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The age of the tribalite

Tribalitism is a cultural potpourri that underlines global fashion and philosophy

GO TRIBAL In fashion it could mean weaves from the Hmong in Vietnam co-existing with flowing skirts with Bhuj embroidery

First there was the term "ethnic". Essentially a sociological construct, the term filtered into the world of fashion and furnishings with amazing ease. Ethnic fashionistas, led by Delhi and Mumbai journalists, art film stars and NGO heads were the ones who wore big bindis, lots of silver, vegetable dyes in their fabrics and had Kathiawari jhoolas, Chola Natarajas and Muzafarpur dhurries in household décor. Ethnic was both an intellectual as well as a fashion statement. It was in a sense real India, not kitsch but politically correct and going back to the original source. Madhubani and Pichwai paintings, Tangail and Kalakshetra saris, Warli walls and Naga shawls. Laddered up the social scale, it meant Jamevar and Pashmina, Toda silver and Tibetan turquoise. Things from remote Indian tribes, indigenous communities, far-flung villages untouched by modern day mechanisation or plasticity. Ethnic was the in thing to be in the 1980s and early 1990s. Looking back at my oversized bindis, I wonder how I managed to carry it off. One day it all changed. And then made a remarkable comeback with widened horizons, in what is being called the age of the Tribalite.

Mix 'n' match of cultures

Fashion is looking beyond city streets and villages to the lost art of tribes across the world, and in doing so is creating a new tribe — the tribalite. She is the socialite with global consciousness but her style spills over and is imitated by designers, and wannabe fashionistas. While the term `tribalite' is gender-specific, the attitude is gender-neutral. Unlike the word "ethnic", which was exclusive, "tribalitism" is all encompassing. "Tribalitism", if such an awkward word were to be permitted, is a mix and match of cultures, lost art forms and rediscovered tribal arts repackaged as new chic. And deeper is the underlying and diffused yearning for the real, the true and the uncorrupted. Essentially a product of western consumerism, bored and jaded with cookie-cutter plastic, chrome and steel offerings, the tribalite is a global citizen. In fashion it could mean weaves from the Hmong in Vietnam and Thailand co-existing with long flowing skirts with Bhuj embroidery or lahariya, rubbing shoulders with African Masai-inspired sandals, nazar beads (those beads with eyes sported by everyone) from Turkey and Egypt. In homes it could mean Indonesian masks, African prints, with Rajasthani jharokas, Cambodian Buddhas and pottery from the Pueblo Indians.

New spirituality

According to trend-watcher Irma Zandl, the new definition of urban tribes is a cluster or group that is connected beyond age, community or local interest. The mix and match goes beyond fashion into the new spirituality and the search for higher meaning has taken on a global hue. It reflects the nature of the tribalite who is well travelled, connected, and aware. New spiritual tribes are connected via Celtic circles, Vedic rituals, which can work along with Buddhist chanting, Reiki, aura balancing and Bach flower remedies. And it spills over into causes as well — it is not enough to be concerned with the tribe or village closest to you. Now we are all one village so you could choose your concerns. The World Social Forum held in India last year was the perfect demonstration of this open shelf choice.

The state of Sapa tribes in Vietnam, the redevelopment of Afghanistan, saving the rain forests of the Amazon or the river dolphins in the Sundarbans — it is all one world.

Even astrology and the other world have an extended reach now. It is possible to consult the panditji in the morning, have a tarot card reading in the afternoon and a cranio-sacral balancing later in the evening. Shamans, cantadoras, rishis, gurus, mystics, ancient civilisations and millennia old earth connections and rituals characterise the coming of the tribalite. And fashion is the first to bring these trends into daily living. So which is your tribe?

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