Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum

About the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum

The Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum in Bhopal tells the stories of local tribal heritage through full-scale models, colourful art installations and performances. It takes visitors through the culture of the state's tribes with large, vivid displays covering art, traditions, daily life and customs across a large number of indigenous groups.

A particular focus runs through the whole museum: how tribal art relates to tribal culture. A musical instrument here is also part of an important ritual. A sculpture is also a tribute to a god or a spiritual energy. For the tribes, everything is related to an invisible power, and objects are practical and supernatural at the same time. Artefacts from daily life are presented alongside cultural symbols carrying meanings passed down through generations.

Galleries and displays

Tribal Life Gallery

This gallery holds full-sized models of tribal houses and dwellings, built large enough for visitors to walk inside. It is the clearest way to understand how these communities actually live rather than simply reading about it.

Worship and sacrifice

Another gallery portrays stories of worship and sacrifice through large art installations. The scale of the work is part of the point, and the installations are meant to be stood among rather than glanced at.

Art, objects and performances

Exhibitions are full of artefacts and information, with objects of daily use set beside cultural symbols. Every Friday and Sunday evening the museum hosts performances of traditional music, dance and drama.

Planning your visit

There is a lot to see here, and the exhibitions carry a good deal of information, so this is not a twenty-minute stop.

• Allow a long visit; the galleries are dense and the models reward slow looking.
• Time your visit for a Friday or Sunday evening if you want to catch traditional music, dance and drama.
• Start with the Tribal Life Gallery, since the full-sized dwellings give context for everything else.
• Confirm opening times, entry charges and the performance schedule before you go.

Best time to visit

Friday and Sunday evenings are the stand-out choice, because those are when the museum hosts performances of traditional music, dance and drama in addition to the regular galleries. On other days, a visit with plenty of time in hand works equally well for the exhibitions themselves.