To give context right away, Badagas are one of the few
tribes who have inhabited the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu for many
centuries now. Badagas are also the largest tribe here. Although they are
primarily an agricultural tribe, they are at par with any other society in
terms of technological advancement. Most of the present 20- and 30-year olds move
freely across the world and are involved in various professions. Like any other
society, there exists stratification in the Badaga community. However, the
commonality of being a tribal community surpasses them all as they mostly have
each other’s backs, at least within their own likable circles.
A few years ago, my brother and I went house-hunting
for him and his newly married wife to live in. This one place we found was
quite nice. It had a good view; the locality was good and it had its perks. We
decided to give it a shot and had a meeting with the owner. The owner lived
adjacent to the vacant house only divided by a thin brick wall. You could even
hear a pin drop from both sides. The owner was pretty pleased with my brother
and almost sealed the deal before she suddenly had an epiphany and asked, “Nee
nangavakkava?” Now, my brother and I CANNOT speak our language fluently,
but we can thankfully understand it. The owner’s question was, “Are you one
of us?” technically meaning “Are you a Badaga?” At that moment, we
were so overjoyed that we were certain that this would work out in our favour!
We exclaimed, “Yes!” But lo and behold, the owner immediately responded,
“Sorry, we cannot give you the house. We prefer not having someone who
understands our language as they would have easy access to our private lives.”
Oh! You thin brick wall!
In my story, what I thought connected me with my
neighbour ended up making me a stranger to my neighbour. Irrespective of which
society we come from, we set up walls between ourselves in a way to safeguard
our private identities. We do not want to expose our real lives to others, let
alone share our experiences with them. This incident got etched in my head for
a reason. Little did I know that I would get interested in my own tribal-ness
with such a bizarre incident. In many ways, God has forced me into my own dirty
place, my tribal identity which I ignored all my life. Now, do I regret not growing
up knowing my culture and language and people so well? I sometimes do. On the
other hand, do I regret breaking some of its traditions and stepping out of its
boundaries? I do not! I absolutely love doing that. Embracing one’s identity
and deconstructing that very same identity are two sides of the same coin. This
can be a very dirty coin to flip. But, in the midst of this process is exactly
where God is present. Remember, how the God of the Bible was always interested
in the “stranger”? The “stranger” in the Bible is often the one who was
considered the “other”, the one who did that inter-tribal marriage, the one who
ran away from the family, the one who broke the system’s code, the one who took
that risk for the sake of the tribe itself. We see God making special
provisions for this kind of person.
It is overwhelming to see how our societies are divided
based on Caste, Gender, Class, Language, Religion, Denomination and so on and
so forth. Maybe it is time to do something about it in novel ways. Maybe it is time
to get into our own realities, into our own messy corners and try to embrace
them and at the same time deconstruct them for the greater good of us all.
Prayer:
Dear God, you know my dirty corner. You see every messy yet
colourful aspect of my life. Bring me to grips with them. Help me realise that
you are right there in the centre of it all. Amen.
**********
Author: Ben Jonathan Immanuel
About the Author: Ben is an inter-denominational Badaga Christian originally from Coonoor, currently living in Bengaluru. He holds a Bachelor of Divinity from the United Theological College, Bengaluru and is presently working with Student Christian Movement of India (SCMI). Although both his parents are Badagas, a tribal group inhabiting the Nilgiri hills in Tamil Nadu, Ben grew up not learning his own language and culture. Even in seminary, he did not play his Tribal card. He also married outside his tribe, his childhood sweetheart, shaking his tribal system a bit. This reflection is one of his many attempts at delving into his own tribal identity.
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