Articles

Collaborative Filmmaking and the Sonic Ecology of Adivasi Landscapes

How can multisensory and decolonial approaches contribute to a better understanding of Adivasi land dispossession and enhance transcultural resonance?

Master’s Thesis (Luca Verhaeghe, 2024)

In Jharkhand, Eastern India, where the Adivasi communities see their rhythms and lives as inseparably connected to the ancestral land, the expansion of coal mines leads not only to environmental destruction but also to the erosion of their culture. This research highlights a decolonial and multisensory approach that, through a collaborative film, visualizes the context of Adivasi land dispossession and the accompanying soundscapes.

How Does Displacement Sound?

The Adivassi, the Indigenous people of Jharkhand, have a rich culture filled with songs, dances, and stories, shared in their central gathering space, the Akhra. However, the pressure of development projects led by the demand for minerals has often violently forced communities to leave their land. Displacement uproots not only their homes but also their songs, dances, and memories.

As a visual etnography student, I aimed to move beyond mere observation. What if the story of the Adivasi could not only be read or seen but also felt and heard? With this question in mind, a collaborative experimental short film, The Sonic Ecology of Adivasi Landscapes, was developed, where sound serves as a bridge to evoke resonance.

How Multisensory Research Fosters Connection

This research applied a unique approach: a multisensory, feminist, and participatory methodology. Traditional scientific methods, often patriarchal and colonial in nature, tend to reduce complex human experiences to mere data, consisting of jargon accessible only to a small, academic audience.

Through interviews, perception analyses, and field recordings, I explored how soundscapes reflect the Adivasi experience. Sounds such as hands cultivating the land, weaving looms, rustling forests, and the rumble of mining machines formed the foundation of our film. The film not only highlights the threats these communities face but also their resilience.

Collaboration with the local documentary group Akhra and in particular with Shankhu Toppo, was vital. Together, we developed a participatory process that gave space to both the voices of the Adivasi and the vision of us as filmmakers. The result is not a traditional documentary but rather an experimental composition of sounds, images, and silences that challenges the viewer to listen more deeply.

This work demonstrates how a decolonial, multisensory approach can bridge the gap between communities and researchers. Sound, often undervalued in research, can play a powerful role in conveying complex realities. By collaborating with local communities and challenging traditional research norms, we can enforce transcultural resonance with voices that are often unheard.