Cultural Archive

“Adivasis were never Hindus. We became Hindus through government certificates.” — Vasudevan Cheekalloor The Archival and Research Project (ARPO) recently hosted a panel discussion in Wayanad as part of the Earthlore initiative. The panel brought together members of the Paniya community from Sulthan Bathery, Kalpetta, and Mananthavady who are active in art, literature, culture, and social work across Wayanad. They gathered to share their stories, traditions, history, and mode

In Episode 9 of SAGA, we engage with two powerful voices from marginalised tribal groups in Kerala: Manikuttan Paniyan and Bindu Irulam. In the first half of the episode, Manikuttan takes us through the story of the Paniya community, and its past and present. In the second half, Bindu introduces us to the lore, song, poetry, and language of the Kattunayakar tribe. Both ultimately hope their tribal identity will be preserved and protected as younger generations engage with the

Umesh PK, an award-winning artist from the Malavettuvar community in Kerala, shares his insights with ARPO regarding his community's...