Paper
OCCUPATION OF A SUBALTERN COMMUNITY AND THEIR FISHING RITUALS
presenters
Dr. Geetanjali Panda
Nationality: India
Residence: India
BJB AUTONOMOUS COLLEGE
Presence:Face to Face/ On Site
Keywords:
Subaltern, Rituals, Ancestral, Spirits and Nolia
Abstract:
The subaltern communities are the lower social class and the other social groups displaced to the margins of a society. They are the least dangerous people but oppressed one.
It is an ethnographical study based on the data collected through primary sources. The studied village, Arakhakuda comes on the way to Satpada from Puri district of Odisha State. The communities living around Chilika Lake of Odisha are fishermen communities The people of Arakhakuda village (Krushnaprasad block) belong to Nolia community. All the fishermen communities are Odia whereas Nolias are Telugu speaking people. Nolias are Telugu immigrants mainly from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states. The fisher man called themselves as Nolia in Odisha due to the traditional wearing of golden ring in Noli shape in their ear and even also in their nose in case of women.
The objective of the study is to internalize the rituals associated with different types of fishing, Net making and boat making of this particular community living around Chilika Lake. The Nolias are mainly devotees of the Goddesses. In ancient times they kept themselves restricted to their culture. But now they are being influenced by Odisha’s culture, myths, beliefs and practices. The Nolia village is divided into two Sahis and some sub-sahis. One is Laxmi Narayan Sahi and the other is Bhagabat Sahi. In Laxminarayan Sahi, the people are more influenced by Odisha culture and festivals, whereas Bhagabat Sahi people are more attached to the Telugu culture. Numbers of flags (bansas) are found in the village each having different Ista devata to whom they worship. Along with all these festivals, the Nolia people observe some rituals which are specially related to their fishing.