Legends of the Tribal Shiva

Several tribes of India have borrowed and accepted many Hindu traditions, gods and religious practices from their neighboring Hindu population. This perspective is not baseless because we see such practices among some tribal communities. Adaptation is a universal human psyche and it cannot be denied in any case. But the channel is not unidirectional. In fact, The Hindu population living with the tribal communities has also incorporated countless number of rituals, and gods and goddesses in its folder. It appears that on many occasions research scholars have been romanticizing the influence of Hindu gods and rituals on the tribal without giving any stress to the influence of the tribal gods and rituals among the Hindus. Such attempts create several misunderstandings about the people who are not aware of such historic-mythical development. One seriously needs to conduct research on the grounding and foundations of these interpretations. During my 12 years of contact with various tribal groups of India and available literature I have also come to one of the dominant interpretations that Lord Shiva was the God of the Anadi, tribals. Shiva does not run after the worldly affairs and luxuries. He is the divine guru. He is the sun that opens the lotuses of the hearts of great Yogis. He is most compassionate. He absorbs the devotees’ affliction. He is the manifestation of the three worlds. He abides in bliss. He is delighted with devotees. He is forever blissful.