Hoping that you find this site interesting.
You can discover more about Michael’s research on the Raj Gond ‘adivasi’ tribals and the Ho tribe of central India by clicking on the links at the top. You can see his photographs in the Photos section on each tribe, view his films in the Film section on each tribe , and read his translations of their epic myths and stories in the Documents section.
This website was designed and set up by Hercules Singh Munda, a Munda ‘adivasi’ tribal studying linguistics at the University of Edinburgh.
As an anthropologist Michael believes that tribal people can explain their own culture, rather than have it interpreted by outsiders – even academics. Their way of expressing their own beliefs allows others to see into their inner thoughts.
My hope is that this website will be useful to the indigenous ‘adivasi’ tribal people of India, for whom it can provide an archive of the way-of-life of their parents and ancestors. It can help other people who would like to stop, think and understand them.
Born in 1944, Michael travelled to India as a teenager and fell in love with its many cultures, languages and beliefs. He returned home in 1962 determined to study other people’s cultures, go to university, become an anthropologist and live among minority marginalised communities. He ended up among the Ho and the Raj Gond tribal ‘adivasi‘ people for about eighteen months each, between 1972 and 1978. He took thousands of photos, recorded their beliefs and made a film with Valerie, his partner.
After becoming a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, he lectured at Sussex University. Then he joined the BBC Ethnographic Film Unit and made a series of films about the tribal people of India and around the world. Finally, he taught ethnographic filmmaking as a research methodology to anthropology students at University College London (UCL).
Currently, Michael is the Chaiman of Adivasi Art Trust, which works to appreciate and support the local storytellers, the folk and tribal artists (click here to know more about AAT).
HO PEOPLE
Ho Photos
These photographs were taken while I was living with the Ho ‘adivasi‘ tribal people in Singhbhum District of what is now Jharkhand State in India.
For two years, from 1972 to 1974, I did anthropological fieldwork in the village of Dubil, in the south western area of the Saranda forests. It was a period of participant observation and research to write a PhD thesis for the Anthropology Department of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Participant Observation means that I …. Read More
Ho Films
Hoping you find this site interesting.
You can discover more about Michael’s research on the Ho ‘adivasi‘ tribals of central India by clicking on the links at the top. You can view his films by clicking here …. Read More
Ho Documents
Click ‘Read More’ to see Documents about the Ho people. There is a Grammar of their language, and a Vocabulary. Also there is a link to my Ph.D. thesis on the Ho, written in 1977 …. Read More
RAJ GOND PEOPLE
Raj Gond Photos
Here is a selection of about 1,500 photographs that I took while doing anthropological research among the Raj Gond ‘adivasi’ tribals between 1977 and 1978 in Andhra Pradesh, now Telangana.
Anthropological research involves getting to know people, living with them, learning their language and being involved in their lives, sharing, making friends, experiencing and understanding what makes their culture and knowledge so important.
These photos start with portraits of the people I lived with. I hope they will give you a feel for their personalities, which cannot be portrayed in text …. Read More
Raj Gond Films
Hoping you find this site interesting.
You can discover more about his research on the Raj Gond adivasi tribals and the Ho tribe of central India by clicking on the links at the top. You can view his films, see his photographs and read his translations of their epic myths and stories. As an anthropologist he believes that tribal….Read More
Raj Gond Documents
Click on ‘Read More’ to see a collection of English translations of the most important Raj Gond mythical stories about the creation of the universe. …. Read More
Film Archive
Please enjoy exploring, discovering and learning from this website.
Contact Form
A few things to note:
1. The photos on this website are freely available in low-definition versions.
2. If you require a high-definition version, please contact Michael Yorke mentioning the file number in the message section.
3. An acknowledgement of Michael Yorke’s copyright is required for any non-commercial use of photos, including exhibition, academic research and education purposes.
4. For any commercial use of the photos, a small contribution to Adivasi Art Trust would be appreciated and an acknowledgement of Michael Yorke’s copyright is required.