Communication through Rituals in Bhotia Tribe A study of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand

Abstract

The research analyses Ritual Communication of Bhotia Tribe of district Chamoli. It studies how rituals communicatethrough generations. It studies various spiritual, cultural and geographical aspects of Bhotia tribe innate to their rituals. The research is based on primary data which include, semi-structured interviews of 25 respondents (all the intervieweerelated to the Bhotia Tribal ritual in some way or other), non-participant observation of Bhotia festivals and survey of 200 respondents belonging to the tribe. The study conclusively brings forth a cyclic model showing the fluidity between the Divine, Human and Nature. The divine and the natural world of Bhotia people share a reciprocal relation, where God and nature are inseparable. A major part of Bhotia people s oral tradition is shaped by the inseparability of these two aspects. With several tales and anecdotes passed on by senior men and women, the oral tradition has trickled and manifested in diverse rituals. newlineSo, rituals and ceremonies are the actualisation of the oral tradition. By participating in them, a Bhotia individual strengthens his/her identity. In other words, with increasing amount of participation, the reaffirmation to identity increases. So, participation and reaffirmation of identity are proportional to each other through the agency of rituals and ceremonies. However, after all these steps an individual still shares his direct connection to the divine and nature. The nature provides him/her with many tangible and intangible resources, whereas the Divine is main source of his faith and spirituality. The study proposes the model and suggests its applicability to other communities living close to the nature. newline newline