Child Mortuary Practices Among the Bhumij Tribe of Odisha,Eastern India: An Ethnographic Study

Abstract

Death is the most certain yet enigmatic incident in human society. Eschatological beliefs and rituals are deeply plowed areas in the field of social science, especially in anthropology. However, most of the studies have focused on the rituals associated with the mortuary practices of adults. While anthropological research on children and childhood in India has explored various aspects of children and childhood, the mortuary practice of the little ones remains relatively unexplored. This article attempts to shed light on child mortuary practices among the Bhumij tribe of the Mayurbhanj district in the vicinity of the Similipal Biosphere Reserve in northern Odisha. In this article, the authors have explored the significance of child mortuary studies in understanding adults’ perception toward children, the emotional entanglement of parents reflected through burials, eschatological beliefs, and the reconstruction of personhood and gender roles through the survey of the burial ground of the Bhumij tribe of Mayurbhanj, Odisha.