Notebook 3

Transcripts of documents consulted in the Chaibasa District Record Room, compiled by British land settlement officers (1903-4) regarding to land systems, land disputes, relation between adivasis, rajahs and Rautias, “village notes” (some of which include interviews and genealogies), and other topics. These documents are related specifically to the two villages where I conducted fieldwork in the Porahat area of Singhbhum, but also a few neighbouring ones. This is precious material as those documents were held in bundles and were literally crumbling apart in the District Record Room (so I am not sure they are still available). They provide not only unique information about the history of those villages but also rare insights into British officers’ understanding and attitudes towards the world of the adivasis. See the first page for a detailed index of topics.