• Dr.Anjali R Mascarenhas

Ethnic refers to characteristic of people, especially a group (ethnic group) sharing a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like. On the other hand cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures. The phrase cultural diversity can also refer to having different cultures respect each other's differences. Cultural diversity is important because our country, workplaces, and schools increasingly consist of various cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. As people from diverse cultures contribute language skills, new ways of thinking, new knowledge, and different experiences the study becomes more important. Folklore has a strong influence on culture and society. It is through that we learn about the knowledge, beliefs and culture of people who have gone before us in all parts of the world. Even within contemporary folklore, we can experience the attitudes and values of people from different regions within one’s own country or from nations near and far. In the olden day’s folklore was a means of explaining natural occurrences in nature such as lightning, the phases of the moon, the tides, seasons and other phenomenon. Folklore enabled people from one generation to another to understand cause and effect and the long-term implications of their actions. Many people who are considered important to our culture and society have been inspired by folklore or have made contributions to our folklore. In Hinduism the folk religion may explain the rationale behind the local religious practices, and contain local myths that explain the existence of local religious customs of the rituals. Ritual is the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or by sacerdotal decree. It is a specific observable mode of behaviour exhibited by all known societies. It is thus possible to view ritual as a way of defining or describing humans. The UN Encyclopedia Britannica states, “Ritual behavior established or fixed by traditional rules has been observed the world over and throughout history. In the study of this behavior the terms sacred (the transcendent realm) and profane (the realm of the space and cause and effect) have remained useful in distinguishing ritual behavior from other types of action.”

Key Words: Adivasi, Aboriginal, Folklore, Stories Mangod, Death rituals, God Mahadeo, Goddess Gangagauri, Reincarnation

"“ETHNIC AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY” “A STUDY OF THE RITUAL DRAMA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO DEATH RITUALS OF THE ABORIGINAL (ADIVASI TRIBES) OF PALGHAR DISTRICT OF MAHARASHTRA STATE IN INDIA”.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 6, page no.d450-d460, June-2021, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2106466.pdf

"“ETHNIC AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY” “A STUDY OF THE RITUAL DRAMA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO DEATH RITUALS OF THE ABORIGINAL (ADIVASI TRIBES) OF PALGHAR DISTRICT OF MAHARASHTRA STATE IN INDIA”.", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.8, Issue 6, page no. ppd450-d460, June-2021, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2106466.pdf