City gets Karnataka’s first Tribal Museum

Rs. 9.95 crore project to be inaugurated today evening at Kergalli; to protect, pass on unique tribal culture

Mysore/Mysuru: The City of Palaces and Museums has got one more museum — a Tribal Museum — adding a new feather on its cap. The Karnataka State Tribal Research Institute (KSTRI) has set up Karnataka’s first Tribal Museum at Kergalli and the facility will be inaugurated today at 3 pm by the Minister of Tribal Welfare and Transport B. Sriramulu. District Minister S.T. Somashekar and other dignitaries will be present.

Along with the Museum, the new office of KSTRI, an arm of the Karnataka State Tribal Development Department, will be inaugurated in the same building. The KSTRI is presently located at a private building behind Jagadamba Petrol Bunk in Kuvempunagar.

The KSTRI Office will be a State-level one, Director Rajesh G. Gowda told Star of Mysore this morning. “Usually, Bengaluru will have all the State-level offices. The Government has decided to have Mysuru KSTRI as the head office as there is a considerable population of tribals in Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu and Udupi,” he added.

Former Mysuru Urban Development Authority Commissioner S. Palaiah had allotted nearly two acres (5,168 sq. metres) of Civic Amenities (CA) plot in Treasury Employees Layout behind Christ Public School, near Kergalli.

The total built-up area is 2,840 sq. metres including basement, ground floor, first floor and second floor. While the Centre has pooled in Rs. 4 crore, the State Government has contributed Rs. 5.95 crore, taking the total building cost to Rs. 9.95 crore.

The main components of the building are the Tribal Museum, library, training room, 140-seater auditorium and administrative and research wings.  While the basement is 764 sq. metres, the ground floor, first floor and the second floors are 692 sq. metres. The construction has been undertaken by Murthy Infrastructure.

Distinct culture needs protection

There are over 50 tribal communities in Karnataka alone and the museum will showcase the culture, tradition and lifestyles of various tribal communities. Though many tribal communities have switched to living in small towns and semi-urban areas, there are some communities that have still safeguarded their hamlets inside jungles even in the face of displacement.

The tribals have distinct cultures and traditions, and many of them have kept their customs unharmed. However, the rich culture and ethnicity needed to be properly documented by conducting research. It is essential to decipher their customs and introduce them into society in the form of books so that future generations could be aware of tribal civilisation and the museum and KSTRI will strive in this direction.

Some of the familiar tribal communities in the Mysuru region are Siddi, Soliga, Koraga, Hakki Pikki, Yerava, and Jenukuruba. The KSTRI has involved archaeology and anthropology professionals and also tribal community people to make the museum authentic and also interesting.

Indoor and outdoor exhibits

 The museum will host exhibits both indoor as well as outdoor and will have a digital library of other tribal museums set up by the Union Tribal Welfare Ministry across the country. KSTRI sources said that the exhibits include a collection of traditional songs, documentation on the various celebrations of the communities and their day-to-day life experiences.

Tribal artefacts like hunting weapons, kitchen utensils and musical instruments, agricultural implements, bird trapping instruments, necklaces made of beads, daily use materials made of bamboo and wood, grinding stones — which are still used in rural households — their hut models, clothes and ornaments made of wild seeds, wooden pieces and shells will be on display at the Museum.

The KSTRI library has a collection of more than 4,000 books on research methodology and on anthropology, sociology, economics, political science, health and medicine, linguistics and human genetics related to tribal studies for the benefit of research scholars and others. After the building is inaugurated today evening, the museum and the library will be set up in phases.