Maoist insurgents operating in restive Bastar area are exploiting the secret sign language of tribal people to fulfil their nefarious designs. The enraged Adiwasi community is now considering changing those traditional signs to prevent their misuse. According to elders and historians, in Bastar, the tradition of usage of signs to convey messages was started in the year 1910.
In the Darbha Valley carnage, which was perpetrated by Maoists on the Congress convoy killing 29 people as also virtually wiping out the State leadership, this sign language was allegedly used by rebels. Though changing these signs is not so easy, but gauging
the impact of their misuse, urgent need for changing them in areas affected by insurgency is being felt by the tribal society, as they are convinced by elders not to work on these signs blindly.
Notably, one of the prominent members of Adiwasi Samaj and Salwa Judum leader Soyam Mukka as well as Chinna Gota, before their brutal murder, had said that Maoist insurgents were misusing traditional tribal signs for triggering blasts or for alerting fellow insurgents against security forces.
At any time during night Naxal cadre reach a village and use these signs prompting tribal people to act accordingly but when they come to know that it was not flashed by community member but an insurgent they felt cheated, the leaders had said. The duo had also regretted how some of the members of the Tribal community, well aware of these signs and their impact, were present in Maoist cadre and helping rebels to use them to their advantages.
According to elders of tribal society, these traditional signs play an important part in conveying message to fellow member faster than usual method and are very effective in treacherous terrain of Bastar where more than two feet and ample time are needed to travel even a smaller distance, given the jig-jag pathway connecting two hamlets. And in this, playing clarinet (Pipe), blowing whistle, or pinching in palm while exchanging tobacco convey different messages.
Sounds of pipes convey both messages of happiness and sad news depending on how it is played by the person sending the message. Through this method, message travels at the rate of sound and make people aware of well being of each others, living miles apart.
Another sign is blowing whistle. Tribal people living in remote area when feel themselves in danger they blow whistle from their mouth to give message to their group in a particular way and within minutes the relatives gather at the site of the occurrence and people of the area become alert fearing that those relatives can turn violent any moment. Whistle blown during Haat, Bazaar, festival, Jatras usually convey the message of trouble whereas whistle blown during cock-fight or in a gathering at a theatre are symbol of expression of happiness. In normal condition tribal youths avoid blowing whistle.
Pinching in the palm, while exchanging tobacco, also has special meaning in tribal society. While returning from Haat-Bazaars, if one partner pinches the palm of another while exchanging tobacco (called 'Dhungiya in local parlance) conveys the request/desire of sex. But when they give
tobacco holding it in to their fingers one after another that signals abrupt and unsuccessful end of a meeting, but when they walks out of a meeting just to spit out, that means disagreement with agenda and failure of the meeting. Felling a tree on a road to block traffic or throwing a dead animal on the way are common sign for expressing annoyance in tribal community.
Madia, Muriya, Dhurwa and other sub sects of Adiwasis still convey messages through beating the drums and seeking help through blowing whistle of a particular sound.
According to historians related to famous Bhumkal movement, Tribal community developed these signs to convey their messages against the Britishers who made several bid to conquer Tribals but remained unsuccessful so far.