Today's India is characterized by a clash of extreme contrasts: Alongside gigantic metropolitan regions, there are traces of a culture and history that go back thousands of years. Yet, there is also a side that remains hidden from most tourists — a social niche beyond the caste system that still dominates everyday life today: the world of the Adivasi. In a study exhibition, visitors can experience this hidden facet of India, illustrated with photographs by Werner Hammer of Wiesbaden and including objects from our ethnological collection.

Adivasi — a Sanskrit word that means „first settlers“. This is how the approximately 100 million representatives of various groups in modern-day India refer to themselves. In a niche on the fringes of modern society, they have been able to preserve their culture to this day. However, their way of life is disappearing in the face of threats from economic corporations and modern environmental protection. The exhibition provides insights into this dwindling world with contemporary photos and objects and focuses on the relationship between man and nature.