‘The jungle is our life. We exist as long as jungles exist,’ I was told by a young tribal man when I had visited Bastar in the late 1970s. In Bastar, traditions and rituals are closely linked to these forests and trees. The tribals believe that their gods and goddesses reside in this jungle and, therefore, every tree is sacred. The saja, the mahua, the semal, the mango, the karanji, the banyan, the peepal, the salfi trees are symbols of good fortune and prosperity. The number of salfi trees in a house is an indicator of the wealth and prosperity of the household. The drink that is made from
...more