The tribal museum was designed by Revathi Kamath. It was inaugurated on June 6, 2013, by the then-president of IndiaPranab Mukherjee.[6][7][8][9] The museum is divided into six different theme galleries showcasing traditional art, craft and culture of various tribes of Madhya Pradesh like Gonds, Bhils, Bharias, Sahariya, Korku, Kol, and Baiga.[10] As of June 2022, the museum offers its visitors a unique opportunity to access its exhibits and presentations virtually. The digital tour is categorised into ten parts: the upper and lower level of the museum, lifestyle gallery, tribal spiritual world, Chhattisgarh gallery, Awas (tribal housing), Likhandra (painting exhibition and library), Rakku (children gallery), and Chinhari (the museum shop).[11] On May 18 2023, which was also International Museum Day, the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board launched a "QR-based audio guide to help tourists learn about the state's rich heritage and culture".[12] This digital endeavour "connects the state's history with technology and the information from the audio guide will be available in both Hindi and English".[12] Furthermore, considering the state of Madhya Pradesh recognises 43 different tribes, it has recently announced the launching of a "Cultural Diversity Centre to exhibit contour map of tribal communities".[13] The overarching idea is to illustrate how despite the differences there are shared commonalities between the tribes found in the region. Ashok Mishra, a curator of the Tribal Museum, says: "There is an underlying cultural unity among them. In many ways, they seem to be inter-connected, it appears as if they have common roots. And this is what we propose to highlight".[4]
The museum "receives up to 71,000 visitors (66,000 Indian nationals – 5,000 foreign nationals) per year".[14]
Major Galleries
The six galleries display various aspects of the tribal life.[15]
Jeevan Shaili: A gallery of traditional houses of the Gond, Korku, Bhil, and Sahariya tribes made up of mud, bamboo, dung, hay, and grass which also portrays the essentials such as agricultural tools, earthenware used by them. These housing structures allow one to understand how historically such tribal communities have built their life around natural resources.
Sanskritik Vaividhya: Culturally diverse exhibits that showcase different traditions such as weddings and festivals of the tribal communities.
Kalabodh: The expression of tribal lifestyle in the form of artwork
Devlok: This section comprises the traditional tribal houses dedicated to deities exhibiting different myths and beliefs associated with the customs of worshipping mother earth, mountains, rivers, etc.
Chhattisgarh Dirgha depicts the tribal Art of Chhattisgarh
Rakku Dirgha: This gallery allows one to learn about the traditional games played by the young children of tribal communities.
Other features
There is an amphitheatre inside the museum which hosts scheduled plays, musical performances, and folk dances. There is also a retail outlet for handicrafts and artefacts, called Chinhari. The museum also publishes an in-house magazine, Choumasa, about the tribal lifestyle.
