Guest editors' introduction: indigeneity, performance, and the state in South Asia and beyond

The articles included here are based on a conference held in Upper Bavaria in 2011, convened with the purpose of fleshing out how Indian 'tribal' populations use expressive culture to bolster claims of indigeneity. Within India, the focus is narrowed to Middle India and the Nilgiri Hills of South India, despite the fact that the issues collectively addressed here transcend local and regional issues. After providing a survey of the literature on 'tribes' in India, the authors pinpoint areas of intersection that weave the enclosed articles together thematically. Further reflections on the concept of indigeneity as a global phenomenon conclude this introduction. KEYWORDS: cultural representation--ethnicity--indigeneity--Middle India--Nilgiri Hills--social classification--tribes
THIS VOLUME is the fruit of an interdisciplinary symposium that the guest editors of this special issue organized on an island monastery in Frauenchiemsee, Upper Bavaria, in January 2011. (1) [...]