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, experiencing and understanding what makes their culture and knowledge so important to them.

These photos start with portraits of the people I lived with to give you a sense of who they are and their personalities, which cannot be portrayed textually.

The film called ‘Raj Gonds, Reflections in a Peacock Crown’ will give you a feel for the Raj Gonds’ cultural wealth and philosophy and the problems of land alienation that they have been facing. You can see it in the Films section of the Raj Gonds.

I hope these images will give you a deeper understanding of these marginalised people. They are also an invaluable archive for the Raj Gonds themselves, of their state of affairs some 35 years ago. Economic, social, educational, and cultural changes have taken place since then. Nowadays many Raj Gonds want to revitalise their traditional culture.  I hope this archive can be useful to them.

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