Lost: India’s Missing and Endangered Cultures.

India, a country of many cultures, traditions and religions has been home to people for a millennium. Even with this, due to the many changes ravishing the Earth today, along with the country's history, many culturally significant practices have slowly vanished as the years pass. Not to mention, languages that were once commonplace have had their native speakers dissipate as older generations fail to pass the language on.

History and the British
Historically speaking, India is one of the world's oldest civilizations, dating back to the years of the Indus valley civilization, which settled around the states of Punjab into the country of Pakistan. Later, this led to the Vedic period, introducing texts of Hinduism and increasing the popularity of agriculture. Even with all of this, the following Maurya Empire became the first to encompass a large region of the Indian subcontinent. As the decades went on, similar empires spread across the country and fought for dominance, from struggling under the some empires, which led to the development of the civilization’s golden period during the Gupta empire's rule. Thereafter came one of the most strenuous periods of Indian history, the British rule. From 1858-1947, the country was fully under British rule, who decided to increase the amount of British soldiers in the Indian army in order to make it more “safe”, with Indian soldiers being restricted from handling weaponry too complex. This reign marked an era of famine and an increase in competition between Indigenous-made goods and the much cheaper, British alternatives. Even in modern India, after gaining independence on August 15, 1947, 77 years later the prominent effects over the 2 centuries of rule are clear as day, as certain traditions and goods became endangered. Today, scars of the rule still remain, however for the mainly indigenous community, holding on to traditions and languages have become the hardest thing of all.

Endangered Traditions
An example of an endangered tradition is located in the northeastern states of Nagaland and Manipur, the creation of Kezai Dui salt, or Naga Spring salt. This product was created by the Indigenous groups of the area such as the Tangkhul, Ao, Mao, Naga and Kuki. Generally Kezai Dui salt is greyer, has a more subtle taste, and has a long preparation process. Locals filter saltwater through wood ashes into wooden troughs, which is later, using bamboo, separated into sections and left to sit over a stone furnace until salt is formed. Usually this entire process takes 7-10 days, and is done in a couple salt springs in the area. It takes up to 100 baskets of wood and 400 jars of saltwater to make 40 cakes of mineral salt. Additionally, rituals related to the salt-making, this includes: giving offerings of rice, ginger, chillies and leaves, are performed throughout communities. In the present day, this salt-making technique, though valuable to locals, is slowly fading due to the switch of preference towards higher use of commercially-made salt, which is able to be produced at a quicker rate than Naga Spring.

Another example includes the making of Garo’s yeast (otherwise known as Wanchi) by the Garo people in Meghalaya. The yeast was originally made by drying fern leaves and chilies, then pouring rice beer over it, and finally drying and crushing up the mixture. Its main use is to ferment rice and create rice beer. Garo’s yeast was also given to ancestors in festivals, such as the loud and colorful Wangala Festival or the 100 Drums Festival. There are a variety of factors that could come into play with the endangered nature of this food. From the decreasing population due to newer generations moving in, to the primarily local nature of the item, this yeast is soon becoming a forgotten culture.

Fading Languages
Badaga, a language primarily spoken in the Nilgiri mountains of Tami Nadu, is a “definitely endangered” language as outlined in Unesco’s World Atlas of Languages. Spoken by about 140,000 people, the language is related to Kannada, one of the top 10 most spoken languages in the country. The main reason for its endangered status can be tied back to the initial independence of India, where state boundaries and, more importantly, education systems were formed. In school, the main languages usually taught and instructed include Tamil, Kannada or Malayalam, therefore, hindering some newer generations from learning and actively using the Badaga language. This, along with the lack of a writing system and the increasing communication with those outside of communities, the language is dwindling in numbers.

In the state of Andhra Pradesh, another language slowly fades, the Koya language. Spoken by the Koya tribe, one of the largest tribes in the state, Koya belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. Similarly to Badaga, the language’s main reason for endangerment involves the education system in the state. Iit is increasingly being replaced by Telugu and the Lingua Franca Hindi. With more opportunities present outside of these communities, another reason for the lessened amount of native speakers also involve emigration to more urban, and greatly populated areas.

What’s being done?
Not all hope is lost however, as many incentives have arisen dedicated to protecting, or at least documenting the languages and traditions of the people by both the Indian government and various organizations. The Arc of Taste, for example, is a website primarily dedicated to documenting various endangered foods per country, including how they’re made and various uses for them. The Scheme for Protection and Preservation of Endangered Languages of India, was created by the government of India in 2013, and works on the documentation of 117 endangered languages across the country. Additionally, funding was further given to state universities to research these languages extensively. A non-profit organization called the Living Tongues Society also works towards this goal, mainly through the creation of their online dictionary website, which helps document certain words and phrases for endangered languages. With the help of modern day technology, preservation insights and regulations put in place to prevent forgotten traditions, what was valuable and significant may not become an artifact after all.