Department of Tribal Studies

The objective of the Department is to conduct an extensive research into the lives of the Tribes in Karnataka. The Department apart from conducting ethnographic, field work based documentation and analysis of the socio-economic life of the tribes, records and publishes their knowledge and literature which is available only in the oral form. The Department has published a series of oral epics thus collected, which has won the appreciation of the academic world.

The Department is housed in a mini-campus called Giri-Seeme (Hilly-region) modeled on tribal culture. The campus has become a must-see for tourists. The Department is recognized by the UGC to carry out research under the Special Assistance Program (SAP). It also has a mini-museum of tribal culture.The Department of Tribal Studies has come into being to shoulde many important responsibilities. One of the primary responsibilities has been to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Tribes. In this context we need to undertake micro study of each community from the economic, social and cultural perspecitives in a scientific manner.