Persistence and Reflective of Tribal Narratives on Art and Craft: A Curatorial Study on the Particularly Vulnerable Tribes of Odisha

The displays of ethnographic specimens in the museums are primarily redundant to indicate their potential role to the persistence of cultural values of the communities who are very rich in the oral literature. This is equally true for the curators as a penchant who tries to collect various fussy objects without paying importance to the objects that narrates the rich engravings of oral literatures of the communities. Anthropological and Museum studies on the oral narratives of tribal communities have a very distinct place that throws light into the connectedness of the intangible heritage with the tangible aspects of culture. The curators, as a museum practitioner, however adopt some key indicators to create brownie points for representation of tribal narratives that are reflected in their Art and Craft. This paper is an attempt to describe and illustrate the contents of rich tribal literature which are preserved through oral transmission and the invisible role of curators who plays a vital role in expanding and preserving their literatures that remain concealed in the Art and Craft traditions. The paper deals with museum documentation among the PTGs of Odisha especially on the collection of Kapadaganda- embroided shawl of Dongaria Kondh and Majang- the youth dormitory of Juang tribe. The reflections of their oral narratives in these material aspects of culture are filled with astounded traditional wisdom and the paper examines the empathetic ties between their narratives and its tangible reflections which persist in the contemporary changing situation and cultural practices among these PTGs of Odisha.