Under the museum series ‘Exhibit of the Month’ of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, a traditional object is displayed in the appearance for a whole month. The exhibit for the month of June- “Jatanga” a traditional wooden grinder from Araku-Vally, Andhra Pradesh is on display in the indoor exhibition building – Veethi Sankul.
The 'exhibit of the month' has been inaugurated by Flight lieutenant Akash Deep Mathur, Director, Raja Bhoj Airport, Bhopal. Prof Sarit Kumar Chaudhuri (Director, IGRMS), Vasant Nirgune (Tagore fellow), Prabal Roy (Coordinator, National Science Museum, Bhopal) and renowned people present on this occasion. This exhibit of the month' has been compiled by P Shankar Rao (Assistant Keeper).
Jatanga is a traditional form of a dry wooden grinder used exclusively for grinding millets among the Khond tribal community in Araku Valley. The use of this grinder is gender specific. It is used only by the women. The object is given utmost care by the family and abstains from unwanted interventions of the pets and other animals. This sanctity, on other hand, allows the family to keep hygienic use of the grinder. Taboos are also observed during the time of grinding. People having ill ailments and diseases refrain from touching the object.
The use of Jatanga is limited for the pregnant women in course of an advance stage of pregnancy. The entire mechanism of agricultural food production for a family and their domestic consumption is administered by this grinder. The object also bears the cultural identity of the tribe because wooden grinder of such kind is extensively used by the Khonds who are primarily the Millet cultivators in this region. In the early days, such massive households of domestic utility were widely available and this hill tribe could easily harness the resources from their local environment. These days, it is very difficult for them to find the wood for preparing this substantial form of wooden grinder. The wood traditionally used for preparing grinder has enormous advantages of durability, efficient grinding and also contain anti-termite elements.