Kadey Soren
Monday, July 1, 2024
Kherwal Bir: The Divine Warrior's Triumph (Extracted from the original work of Kherwal Bir written by Pt. Raghunath Murmu)
Monday, February 6, 2023
UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize Training Program 2022
2022 UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize laureates embark on study tour in Seoul
On the occasion of the 576th Hangeul Day, which commemorates the invention of the Korean alphabet (Hangeul) by King Sejong in 1446 and hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea, two UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize laureates from India and the United Kingdom embarked on a cultural study tour in Seoul from 7 to 9 October 2022.
Before 1446, Koreans used Chinese characters as the primary script to write the Korean language. Due to huge grammatical differences between Korean and Chinese and therefore the difficulty of mastering both languages, only people from the elite class were literate. The creation of Hangeul allowed Korean people to become literate regardless of their social status. Named after King Sejong the Great, the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize is to reward the efforts of institutions, organizations or individuals for their contribution to the fight against illiteracy.
The study tour was organized by the Federation of Korean Language and Cultural Center under the commission of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Korea. This was the first time the study tour resumed to be conducted since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the three-day trip, two representatives of the winning programmes from India and the United Kingdom participated in several cultural visits and activities with a focus on the impact of the Korean alphabet on the rich and diverse Korean culture.
Mr Kadey Soren, Deputy Director of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, represented the institute’s winning ‘Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education’ programme, which tackles the challenges of poor retention of indigenous students in elementary schools due to classroom language barriers and teachers' incapacity to deal with multilingual and multicultural classrooms effectively.
Mr Rafael Martins Galupa, Member of the Senior Management Committee of Native Scientist, represented the organization’s programme ‘Native Scientists’, which conducts innovative workshops to connect migrant children with scientists who share the same native language as the learners, allowing scientific subjects to be learned in their mother tongue, fostering both scientific literacy and language development.
Mr Soren and Mr Galupa first visited Korean National Commission for UNESCO, where they presented their award-winning programmes and shared their experiences with representatives from the national commission. They later visited the National Hangeul Museum and participated in multiple events in the Hangeul week programmes. The two representatives were also invited to visit historic sites including Suwon Hwaseong Fortress and Changdeokgung Palace.
On 8 and 9 September 2022, the ‘Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education’ programme from India, the ‘Native Scientists’ programme from the United Kingdom and the ‘Madrasa Arabic Lessons’ programme from the United Arab Emirates were announced winners of UNESCO’s 2022 King Sejong Literacy Prize at the two-day hybrid international event celebrating International Literacy Day. This year’s International Literacy Day was celebrated under the theme of “Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces”. Three outstanding programmes from Brazil, Malaysia, and South Africa were also awarded with the UNESCO Confucius Literacy Prize during this year’s celebration.
UNESCO International Literacy Prizes aim to reward excellent and innovative programmes that promote literacy. The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize was established in 1989 with the support of the Government of the Republic of Korea. It gives special consideration to mother language-based literacy development.
courtesy:
https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/2022-unesco-king-sejong-literacy-prize-laureates-embark-study-tour-seoul
Friday, May 6, 2022
GURU GOMKEY PANDIT RAGHUNATH MURMU
Saturday, May 22, 2021
Kaati Enej
Introduction
The history of Kaati Enej (games) dates to the ancient Santal past. Kaati Games are an integral part of cultures and are among one of the oldest forms of human social interaction. Initially, Kaati Games are formalized expressions of play that allow Santal people to go beyond immediate imagination and direct physical activity. Common features of games include uncertainty of outcome, agreed-upon rules, competition, separate place and time, elements of fiction, elements of chance, prescribed goals, and personal enjoyment.
Kaati Games capture the ideas and worldview of Santal cultures and pass them on to the future generation. Kaati Games are important as cultural and social bonding events, as teaching tools, and as markers of social status. Kaati Games were often imbued with mythic and ritual religious significance. Kaati Games were used to teach spiritual and ethical lessons and also as a way to develop strategic thinking and mental skill for the players.
Games
Kaati Enej is a game of quick reflexes and deft footwork. It requires a keen eye, strong limbs, and expert eye-hand-leg coordination. Pioneered by the Santals, it is traditionally played after the harvest season by teams each comprising minimum of 2 members and maximum is unlimited (Depending on the size of ground/no of players). Every player has a kaati or a semi-circular disc made of tamarind wood and a tarhi or a 6ft bamboo stick. All kaatis lie on the centerline of a rectangular court. Players try to propel the bamboo stick with their feet to hit the opponent's kaati. Every successful hit gets a score.
Types of equipment required
Kaati — A semi-circular disc made of wood
Tarhi — A 6ft Wild Bamboo Stick/pole
Players — Minimum of two and there is not the upper limit of players
Playing field — size of playing field is not determined
Opponents — Challenger or opponents is must
Referee — The judge of the game is required
Significance of game
Kaati Enej/games is considered to be the only games Santal played since time immemorial. It is also considered as National Games of Santals. Playing kaati is staying attached to Santal culture and roots. Kaati games are having cultural, mythical, ritual, and religious significance. Kaati is the game of power displayed in several social and cultural interactions of Santal. Kaati games also seek a degree of strength and smoothness to hone skills. Playing kaati games require community involvement not only in playing but it starts with making Kaati and bamboo stick. Kaati is sometimes a match-making game among Santals.
Why Kaati Games is needed documentation
With much-hyped sports like cricket in urban and semi-urban areas and football in rural pockets, nobody incoming generations will know that games like Kaati ever existed. Kaati games are on the verge of extinction and rarely played in any instances among Santals. Games are not having much scope and popularity as it is not played. There is an urgent need for documentation of Kaati games to prevent them from extinction.
(Mr. Thakurdas Hansda wrote book on "Kaati Khel")
Monday, May 17, 2021
The Santal Dilemma - Religious and Political Identity
Adivasis appear to be amongst the world’s most misunderstood and exploited communities in the name of religious identity. Over the last few weeks, misinformation about Adivasis religions, coupled with impulsive reactions to recent events, has caused widespread rifts among the Santali community, blurring the line between religious freedom and political imposition.