Embodied Resistance and Indigenous Knowledge: A Study of Tribal Consciousness in Mahasweta Devi’s “Draupadi” and “The Hunt”

Abstract

This article examines Mahasweta Devi's short stories "Draupadi" and "The Hunt" in the light of embodied resistance and indigenous knowledge systems. While the term "indigenous" has gained political recognition in the global discourse as "first inhabitants," the Indian state has largely confined them to the administrative category of "Scheduled Tribes." Various international organizations have highlighted the distinct political identity of indigenous people based on their distinct history, language, spirituality, and land-based way of life. This article argues that the resistance of Dopdi Mejhen and Mary Oraon is not based on any bookish knowledge or state law, but rather on an experiential, land-centered indigenous knowledge system.  Dopdi's naked, scarred body in the story "Draupadi," is transformed into a direct body-politic against state terror, class exploitation, and military rape. This transformation turns subaltern femininity into a place of expression and protest, not of shame. On the other hand, in the story “The Hunt,” the Jani Parab hunting festival, Mary’s forest knowledge and ritual-based violent resistance construct an alternative framework of indigenous women’s self-defense, justice, and collective morality. Bringing together feminist, ecofeminist, and decolonial perspectives, the article shows how indigenous knowledge systems function as both a living epistemological source of resistance to colonial-capitalist violence, and on this basis, a critical frame can be constructed for analyzing the political significance of indigenous culture in postcolonial India.