Dr Thanuja Mummidi (Pondicherry) ‘The Konda Reddis: perspectives on their social organisation and shifting cultivation overlooked by developmental intervention’ (2006)
The project focused on understanding the linkage between the Konda Reddi social organization and their system of shifting cultivation. Exploring this linkage furthered understanding of the people’s perception of their environment and how they engaged with it. Importantly, this engagement involved stretching their kinship and exchange relationships to the domain of the hill spirits, giving primacy to hill spirits in ownership of resources and, accordingly, setting their livelihood pattern. Their livelihood pattern was under threat from the state development agency that was determined to resettle this hill dwelling community to the plains and introduce permanent agriculture. Shifting cultivation was seen as an archaic technology by the state agency and detrimental to development. The research was able to provide documentation to the state agency to show that shifting cultivation ensured food security and justified this further by showing why even with the 30% of Konda Reddis who settled in government-provided colonies in plains, shifting cultivation did not cease to be practiced.
Publications:
n.d. Engaging with their Environment: The Konda Reddi Cosmology of Three Domains. (to be resubmitted to JRAI)
2010. Coevalness and Standards of Value: Dynamics in the Social Meaning of Money among the Konda Reddis. IMTFI, UCI, Irvine, Working Papers. (to be uploaded).
Conference/Seminar Presentations:
2010. The Status of Hill-top Residential schools: a case study of the Konda Reddis of Khammam District, A.P. Conference on Inclusive Perspectives and Development of Scheduled Tribes, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Pondicherry University.
2009. Coevalness and Standards of Value: Understanding the Financial behavior of the Konda Reddis. International workshop on Indebtedness and Social Exclusion, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Pondicherry University and Rural Microfinance and Employment Programme, French Institute of Pondicherry, India.
2009. Forms of Money in Tribal Areas: A Case Study of the Konda Reddis. Open House Seminar of the French Institute of Pondicherry, India.
2009. Forms of Money: An Inquiry into the Processes of Use and Adaptation among the Konda Reddis of south India. First Annual Conference of the Institute of Money, Technology and Financial Services, University of California, Irvine, USA.
2009. Indigenous Studies and Engaged Anthropology. Symposium at the Department of Anthropology, Durham University, U.K.
2009. Engaging with Nature: The Konda Reddi Cosmology of Three Domains. Seminar at Centre for the Study of India and South Asia, EHESS Paris, France.
2009. Engaging with Nature: The Konda Reddi Cosmology of Three Domains. Seminar at the Centre for Anthropology, EHESS Toulouse, France.
2009. Engaging with Nature: A case study of the Konda Reddis. 4th Inter-Congress of the Indian National Academy and Confederation of Anthropologists, University of Hyderabad, India. Awarded Best Paper of the Session on ‘Man-Nature Relationship’.
2009. Problematising the Problems of Primitive Tribes. National Seminar on Adoptive Difficulties and Problems of Future Survival of the Primitive Tribes, Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Pondicherry University, India.
2009. Importance of Traditional knowledge in Facilitating Communication Between the Community and Development Agent. National Workshop on Future Strategies and Action Now: Socially Excluded Groups in India, Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy, Pondicherry University, India.
2008. The Plural Perception of Environment: A case study of the Konda Reddis”, Weekly Seminar Series, Department of Anthropology, Pondicherry University, India.
2008. The Konda Reddi Perception of environment through their Cosmology of Three Domains. Seminar, Centre for South Asian Studies, Sussex University, U.K.
2008. The Konda Reddi cosmology: territory, resources and social relations. Seminar, Public Culture in Theory and Practice Research Group, Durham University, U.K.
2007. Kinship and Resource management: a case study of the Konda Reddis, South India. Seminar, Anthropology in Development Research Group, Durham University, U.K.
