Abhik Ghosh is with the Department of Social Anthropology at Panjab University, Chandigarh. He holds a Ph.D. in social anthropology from the University of Delhi and has conducted fieldwork in the Chotanagpur region of Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. Author of three books, his research interests are symbolism, policy analysis,?tribal?studies,?ecological?anthropology?and?national?security.

• Preface 9 Acknowledgements 15 1. Introduction: The WorldVIew of the Individual in Everyday Life 19 2. The Social World of the Individual 42 3. The Collection of Symbolic Data from the Individual to Large Areas of Space and Time 84 4. The Temporal Rhythms in Oraon Society 119 5. The Spatial Dimension of Oraon Culture 157 6. Religion and Ethnomedicine as Defining Features of Oraons and Others 187 7. Oraon Religion and Political Identity 218 8. Conclusion: Beyond the Individual and Cultural Identity 254 Tables 267 Appendices 291 Glossary of Indigenous Words 321 Bibliography 333 Index 361