Component of ecological moral economy. Source Mahato and Bhattacharya (2013), Mahato (2020): 140 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
- 23. List of Images BiodiversityHabitats, People, Policies, and Problematics: Through Case Studies of Ecological Systems of Aurangabad and Beed Image 1 Patna Devi Temple, Gautala ecological region. Source Image through authors collections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Image 2 Lenapur village on the ecological region of Gautala (Bhil and Malhar community village) Source Field work by author in February, 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Image 3 Khandoba Temple, Beed. Source Wikicommons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 xxi
- 24. List of Maps Contextualizingthe Separate Statehood for the Bundelkhand Region Map 1 Source Maps of India/State Formation in India. https://www. mapsofindia.com/maps/india/formation-of-states.html . . . . . . . . . 113 Map 2 Source Wikipedia/Aspirants States of India. https://en.wik ipedia.org/wiki/Proposed_states_and_union_territories_of_ India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Map 3 Source Maps of India/Political map of India. https://www. mapsofindia.com/maps/india/india-political-map.html . . . . . . . . . 115 Map 4 Source Alamy/Madhya Pradesh Red Highlighted in map of India. https://www.alamy.com/madhya-pradesh-red-hig hlighted-in-map-of-india-image331271890.html . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Map 5 Source Alamy/Uttarpradesh Pradesh Red Highlighted in map of India. https://www.alamy.com/uttar-pradesh-red- highlighted-in-map-of-india-image331271752.html . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Map 6 Source State Planning Commission/Proposed area of Bundelkhand in MP. http://mpplanningcommission.gov. in/bundelkhand/bundelkhand.html . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Map 7 Source Bundelkhand Research Portal/District Covered Under Bundelkhand Package. https://bundelkhand.in/maps/ bundelkhand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Map 8 Source Bundelkhand2Bali/Hindustan ka Dil. http://bundel khand2bali.blogspot.com/2010/12/blog-post.html . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Map 9 Source Maps of India/Bundelkhand Proposed State. https:// www.mapsofindia.com/maps/uttarpradesh/bundelkhand. html . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Map 10 Source Bundelkhand Research Portal/Bundelkhand on India’s map. https://bundelkhand.in/maps/bundelkhand . . . . . . 120 Map 11 Source Bundelkhand Research Portal/Bundelkhand Region Map. https://bundelkhand.in/maps/bundelkhand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 xxiii
- 25. xxiv List ofMaps Map 12 Source Bundelkhand Research Portal/Prastavit Bundelkhand Map. https://bundelkhand.in/maps/bundelkhand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Map 13 Source Bundelkhand Research Portal/Bundelkhand in MP and UP. https://bundelkhand.in/maps/bundelkhand . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Map 14 Source Researchgate. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/ Map-of-study-site-Bundelkhand-region_fig1_327743742 . . . . . . . 122 Map 15 Source Bundelkhand Research Portal/Bundelkhand Districts. https://bundelkhand.in/maps/bundelkhand . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Biodiversity Habitats, People, Policies, and Problematics: Through Case Studies of Ecological Systems of Aurangabad and Beed Map 1 Marathwada region with Aurangabad and Beed districts. Source Wikicommons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Map 2 Bhil and Koli community distribution prior to 1961. Source Census of India 1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
- 26. List of Tables BiodiversityHabitats, People, Policies, and Problematics: Through Case Studies of Ecological Systems of Aurangabad and Beed Table 1 Ecological cultures of the Gautala region and Bindusara river . . . . 199 Table 2 Census-wise population of Bhil and Koli community population in Aurangabad and Beed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Impact of Fluctuations in Rainfall on the Livelihoods of Families in the Rain Shadow Zone of Maharashtra State: A Historical Perspective Table 1 Level and trends in annual rainfall records established on Mann–Kendall’s test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Table 2 Long-term trends and changes in the annual rainfall records of the rain-shdow zone of Maharashtra state using the Mann–Kendall test (Authors analysis) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 Kalasha People in Pakistan: A Mountain Indigenous Tribe’s Struggles to Protect Identity, Culture, Ancestral Lands, and Survival Table 1 Kalasha temples and places of respect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 Table 2 Education enrolment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 Notion of Resilience Among the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals, Eastern India Table 1 Plant and animal species that used as food, medicine, and other usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 xxv
- 27. Introduction Indigeneity in thePostcolonial World: Perceptions and Problematic Bina Sengar and A. Mia Elise Adjoumani Abstract The global societies of the world in the last twentieth and twenty-first century have come a long way. Simultaneously, in these times, postcoloniality and indigenous are two terminologies receiving the maximum debate in the societies of the decolonized nations post-Second World War. The post-world war era saw world interacting on several plinths of political, cultural, and social networks. There are mobilities within the continents and human interactions which have traversed across the cultural spheres drastically changing the community identities and their perceptions. 1 I The global societies of the world in the last twentieth and twenty-first century have come a long way. Simultaneously, in these times, postcoloniality and indigenous are two terminologies receiving the maximum debate in the societies of the decolo- nized nations post-Second World War. The post-world war era saw world interacting on several plinths of political, cultural, and social networks. There are mobilities within the continents and human interactions which have traversed across the cultural spheres drastically changing the community identities and their perceptions. The two far-reaching implications in the human navigation patterns in the colonial era were “Colombian Exchange” (Crosby, 1972) and “Eurocentric domination over the Indian OceanTradeSystems”(Chaudhuri,1985;Roy, 2012).Transitioninthesetwooceanic and continental pathways brought different identities in close contacts with the world systems. In the historic timelines, cultural contacts and community connectedness were well established within the Asian-African and European continents, which B. Sengar (B) Department of History and Ancient Indian Culture, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India e-mail: [email protected] A. M. E. Adjoumani French Language and Comparative Literature, Department of French Language and Literature, Felix Houphouet-Boigny University, Abidjan, Ivory Coast © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Sengar and A. M. E. Adjoumani (eds.), Indigenous Societies in the Post-colonial World, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8722-9_1 1
- 28. 2 B. Sengarand A. M. E. Adjoumani allowed the formation of cultural identities across these continental borders (Lock- hard, 2020). Historic connectedness within these three continents, led to formation of identities in their historical contexts. As a consequence, when we assess the identity quest and indigeneity in Asian-African regions, we come across identities forma- tions and their cultural frameworks cutting across the inter-continental histories. The concepts of community identities and indigeneity are layered within the community interactions in context of Asia and Africa. It could also be interpreted that the idea of indigeneity is also not well accepted in Asian and African contexts, as the quest here resides in the fact about; ‘Who is indigenous?’ Wherein, all the communities of Asia and Africa claim their rootedness in their lands, how then we distinguish the idea of being indigenous and non-indigenous. Contrary to it, in the Colombian exchange process, the New World got exposed and its products were circulated by the European trading networks in the Indian Ocean networks. This exchange of goods also brought exchange of ideas and identities. The New World came to be identified in popular European discourse as ‘Indian’ and its people as “Indigenous” (Smithers et al., 2014). The two-differing notion of community identities in western and eastern hemispheres, thereafter, led to a discourse about people of land and people as settlers (Wolfe, 2006). The settler colonialism and elimination of the native is a postcolonial discourse which evolves in academic debates of Colombian exchange and Amer- icas indigeneity. Contrary to it, the assimilative settlers discourse becomes oblique in context of Africa and Asia because assimilation remains a two-way process in the Asian and African peoples community histories. The formation of triangula- tion remains a long overdue process which allowed so-called settlers as indigenous and indigenous as settlers and interchangeability in the indigeneity. Therefore, the ideas of indigeneity and nativism become concepts which require reassessment in the postcolonial debates and indigeneity discourse as well. 2 II Before addressing these defining aspects of colonization, it is useful to carry out a semantic analysis of the concept of “colonization” even though its meaning and significance may seem obvious, as it is often used. Going back to the etymology of the verb “colonize,” “colore, cultivate”, colonization, originally, is considered to be the process consisting “essentially in exploiting a piece of land or territory, either wild or in its natural state, or already partly developed, but nevertheless still in an economic position too poor to produce a regularly advantageous product” (Harmand, 1910; D’Andurain, 2017). This primary objective assigned to colonization could be considered as the basis of the definition that, according to Julie d’Andurain, is nowa- days given to colonization: “any action, of whatever nature, carried out either by a state on a conquered people or on a dependent territory, or by independent individ- uals or groups of any nationality in perfectly independent countries” (D’Andurain, 2017).
- 29. Introduction 3 Beyond thistheoretical framework, the imperialist enterprise is, in practice, based on arguments that give colonization a concrete content. If the argument of the “civi- lizing mission” is one of the main ones that has served as the Trojan horse of the colo- nial enterprise, its disqualification by several critics is confirmed by its implemen- tation in the colonized territories. The economic motives of the colonial enterprise,” writes Albert Memmi, “are today brought to light by all historians of colonization. No one believes any longer in the cultural and moral mission, even the original one, of the colonizer” (Memmi, 1973). Confirming the rejection of this main motive, Aimé Césaire proposes a definition of colonization that underlines the motivations underlying the colonial enterprise: “What in principle is colonization? To agree on what it is not; neither evangelization, nor philanthropic enterprise, nor willingness to push back the frontiers of ignorance, disease, tyranny, nor enlargement of God, nor extension of Law; to admit once and for all without will to stumble at the conse- quences, that the decisive gesture here is of the adventurer and the pirate, of the great grocer and the shipowner, of the gold-seeker and the merchant, of the appetite and the strength, with, behind it, the evil shadow cast by a form of civilization which, at some point in its history, finds itself obliged, internally, to extend the competition of its antagonistic economies on a global scale” (Césaire, 1955). The imperialist aims described by these authors are, to cite only the case of French imperialism, systematized by “doctrinaires du fait colonial” whose important role in the colonial process gave it “its letters of nobility,” according to Julie d’Adurain (D’Andurain, 2017). This role was notably not only that of setting the theoretical framework for efficiently achieving the imperial objectives, but also, at the same time, that of laying the foundations for the restructuring, the upheaval of the world of the colonized. An overview of the doctrinal references of French colonization is proposed by Xavier Yacono, in his book on the History of French Colonization (1973). The colonial doctrine, which he states is not “unique” but refers to “three currents of ideas,” is summarized in three words: “exploitation, assimilation, associa- tion” (Yacono, 1973, p. 53). “Exploitation is the conception of the business world and is expressed in particular by Jules Ferry’s description of colonization as a means of placing capital; assimilation: There is no longer any question of ethnic assimilation, but one speaks of political and administrative assimilation, of “love of the common homeland,” and some dream of transforming all the colonies, including Black Africa, into French departments”; “Association might seem a middle way [to compensate] for the impossibility of assimilating different races” (Yacono, 1973, 53–54). Putting into perspective, nowadays, the consequences of such ideological conceptions on colonized societies and the colonized themselves have provoked reflection on the question of the response and resilience of indigenous societies. Indeed, colonization was the occasion of the upheaval of the colonial society in its most essential compo- nents. It called into question the worldview of the colonized to impose on them a system to which they had to try to adapt. Xavier Yacono lists a certain number of factors that constitute the barometers of the appreciation of the restructuring of the world of the colonized. In his book, he describes the “transformations of the indigenous world” in terms of “revolution”: “demographic revolution,” “economic
- 30. 4 B. Sengarand A. M. E. Adjoumani revolution” and “social revolution.” From the demographic point of view, “colo- nization has upset the indigenous population not only in terms of its numerical size but also in terms of its distribution” (Yacono, 1973) “the indigenous have found themselves so out of step that they sometimes no longer wish to make the necessary effort to survive” (Yacono, 1973). On the economic level, “colonization created a new economy: this economy seems at first foreign to the indigenous world and as if it were being dumped on the country” (Yacono, 1973: 81). At the social level, we note a precarious condition of the individual, “social disintegration” (Yacono, 1973: 90) and the “upheaval of social classes” (Yacono, 1973: 93). “If it is not destroyed, the mind is profoundly transformed, if not regenerated in the true sense of the word, and there has been talk of true mental colonization” (Yacono, 1973: 90). The combi- nation of these invasive and corrosive factors sometimes explains the preference of some critics for the term “colonialism,” thus underlining the cleverly thought-out political doctrine whose disastrous consequences are, at the same time, highlighted. Henri Labouret, thus, explains the debate launched on the subject of “colonialism,” which “can cover in turn or globally the evils for which dominations are blamed in their dependencies: the ferocious and shameless waste of the indigenous people’s lives, the anarchic monopolization of natural resources thanks to the employment of local labor forced to work for derisory wages and to make up to the limits of human strength for the inadequacy of material organizations” (Labouret, 1952, p14). If the term “decolonization” generally evokes, at first sight, an aspect of the end of colonial wardship, the political aspect, it also implies decolonization relative to other aspects of the colonizer-colonized relationship, especially cultural, economic, etc. More than the first form of decolonization, it is the second that feeds our reflection on the response and resilience of Indigenous societies with its presuppositions. Indeed, there are many definitions that relate to the political context in which this decolo- nization is taking place. A logical continuation of colonial imperialism as described above, decolonization, in the broadest sense, refers to “voluntary dispossession by the masters of the colonies, as a result of negotiations and transactions or as a result of political and military war, “a struggle for national liberation.” In these two meanings, decolonization was neither spontaneous nor sudden, but was a long process that, for some people, was within colonization itself” (Brocheux et al., 2012). If this defini- tion highlights the process that led to the realization of this event, Raymond Betts definition rather evokes the context that favored its advent. “Whatever its assigned chronology, he writes, decolonization was foremost considered a global-scale polit- ical change, most intense and successful in the three decades following World War II” (Betts, 2012). Betts, thus, evokes one of the major causes that set the decolo- nization process in motion, alongside other factors that seem to be less prominent during decisive turning points. “In fact, historians distinguish three series of deter- mining factors or agents: those that are internal to the metropolises and colonies, those that are external to them and that come under international forces” (Brocheux et al., 2012). The confrontation of “international forces,” supported in their war efforts by the contribution of the colonized, will, in fact, awaken the consciences of both colonizers and colonized: “The First and Second World Wars were two turning points in the
- 31. Introduction 5 evolution ofrelations between colonizers and colonized. The racialist hierarchy insti- tuted by the masters of empires was shaken and even subverted: white nations called on nations of color to fight other white nations” (Brocheux et al., 2012). This reality constitutes one of the aspects of the long process that led to political decolonization, which was to be enshrined in ‘Resolution 1514 of the UN General Assembly of December 20, 1960. (Brocheux et al., 2012). “[This] Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples […] is at the origin of the creation in 1961 of the Decolonization Committee” (Brocheux et al., 2012). Although (political) decolonization has been effective for decades, there is still the question of whether decolonization in other sectors of the life of the former colonies has taken place in a clear and assumed manner, both by the former colonizers and the former colonized. It seems difficult to respond in the affirmative, especially concerning the cultural domain. According to Betts, “That bomb [colonization] caused cultural destruction, the annihilation of a people’s culture through the imposition of the colonial power’s cultural system. The mind had to be decolonized as well. Such was the thought of Ngũgı̃ (1986), well expressed in the eponymous title of his small but provocative book Decolonizing the mind.” (Betts, 2012). This last analysis on decolonization is particularly interesting for our reflection on the response and resilience of indigenous societies. These concepts will, in fact, constitute a kind of means of evaluating this decolonization while transcending it in order to reflect on the ways and means to complete or at least advance the process of decolonization of former colonies. The historical events previously analyzed are at the origin of the emergence of a current of thought that applies to the analysis of the consequences of colonization. This current is named postcolonialism. This concept, evoked by the subject of our book by the reference to the “postcolonial world,” also deserves to be considered. The term “postcolonial” used in the title can refer to the idea of a chronology as well as to that of a logic (in this second case, its most recurrent spelling is “postcolonial,” in one word). Thus, the work is based as much on the idea of the “aftermath” of colonization as on that of postcolonization. Thus, the texts of postcolonial theorists prove to be essential reference points for approaching the question of the answer and the resilience of indigenous societies. From Edward Saïd to Bill Ashcroft et al., Homi Bhabha, Achille Mbembe, to name but a few, the postcolonial current will irrigate the analysis of these concepts and their application to concrete situations. The concepts of response and resilience, although semantically divergent, refer to a common reality: that of a backlash, a reaction. The specificity of the first, however, is based on the idea of positioning, of self-affirmation that it implies. The response of indigenous societies (or former colonies) to their colonial history can, thus, be achieved through deconstruction, in the mode of postcolonial thought. For example, it is a question for these peoples of questioning the entire founding discourse of colonial imperialism, which aimed to disqualify and inferiorize the colonized in order to achieve imperial designs. The answer supposes not only deconstructing the colonialist ideology, but also opposing this discourse of the time with concrete evidence of its inconsistency. It can be expressed, in particular, by the approach of these indigenous societies to take an active part in the dynamics of the contemporary world, to take its place by affirming its specificities which are not fixed, but which
- 32. 6 B. Sengarand A. M. E. Adjoumani are open to the permanent and constructive dialog that takes place in a globalized world. As for the term “resilience,” it evokes the benefits derived from a “destruc- tive” situation that one manages to transcend. In a general sense, it is defined by Christa Langeland as “the capacity of a system, enterprise, or person to maintain its core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changed circumstances” (Memmi, 1973; Langeland et al., 2016). Beyond this definition, the definition in the psychological field proposed by these authors seems more precisely applicable to the present context: “resilience is a quality that allows an individual to recover from adversity stronger than before” (Langeland et al., 2016). Applied to the context of our book, the resilience of indigenous societies could be translated by their capacity to (re)build societies where the mental foundations of men and women, the economic and cultural foundations, etc., would not suffer from major weaknesses that would handicap their progress. In order to delimit the conceptual frameworks of “indigeneity” this book engages its entire debate. It is important to define various terms in and around the idea of identity and indigeneity and what underlie within their local–global discourses espe- cially after the era of postcolonialism. Therefore, to engage a theoretical and empir- ical narrative around the indigeneity beyond the prisms of dominant discourse, the collected essays narrate the diverse aspects of indigeneity through this book. The indigeneity debates often are discussed within the concepts of climate change and colonial domination. Wherein postcolonialism and how it is perceived within the framework of “indigeneity,” “community identities” of the decolonized or postcolo- nial nations are some of the differing aspects of debates. The primary objective of this book engages discourses on peoples and their identities and why they were ques- tioned, situated in the place, space dynamics, and how do we understand them in the different political-national discourses. Some of the prevalent norms and narra- tives around the ideas of postcolonialism and indigeneity are the given perceptions from the post-imperial geographic frameworks. Even then, the idea of indigeneity is largely guided around the way people situate their identity in global perspec- tives. The solidarity movements of identities with local rootedness connects the global movement for indigeneity (Lorin and Taraud, 2013; Merlan, 2009), yet, high- lighted quest remains about idea of “indigeneity” in a contested idiom in political and bureaucratic discourses. The political complexity of this term “indigenous” and its diverse appropriated connotations in academic, political, and popular cultural discourse further adds to the possibilities to probe indigeneity and its diverse narra- tives. A reflection on the thematic title of the book “Indigenous Societies in the Postcolonial World—Response and Resilience through global perspectives” neces- sarily calls for a reminder of the historical background of the term “indigenous” that gives it all its meaning and relevance. The historical investigative narratives are constituted in the various chapters of the book where indigeneity and its concep- tual and empirical genesis are attempted to be explored. Through the terminological frameworks of colonization and decolonization, the problematic of indigeneity is explored within its discourses of domination and radicalization. Two major turning points in the history of indigenous or formerly colonized peoples are reached out with climate change and revivalism of the indigenous knowledge systems. How far
- 33. Introduction 7 these radicalizationand climatic change concepts enable and empower indigeneity is a major contested discourse in academia and neo-liberal market system. As our book project is a continuation of the historiography demonstrating the resistance of colonized peoples. Therefore, the approach towards the colonization is need for response and resilience of indigenous societies and work towards decolonization. 3 III When we started collecting essays for the book, we kept in priority peoples voices, thus, emphasis was laid on the fact that the contributors must belong to the culture they are giving scholarly inputs about. In certain instances, inputs of scholars to their subject area also became essential for inclusion. How an indigenous identity under- stands and visualize indigenous of another territory gives a perspective to indigenous discourse as well. Based on these narratives on indigeneity, the book is divided into three broad sections. The sub-section-I discusses about the “Postcolonialism and indigeneity: Some global issues” Sub-section-II emphasizes on “Postcolonialism, African American identities and indigenous narratives,” and sub-section-III discusses issues on “Postcolonialism, Climate change, and Ecological Aspects of Indigeneity.” In the first section, we have five articles which are discussing postcolonial aspects of indigeneity through theoretical and regional perspectives, where contributing authors are discussing about the theoretical frameworks of indigeneity, the implications of the indigeneity theories in the identity formations, and how the resilience is taking place within the indigenous identities in the global contexts. In the first section of the book, first article is by first editor of the book Bina Sengar discusses about the theory of Triangulation in Ecological Societies resilience. In the article, Sengar discusses about methods of triangulation and how the idea of indigeneity is different from its proposed structure in the mainstream narratives of indigeneity. Taking examples from her field-based experiences both in India and the USA, she proposes the frame- work of triangulation among the native-nomadic and settler communities around the notions of “ecological societies.” She further builds on her theory through her second chapter on Seminole identity and indigeneity aspects in Florida. The triangulation process in the ecological societies is explained through historical narratives about the Seminole communities of Florida, where from their cultural connections with the Creek confederacy to native lands of Florida their community cultures and settlement patterns are explained through their ecological spaces. The third article in this section is by Jimmy Beason an Osage Native American scholar. Beason, critically assess the narratives of Osage ceremonies and how the community retained and thrived its identity while the settler colonialism suppressed them to the worst. Nandini Bhat- tacharya in her article discusses the various identities of Central Asia, which for long were not allowed to say for themselves under the Soviet regime are now becoming assertive and paving paths for the neo-indigeneity debate. How nativist movements lead to sovereignty and how in the decolonized nations, concept of nation within the nations, or multiple cultural identities are evolving is well discussed in the article
- 34. 8 B. Sengarand A. M. E. Adjoumani by Swarnkaar. In this article, Swarnkaar discusses about the identity formation and separate statehood movement of Bundelkhand in India. Thus, in the first section of this book, indigeneity questions are seen through multiple paradigms in global perspectives. Through the three articles of the sub-section II—entitled “Postcolonialism, African, American Identities, and Indigenous narratives,”—the authors reflect on the responses and manifestations of resilience of postcolonial societies affected by the history of the encounter of Africa and the West. These are African, African American, and Indo-African societies that adopt approaches to deconstruct colonialist ideology, that identify and denounce the traces of the survival of this ideology in the contem- porary world and that, on the other hand, value the African or African-origin ways of thinking and being which are likely to consecrate the full participation of these postcolonial worlds in the progress of the world. Indeed, in the analysis of the “Rein- vention of Africa,” Elise Adjoumani demonstrates how, from a fixed and devalued representation of Africa, we have moved to another, highlighting a new « face», dynamic, translating the controlling, by Africans, of their destiny. The discourses emanating from the “Colonial library” and Afro-pessimism are, thus, replaced by other valorizing and self-centered ones. These express an intellectual empowerment, an emancipation from the identity paradigms that defined Africa’s relationship to the other, to the outside world, in reference to colonialist conceptions of identity and otherness. They also suggest concrete paths to resilience. Echoing these theorizing approaches, some African fictional texts depict allegories of an overvalued Africa, in an inversion of geopolitical power relationships. These fictional texts also high- light a humanity grappling with the human condition and illustrate the openness of an Africa whose values are alive both on the continent and in its diaspora. Anjali Gavali’s contribution on “Black Identities and their Narratives” elaborates on the developments in Indo-African and American theoretical and literary discourses on black identities that reflect the resilience of Africans, Indo-Africans, and African Americans. The first evolution is the emergence of the postcolonial theory. Through a discussion of this current of thought, the author shows how postcolonial discourse, through an analysis of the geopolitical and ideological divisions of the world, and through a deconstruction of the foundations of colonialism, allows the understanding of narratives about postcolonial societies. The other reality that is the object of decon- struction of the critical discourse is that of the image of African systems of thought conveyed by the colonialist utterance. If in this discourse this system of thought is presented as fixed, some African critics demonstrate, on the other hand, that this system, through the reappropriation of external values, is in constant renewal. This specificity of the African system of thought makes it possible to define indigeneity as a response to colonialism, which transits through the production of a language emphasizing the cultural authenticity of the former colonized. As a result, some critics have called for the use of this term to designate black identities. The author then offers personal life stories related to this term, presenting them as potentially inspiring experiences. She concludes by presenting how new ethnicities are formed in response to experiences of racism. This experience of racism, reflected in the after- math of the history of transatlantic slavery, is the basis for the address of the third
- 35. Introduction 9 article ofthis section, which focuses on the black woman’s body. In her contribution, Michelle Grant-Murray establishes a comparison between the woman’s body and water, with the aim of revealing the harmful effects of institutionalized racism in the context of the United States of America. The author demonstrates how, through characteristics that evoke those of water—its power, its mystery, its role as a provider of life, etc.—the Black woman’s body symbolizes her resilience—and beyond that, the resilience of the African American community, in spite of the oppressive context in which she lives. Her story is not only a hymn to the power of the black woman and her fundamental role in American society, but it is also a call to acknowledge the violence to which this body has been subjected as a result of the history of slavery and the capitalist system. The gender issue addressed through this reflection on the black woman's body is presented from another point of view by Leontine Troh Gueyes’ article “Gender Model Tensions and Resilience Strategies in Postcolonial African Novels and quote;. In this contribution, the author analyzes the confrontation of African and Western social gender roles, its consequences as well as the process of resiliencethroughwhichthecrisesresultingfromthisconfrontationcanbeovercome. Indeed, one of the upheavals imposed on African societies by the colonial system is the implementation of social gender roles based on the Western value system. The consequence of this fact is a dysfunction of the social links within the colonized society and an identity split of the colonized. In order to get out of this crisis, the approach of resilience presented by the novelists consists of the break of the silence created by the trauma, the opening to foreign values and the implementation of the decolonial spirit, that is to say the reconsideration, by both the ex-colonized and the ex-colonizer, of the relationship with oneself and of the social links. The sub-section III “Postcolonialism, Climate change, and Ecological Aspects of Indigeneity” considers the contemporary challenge of climate change and resilience for the identity questions of indigenous globally. In this section, we have eight essays. In all the essays, the notion of imperialism is relegated. Here in the discussed case studies, the resilience and policy frameworks are questioned within the community identities. The postcolonial challenge of reviving and addressing the resilience of community identities has to occur from within societies. In the process of cultural resilience of the decolonized, postcolonial nations do we get the favorable policies and cultural frameworks? While answering these questions, each of the article inves- tigates the community’s internal historical narratives and postcolonial policy struc- tures. The first article in the section by Sengar and Illyas explores ecological systems of two important tribal communities of Western India “Koli” and “Bhil” in their ecological spaces of Beed and Aurangabad-Ajanta. The two communities although displaced could evolve resilience in the similar landscape ecology and contribute to the environmental revivalism. The second essay in this section by Leon takes us to the Ecuador and its ecological spaces of ‘unintended outcomes of sustainable devel- opment: hybridizing beaches through small-scale tourism.” Leon discusses the local community and its role in the ecological tourism and the resilience of the socio- ecological order in the beach. In the essay on Corn and its ecological relationship with the Mexican indigenous culture by Miguel brings out the varied aspects of corn, linguistics, and cultural manifestations through products of ecology. Corn is integral
- 36. 10 B. Sengarand A. M. E. Adjoumani part of Mexican culture, and it retains its various traditional values and nuances through its usage. In essay by Kachkure and Algur, rainfall assessment of Maha- rashtra state is considered with special reference to its influence over the community cultures in the stated terrain. Over a century, how the rainfall fluctuations led to community cultures to seek resolve in resilience of patterns of agricultures and rain- fall restoration is explained in the essay. In essay from South Africa’s resolve to combat pandemic, Roche Myburgh raises quest about the pandemic as a global crisis and how the indigenous communities are severely affected by them. Through the examples from South Africa and indigenous communities of Africa, he brings out problematic of new age health systems and indigenous health issues globally. In the essay on Kalasha community of Pakistan, Saima Siddiqui presents crisis of ethnic minorities in the dominant indigenous or theocratic cultures. The Kalasha community which is integral part of the indigeneity of northern parts of Pakistan is consistently bearing brunt of cultural assimilation and dissolution of their own cultures. In essay by Nirmal Mahato, ecological resilience practices of people of Jungle Mahals are explained. Jangal Mahalas of Eastern India where in Purulia region case study is taken to substantiate the empirical findings. In this study, the communities of Santals and their ecological practices are considered. In the last chapter of the section, Shamrao Koreti explains through his essays the identity quests of adivasi communities of India in the global indigeneity debate. Thus, through these collected essay, theories, narratives, and empirical studies are shared to further encourage discussions around the evolving discourses on indigeneity in the postcolonial and decolonizing global societies. References Betts, R. F. (2012). Decolonization a brief history of the word. In Beyond empire and nation (pp. 23–37). Brocheux, P. (2012). Cosaert Patrice (dir.), Les enjeux du Pacifique, 2009. Outre-Mers. Revue d’histoire, 99(374), 360–361. Césaire, A. (1955). Discours sur le colonialisme, suivi du Discours sur la Négritude. Présence Africaine. Chaudhuri, K. N. (1985). Trade and civilization in the Indian Ocean: An economic history from the rise of Islam to 1750. Cambridge University Press. Crosby, A. W. (1972). The Columbian exchange: Biological and cultural consequences of 1492. Greenwood Publishing Company. D’Andurain, J. (2017). Colonialisme ou impérialisme? Le parti colonial en pensée et en action, Lèchelle, éditions Zellige. Labouret, H. (1952). Colonisation, colonialisme, décolonisation. Larose. Langeland, K. S., Manheim, D., McLeod, G., & Nacouzi, G. (2016). How civil institutions build resilience: Organizational practices derived from academic literature and case studies. Rand Corporation. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7249/j.ctt1btc0m7 Lockard, C. A. (2020). Societies, networks, and transitions: A global history. Cengage Learning Lorin, A., & Taraud, C. (2013). Nouvelles histoires des colonisations européennes (XIXè-XXè siècle). Société, culture, politique, sous la direction de. PUF
- 37. Introduction 11 Memmi, A.(1973). Portrait du colonisé, précédé du Portrait du colonisateur. Les Editions L’Etincelle. Merlan, F. (2009). Indigeneity: Global and local. Current Anthropology, 50(3), 303–333 Roy, T. (2012). India in the World Economy: From Antiquity to the Present. Cambridge University Press. Smithers, G. D., & Newman, B. N. (2014). Native diasporas: Indigenous identities and settler colonialism in the Americas. University of Nebraska Press. Wolfe,P.(2006).Settlercolonialismandtheeliminationofthenative.JournalofGenocideResearch, 8(4), 387–409. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623520601056240 Yacono, X. (1973). Histoire de la colonisation française, PUF.
- 38. Postcolonialism and Indigeneity: SomeGlobal Issues
- 39. Ideas of IndigenousResilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological Society Experiences of the United States of America and India Bina Sengar Abstract The present study in the book chapter discusses about emerging thoughts to develop a framework for a discourse on response and resilience of Indigenous communities in postcolonial world. The study remains an empirical intervention through proposition of “TRIANGULATED MODEL” on indigenous questions in India and the United States of America (hereafter USA). The colonial legacy of India and United States of America on several common grounds conspired through the parallel policy frameworks and actions thereafter for the native or indigenous communities. What transpired shared colonial legacy in two distant colonies of British, evolved as a conglomerate of collected ideas for governance and repression. Postcolonial policies and discourse which affect global south have its equally repres- sive and overwhelming influence on global north as well. Indigeneity as resilient force remains the major push factor for postcolonial studies. On the contrary to it, indigenous resilience in northern nations remarkably engages itself on decoloniza- tion (Duara, 2004; Duarte and Belarde-Lewis, 2015). In the twenty-first century context, when postcolonial societies of India restructure their societies in globalized world, do they resolve to build a decolonized indigeneity? Whether the decolonial frameworks of the United States of America and India “South Asian indigeneity “constructs or deconstructs its decolonizing theoretics through indigenous rhetoric of global north? How the contesting ideas of indigeneity in two different frameworks yet, connected through terminologies, colonial legacy, settler colonialism have shown resilience in similar patterns which definitely give answers to many of the questions raised through postcolonial and decolonial constructs. The proposed chapter will discuss these questions and will glean its answers through archival, observational, and empirical interventions of theory of triangulated model of ecological cultures carried among indigenous societies of India and United States of America. B. Sengar (B) Department of History and Ancient Indian Culture, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, Marathwada University, Aurangabad, India e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023 B. Sengar and A. M. E. Adjoumani (eds.), Indigenous Societies in the Post-colonial World, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8722-9_2 15
- 40. 16 B. Sengar KeywordsIndian · Indigenous · Native American · Tribal · Triangulated model · Ecological societies 1 Introduction World in which we live today is conflicted and aligning itself on diverse ideas of iden- tities. Diversity within the concepts of identities1 which are influenced by nativism, reformism, radicalism, etc., also posits the challenge of post-Truth (Fraile-Marcos, 2020). These extremes of ideas and confusing scenarios after the colonial, post- colonial, and neo-liberal global policy influences brought the challenge of “Climate Change” (Chakravarty, 2012). On the contrary to it, indigenous resilience in northern nations remarkably engages itself on decolonization (Duarte & Belarde-Lewis, 2015; Duara, 2004). Contemporary theories of indigeneity in twenty-first century have various implications in academics and policy frameworks. Postcolonial societies like India, China, etc., restructure their societies and policies according to the demands of globalized world. With these implications, what will be the nature of indigeneity theoriesandpoliciesinthesepostcolonialsocieties?Willtheyresolvetobuildadecol- onized indigeneity? Whether the decolonial frameworks of India and South Asian indigeneity construct or deconstruct its decolonizing theoretics through indigenous rhetoric of global north? The contesting ideas of indigeneity in two different frame- works yet, connected through colonial legacy, definitely give answers to many of the questions raised through postcolonial and decolonial constructs. The threat of mass mobilization due to excessive climatic disasters requestioned the systems in which we are living today. The models of postcolonial and neo- liberal systems have further severely threatened the cultures and livelihoods of the communities in the last two centuries.2 In the pre-colonial global systems, wars and exodus were not unknown, yet the transformative changes and challenges retained the possibilities of life and living in ecological spaces of the communities. The communities retained their practices and thrived through resilience of their liveli- hood practices. These resilient practices thrived on the ecocultural patterns which communities learnt through their cyclic understanding of the geographical spaces 1 Ana María Fraile-Marcos (2020) “Precarity and the stories we tell: post-truth discourse and Indige- nous epistemologies in Thomas King’s The Back of the Turtle,” Journal of Postcolonial Writing, 2020, Vol. 56 No. 4, pp. 473–487. 2 Dipesh Chakrabarty (2012) “Postcolonial Studies and the Challenge of Climate Change” New Literary History (The Johns Hopkins University Press), Vol. 43, No. 1 (WINTER 2012), pp. 1–18. Stable https://www.jstor.org/stable/23259358.
- 41. Ideas of IndigenousResilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological … 17 (Sengar, 2021).3 With the coming of colonization and postcolonial, exploitive prac- tices4 (Bockman, 2015) and their several colonial models of economy dislocated5 the established systems of community cultures (Gardner & Bryson, 2021). With these intruding practices, community engagements within the colonized and neo-colonized spaces severely got disrupted and the triangulated models6 (Sengar & McMillin, 2020) of the community spaces got traversed with modernity7 and reformist models (Mukherjee, 2021). These reformist models guided by the Eurocentric rationalism8 and European Catholic and religious puritanism often were countered by the colo- nized cultures and values.9 The postcolonial response of colonized spaces globally comes in the form of decolonization, radicalism, or anti-colonialism (Grovogui, 2016). The cause-and-effect analysis takes us to the idiom of “triangulated model” of co-dependent community cultures which were in root structures of the colonized spaces. The Triangulated model of socio-economic-political structures of the ecolog- ical societies in the pre-colonial cultures primarily remains the foundational schema for the decolonization and revivalism of the native/indigenous cultures. How these models of ecological spaces and triangulated cultures connect the postcolonial soci- eties remains the primary debate and proposition of this research chapter. Theoret- ical framework of triangulated model of ecological societies is, thereafter, explained through the empirical and observation studies of two models. 1. Seminole and Miccosukee reservations in Florida and their formations and tran- sition in the twentieth century in the southeastern region of the United States of America 2. Bhil territories in Western India in the pre-colonial times and their resilient structural frameworks in the postcolonial contemporary societies of India. 3 Bina Sengar (2021) “Vanijya aur Ghumantu Samudaay” (In Hindi) in Chaumasa (Quar- terly Journal of Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum), Special Vol. 117, November, 2021-February, 2022, pp. 54–61 Author also worked on the theory of “Triangulated Model of community exchange” and disseminated it as part of her course developed during the Fulbright assignment in 2018–2019. Course details: https://gss.fiu.edu/courses/current-graduate-courses-and-syllabi/spr ing-2019-graduate-courses-1/syd6901sylspr2019sengar.pdf. 4 Johanna Bockman (2015) “Socialist Globalization against Capitalist Neocolonialism: The Economic Ideas behind the New International Economic Order,” Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development, Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2015, pp. 109–128. 5 Emma C. Gardner & John R. Bryson (2021) “The dark side of the industrialization of accountancy: innovation, commoditization, colonization and competitiveness” Industry and Innovation: The Dark Sides of Innovation, Vol. 28, Issue-1, pp. 42–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2020.1738915. 6 In the following discussion of the paper the Triangulated Model of Society and Ecological Spaces is discussed as part of the theory propounded in the paper. 7 Asha Mukherjee (2021) ‘Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo: Reconstruction and Reformation of Philo- sophical Traditions’ in Ananta Kumar Giri (Ed.) Mahatma Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo, Routledge, London. 8 Jackson et al. (1995) Indians, Franciscans, and Spanish Colonization: The Impact of the Mission System on California Indians. United States, University of New Mexico Press. 9 Grovogui, S. (2016). Beyond Eurocentrism and Anarchy: Memories of International Order and Institutions, United States, Palgrave Macmillan US.
- 42. 18 B. Sengar Withthese two trans-continental regional studies, author correlates the regional frameworks of ecological societies and develops the triangulated community models. These resilient indigenous/tribal communities in the historic times have shaped their histories and community cultures with resilient ecological-economic-cultural methods.10 It is proposed in the paper that among the various propositions in the environmental studies and indigenous-environmental historical studies, the pre- colonial models and their resilience occur with revivalist tendencies of human-nature resilience methods which is determined by ecological cultures and their triangulated methods. (Sengar, 2016). 2 Triangulated Model and Ecological Societies: Methods and Theoretical Approach as an Alternative to Indigeneity Studies The native/tribal/indigenous societies in Asia and Americas have their own concep- tual terminological debates. In the following sections of the paper, we will be discussing about them. The decolonization of the societies and community cultures varies from Asian epistemologies to that of the Americas. The internal hierarchies of the community structures often are the determinants, which steer the passage through which the postcolonial narratives are framed for indigeneity/ tribal communities. The transition in the epistemologies follows the process of convergence, retractions, and circular paths so to evolve its resilient structures as well. The study here, there- fore, derives its hypothesis on transitions in the epistemologies of human-nature relationships and their resilient pathways through revivalist models. These revivalist modelsareabouttransitionwithinthecommunitycultureandtheircorrelationandco- dependent relationships with other community cultures as well, which is understood as “triangulated” (Casey & Murphy, 2009; Carter et al., 2014) connected community cultures in pre-colonial Indian societies (Subbarao, 1958). Parallels of community cultures and their triangulated ecological cultural relations were evidently observed in the South Florida (Ebert, 2020) as well, as part of southeastern region of Indian territories of the United States of America. Through empirical studies, observations carried by me over the years in the “tribal regions” of India and “Indian territories” of United States, I tried to posit my theoret- ical understandings. Parts of these empirical understanding carried in South Asia and United States were published earlier, which are referred in the text wherever required. Further, the analysis and wider discussions with scholars and their readings enabled me to develop my perspectives about the communities inter-relationships before we categorically give them names such as “Tribes” and “Indigenous”. The chapter, 10 The concept of indigenous and tribal are used in different parts of this text with reference to “eco- logical societies.” These terms which even though used in popular terminologies in administrative and academia is not universally accepted either by the community or academic discourse.
- 43. Ideas of IndigenousResilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological … 19 thus, enters into the debates of nomenclature, epistemology, and how the alterna- tive terms could be framed to define the community identities in their homeland or lands of inhabitations. The frameworks of indigeneity/tribal derive its epistemology and ontological perspective through the linguistic and geographical contexts. How communities engage and evolve their ecological identities are explained through the theoretical frameworks of “Ecological Societies” and “triangulated communities co-dependent relationships.” These frameworks are explained through the empir- ical observations, as observed, and studied to develop models of connectedness in different parts of India, South Asia, and its “tribal territories” and to those in the Indian/Native American territories of the United States. The people of land and its geographical spaces are identified or denoted with several terms in past and contemporary times. Ideas and identities framed around the concepts of nationalities, regionalities, ethnicities often restrict the past processes inherent in the evolution and transition of a community identity. In varied circum- stances to balance or to create a secular harmony in so-called liberal intonations,11 we use the terminology of “composite” or “secular” cultures (Pradeep and Deepak, 2011). Thecompositecultural dynamics is atriangulatedmodel12 (Aiello&Simeone, 2019) of communities’ co-dependence which arises out of the necessity of co- habitation (Woollacott, 2015: 47–49), although in the historical-cultural narratives, it often remains ignored. Especially in the South Asian colonial and postcolonial narra- tives, we come across the co-dependent triangulations often seen with critical subjec- tivity which got purged with Eurocentric liberal reforms13 (Hardiman, 2008). In some of the studies with the postcolonial narratives, critical inquiries were engaged about the colonial reforms. The colonial transitions which derived their justifications by destructing the pre-colonial structures of society and economy bring about resilience through revivalism of these structures. These resilient practices on various plinths revive themselves and connect the eroded paths of pre-colonial economic and cultural patterns. Studies by Tucker (2012) and Kashwan (2017) critically analyze about how the native systems based on their traditional culture, economy, and resource utilization were damaged with colonial policies. During the nationalist era, the tradi- tional patterns of Indian land systems and cultural orders were revived, and attempts were made to reinstate them (Sengar, 2001; 2018a, 2018b). There are evidences of several affinities in patterns of resilience of indigenous cultures among the native cultures of America or “Native America” to that of India. In India, we come across different patterns of resilience in cultural practices and also in the economic models. The chapter of this book by Bina Sengar and Feroz discusses empirical studies of Western India on these resilient models of anthropogenic ecological spaces. In similar patterns, chapter following to this paper in the present volume by Sengar further 11 Pradeep Kumar Deepak (2011) “Identities of Tripura and Identities in Tripura” in Ruma Bhattacharya (edited) Identity Issues in Northeast India, New Delhi, Akansha Publishers. 12 Kenneth D. Aiello and Michael Simeone (2019) “Triangulation of History using Textual Data” Isis, Volume 110, No. 3, pp 522–537. 13 David Hardiman (2008) Missionaries and Their Medicine: A Christian Modernity for Tribal India, Manchester, and New York: Manchester University Press.
- 44. 20 B. Sengar discussesSeminole community’s resilience in the ecological space of southeastern region. The present chapter discusses aspects of the empirical study from the above stated two observed territories from Western India and Southeast region of United States of America as a singular theoretical framework of triangulated ecological societies resilience. Triangulation and “ecological societies” contexts are attempted to be explained with the part extracts from these two transcontinental regional studies. The studies are connected with the frameworks of their human–environment rela- tions and community co-dependent models. In the traditionalist approach, often the communities are studied in isolation with their community practices, contrary to it, when we study the triangulated societies, we understand them with their networks (Guha, 2003:1; Harris & Wasilewski, 2004: 4). The South Asian societies co-dependence and interconnectedness of cultures and economy are a well-studied and scholarly explained phenomenon. The Indian social structures are explained and studied as a co-dependent model of Rural-Nomadic- Urban spaces of human cultural communities which remain connected through a triangulated model (Sengar & Mcmillin, 2020). Noted archeologist Subbarao (1958) explains the co-dependent relationships of Indian society as follows; according to him, there have always been three main categories of ecologically situated cultures and societies prevalent in India and South Asia14 from the prehistoric to historical and contemporary times, which are as follows: (1) Communities living in secluded territories “Areas of Isolation” (2) Communities living in areas of moderate contact and “Areas of Semi-Isolation” (3) Communities of dominant cultures living in the area of the river valley “Areas of Interaction”. The categorical three cultural biomes were connected and kept in continuous motion by the nomadic communities (Hiro, 2011) which traversed through the isolated, semi-isolated, and mainstream cultural spaces (Guha, 2003). The nomadic communities of South Asia were the transmitters of these knowledge systems and cultural flow which formulated the concept of a regional, physiographic cultures which further bridged the cultures of two territorial divisions. The perspectives of these studies highlight the indispensable role of human cultures and commu- nity practices in retaining and sustaining the ecological cultural biome for human- environmental relations (Sengar, 2020a, b). In studies of resilience, the framework of ecological spaces is accepted, and resilient community’s transition is often studied as a foundation of these frameworks (Chiaravallotti et al., 2021). In earlier studies of twentieth century, ideas of ecological societies was further studied on lines of Subbarao’s above stated three-tier system. In work by Guha, where he explains the cultural biomes as “ecosystem people” and “ecological refugees” where the two communities consistently remain connected through the “Omnivores societies” (Guha, 2003). In this study, he articulated the imbalance which is created when 14 Subbarao, Bendapudi (1958) The Personality of India: Pre and Proto-historic Foundation of India and Pakistan, Faculty of Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, pp. 2–10.
- 45. Ideas of IndigenousResilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological … 21 there is unequal exchange and domination of one group of cultural biomes against the other. Thus, according to him, “if the ecosystem people maintain the sustain- ability of exchange and co-dependence then environmental sustenance remains,” With these lines of thoughts, Asian models of human–environment balance remained in these studies, where exchange and isolation of the ecological spaces are not consid- ered a viable solution for environmentalism. Developed on these lines of thoughts critique of deep ecology with assessment of environmental criticism from South Asian perspectives was proposed by Guha, according to him, as he develops his critique he states: ‘I make two arguments: first, that deep ecology, is uniquely American, and despite superficial similarities in rhetorical style” with models of ecological systems, and despite superficial similarities in rhetorical style, the social and political goals of radical environmentalism in other cultural contexts (e.g., … Germany and India) are quite different; second, that the social consequences of putting deep ecology into practice on a worldwide basis …are very grave indeed.’ (Guha, 1989: 1) In the conservative theories of environmentalism and conservationist philosophy of environmental theory (Sutter, 2003; Tucker, 2012), ecology was often seen as a non-transient and could only be seen with closed biomes and systems with norms of deep ecology. Deep ecology’s fundamental theoretical thrust is about the concept that the environment is biocentric and human economic-cultural designs are centered around it. Contrary to it, Asian (See Note 2) or the indigenous/nativist commercial cultural frameworks explain that the ecology and anthropogenic activities in pre- colonial social structures were interconnected and created the complex and sustain- able human-environmental relations (Sengar, 2016). In the administratively accepted and generic methods of environmental conservation, the policy structures are guided with top-to-down designs. When we study the environmental proposition of conser- vation, then we fittingly are trained to look toward the approaches where the conser- vation is carried with the colonial scientific methods (Tucker, 2012: xi–xvii). The colonial methods were promoted as ideal way to resource documentation and utiliza- tion of them by the dominant societies. Contrary to it, they were the major cause for the dislocation of the complex ecological models of pre-colonial sustainable societies which are also defined as socio-ecological systems (Ostrom, 2009). Studies in South Asian ecological derivatives explored these dynamics extensively from the times of nationalist historiography which critically assessed the colonial reforms. Whereas, through the empirical data, it is proven that how much detrimental were colonial and postcolonial structures for the colonized societies. In American environmentalist studies in relation to the indigenous studies and ecological frameworks, the correla- tion studies were attempted by Sutter (2003: 110–111). In this seminal essay, “What Can U.S. Environmental Historians Learn from Non-U.S. Environmental Histori- ography?” Guha attempted to explore the empire and environmental correlation in context of “settler colonialism.” Thus, a discussion thereafter, ensued the seeking parallels which were critiqued in writings of Guha and Richard Grove (1996) with that of American areas of influence and in American West too (Sutter, 2003: 111). The US Environmental studies movement which began with 1960s and 70 anti-war
- 46. 22 B. Sengar cryand back to nature spirit with writings of Carson (1962) turned the table and rigorous academic discussions began on environmentalist movements and academic discourse too. The debate to assess and protect environment on conservationist lines continued. The 1990 Journal of American History round table functioned as the culmination of the first generation of environmental history scholarship and a springboard for a second generation of scholars. Worster explained that environmental history sought to give voice to a set of “autonomous, independent energies that do not derive from the drives and intentions of any culture,” and he urged environmental historians to utilize the “wisdom of nature” to assess human-induced environmental change. He focused on “the concept of modes of production” to understand how humans had altered ecosystems to serve their ends, and he made the rise of capitalism the central drama of environmental history. The respondents—Alfred Crosby, Richard White, Carolyn Merchant, William Cronon, and Stephen Pyne—found much to applaud in Worster’s ambitious vision, but they also noted the tensions between his definition of nature as an ordered nonhuman realm with its own inherent values, and nature as a realm necessarily constructed through culture” (Sutter, 2013: 94–95) With such propositions of bringing debates of anthropocentric human–environ- ment approach, transition in the environmental history did take place. Thereafter, we come across environmental history in the United States and American academia enters the global discussions on resilience and human-environmental relationship debates. Studies of Alfred Crosby (2003), with their Colombian Exchange theory exposed the intrinsic connections of empire and environment in the “Global North” and “Global South.” Simultaneously, indigenous studies vocally addressing the envi- ronmental and indigenous “Native American” land and sovereignty rights brought into academic discussions the issue of “Indigeneity and environmentalism.” The anthropocentric approach discussed in Guha’s writings in 2003 criticizing tradi- tionalist biocentric deep ecology, thus, by the beginning of the twenty-first century united the global discourse on environmental and anthropocentric approach. The contemporary global discourse on environmentalism doesn’t restrict itself in the United States and its traditionalist conservationist environmental rhetoric or colonial vs decolonizing narratives (Coulter & Mauch, 2011). Contrary to it, the environ- mentalist debate is open-ended quest in the academic circles. It seeks solutions to ever-growing challenges between nature and humans, where questions are addressed with multiple sources of solution providers. As quoted in Coulter & Mauch, 2011: Is environmental history our “best hope for the future”? The field is young, dynamic, and poised to contribute knowledge and understanding to a variety of problems facing the entire planet. Its work is in demand, but to what extent can its offerings provide hope, or better yet, practical solutions? Which fields have we neglected? Are there directions we should encourage and support? With resilient studies, Anthropocene debate15 and analytical models of resilience in the empirical field sites are pragmatic solution seeking theories and agencies. Wherein as historians could we find solutions to the environmental debate in history? This remains an examining quest to me as I delved into my own research prism 15 https://en.unesco.org/courier/2018-2/anthropocene-vital-challenges-scientific-debate.
- 47. Ideas of IndigenousResilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological … 23 and field sites. As a historian or learner of history, we get to see and understand societies in totality of their locational cultural with the neighboring and connected cultures as well (Subramanyam, 1997). The Eurocentric colonial cultural narratives had a sectional approach when explaining about histories and cultures of the non- European societies, which remained predominant structure of community history writing. The varied examples of these writings are evident in the anthropological accountsandethnographicnarrativesbothinIndia“SouthAsia”andtheUnitedStates of America. These narratives gave holistic narratives about the community and its identity. Yet, the limitation remained that they remained accounts of the community’s cultural analysis through narrow prism of community as a microscopic identity. These approaches could be understood in ethnographic writings of Florida Native Americans accounts in per se. writings of Gatschet (1884) Sturtevant (1958), similar to what we come across in writings of communities ethnographies of Hunter (1886) Enthoven (1922) and the several writings which followed the ethnographic methods of these groundbreaking anthropological narratives. It is only in the later decades of twentieth century that we come across methods as proposed by Beteille (1986), Tiger & Kersey (2002), Guha (2003), Sutter (2003) which adopt more inclusive approach and emphasize on studying the community connection with their wider connections and transitions. Could then the study of a community be understood and analyzed with its micro and macro connections as triangulation? This remains by proposition. The tri-structural community connections of isolated, semi-isolated, and mainstream cultural connections methods of Subbarao (1958) were further addressed by Guha (2003) and Hayward (2013). Guha with his seminal writing “How much should a Person consume” (2003) addressed a major question on environmental history through three tier of society classification alike to Subbarao as ecosystem people, ecological refugees, and Omnivores. He also addressed the correlative and co-dependent methods of community structures similar to Subbarao and defines that communities correlate and connect to each other with ecology as their foundation. The imbalance among these three-tier systems leads to environmental destruction. The correlational projections of societies are evident in the study of Tiger & Kersey (2002) also where Tiger explains as follows: Learning the White Mans”s ways; Florida Indians have interacted with non-Indians on a limited basis since the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when they carried on an intensive trade in bird plumes, otter pelts, and alligator hides with white storekeepers, Indian families would make camp at Fort Lauderdale, Miami, or other towns while trading, then return to their Everglades village. (Tiger & Kersey 2002:53, 353) The findings of the empirical observations and reviewed literary evidences prove that that, all the societies irrespective of their regional-continental relations perceived a system of livelihood which enables them to live in harmony and co-dependence with the three-tier systems of societies. The trans-continental patterns, thus, steer a pattern, which enables us to perceive a model of patterns of co-existence within and among the societies. Let us compare the models of Subbarao (1958) and Guha (2003) where both build themselves on the model proposed by Hayward (2013) of “ecological spaces” (Figs. 1 and 2).
- 48. 24 B. Sengar Fig.1 Model of Subbarao (1958) Fig. 2 Model of Guha (2003) WhereinSubbaraoexplainstheco-dependentcorrelationamongthethreecommu- nity cultures which are connected by the semi-isolated cultures, Guha (2003) proposes that the omnivores cultures are the cultures of power which determines the nature and level of exploitation which will be carried on the ecosystem people and ecological refugees. The model Guha derives from his empirical study of the Chipko (Tree Huggers) movement. His explanations of ecosystem people also appear in environmentalist movements of twentieth century. The empirical observations of Guha define that the environmentalist movement and indigenous/ecosystem people went hand in hand and destruction of these communities globally will lead to the environmental degradation, and the steering of destruction is done by the Omnivore cultures of the societies. Both the models, thus, work on the concept of domina- tion of the mainstream/Omnivore cultures which determine the fate and future of the ecosystem dependent cultures. The foundational adaptability as explained in the diagrammatic equation laid on the first-tier and second-tier cultures. The cultures which essentially own the knowledge of the ecosystem, therefore, become essential as how they perceive and evolve the ecological and geographical knowledge. Based
- 49. Ideas of IndigenousResilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological … 25 Fig. 3 Triangulated Ecological Societies on these methods and models proposed in the earlier historical-ecological studies, the model proposed in the triangulated ecological society method is as follows: (Fig. 3) As we study and observe the resilient models of the cultures and demographic shift and shifting modalities of peoples and places, we come across different historic evidences to prove that the cultures even though co-dependent depend on their longevity and sustenance so long as they retain the balance. The model as proposed by Guha determines that the domination of “Omnivores” leads to the destruction or overall depletion of the cultures. This phenomenon is applicable and discussed in the study by Covington (1968) Sumit Guha (2006) Grovogui (2016). In the studies and their empirical analysis claim that urban settlements dependent on the ecological cultures declines and remerges in spaces where the over exploitation or displacement of ecological cultures was imposed, and later, the migration induced in similar or reclaimed ecologies steers the resilience. Thus, the diagrammatic model explained above as through my perpetual subjective analysis and empirical studies16 works on the concept that the ecological cultures are the anthropocentric community cultures of a region. The anthropogenic ecological culture derives its genesis with evolved impressions and living human cultural traces in the ecological biome of a region. The region then derives its human-ecological identity through the intensive and long- term association of a community with its region. The human-ecological interface, thereafter, leads to the subjective growth of ecological knowledge which informs of culturalpractices,economicengagements,andpoliticalstructures.Thesocio-cultural evolution and transition of a community is not limited to the way they interact within 16 The studies which I carried as part of my research used in this chapter have theoretical models which are derived through observational and empirical field-based methods. The detailed empir- ical, archival, and observational versions of these studies are part of this book in two chapters titled: “Fracturing and Formation of Cultural Spaces of Florida Seminole: From Settlements to Reser- vation” and “Bio-Diversity Habitats, People, Policies and Problematics: Through case studies of ecological hotspots of Aurangabad and Beed”.
- 50. 26 B. Sengar thecommunity. The co-dependent structures, thus, define the continuous transition which occurs with triangulated interaction among the three-tier systems of interac- tions in all spheres of cultures, commerce, and political systems. The community as ecological societies continuously engage themselves and evolve themselves in tech- nological systems, increased interface with their own ecological spaces with knowl- edge they garner through their co-dependent interactions and relationships with the migratory/nomadic communities, and the urban settling cultures which thrives on the earlier two cultures production and processing skills. The concept of connected- ness is the foundation of the triangulation which is about harmony and co-dependent process of learning. The essential base of the triangulated ecological cultures is “co-dependence,” “mutual and shared learning” with respect and harmony. 3 Triangulation and Ecological Models in the Native American and Tribal Indian (India) Societies The proposition of “triangulated” “ecological cultures” as carried in this research and stated in the beginning is used through two historical analytical studies in the United States of America and India. 1. Seminole and Miccosukee reservations in Florida and their formations and tran- sition in the twentieth century in the Southeastern region of the United States of America 2. Bhil territories in Western India in the pre-colonial times and their resilient structural frameworks in the postcolonial contemporary societies of India. The community networks and historical web of these societies are comprehen- sively discussed in other two chapters of this book. Here, in this chapter, I will take selected aspects which explain the historical evidence to the theoretical stand of the ecological societies and their triangulated resilience as an ecological and environ- mental solution. The derived approach from writings of Guha (2003) and Crosby (2003) and Sengar (2001; 2016; 2018a, b; 2020a, b) states that the exchange and domination often lead to destruction of the societies. However, in the last two decades since these studies appeared, we also came across the resilience and re-strengthening of the ecological communities. Seminole and Miccosukee are now two most affluent and influential Native American communities of Florida and similarly in India if we observe then the ecological communities of Bhil in Western parts of India have rein- stated their cultural practices in a strong way and their political assertion determines the policy structures of the region. The commercial and political structures of the southeastern region of the United States of America and Western India are also now determined by how much space and importance is given to the community and their co-dependent networks in the region. Thus, to a certain extent, the transition in the policy structures determined how the societies integrated their regional triangulated networks inclusive of the community practices and the solutions proposed by them.
- 51. Ideas of IndigenousResilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological … 27 In the American continents, resilient and decolonization practices are establishing themselves in the cultural rhetoric of indigenous communities which are widely discussed in academia and popular culture. The theoretical foundation discussed above, thus, discusses about the process of decolonization is more about an equitable balance which has always been part of the historical evolution within the communi- ties of the triangulated networks of ecological cultures and co-dependent cultures to the ecological systems. The two cultures of Native America and India (South Asia) though connected with nomenclature of Indian also have historical and ecological trajectories of commonalities. Studies on Indian identity by Kennedy and Fisher (2007), Deloria & Salisbury (2008), Lyman (2010), Cave (2014), Huddleston (2015), and Lima (2016) have comprehensively discussed about the ecological strengths and foundations of the Native American cultures which derive its affinity with Indian (India) cultures. The cultural and structural parallels among two ecological cultural groupswerewidelydiscussedinthestudiesbyalreadybeenmentionedaboveindetail by Beteille, Guha, Parry (2011), Marchi et al. (2016), Treuer (2013), Subbarao (1958) and Woollacott (2015). The connected norms and of ecological cultural identities strengthened themselves with their historical legacies. The Seminole and Miccosukee resilience since the times of their association with the Creek confederacy (Sturte- vant, 1958, 2001) reflects their intrinsic relationships with the land and cultures of southeastern regions of the United States of America and Floridian peninsula. With the arrival of Settler colonialism in the United States of America (Sutter, 2003), the transition in the indigenous and Native American resilient patterns evolves on lines of the triangulated model. Therefore, when Seminoles were displaced from the southeastern lands with swamp ecology their adaptation in the ecology of the Ever- glades, they could adapt to a similar ecology and experience relocation resilience. Similarly, when Bhils were repressed and displaced, they retained their ecocultural understanding of Western India (Sengar, 2017; 2018a b) and reinstated themselves in the postcolonial era in Western India. The reestablishment of Bhil communi- ties in the ecological spaces of Western highlands as power players and knowledge holders of the Western Indian highlands are the evidence of their resilience (Nilsen, 2018). The reinstating of a knowledge owning society of an ecological region doesn’t just reinstate the ecological biome and structural ecosystem, it also strengthens the migratory-nomadic passages building and revival of the urban centers dependent on these two cultures of ecological systems. In the era after eighteenth century, the Florida evolved as a touristic and demographic hub because of the communities co- dependence and resource utilization efficiency. Similarly, in Western India, the trade route of Delhi-Mumbai-Hyderabad is strengthening itself in ever stronger ways since its ebb phase of colonial era (Sengar, 2017). The gradual rise of the urban center’s which was almost dormant since last two centuries are becoming active trading hubs again, because of the Bhil lands of Khandesh and Marathwada in Western India have shown the ecological resilience17 in the last two centuries. 17 Details about these reemergence of trading centers is discussed in the chapter by Bina Sengar and Shaikh Feroz Illyas in this edited volume.
- 52. 28 B. Sengar 4Conclusion The discussion above, therefore, thrusts a response framework of the indige- nous/tribal communities from the United States of America and India. The postcolo- nial discourse which structures itself in the idioms of decolonization in the United States of America, somehow doesn’t qualify itself in the Indian (India) framework for a discourse on response and resilience of Indigenous communities in postcolo- nial Asian world. The ideological conflicts and internal community dissensions to a great extent are the cause for this non-decolonial response in Asia. Even then, we do come across resilience, revivalism, and reclaiming land and culture movements in India. The reclaiming of sovereignty, land, and its ecological cultures in India by the so-called Tribal communities has reinstated triangulated models of ecological societies. The colonial and settler colonial legacy of the United States of America and India on several common grounds followed the British or the Imperial model for the governance over the natives, which to a great extent distorted and fractured the way the traditional frameworks were functioning in several parts of the world. With the postcolonial policy transitions and the new streams of global connections, what transpired in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are a shared decolonizing and reconnecting the world, although yet again among the distant yet connected societies of the neo-imperial world. The Indians of United States of America and the tribals of India evolved as conglomerate of collected ideas for governance and repression. The counter solutions to these repressions came in form of resilience, the socio-political resilience is redefined by the immersed understanding of land and its knowledge systems. Studies on Miccosukee, Seminole and Bhils are the best practices exam- ples, which enable us to further understand these triangulated systems of ecological societies. The ecological cultures could revive because they knew the land and its culturalframeworks,thus,arrangingtheirtransitorysocio-political-economicmodels formulated them to reinstate their power and significant roles in the contemporary socio-political order. Notes 1. In discussion of the research paper about ‘Triangulated Model’ of spaces and communities and Ecological Societies phenomenon are discussed as part of the theory propounded by the author. Author also worked on the theory of ‘Triangulated Model of community exchange’ and disseminated it as part of her course developed during the Fulbright assignment in 2018–2019. Course details: https://indigenous.fiu.edu/news/2018/gif-news-for-november- 2018/https://www.academia.edu/38180671/Bina_Spring_Course_Final_3_pdf 2. While explaining the ecological societies and Triangulation model the historic analysis of resilience and post-colonial models of social frameworks are discussed from Asian societies in this research paper. In the research essay selected pre-colonial models are then attempted to be compared with the Southeastern models of United states.
- 53. Ideas of IndigenousResilience through Triangulated Model: Ecological … 29 Acknowledgements The research for this subject and theory is carried by me over a decade long engagement in the parts of Western India, Northeast India, and Northern parts of India, where I was supported by different granting agencies per se Wellcome Trust UK (2011-2012, 2018-2021) and Indian Council of Historical research (2017-2019). For my research carried in the United States of America, I am truly indebted to Tata Trust (2013) AAS Grant (2014) and Fulbright Nehru Fellowship (2018-2019). During my Fulbright grant period, I got tremendous support to understand and work in the Florida and its ecological regions. About the historical perspectives, my discussions with several scholars and their writings enabled my perspectives on this research. Declarations Partial funding to complete this paper was received from Wellcome Trust-UK and Fulbright Grant: United States of America-India grants, I have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to this study. References Aiello, K. D., & Simeone, M. (2019). Triangulation of history using textual data. Isis, 110(3), 522–537 Beteille, A. (1986). The concept of tribe with special reference to India. European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie / Europäisches Archiv für Soziologie, 27(2), 297–318. Bockman, J. (2015). Socialist globalization against capitalist neocolonialism: The economic ideas behind the new international economic order. Humanity: An International Journal of Human Rights, Humanitarianism, and Development, 6(1), 109–128. Carson, R. (1962). Silent Spring. Houghton Miffin. Boston. Carter, N., Bryant, L. D., DiCenso, A., Blythe, J., & Neville, A. J. (2014). The use of triangulation in qualitative research. Oncology Nursing Forum, 41(5), 545–547. https://doi.org/10.1188/14.ONF. 545-547. PMID: 25158659. Casey, D., & Murphy, K. (2009). Issues in using methodological triangulation in research. Nurse Researcher, 16(4), 40–55. https://doi.org/10.7748/nr2009.07.16.4.40.c7160. PMID: 19653545. Cave, A. A. (2014). Thomas More and the New World. Cambridge University Press. Chakrabarty, D. (2012). Postcolonial Studies and the Challenge of Climate Change. New Literary History (The Johns Hopkins University Press), 43(1), 1–18. Chiaravalloti, R. M., Freitas, D. M., de Souza, R. A., Biswas, S., Markos, A., Manfroi, M. N., & Dyble, M. (2021). Resilience of social-ecological systems: Drastic seasonal change is associated with economic but not social flexibility among fishers in the Brazilian Pantanal. Ecology and Society., 26(2), 30. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-12433-260230 Coulter, K., & Mauch, C. (2011). The future of environmental history needs and opportunities. Rachel Carson Centre for Environment and Ecology Perspectives. Federal Ministry of Education and Research. https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/2011_3.pdf Covington, J. W. (1968). Migration of the Seminoles into Florida, 1700–1820. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 46(4), 340–357. Crosby, Alfred. (2003). The Columbian exchange: biological and cultural consequences of 1492. Duke University Press. Deloria, P. J. & Salisbury, N. (2008). A companion to American Indian history. Wiley. Duara, P. (2004). The discourse of civilization and decolonization. Journal of World History, 15(1), 1–5. Duarte, M. E., & Belard-Lewis, M. (2015). Imagining: Creating spaces for indigenous ontologies. Cataloging & Classification Quarterly: Indigenous Knowledge Organization, 53(5–6):677–702.
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- 56. they walk along;for the women, with innate tenderness, accompany them for many miles out of the town, unwilling, until the very last moment, to bid the objects of their affection adieu for ever, whilst the latter, in entering the Russian army, like the condemned in Dante’s ‘Inferno,’ leave all hope behind. Before the war began it was the universal custom among the landowners to send all the worthless characters into the army, and, as men of any size are eligible to serve therein, it was a convenient manner of getting rid of those that were idle or disobedient. I have often been present when a lady or gentleman, in writing to the steward, would say, “Since you can do nothing with Vassili, Ivan, or Gregory, you can hand them over to the recruiting- officers at the next conscription.” “Do you know,” said one of these proprietors, “if you say to one of our serfs, ‘I will send you for a soldier,’ he will tremble at the words, and not forget them either for two years at the least.” By this we may form some idea of the light in which the honourable profession of arms is regarded by them, and of the treatment they expect when they are forced to embrace it. Desertions are, of course, extremely frequent, and since the commencement of the war they are fifty times multiplied, if one may judge from the numerous groups of miserable wretches, heavily chained, met with almost hourly in the streets of St. Petersburg. I am sure it was enough to make one’s heart ache with sorrow and indignation to look on their grief- stricken faces and thin figures, which seemed as if they had been wandering with the wolves in the wilderness to escape from the cruelty of their fellow- men. Once or twice I met a group even more horrible than these. Several soldiers with fixed bayonets were walking on each side of a droshsky, on which was seated one of their comrades holding in his arms what was certainly the corpse of some unhappy deserter who had just received the punishment for his fault, his head shaking listlessly from side to side, and his arms hanging straight and rigid, the livid shadow of death on his sharp and painful features, showing that the heavy lash had at last released him from his misery. In looking round on the broad streets of the capital, and seeing, in contrast with so much suffering and misfortune, the gaudy carriages of the nobles and their gaily-dressed occupants, who seemed so wholly busied in the pursuit of pleasure that they could not spare a single moment to reflect on the unhappiness of their fellow-creatures, I was often tempted to ask myself whether, if entreaty were made, as in times of old, “to spare the city for ten’s sake,” the domes and towers of St. Petersburg would still stand to cast their shadow on the earth.
- 57. The numerous conscriptionslevied since the Russians entered the Principalities have taken away not only the worthless slaves but the very flower of the estates, and great was the dissatisfaction even openly expressed by the proprietors: “Notre Empereur se trouvera en face de son peuple,” said one of them; from which an inference may be drawn. On all sides universal disapprobation was heard; but they were careful not to lay the blame on the Czar, so their anger was vented on the English and Lord Palmerston, whom they still persisted in saying was the prime mover of all, and on whom, of course, their own government was glad to throw the odium. It was not known, nor would it be believed when affirmed, that the Allied Powers had caused the rights of the Christians to be recognised in Turkey; and even when the “Confidential Correspondence” was published, they actually, with the Emperor’s letter before them, declared that the whole was a forgery and a tissue of falsehoods.[25] In consequence all their hatred, anger, and fanaticism were roused against the English as abettors of infidels and downright liars; their monarch was a martyr, and the English his persecutors. At last, when they could no longer shut their eyes entirely to the truth, the upper classes said that they supposed the Emperor wished to acquire the surname of Great, and that he was willing to become the admiration of future ages and be spoken of by posterity. If the latter reason be a true one, there is every probability that his expectations will be realized, only in a manner rather contrary to what he desired. Perhaps the illusion concerning the wonderful power of Russia will be further dispelled when they have been enlightened by a few flashes of the cannon of the Allies, and have been made to feel that of France and England, for as yet scarcely any of them are acquainted with the resources of the two countries, thanks to their education and the government books of instruction. They are truly like people walking in darkness, and are now moved like chessmen anywhere that the player pleases. One morning I went to call on a lady, and as usual the parties present were railing at the English. At last I asked my friend why they did not say something about the French as well. Her answer was naïve enough: “Oh, we don’t mind them; but I believe they talk about the English so much because they fear them the most. Our people you know,” she continued, “are accustomed to think of the former as a nation they have vanquished, but they were not prepared to see your countrymen in the light of enemies, the two countries have been so many centuries friends.” Certainly the communication with England has existed from time immemorial; even in the remotest ages commerce was carried on between the two countries, although it was only established in the reign of Ivan IV.; and it may be remembered by the reader of Russian history that the daughter of Harold the Unfortunate married a
- 58. Russian prince.[26] Iremember a gentleman near Orenburg informing me that, in digging among the ruins of an ancient Tartar city near his residence, fragments of English pottery were frequently turned up, yet the very name of the town had disappeared and was forgotten. An English gentleman in Moscow once showed me a gold coin, half the size of a fourpenny-piece, of Ethelred, or Ethelbert, I am not sure which, that had been dug up or found near the lake of Ladoga, and, as he supposed, had been dropped there by some British merchant on his way to the fair of Nisny Novogorod, which has been annually held at that place for centuries beyond record, and was in former ages the grand emporium of Europe and Asia, whither merchants of both continents repaired to exchange the manufactures and produce of each. It is still held in the month of July, and lasts six weeks, and is also still resorted to by dealers from most of the nations of Europe to purchase cashmere shawls, &c. I was once very near the place during the time of the fair, but, as it is not considered “comme il faut” for a lady to be seen there, I did not visit it. It is the grand market for tea, which is brought thither by the Chinese to exchange for Russian money. Formerly the Russians gave their own manufactures of cloth instead of paying in coin for the chests of tea, but I was assured that their speculations on that head had been entirely ruined by themselves; “for,” said my informant, “with true Muscovite dishonesty they, finding that the Chinese did not unroll the bundles of cloth, hit upon the ingenious plan of making the first few arsheens of good quality, and the remainder of the veriest rubbish: the unsuspecting Celestials took them as usual without much examination at the word of the western merchants, and carried them back to China, the Russian cheats meanwhile laughing in their sleeve to think how they had taken them in. But they were severely punished the next year, and have been ever since, for the Chinese tea-dealers were not to be duped a second time; they attended the fair with their well-packed chests, but obstinately refused to receive anything but silver money in payment; so the Russians, who had prepared a vast quantity of cloth, were obliged to carry it all back again; and as the people cannot do without tea, they were forced to purchase it for ready cash, and bear the loss as they best could.” Any one that knows the Russian character and their want of foresight will have no difficulty in recognising this anecdote as a true trait of the national mind. In London we may walk through every street, and, from any indication we see of the fact, we should never guess that the nation was at war with anybody. It was far different in St. Petersburg when I left it; there not only every street but every house gave some intimation of the struggle in which they are engaged: trade was almost at a stand-still; scarcely any of the shops
- 59. had customers inthem; everybody seemed to be economizing their money lest poverty should come. Long lines of cannon and ammunition-waggons were drawn up here and there, outworks were being thrown up, parks of artillery were being dragged through the streets continually, regiments marching in and marching out, whilst whole armies were being sent to the Baltic provinces, which I was informed were to be occupied by four hundred thousand troops, but, as the authority was a Russian one, there is no reason to believe it. Every morning, look out of the window at what hour I would, hundreds, nay thousands, of raw recruits, torn from their villages perhaps a thousand versts off, were tramping wearily along, with all their worldly riches in bundles at their back, with dresses wet and muddy, and faces stricken with grief, as they marched in the direction of the palace in order to receive the Emperor’s approval. I know not what the feelings in that man’s breast can be as he deliberately scans the downcast countenances of so many miserable wretches, and then sends them down to the seat of war, really and truly for nothing else than to become food for cannon, and the prey of vultures and jackals. Does he ever reflect that for each life he thus sacrifices for his ambition he will be called to account and stand arraigned as a murderer before the judgment-seat of God, who has committed them into his hands that he may be the protector and not the slayer of his people? Reviews were held almost daily: Cossacks, Circassians, guards, and the line, all had their turn and their destination assigned them. I was told that the Czar, in reviewing a number of troops previous to their being forwarded on their march to the south, was struck with the sad and dejected air of the poor men, and even the officers. “Hold your heads up,” he angrily exclaimed; “why do you look so miserable? there is nothing to cause you to be so!” Perhaps the soldiers saw more plainly than he the evils that threatened them. From all that I could learn, the government was at its wit’s end to know what to do with the forces: they were marched hither and thither, to and fro, according as some fresh intelligence arrived, bringing news of intended attacks just in the opposite points to those reported before, and by this means wearing out the men’s strength and spirits, until they would be too happy to surrender as prisoners to whoever would have the charity to take them. The daily expense of supporting all these myriads amounts, as a Russian informed me, to about a million of silver roubles, or rather more than a hundred and fifty-eight thousand pounds. To the English, who pay their troops more liberally, and feed them with better rations than the detestable black bread and salt with which the Russian warriors are furnished, this may seem a small sum for so
- 60. vast a numberas they boast of possessing, but perhaps, with the national failing concerning numbers, they might have put in a stray figure or so to look well on paper. Reception of the Imperial Family at a Review. page 314. In speaking of the Anglo-French invasion, the Russians declared that, if the enemy took Cronstadt, they would themselves burn St. Petersburg, as they did Moscow in 1812. Indeed it looked somewhat as if they had the idea in view, for all the great families were sending their jewels, plate, and valuables into the interior, whilst many of them went to their estates with the intention of remaining there a whole year. I was informed that the treasures from the palace were also taken away, and, among other articles worthy of removal, the state prisoners from the fortress, who were transported to some unknown place at a distance. There was also a grave discussion as to the propriety of forming another capital near the ancient city of Novogorod, which in former times, under Rurick, in the ninth century, was the metropolis of his dominions. If they do so they will incur the danger of falling into the status quo ante Peter’s reign, for, if cut off from easy communication with Europe, civilization, which is still but an exotic in the country, and has not yet taken a firm root in its soil, will die away, and barbarism, which is the normal state of Russia, will
- 61. assert its supremacy.In short, the Russians are in that agreeable position that any prospect would be preferable to that which they have before them. Perhaps the sentiments of a gentleman in St. Petersburg, concerning the present state of affairs, may be interesting: he is of Polish descent, a man of talent and education, and one of the best authors in the country. A great many visitors were assembled, and during their stay my friend assented to everything that was proposed; but when they had all departed, he frankly told me that he was convinced the Russians had no chance, and that he was sure they would be dreadfully beaten. On my asking him what he really thought of the whole affair, he replied, “In a few words I will tell you. This Emperor Nicholas seems to me to have been placed by Heaven on the throne in order to punish the wickedness of his people: how otherwise could he have been tempted thus to risk his country, crown, life, and all, upon a single turn of a card? vous verrez qu’il sera flambé. No one has ever yet stood against Lord Palmerston, and neither will he. Look at Louis Philippe; who caused him to repent of kicking against the pricks? And that Queen of Spain—you will see how long she will rule. Lord Palmerston is one of the greatest statesmen the English have ever had, and you may be sure he would not be so much hated in Russia were he not feared, and with good reason too.” I remarked that it was a pity the Emperor did not withdraw ere it was too late. “He would be glad to do so,” was the reply, “but he dares not; he has raised a legion of demons that he cannot lay. What would the proprietors say? What would the ruined merchants say? and what would become of him if he were thus publicly to acknowledge that he is in the wrong? No; now that he has advanced so far, he is obliged to continue, and leave the bill he has drawn to be dishonoured by those that come after him.” He also expressed the conviction that the allies could take St. Petersburg if it suited them to do so. “But in regard to that,” he said, “they would do well to destroy what the efforts of barbarians have erected. This city,” continued he, “is but a false imitation of a civilized capital. What barbarism has planned and fostered, let civilization demolish: we shall then perhaps see the nation reduced to a savage state, and so much the better, as they will have to learn by experience, instead of having the outward appearance of a civilized people thrust upon them by a despot’s sword. Peter the Great made an enormous mistake that it will take centuries to correct.” On my expressing regret that so many fine buildings should be destroyed, “It seems so at the first sight,” replied my friend, “but it ought to be done for more than one reason, for the sake of the human race thousands of years to
- 62. come, who wouldbless the hands that had dealt chastisement to a tyrant, and had shown an example that would be felt to the end of time.” He finished by presenting me with a copy of the imperial proclamation concerning the miraculous preservation of Odessa, which he laughingly bade me keep as a precious document, one of the most wonderful productions of the age, and a most astonishing proof of the extent it was possible to lie in the face of Heaven. I believe that, although I had been acquainted with the family seven or eight years, my friend would not have dared to speak so freely, had he not been aware that the next day I was to leave Russia probably for ever. Whether my friend’s ideas be just or not, I cannot tell; but how can we expect that a blessing will be on a city, every stone of whose foundations was laid at the cost of a human life?[27] The Russians themselves have ever had a foreboding that St. Petersburg will not long exist, and that evil will befal it. Perhaps they feel that the myriads whose clay has long ere this mingled with the morasses into which they were thrown, still cry for vengeance unto Heaven, and that they will be heard at last. When I was on the road to Warsaw, I saw the large army that Russia was sending through Poland to the south and the Principalities; as nearly as I could calculate there were about sixty thousand men, chiefly infantry of the line, in three divisions, perhaps at the distance of fifty versts apart. It was not without a feeling of sincere compassion that I gazed on the poor people’s faces, and thought how few, how very few, of all those would ever return again. One division of many thousands was bivouacked on the plains à la belle étoile; most of them were fast asleep on the bare ground, their arms piled up near them, with sentinels guarding different points; videttes were stationed at a distance, looking in their dark coats like bronze statues, with the twilight sky in the background. Here and there were watch-fires, with a few soldiers sitting around; scores of ammunition-waggons and gun-carriages were at a little distance further on, with men standing under arms, and the horses grazing on the scanty grass of the fields close by. I came up with the second division early on the next morning; the soldiers were all marching merrily along to the voices of those in the van of each regiment, who were singing the war-song of the Russian army; and they really seemed, in the excitement of the moment, to have forgotten the scanty rations and infamous treatment they receive, and for which they are compensated by the munificent pay of nine shillings per annum! I remarked that the officers were dressed precisely the same as the privates; a small piece of twisted gold lace, from the neck to the shoulder, was the only distinguishing mark by which they were known. The reason of their being so attired was because so many had been shot by
- 63. the enemy, who,it was affirmed, took aim at their more showy uniforms; but from all that I was told, the rifles of the Turks are not the only ones of which they need stand in fear, nor are the Turks their only enemies; their oppression has caused them to find both among their own ranks. At one of the stations an officer belonging to this division got into the mail- coach; he was evidently in a deep decline, and was so extremely ill that he could scarcely stand: it was truly sad to hear him talk. He informed me that he had received orders to join his regiment, living or dead, and that he was obliged to obey, although he feared it would only be to leave his corpse on the route, as he could be of very little service to his country in the state in which he was. It was plain enough that he would never again be able to bear arms in the field; but he was going to the war, nevertheless, although he must have perished not many days after I saw him. His brother officers appeared very kind to him, and rode several miles by the side of the diligence, cheering him with their conversation, and endeavouring to instil some hope into his heart, but in vain; he smiled faintly, and shook his head with mournful significance, for he felt that his march in life was over, and that ambition and a soldier’s name had found an early grave. But he seemed resigned to his fate; and when we stopped at the wretched village in which his company was to rest for the night, I doubt whether he ever quitted it again, and most likely rose no more from the miserable bed in the peasant’s isba to which he was supported. We were all very grieved to see him, yet perhaps some of his gay companions have ere this met a worse fate still; for they may now lie with thousands of their poor fellow-soldiers in their dismal graves amid the pestilent marshes of the Danube, or in the ghastly trench that forms the grave of thousands on the heights of Alma—a horrible sacrifice made to the hateful ambition of their imperial master. The third division was crossing the Vistula in flat boats and rafts at the time we were doing so; indeed many of the men and horses were on the same raft with us: their cannon, and ammunition- waggons were drawn up in a long line on the opposite bank. I asked some of them whither they were going, but I met with the usual answer of the Russian boor—“Ya nisnaiu” (I don’t know); on listening, however, to the conversation of a group of officers who stood near me, I concluded that a part were to remain in Poland, and the remainder to proceed further south. There must have been immense numbers of soldiers wounded in the affairs of Oltenitza and Kalafat; for, go into whatever house you would in St. Petersburg, the ladies and children were all occupied in preparing lint, by unravelling linen rags, for the use of the army; and all the ladies in the Institutes were so engaged by order of the Crown: the enormous quantities
- 64. they made, andthe repeated demands for more, proved how many poor men had been sufferers for the Emperor’s sake. The check that the Russian arms are receiving at our hands, we may be well assured they will neither forgive nor forget; and even centuries to come, they will, if they have the power, take their revenge for it: it is their national character, and they will never rest until their thirst for vengeance is slaked, if it be possible. How fairly soever they may speak—how plausibly soever they may act—they will ever be on the watch, like a cat for its prey, for the slightest weakness, or the least slip, that could give them the most trifling advantage, or tend to the attainment of their object. Remember the taking of Moscow by the Poles, and see for how many centuries they were lying in wait for Warsaw, and how patiently generation after generation they set traps and pitfalls to catch the Polish people tripping, although their enemies were at that time one of the most civilized and powerful states of Europe, whilst they themselves were scarcely recognised as a nation, and were almost unknown to the west. Like drops of water undermining a bank, they venture little by little, and work in silence until their object is gained—then woe and desolation to those that fall! But now that “vaulting ambition has o’erleap’d itself,” let us hope that the children’s children of England and France may bid defiance for ever to their schemes of vengeance! One of the most splendid sights in the world is perhaps the grande révue, in St. Petersburg, of the troops, previous to their proceeding to the summer encampment; it lasts nearly a whole day, and takes place on the Champ de Mars, a large space in front of the summer gardens. We went several times to see it; on the last occasion there were eighty thousand men assembled—a hundred thousand, a gentleman who was with us affirmed, which he pronounced “affrayant pour le monde entier.” There is usually a great crowd to witness the spectacle, but we were so fortunate as to have seats secured for us at a friend’s house, whence we could have a good view of the whole field. On reaching the Champ de Mars my first feeling was one of disappointment, for I could scarcely believe that so great a multitude of men and horses would have occupied comparatively so small a space. The square is not more than one-third of a mile in length, yet there seemed ample room left for performing their military evolutions. The men were all standing under arms, awaiting the arrival of his Imperial Majesty and staff—they and the horses immoveable as statues of bronze; the solid squadrons of Cossacks, like a dark cloud, were drawn up at the further end of the field; their long spears held quite upright had the effect of an endless line of palisades, so even and motionless did they appear. The Czar was expected every minute, so we anxiously kept our gaze
- 65. fixed in thedirection of the palace; at length he arrived: tremendous indeed was the effect of the salutation which he received from the multitude of warriors; He, followed by his glittering staff, passed close to the spot where we were seated, mounted on a black war-horse, his noble figure dressed in the full uniform of the guards, his brow surmounted by the magnificent helmet with a golden eagle, whose widely-spread wings form the crest; he looked like another Attila reviewing the descendants of the Huns. It was with a feeling almost of sorrow that I gazed on that brilliant group as they swept proudly along the serried lines of the living mass, and thought that, long ere another century had fled, not one of all that mighty multitude would exist to speak of that splendid sight, and that the magnificent pageant of that day was doomed, like thousands of others that had passed before, to fade away like a shadow, and be remembered no more. It was only when the masses began to move that I could form any idea of the myriads assembled; then indeed the sight was magnificent. As to the military evolutions, of course I could not attempt a description of them, but the beautiful costumes of the various nations, the handsome uniforms, the glittering casques and flashing swords, the wild strains of the martial bands, formed a scene that could perhaps be only equalled by the Champ de Mars in Paris on a similar occasion. Now would come sweeping past a regiment of Circassians, like a hand of warriors from some gay tournament, heroes of song and romance awakened from their sleep of ages into a new and stirring life; presently a squadron of the guards, their eagle-crested helms flashing in the sun; then would rush by the sombre cloud of Cossacks, their lances couched as if to attack the ranks of an enemy, their rough-looking horses galloping at the top of their speed; then again regiments of infantry, until there seemed no end of the long line, their martial tread sounding like the rushing of a mountain stream, and until the eye was weary of watching their (to me at least) inexplicable movements. A gentleman with whom my friends were acquainted, and who ought to know, if anybody could do so, informed me that the Emperor was a very timid horseman, that he never mounted but mares of the gentlest and most docile temper, and that numbers intended for his use died ere they were sufficiently broken in. I do not now remember whether it was three or five years that he mentioned they were in training, but, to use his own expression, “les pauvres bêtes se brisaient le cœur;” they died of grief, in fact, being wearied out with the trial. An incident took place at one of these grand reviews in St. Petersburg which is greatly to the Emperor’s honour. I will therefore relate it, especially as I had it from good authority: indeed so much has been said against him of
- 66. late, that ashort anecdote in his favour will, I hope, prove an agreeable change. During the performance of some military evolution the Czar despatched a young aide-de-camp to an old general with a particular order. Whether the officer was confused, or timid, I do not know, but he gave an exactly contrary one to that which he had received. The astonishment of his Imperial Majesty may well be imagined when he perceived that the grandest movement of the day was entirely defeated by some unforeseen stratagem of the general’s. The Emperor is naturally très emporté; indeed I have heard that he is subject to fits of ungovernable rage, similar to those that Peter I. was so frequently attacked with, and, as may be supposed, his anger was unbounded on this occasion thus to be humiliated in the face of all the officers. He commanded the general to his presence, and before the crowd of military there present he called him “Durak!”[28] The venerable old warrior drew back; his grey hairs were insulted, and his veteran experience called in question; the angry flush mounted to his brow, but, remembering that it was the voice of the sovereign that had dared to utter such a term, he made a martial salute and was silent; but, complaining of sudden indisposition, he was allowed to retire. The review was nearly over, so the Emperor returned to the palace. Early the next morning the young aide-de-camp presented himself, and earnestly begged an audience of his Majesty. On its being accorded, he in the most frank and manly manner confessed the error of which he had been guilty, and, expressing sincere regret, entreated that he might be degraded from his rank, or suffer any punishment, rather than his venerated general should be thus disgraced. The Emperor heard his account in silence, and on its termination bade him return to his barracks and report himself under an arrest. What reparation could now be made by a Czar to the old man whom he had thus insulted? To the astonishment of the military, another review was ordered to take place, at which the same regiments were to attend; and when the whole were assembled, the Emperor, calling the veteran general to his side, made a public apology for his late conduct, embraced him, and, kissing him on each cheek, presented him with a star which he himself had worn. I heard some call this a theatrical representation; I do not believe it was so: why should the Autocrat of all the Russias not have the credit of possessing noble sentiments in common with any other gentleman, though he be the enemy of our country, and though his heart be proud and ambitious? The young aide-de-camp was not disgraced; indeed, the action redounded so much to his honour that he became an especial favourite. After the grand review of which I have before spoken, the troops left the ground by different routes, and in half an hour the Champ de Mars was as
- 67. silent as before;the only trace of the lately assembled host was the marks of the horses’ hoofs by myriads in every direction deeply cut into the sand.
- 68.
- 69. Foreigners in Russia—ThePoles—The oath of allegiance— Disgraceful treatment—Want of cordiality—Polish exiles— Greek and Roman churches—Difference of creed—Saints— Christmas custom—Warsaw—Polish cottages—Peasants: their treatment—Germans in Russia: their customs; their mode of life—New-Year’s eve—Pleasing custom—Character of the Germans—Variety of foreigners—The French—The Turkish renegade—Mixed society—Conclusion. In writing about Russia, some notice of the foreign residents will not be out of place, as they form so great a proportion of the inhabitants of all the large towns. The most numerous among them are the Poles and the Germans: the former are dispersed all over the empire, being obliged to serve as employés and in the army. Centuries of warfare and mutual cruelties have caused these two great divisions of the same race to hate each other with an intensity that would have satisfied the great Dr. Johnson himself. Every Polish gentleman is forced to take the oath, in which he calls on Heaven to witness that he will shed the last drop of his blood for the Emperor’s sake. It must be galling indeed to have to pronounce these words, with the recollection of the wrongs of his country weighing on his heart, and, perhaps, the remembrance of an outraged mother or sister who might have been publicly flogged for instilling sentiments of patriotism into his soul. Let it not be thought that these are merely idle words. Many a time have I been told of Polish ladies who have been sufferers from the executioner’s lash, not many years ago, in the very capital of their country. A hundred instances have been told me, with the names of the unfortunate women who were the victims of such brutal treatment. To them we may give our pity and compassion—the eternal shame and dishonour will fall on the head of those at whose command such acts were done. Among my acquaintances abroad I numbered a great many Poles, and I asked a noble one day how he could conscientiously take the oath above mentioned. “We wait patiently,” replied he, “for the time is not yet come. As for the allegiance, we make a reservation to
- 70. ourselves concerning it;but hope leads us still to expect that the hour for Poland’s resurrection will arrive. What can we do at present?” Notwithstanding that the Poles are everywhere received in society, there is very little cordiality in regard to friendship: many have, it is true, intermarried with Russians, but they are not, for the most part, of the superior class of gentry, but are merely petty employés, or people of no “family” in the aristocratic sense of the word. In almost every part of Russia Polish people may be met who have been banished from their native land for some political offence, either proved or suspected. Many have assured me that they were taken away in the middle of the night from their own house, and perhaps dragged from their bed, merely on suspicion of being disaffected. It was impossible to refute the accusation, because, according to the wise laws of despotism, they had never been confronted with their accusers, or even knew who they were: very probably the information had been given by some government spy, the name of whom is “legion” in Poland. One of these victims was a gentleman who, with his wife, had been imprisoned four months, when they were hurried away from Vilna to the interior of Russia, and they assured me that they had not the remotest idea what the crime was of which they were accused. Added to the antipathy the Poles and Russians naturally feel for each other politically, the difference in religion contributes to their animosity; for although the Greek Church and the Roman may appear in the eyes of Protestants to possess few points of difference, yet, perhaps for that very reason, their hatred to each other is the more intense. As far as I could learn, the chief differences between the Greek and Roman belief consist of a trivial distinction, scarcely more than verbal, in the doctrine of the equality of the three persons in the Trinity, of the denial by the Greeks of the necessity of their priests remaining unmarried, and of the substitution of pictures for images as objects of worship and reverence. It is true that, since the division of the Christian Church into the eastern and the western, a vast number of extra saints have been added to each, which may have caused considerable jealousy between them. If so, the Russians must
- 71. triumph, for theyhave about twice as many as the Romanists; but, on the other hand, they are not quite so select. I once went to dine with some Polish friends on Christmas Day, and I remarked a quantity of straw scattered under the table. On my begging to know why this was done, I was informed that it was in commemoration of the Saviour having been born in a manger: the Russians have not this custom. Warsaw is beautifully situated on the Vistula, and contains a great many buildings erected in former times; but it must be very vexing and grievous to the people to see the monument in their “grande place” supported by Russian eagles, publicly reminding them of their loss of nationality. The Vistula is so extremely shallow that the sand is everywhere visible through the water. As to the general aspect of the country, it much reminded me of some parts of England; even the whitewashed cottages with thatched roofs looked very like those we see at home, but the peasants bore no resemblance to our sturdy, independent-looking countrymen. They, poor people! with their sullen, downcast faces, too plainly showed, even more so than the Russian serfs, how hardly they fared, and how they were ground down by the oppression of their conquerors. It seemed to me that every Muscovite, dressed in a little brief authority, was at liberty to play the tyrant over them, and I used to feel quite indignant at the merciless manner in which the post-guards treated them. The blows they inflicted seemed almost enough to break the back of any human being, whilst the screams they elicited frequently broke the silence of the night, filling our party with horror and dismay, and made us sincerely pray for the time when retribution shall fall on the heads of their oppressors, and Poland shall be free again. The Polish dishes are not at all according to the English taste; they contain too much garlic and sour cream, and are much too coarse to be pleasant. In all the provinces of Poland through which I have travelled the bread was extremely bad; even in Warsaw, at the hotels, although the waiters presented us with what they called English loaves, they bore very little resemblance to the white bread
- 72. of London. Perhapsthe best bread in Europe is made in Moscow: it is perfectly delicious. The Germans in Russia are extremely numerous; they have spread themselves over the whole country and have monopolized a great deal of the trade. “There are only two patriotic nations in Europe,” said a Russian admiral, “Russia and England; the French are partisans of their party; but as for those Germans, their country is where they find they can gain most money.” In regard to his judgment on the French, it must be a false one, for in their history we see many proofs of real patriotism, which show that, in respect to them, he was in error; but his assertion touching the German people, especially those in Russia, was probably the truth. They are not liked by the Russians, who look upon them with all the antipathy of race; added to which, their penurious habits and desire for accumulating wealth, qualities so different from the national character of the people among whom they dwell, and their excessive severity as officers and overseers, cause them to be detested by the lower classes, while the upper classes look down upon them with disdain, and consider them as a sordid, money-getting nation, who possess no nobility of soul, so that with them the name German and “nobody” are synonymous, although, owing to the German predilections of the Emperor, many of the very highest places in every department are filled by people of that race. Among the lower classes they go by the name of sausage-eaters, from their love of that viand. The Germans in St. Petersburg are mostly from Livonia and Esthonia, countries long under the Russian rule: indeed the same may be said of those scattered over the empire; some of them are from Prussia, but, upon the whole, there are not many from the true Teutonic states. They live mostly in small colonies, mixing but little with the Russian society; indeed many of them, although they have been born and educated in the country, do not speak Russ at all well. They retain the manners and customs of their ancestors as well as their religion; they have their Christmas-tree on the eve of Christmas Day, their commemoration of Luther, and their festivities at the New Year in their own fashion. The Christmas-tree, with its
- 73. gay decorations andhundred lights, the presents laid round it for the children and relations, and the croque-mitaine, so formidable to baby offenders, are all now so well known in England that a description of them is not necessary. The Germans are a social people among themselves, and they enjoy life quietly—mais ils mènent une vie ennuyante. Their society, however agreeable, still wants that gay animation of the French, which makes even trifling subjects interesting in conversation. A great many of the medical men in Russia are Germans, and people of that nation may be found in every town: I believe I may say, without exaggeration, that nearly all the bakers’ shops, as well as those of chemists, are kept by them. The ladies are exceedingly good housewives, but, as a French person of my acquaintance remarked, “Elles sont ou des heroïnes de Werter ou des ménagères.” One of their greatest pleasures consists in going once a week to the Singanstalt, or singing-club, to which nearly all the young persons of both sexes belong: the evening is passed in singing German Lieder, and the choruses from operas and oratorios by national composers, which they perform in very agreeable style. One of the most delightful New-Year’s Eves I ever passed was at the house of a German friend. The family was a very large one, and all the members of it were assembled, even down to the third- cousins—grandmamma, grandpapa, all their married sons and daughters, with every one of the children, those of a few months old included, cousins, nephews, and nieces, not one was absent. After spending the evening in various social games, in which both great and small took part, the whole company took their seats round the room a little before midnight, and waited in silence until the clock struck twelve, announcing that another year had passed for ever, and that a new one had already commenced. All those who could sing stood in a group at one end of the hall, and the instant that the last stroke had solemnly sounded they burst into a chorus of thanksgiving. Each then sang a verse in turn, the grandfather,
- 74. although past sixty,commencing in a fine tenor; after him sang the eldest son, and then the eldest daughter, and so on. The words, which are really beautiful, were partly composed by Voss; other verses had been added by the singers themselves. They began by thanking God for the renewal of another great division of time, expressed delight that so many were thus joyously assembled, with hopes for the welfare of those far away: but in the midst of their rejoicings they affectingly referred to the dead, who were sleeping in solitude, wrapped in their cold and silent graves, and whose place on earth was no more seen; and much emotion was excited by the following verses:— “Wer weiss, wie mancher modert Ums Jahr, gesenkt in’s Grab! Unangemeldet fodert Der Tod die Menschen ab. Trotz lauem Frühlingswetter Wehn oft verwelkte Blätter. Wer von uns nachbleibt, wünscht dem Freund Im stillen Grabe Ruh, und weint.”[29] Tears fell fast from many an eye as each gazed round that circle of friends and relatives, and all seemed to dread that some beloved face would be missing ere another New-Year’s Eve found them there assembled; they were scarcely dried ere the two concluding lines echoed cheerfully through the hall— “Wohlauf, und: Gut seyn immerdar Sey unser Wunsch zum neuen Jahr.”[30] And then the grand chorus of thanksgiving was sung in gratitude to Heaven for the hope of an eternal re-union hereafter. As soon as the New-Year’s hymn had been sung, the sons and daughters embraced the aged mother and father, and then the grandchildren came forward to do the same; after them the other
- 75. relatives, according totheir proximity of relationship, and finally the friends who had been invited. Champagne was then handed round; universal congratulations and affectionate embraces followed, after which a merry supper restored the gaiety and cheerfulness of the whole party. Although I have mentioned the general character which the Germans bear among the Russians, it must not be concluded therefrom that they are not very frequently most estimable people; indeed many of them merit the utmost respect and admiration. It must be borne in mind that the lower class in Russia hold all foreigners in detestation, and the Germanic race more than any other. Until the present war broke out, all strangers to their country were designated by them “Germans,”[31] for the petty distinctions of French, English, and so on, were not known to the half-barbarous serfs; they only knew that they were not Russians, and concluded therefore that they came from Germany. Now all other nations of Europe are swallowed up in the designation of English, which at present is a word of hateful import to them, as our country-people are held up as the most to be feared and detested. The French people, as well as the English, live in societies quite distinct from either the Germans or the Russians; but the French, being more liked in company, and considered more agreeable, from their gay and lively temperament, associate much more with the Russians, who take them as the established model for bon genre and politeness: their language also is as much used in society as it is in France, for everybody speaks it; so that, in making friends and acquaintances, our neighbours get on a great deal better than we do. Among the Russians the English were certainly greatly respected by the upper classes, and were perhaps (if it be possible for the lower classes to like any foreigner) preferred by them, especially in matters of business. There are many Italians and Greeks established in the country; the latter visit a great deal at the houses of the nobility, their common religion being a bond of union between them. There are
- 76. some renegade Mahometansalso in the Russian service. I remember once dining at a friend’s house where I met several; one of them was a general, who had previously served the Sultan, and was himself a Turk by birth. In throwing aside his nationality he seemed also to have thrown away his natural characteristics; for his laugh was the loudest, and his jest the merriest, in the whole party. He gave good proof of eschewing the doctrines of Mahomet, by drinking two bottles of champagne; and when one of his neighbours took the liberty of reminding him of the prohibition against wine, his reply was that the Prophet had never tasted champagne, or he would have ordered the faithful to drink nothing else. There are of course a great number of Mahometans in the Russian army, as many of the tribes of the South of Asia profess that religion; also a vast number of Jews, and even gipsies, are to be found in the army, as no one in the empire is exempt from military service. I was told that all creeds are respected by the government. There are not many Englishmen in the imperial army; I believe the greater part of those so designated are either Scotch or of Scotch extraction. Perhaps in no country in the world does one meet so great a variety of foreigners: almost every nation has its representative in Russia; from the Norwegian and Swede to the Albanian and Turk, from the Spanish adventurer to the Moldavian and Wallachian, they are all to be encountered in society. At an evening party natives of perhaps ten or a dozen countries may be met, and that not by any remarkable accident, but merely in an invitation to one’s general acquaintances. French is the medium by which all these people hold communication with each other, and interchange ideas; but it is necessary to understand German and Russian to enjoy a conversation, as it very often lapses into one or the other, according to the majority of people of either nation in the company. It is exceedingly disagreeable for those who speak only the French language, as very frequently, when some interesting anecdote is being recounted, a chance remark made by some one in German will cause the conversation to be continued in that tongue, to the great disappointment of the listener.
- 77. Having said thusmuch of Russia and the Russians, I have but few words to add. Of the character of the people I leave the reader to draw his own conclusions, from the anecdotes with which the preceding remarks are illustrated. That the Russians possess most excellent and amiable qualities of heart, no one can deny who has ever resided in their country, or had the pleasure of knowing them. Their virtues are their own, and many of their grave defects may be ascribed to the evil system of government under which they have so long suffered. Centuries of slavery and oppression are enough to change the characteristics of any people, and to infuse into the national mind all the meanness, cunning, and moral cowardice of a Helot. Wild though the country be, it is no inhospitable shore, and the warm-heartedness of the people richly compensates for the coldness of its clime. It is that which throws a kind of charm over the remembrance of Russia in the mind of one who has long resided on its snow-clad plains, and gives an interest to everything connected with them. There is much to love and little to esteem— much to admire and little to respect—in Russia and the Russians; and should these pages ever fall into the hands of my friends there, I entreat them not to consider what is herein written as ill meant. If I have remarked upon what is evil, I have not omitted to note that which is good. I have “nothing extenuated nor set down aught in malice;” and the greatest proof I can give of my attachment for them is the assurance of the sincere regret with which I bade adieu to the Russian shores for ever, and of the anxious and earnest desire with which I look forward to the time when a change in their system of government shall free them from the withering thraldom under which they now suffer, and shall enable the many good qualities of their nation to expand and come to maturity under the fostering influence of free and enlightened institutions.
- 78. GENERAL REMARKS. In examiningthe ancient mythology of the Slaves the reader will be particularly struck not only with the great resemblance it bears to that of the classic Greeks, but by the apparent engrafting of many of its superstitions and forms of worship on the Christian religion as professed in Russia and Greece. Perhaps this affinity between the ancient Pagan creeds of the two nations may be the cause why both have so easily embraced the same form of Christianity. The similitude which is so plainly seen between the Russo-Greek Church and the heathen system of former ages may also be the reason why mythology is forbidden to be studied in the schools throughout the empire. Paganism indeed seems not yet to have entirely disappeared from the land, and it is curious to remark how easy it is to trace some of the acts and ceremonies of the Russian Church to their heathen origin. Almost every god and goddess of antiquity has a corresponding saint in the calendar, and many of their high festivals are apparently merely those of their Pagan creed under another name; so difficult is it to eradicate the idolatrous superstitions of a nation, or to instil into the hearts of a people the sentiments of a pure religion. The extreme reverence with which the images of the Virgin and Child are regarded, and their rich settings, are most probably only the adoration of their former much-loved idol the Zolotaïa Baba, or the golden woman; who, according to their mythology, was the mother of the gods. It was highly gilt, and held in its arms the figure of a child. In the Russian Church the Virgin is never, I believe, represented without the infant Christ. The blessing of the waters, which is performed twice a year, although now regarded as a Christian ceremony, is one very likely to have been derived from the adoration of the great rivers by the Sclavonic races, especially the Bog, the Don, and the Danube. The first-named was, according to the historian, who quotes Procopius as
- 79. his authority, heldin the most estimation by them; they never approached its shores without fear and trembling, and they drank of its waters with awe, as if by so doing they profaned the sacred stream. Lomonosof, the author, even asserts that the Russian name for God (Bog) is identical with its designation. The great attachment of the people to the pictures of their saints, on which the rich, especially of the merchant class, lavish immense sums, may be traced to the domestic gods of their ancestors, which were called Domovi Doukhi, or house-protectors, the Lares and Penates of the Slaves.[32] In every wealthy shopkeeper’s best apartment there is a place assigned for the patron saints of the family, generally in the corner, in which is fixed a closet with a glass door, entirely filled with them; their settings are very costly, generally of silver, gold, and precious stones. Every shop possesses at least one image, and in the piazzas of the Gostinoi Dwor there are large portraits of the Virgin suspended, before which lamps are continually kept burning. In the nobility’s houses the saints’ images are usually placed in the sleeping-room. The Russians say that on St. Elias’s day it always thunders, which they religiously believe is caused by the rumbling of his chariot- wheels among the clouds; as according to their account the saint takes a drive in heaven on his name’s day. Undoubtedly this superstition must have been derived from the worship of Peroun, the Sclavonic Jupiter, which was formerly celebrated on the day now set apart for the above saint. The form of this idol was almost identical with that of the classic deity, and, like the Olympian Jove, he held lightning in his hand and announced his will in thunders. His statue had a silver head, moustaches and ears of gold, and feet of iron. Before it a sacred fire was ever burning, which if the priests neglected they would have been put to death. The profane representations of the Godhead remarked in a preceding chapter seem to be merely that of Peroun; the only difference is, that in the former the figure holds a triangle in his hand instead of lightning. The heathenish rite mentioned in a preceding chapter, as being
- 80. performed by thevillage women on Midsummer Eve, if it had not its origin in the worship of Baal, was probably derived from that of Koupalo, the god of the fruits of the earth, who was adored by the Slaves with a like ceremony. Perhaps indeed the Sclavonic races, in migrating from the East, brought with them the idols and traditions of their forefathers: in that case Koupalo and Baal may have been the same principle. I believe that the common people still call the rite by the name of Koupalnitza. Many more instances could be cited, but the above will suffice to show that the remembrance of their Pagan creed still exists among the Russians. When free access can be obtained to the various collections of ancient manuscripts that are preserved in the monasteries and cathedrals in Russia, much light will probably be thrown, not only on the belief of the Slaves, but on their social state, their laws and civilization, of which so little is at present known in Europe. A Russian gentleman assured me that he had seen and examined many of these collections, which he thought were well worthy of the notice of the learned. There are not many readers of the ancient Muscovite history; indeed, I believe that few would deem the dry records of the Russian race very interesting, until the policy of Peter I. and Catherine II. forced the name of Russia upon the attention of Europe. It is a pity they have not been more generally studied, as perhaps they would have afforded a kind of key to the designs of the northern autocrats. Probably nine out of every ten persons in England imagine that civilization was almost unknown to the Muscovites anterior to the reign of Peter the Great, and are not aware that the most powerful republic in Europe had for its capital the city of Novogorod; and that, until the ninth century of our era, its wealth and might caused it to be so respected among the neighbouring states, that the saying, “Who would dare to attack God and Novogorod the great?” is still a proverb in Russia. One would be apt to imagine that Peter’s object in
- 81. building St. Petersburgwas to extend and strengthen his frontiers, and to forward more effectually the designs of his predecessors; yet perhaps he committed the greatest error in endeavouring to turn aside the slowly but surely advancing course of Muscovite civilization (which, although more Asiatic than ours, would probably have been more solid than it now is, because gradually acquired), by forcibly and prematurely introducing that of another race upon his people, teaching ideas that they could not understand, and making changes that they could not comprehend. The civilization of England and France was not certainly owing to the swords of the Romans, for the inundations of the barbarians swept away almost every vestige of it: the work had to be begun afresh, because it was not based on a solid foundation. Peter I. made the Russians polished, but not civilized; the heart of the nation was not prepared for the change; they therefore made more progress in learning that which is evil than that which is good; they were infinitely more apt at acquiring the vices than the virtues of those set over them as teachers, and from being simple they became corrupted. Perhaps it would not be an error to assert that, excepting the nobility about the court, many of whom are not of Russian descent at all, but derived from foreign parvenus, and some of the upper classes, the nation still regrets the innovation of western civilization, and, if they could have a free choice, they would rather return to the good old times when Moscow was the capital of their country. The old Russian party, whose strength is centred in that ancient capital, are daily becoming more powerful, and may indeed be destined to cause a reaction against the artificial refinement which has polished a certain portion at the expense of the community at large. Perhaps it is possible to dam up the waters of the Volga for a time, but they would inevitably break their bounds, and find the way to the sea at last through their own natural course.
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