Cultural Revivalism and Archaeology: An Object Analysis Case Study of the Dogra Group

The Dogras are an ethno-linguistic tribe, based in India and Pakistan. Historically, the residents of Duggar Pradesh, the tribe is presently scattered in the areas of Jammu and Kashmir, parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and northeastern Pakistan and has diversified both religiously and linguistically, with only a small fraction still using the Dogri language. The Dogras, in the present times, belong to Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist communities and are virtually indistinguishable from the non-Dogra ethnic tribes, except for their jewellery, which still serves as an ethnic identification of sorts. Among a wide array of gold and silver objects, which include rural and urban ornaments, that represent cultural evolution and regional variations, is a single silver bangle called Mrijhri, which is perhaps the only ornament that still retains its original cultural value. This paper presentation is based on an independent research conducted by way of interviews and in-depth object analysis of the Mrijhri and attempts to trace the overshadowed and forgotten culture of the Dogras.