CREATE
AM-CREATE
The acronym AM-CREATE stands for
Abujh Madia – Centre for Research, Education, Arts, Trauma-healing and Employment-skills
Population
The population is about 1.5 lakhs and they live in over 600 villages strewn among the jungles of Gadchiroli district (MH) and in Narayanpur and Bijapur districts (CHH).
Language & Communication
The Abujhmadia are predominantly monolingual, and their mother tongue is very vital as most Madia communicate in their own language in their homes and in their community.
Literacy & Education
Literacy rate among this people is as low as 10 % among adult men and a dismal 2% among women. The Govt programme for adult literacy has not been effective as most people do not see the relevance of literacy to their lives. On the basis of the vitality of the Madia language, we have designed curriculum in Madia for the primary school.
Problems in the Community
Besides illiteracy, gambling in cock-fights, alcoholism and domestic violence, the practice of witchcraft, lynching and an unfair justice system purely based on the headmanship inherited and passed along in the family lines seem to keep this tribe backward by a few hundred years.
Economy
The economy has simply been a subsistence existence. Hunting and gathering forest produce is how the Madia have been eking out a livelihood for generations. Penda or slash and burn or shifting agriculture is still the practice on the Abujhmad Hills. In the plains people have started to settle down in villages and practice a crude form of rice farming.
Health & Care
Sickle cell anemia, cerebral malaria and tuberculosis are endemic. The Lok Biradhari Prakalp (LBP) was started by Dr Amte about 5 decades ago and has brought in medical care and education. More recently the govt hospitals have started functioning well in the tehsil centers.
Why AM CREATE
AM-CREATE is our response to the needs of the Abujhmadia community. AM-CREATE stands for Abujh Madia – Centre for Research, Education, Arts, Trauma-healing and Employment-skills. The centre is still in the state of being developed.
Why AM-CREATE came into existence?
Reasons why AM-CREATE came into existence.
Research
Dr. Chris A Vaz is a linguist. He carried out a sociolinguistic survey of the Abujhmad area and published an analysis of the sound system and grammar of the Madia language. The first ever storybook (a collection of stories) in the Madia language was published in 2004. Since then more literature have been published. We are currently pursuing the vision for multilingual education.
Dr. Ruth Manimekalai Vaz is a social-cultural anthropologist. She has studied the kinship relationship system and the unique social organization of this tribe. Her research has revealed that the Madia society is logically the oldest, not only of Dravidian societies but also of the human societies. More research is required into many areas of the Madia way of life, the changes that have been happening and the need for transformations.
Arts
Knowledge of their history, ancestry, art and religion are communicated orally in story-songs. Drumming, dancing and rela songs are going strong, as is evidenced in their weddings and festival gatherings. Due to their introduction to the Television and social media in the recent years, the art of drama is gaining in popularity. Beadworks, wood carvings, bamboo arts and silver and aluminum jewelry are still practiced though becoming rare.
Trauma-healing
Domestic violence against women and girls is so prevalent without being questioned. The practice of murder is the easiest and the commonest way to settle scores with an enemy in the community. All of this means that the people carry a lot of heart wounds with no way to heal and pass it on to the younger ones in ways they do not realize. This is the reason why counseling and trauma healing is a great need among this people.
Employment-skills
Poverty is pervasive. Employment other than occasional road work and construction is not available and the seasonal bidi leaves collection which happens once year is not guaranteed. It is saddening to see truckloads of young people, leaving their families and going on to the big cities because someone has promised them (often falsely) a livelihood.
Teaching and training the young Madia people locally in skills that are employable is an urgent need. Career guidance for school graduates and vocational trainings are desperately needed.