Adivasis use traditional tools

 Adivasi woman purchasing traditional weighing tools 

Adivasis still use traditional tools made of iron and bamboo to weigh the food grains in their day-today life in their villages. The Adivasis strongly believe that these weighing tools are more or less accurate to that of modern electronic weighing machines.

The traditional weight measuring tools such as ‘Sorai’, ‘Chitte’, ‘Paili’ are made of iron while ‘Dala’, ‘Topla’, ‘Topli’, ‘Saanka’ and ‘Daavudi’ are made of bamboo.  

These tools and measurements are still popular among the Adivasis though they sell their grains they cultivated at local shops or market yards as per the electronic weighing machines and sometimes old weighing tools such as ‘Taraju’ and ‘Batlu’.

Vijay Singh of Ichoda, who manufactures iron weighing tools, said Adivasi are still use these traditional tools made of iron to weigh their food grains jowar, maize, rice and pulses and they have strong attachment to these traditional tools. He said Adivasis purchase them at weekly shandies or Jataras.

Kanaka Venkateshwar Rao of Marlavai in Jainoor mandal said, ‘ Even today they use traditional weighing measurement tools to cook the food for the guests based on their number and to offer the food grains to the Gods and in preparing Naivedyam and also in extracting Oil from seeds of caster (Amudam) and Sesame by using their traditional ‘Ganuga’.

“Adivasis use weighing tools made of bamboo before the entry of the iron measuring tools and even today the primitive Kolam Adivasis continue to use bamboo measuring tools”, he observed.

Adivasi woman Thodasam Laxmibai of Patan of Maharashtra said, still they still use traditional weighing tools in their day- today life and are proud that traditional knowledge has passed on to new generations by their ancestors.

Non- tribal who penetrated into tribal areas long back used to take the valuable food grains and minor forest produce from the Adivasis just by offering them cheap quality and less priced cloths, decoration items and cosmetics as part of barter system. Now, Adivasis have stopped doing so and prefer selling them at local market.