Documenting the ethno-cultural practices of Porja tribe of Andhra Pradesh

The division undertook the documentation of the ethno-cultural practices of Porja tribe of Andhra Pradesh in the Vishakhapatnam area.

The material culture of a Tribe gives true distinctive picture of its lifestyle, the living culture in relation to the social organization religion and other ceremonial practices, as well as to other material sides of the tribal’s life. So, the various aspects of material culture of the tribe’s viz., household pattern, garments, ornaments, food style/habit, art and craft, dance and music etc. have projected the distinctive culture of the tribes of Padheru and Araku Valley in Costal Andhra Pradesh in Visakhapatnam district.

The Porja is a small hill tribe with a population size of 16,479 (Census, 1991) mainly distributed near the hill slopes of Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh. They are pronounced as Porja, Parja, Poroja, and Parjah. They are migrants from Orissa state for about 300 years back to the present habitat. The Porjas are expert dancers, singers and musicians. Their Tribal dance is quite unique, and without it they feel their lives would be mundane and meaningless. In the dance, women imitate certain animal movements and elements of nature, while men play the instruments and sing.