Honoring tribal spirituality in India: An exploratory study of their beliefs, rituals and healing practices

Abstract

This paper presents an exploration of tribal spirituality in India. The study sought to understand the spiritual worldview of tribal communities in India within the context of a community engagement program between a university in India and a tribal community outside Mumbai. The purpose of the engagement was for students and academics to have a deeper understanding of tribal communities, and to formulate community development interventions that could improve their individual and family well-being. A qualitative research approach was utilized to guide the study. The data was collected from two samples, namely, six social work academics and 23 students. Semi structured interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data from these aforementioned samples following a two-year immersion within this community. The data was analyzed as one dataset using thematic analysis. Three broad themes emerged from the data which focused on the characteristics of tribal communities, tribal spirituality and the healing methodologies used.