Ho Photos

These photographs were taken while I was living with the Ho ‘adivasi‘ tribal people in Singhbhum District of what is now the Jharkhand State of India.

For two years, from 1972 to 1974, I did fieldwork in the village of Dubil, in the south-western area of the forest of Saranda.  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, University of London. The recording of my research was typed out on the verandah of the house that we stayed in.

Participant Observation means that I and my wife, Valerie, learnt the Ho language, lived like the Ho in a mud hut, took part in their daily lives and became as close friends as possible.

My aim was to write a thesis analysing and describing the Ho customs and way-of-life.  I was also a professional photographer and filmmaker. 

This collection of photographs and also my film, ‘The Ho: People of the Rice Pot’, will give you an insight into what a remarkable people they are, their quality of life, and the richness of their culture and traditions.

I hope that you will find these photos interesting and beautiful, and that they give you a deeper understanding of Ho culture.  For the Ho themselves these images provide an archive of their former lifestyle. Much has changed after forty years of economic and political development, including decades of Naxalite activism driven by exploitation and marginalisation.

IMPORTANT: The photos on the website are in low-definition version. For access to high-definition versions, please contact Michael Yorke (see Contact Page).