The Oraon Community in Bangladesh and their Socio-Cultural Attainments: A Study of Four Villages

Abstract

The research work titled The Oraon Community in Bangladesh and Their Socio-cultural Attainments: A Study of Four Villages has been conducted with a major objective to find out the socio-cultural attainments of the Oraon Community of Bangladesh. As a backward, minor and aboriginal people, the Oraon preserve some specific cultural trait and different social norms and values of their own. But culture is a dynamic thing and it changes through various intervening factors. However, we often remain in dark and at beyond our knowledge what sorts of change or attainments have been occurred in their socio-cultural life in last one and half century in Bangladesh. It is an important job to assess their attainments and problems for bringing positive and desired change in their socio-cultural life. With above purposes, this study has encompassed an extensive research conducted in four Oraon villages of Chapai-Nawabganj and Naogoan districts having focused on four villages viz. Ekra-Para, Dhawa-kandar, Raj-Bari and Gandha-Sail. At the initial stage, of the study a description and overview of ethnic group of people of Bangladesh has been presented and gradually the origin and development of the Oraon has been analysed from socio- anthropological point of view. The qualitative and quantitative changes and attainments of the Oraon community have been presented in several chapters from different aspects. The intervening factors also have been discussed, having been discussed the changes of the Oraon of Bangladesh. At the beginning, mainly the basic aspects of the people and place have been introduced. The core issues of the study have been presented at the second stage along with the methodology and the physical location of the study area which have made the facts and findings of the study of the easy understandable and more logical. Similarly, two important aspects have also been presented, firstly socio-cultural institutions of the Oraon of Bangladesh in general and study villages in particular, secondly concrete introduction of the social organizations of the Oraon community and explanation of some key aspects of these institutions for clarifying the life style of the community. Basic social structure and economic aspects of the Oraon community have been analytically presented in the third chapter of this dissertation. The focal point of this section is to interpret and interlink between the past subsistence economy and present trends of economic activities and to assess the impact of various changes on the life style of the Oraon ethnic minority. However, the Oraon have attainted clear and concrete attainments in 'their socio-cultural life generally and in traditional subsistence economic system and other material culture in particular. As it is obviously observed that dependency on nature and way of living have been changed drastically though it has Jailed to ensure their socio­economic security and cultural integrity. In fact, the mode of production determines the nature of the changes in basic structure of a society as well as in the super structure. As it has been found among the Oraon's socio-cultural life, the occupation and changed economic source have brought a drastically change in their cultural life. These important things have analytically been presented in a separate chapter. Nevertheless, before analyzing the cultural issues of the Oraon and the changes and consequences of the culture of aboriginal Oraon a shape of their cultural life has been presented as the realization of the culture of the Oraon may get a way of perfect expression. The consequences of cultural attainments and effects of structural changes have been presented critically and finally the major findings of the study have been got a room in this dissertation. In the conclusion, the overall contemporary issues of the minority group of people have been presented concisely. It has also given emphasis on evaluation of the problems of the ethnic minority groups of people from economic, socio-cultural and socio-political perspectives as the policy makers and the planners may get a specific guideline for the betterment of the Oraon and other ethnic groups and backward communities of Bangladesh.