BHUBANESWAR: The Tribal Museum here is up for a makeover. Located on the premises of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI), the archives displays objects from almost every tribe. The institute is the only government-run tribal museum in the State and attracts hundreds of visitors from abroad each year. A few years back, it was identified as the best among the 21 tribal museums in India by Unesco. Apart from the existing five galleries in the Museum that houses ornaments, paintings, photographs, hunting tools, agriculture implements, musical instruments and Dokra items, the authorities are setting up another Primitive Tribal Group (PTG) gallery on the institute’s 18 acre campus. Construction of this gallery is underway and after completion, it would adorn artefacts related to 13 PTGs in the State. Plans have also been drawn up to rope in tribal artisans and use the institute premises as a live museum-cum-platform where tribal artisans would get the chance to display and sell their products. This apart, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has sanctioned ` 40 lakh for beautification of the Museum this year that would entail landscaping, construction of pathways and plantation of trees like Sal, Mohul, Bamboo, said Director (incharge) of SCSTRTI, Biswa Nayak. A proposal in this regard was made earlier to the Ministry and funds of ` 2 crore were sought. “We are planning to give the museum a tribal village ambience with proper landscaping. The land behind the five hutments within the Museum will be used for setting up small forests that are typical to a tribal habitation,” said Museum in-charge Trilochan Sahoo, adding stone statues of tribal deities will also be installed. Besides, touchscreen kiosks will be set up in each of the existing five galleries where short films on tribal livelihood will be screened for interested tourists. The Tribal Museum has around 2,247 tribal artefacts, 34 items of textiles of 10 tribes and 927 ornaments of 25 tribes. The five huts within the premises are of Santal, Juang, Gadaba, Saora and Kondh tribes.Tribal Dance FestivalThe three-day Tribal Dance Festival will be organised this year by the SC & ST Development Department from December 12. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has this year sanctioned ` 7.5 lakh for the festival. Sources in the department said every day during the festival, five tribal dances will be showcased and this time, tribals from Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh have been invited to perform besides the those from the State.
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