Reciprocity in field work: collaborating with the Adivasi Koya of Kamaram, Telangana, India

Elvin Yifu, Arun Mypathi Kumar

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    Indigenous communities in India, or Adivasis, have always been the object of anthropological research. However, knowledge production on Adivasi communities has created a civilizing discourse that has contributed to their marginalization. In following the need to reject anthropology’s savage, primitive, and native slot, we present a case study of a research project on Indigenous knowledge of the Koya peoples, an Adivasi community in India. We argue that this project is an expression of the agency of the Adivasis and constitutes a form of generative refusal, where new insights and possibilities are generated. Next, we reflect on how fieldwork with Indigenous communities is not merely extractive but can create a collaborative and reciprocal endeavour. Finally, we discuss the methodological aspects of co-producing scholarship on Adivasi communities and its implications.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1-9
    JournalAlternatives Journal
    Volume18
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2022

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