Bhils Tribe- An i ntr oduction

Bhils tribes of I ndia a re the the la rges t t ribe o f South As ia comp ris ing 39% of the t otal p opula tion o f Rajas t han. Thes e Ind ian t ribes have a me ntio n even in epics like M ahabha rat a and R amaya na. G oing by lege nds Bhil wo men of fered b er t o Lord R ama, wh en he was in t he jungles of D ha ndaka, s earchi ng Sita. In the recent his t ory as well t hes e tribes o f India we re reg arde d as the fig hte rs who were in a war a gains t the M ughals , M ara thas and the B ritis he rs .

Bhils Tribe- Locat ion

Thes e tribes a re largely f ound i n Rajas tha n. Bhils t ribe a re clas s ified into two g roups - the cent ral o r pu re bhils and eas t ern o r Raj put Bhils . The cent ral catego ry of thes e India n t ribes are f ound i n mou ntain regions in the Ind ian s tates o f M adhya Pra des h, M aharas h tra, G uj rat an d Rajas tha n. Bhils t ribes are als o foun d in the nor th eas te rn pa rts of T ripu ra.

Bhils Tribe- Language

Bhili, which is an Indo Aryan la nguage is the pri me language s poken by B hils tribes of In dia.

Bhils Tribe- Cos tu mes

Traditional s aris , loos e long f rock along with pyjama are the fo rte d res s of women and men res pec tively of the B hils tribes . The peas an ts wear tu rbans and Bhils als o wear b ras s ornamen ts .

Bhils Tribe- Religion

Thes e Indian trib es have a unique religio us and ritual beliefs . Bhils tribes o f India wors hip local dei ties like Khandoba, Ka nhoba and Si talmata. Tige r G od called 'vaghdev' is als o wors hiped. They have no temples of their ow n thoug h, but they have Bhaga t or G ur us who per form the r eligious rites . On impo rtan t occas ions they cons ult Badvas - t he here ditary s orce rer.

Bhils Tribe- Cul ture

The culture could be mos t enj oyable of all th e trib es we have s een on our In dian t ribal tou r. Thes e t ribes of India a re known fo r thei r dis tinctive s ociety cultu re. The have a Pa nchayat like cultu re where the village heads men deals with all the majo r dis putes . The s t rictly adhe re to t he rules of the s ociety and ma rry o nly in their own clas s . Rich on culture t hey give a lot of im por tance to da nce and mus ic. G hooma r is the mos t fa mous dance amo ngs t Bhils tribes of I ndia. Than G air is the religious dance dra ma per for med by the men in t he mon th of Sha ravana (J uly and Augus t ). H ighly talented on s culptur es art, they make beauti ful ho rs es , elephants , tigers , dei ties out of clay.

Bhils Tribe- Fai rs and Fes tivals

Banes hwar fair hel d du ring the perio d of Shiva tri (in th e mon th o f Janua ry o r Febru ary) d edicated to Ba nes hwar M ahad ev als o known as Lord S hiva is the mai n fes tival a mongs t B hils trib es . D uring t he fes tival thes e Indian tri bes s et up camps on the ba nks of the S om and M ahi river, perf or m dance ar ound the fi re and s ing tradi tional s ongs . At nig ht t he ras lila at the Laks hmi Naray an te mple is a mus t wa tch.

Cultu ral s hows , magic s hows , animal s ho ws acrobatic f eas t are the cent er o f att ractio n at the fai r. They als o celeb rate H oly and D us s hera .

Pos ted by M r Travel at 1:3 7 AM

Labels : bhils tribes , bhils tribes of india, in dian t ribal tou r., indian tribes ., t ribes of india

Language

Bhils s peak Bhil languages , which include Bhili, Bhilali, Bau ria, Dho dia, Du bli, G amit, Pard hi, Vas avi, W agdi and othe rs . The Bhil dialect cons is ts of Rajs tha ni, G ujarati, H indi, Marat hi words .

Dres s

Bhil males wear loos e long f rock like upper ga rmen t along with pyja mas . The females wear tradi tional s aris . The Bhis l als o love to dis play bras s orna ments on their b odies .

Occupation

Bhils were valian t hun ters ea rlier wi th bow a nd ar rows . In the pas t, they ha d been ap poin ted as s tate h unte rs by the ruling Rajpu ts . They wer e als o exper t in cond ucting gue rrilla wa rfa re tha t of ten p ut t he advancing M ughals in dis com for t. H oweve r, to day they h ave tu rned more towa rds agricult ure as t heir s ou rce of livelih ood.

Religion

The religious practices of t he Bhils diffe r fr om one place to ano ther. Mos t Bhils wo rs hip local deities like Khandoba, Bahiro ba and Sitalma ta as well as tiger god called Vaghd ev . They als o wors hip a deity by the name of Raja Pan tha . The B hils cons ult the Badvas , t he heredi tary s orce rers on all t he pious occas ions while Bhagat or G u rus perf orm the religio us rites . Bhils , howeve r, do no t have any tem ple fo r wors hipping activi ties . Bhils als o wors hip natu re in the for m of cro ps , fields , water, f ores t and moun tains .

Social s et up

Bhils follow s trict s ocial rules and reg ulations . The village heads me n act as arbit rato rs in cas es of s ocial dis putes . Only intra-tribe mar riage is encouraged in the Bhil s ociety.

Mus ic

the Bhils attach m uch impo rtance t o cultu ral activities . G hoomar is a fam ous dance for m of t he Bhils while G air is a religious drama s tage d by the B hil men du ring Shrava na (the mons oon s eas on)

Artis t ry

The Bhils are als o known fo r thei r s culpture r s kills . Their clay s tatues are items of g reat ad mira tion.

Fairs

Banes hwar is the main f es tival of the Bhils . The fair is held at the ti me of Shivra tri ( Janua ry-Febr uary) in the name of Banes hwa r Mahadev (anoth er nam e of Lord S hiva). Du ring this occas ion, Bhils fr om all par ts gather togeth er on the banks of So m and Ma hi rivers and engage in g roup dance and t raditio nal s ongs . Ras lila is held at the Lakhs mi N arayan Temple du ring the night. C ultu ral activities and feas t are the mai n att ractions du ring this fair. Bes ides , H oli and Dus s era are o ther major fes tivals of the Bhils .

Enter tainmaen t

A popular for m of en ter tainmen t among the Bhils is Sawang, a s tory telling activi ty combined wi th dancing and m us ic.

Bhils of Jhabua

Jabua dis trict in Madhya P rades h has the high es t concentra tion o f the B hils . Over 1.5 million Bhils live as marginal villagers in as many as 2,000 villages in the dis t rict. The regio n is one of t he mos t backward i n India which is ravaged by d rought , dis eas es , illiteracy and othe r s ocial evils .

Jhabua dis tric t has the highes t pe rcentage o f t ribal popula tion in Ce ntral I ndia and is one of the coun try s poo res t regions . Illite racy, dis eas e outbr eaks , drough t, s oil eros ion and ove rpop ulation res ulting in mig ration make this dis trict one of the mos t challengi ng regions fo r develop ment wo rk. Two non -govern mental organiz ations , na mely the Ak tions gemeins chaf t Part ner In diens (API) fro m G ermany and the Bhil H ealt h Initiatve a nd Literacy Society ( BH ILS) bas ed in Jhabua t hat work for the uplif t and imp roveme nt of the local Bhils . The lat ter b ody includes commi tted individ uals belonging to the th e Bh il tribe.

Bhutia t ribes - Int rod uction

Afte r a jour ney break in ou r Indian tribal tour, we a re back to o ur s canning of va rious trib es of India. Today in f ocus are the Bhutia tribes of In dia. Originally of Tibe tan origin , Bhu tia tribes mig rated to Sikkim in aro und 16 th centu ry. Today, t hes e Indian t ribes cons titu te a mas s ive 14% of total populati on of Sikkim. B hutia t ribes are kind an d warm h earte d people an d the h os pitality s hown he re is s omething t hat is dis tinctive f rom o ther tribes in India. So , drive up to Sikkim and explo re the b es t of Indian tribal cul ture, an d enjoy th e bes t of cuis ines of th es e Indian t ribes .

Bhutia trib es - Location

Bhutia trib es inhabit i n the dry valley o f nor the rn pa rt o f Sikkim. Among the locali ties , they a re also known as Lachenpas an d Lachungpas .

Bhutia trib es - Language

Sikkimes e is the highes t s poke n language a mongs t B hutia tri bes of India . Lepcha, Bhu tia, Nepali, Englis h a nd H indi are s o me of the o ther l anguages on which Bhu tia t ribes are go od at. Very few t ribes in India except Bh utia tribes have s uch go od com mand o n s o many languag es .

Bhutia trib es - Cos tu mes

Bhutia trib es have a very dis ti nguis hed d res s ing cultur e. Females us ually p refe r heavy jewele ry of p ure gol d with full s leeves blous e and a l oos e gown type gar ment . M ales prefe r weari ng Bakhu w hich is a loos e tra ditio nal dres s with the f ull s leeves .

Bhutia t ribes - Cul ture

Thes e tribes of India live in a rectangula r hous e called Khin. B hutia t ribes follow tant ric Buddhis m. Thei r legal fra mework for m the bes t pa rt o f the cul ture. T hey ter m it as Dz ums a, which means t he rend ez vous point of the com mon mas s es headed by Pipon. Almos t all the occupatio nal res pons ibilities like graz ing etc fall on the Pipo n. Agricul ture, herds me n s hip and the b reeding o f s heep and yaks for m the main s ource of occupation am ongs t Bhu tia t ribes of India.

Bhutia trib es - Food

Bhutia trib es are mainly rice, anima l fat a nd beef e ate rs . Come to Bh utia t ribes in In dia and e njoy s tuf f like M omos , Ningr o with Chur pi, Sidr a Ko Acha r, Pakk u, Kod o Ko Ro ti, Silam Ko Acha r, Ph ulaura h G undr uk, Phags hapa , Sael Ro ti. They a re very f ond o f Chaang ( the millet be ar). I t is s erved in the s pecial bam boo con taine r called Tongba w ith the holl ow pipe made of Bamb oo.

Bhutia trib es - Fes tivals

M ain Bhutia f es tivals fall in t he mo nth o f Febr uary an d D ecember. Los a r and Los oong a re t he highligh t fes tivals celeb rated a mongs t Bhu tia tri bes of Ind ia. Los ar falls in t he fi rs t week of Fe brua ry, em barking

the Tibe tan new yea r. The act of Fire M e tho in the eveni ng is s omething to look for ward for. On the o the r hand, Los oo ng in th e mon th o f D ecember marks the end of the H arves t s eas on. El ectri fying at mos phe re, wit h Chaan da ncing, me rry making at the m onas te ries at Palace (Ts uklakha ng), Ph ondo ng and R umtek a dd z ing to the f es tivals . Arche ry comp etit ion, o fferi ngs to t he G od, are s o me majo r s eeings at t he fes tival. S tage figh ts and pas s ing th roug h the cr owds with the fi re t orches add a noth er ti ng of excite men t to the fes tival .

D res s

M ale Bhutias wea r Baku, a l oos e cloak fas tene d at the neck and ne ar the wais t wi th s ilk/cotton belt alo ng wit h a loos e t rous er. Th e Bhu tia fe males , on the othe r hand , don H onju, a s ilk full s leeve blous e with a l oos e gown f as tened ne ar wais t . The mar ried fe males wear a Pangden , a loos e colourf ul woolen clot h featu ring vario us des igns . Both the male and fe male wear em broide red lea ther b oots . Bhu tias have a fas cination fo r wearing gol den or namen ts .

Santhal Tribe - An In tro duction

A s tep fo rward, in o ur India n tribal tou r takes us to Santhal tribe. W it h a popula tion of more than 4900 0, Santhal tribes are the thi rd larges t tribes in In dia. Belonging to pre Aryan pe riod, thes e tri bes of India are found i n regions of W es t Be ngal, Bihar, Oris s a and Jha rkhand. Many call the m as

the tribes

at extrem e , a vis it to thei r place will s urly get your moneys wor th.

Santhal tri be- H is tory

Santhal Tribes of In dia take p ride in thei r pas t. H is torically, thes e India n trib es were at f ront end agains t

Britis hers , and their h eroics agains t Lord C ornwallis are well known. Many fa mous pers onali ties s uch

as Sidhu and Baba Tilka Majhi we re par t of t hes e enthus ias tic tri bes of India.

Santhal tri be- Language

Santhali is the pri me language s poken by t he Santhal T ribe. This Indian tribe als o have a s cript o f thei r own called Olchiki. Apar t fr om Sant hali they als o s peak Bengali, Oriya and H indi.

Santhal tri be- Livelihood

The Santhal t ribes of India have a typical tribal lifes tyle. Bas ic needs are fulfilled by fores t tres s and plants . The tribes are als o engaged i n fis hing and cultivati on. Thes e t ribes of India als o pos es a magnificent s kill of maki ng mus ical equipmen ts , mats and bas kets ou t of th e plants . The way this ar ticulate p roces s is carried out is wor th wathing.

Santhal tri be- Cul ture

Dancing and mus ic are the s trea mline of thes e Indian t ribes . Santhal wo men d res s in the red b orde red whit e s ari and dance in t he line s equence. Thes e t ribes in India play mind s oo thing m us ic with ins trum ents like Tirio, Dhod ro bana m, Phet ba nam, Tum dak, Tamak, Junk o and Singa.

Santhal tri be- Religion

Ironically, Santhals don't have a temple of thei r own and neithe r do t hey wors hip any idols . Thes e t ribes of India follow the Sa rna religio n, with Marangb uru, Jaherae ra, and Manjhi as thei r god and god des s .

Santhals pay res pect to the ghos ts and s piri ts like Kal Sing, Lakchera, Beudara ng etc. Ani mal s acrifices in order to appeas e t he G ods is a common practice am ongs t thes e ene rgetic t ribes of India.

banjara Women s dressing is the most colourful and elaborate among the other tribal communities in India. They are accustomed to wearing the costumes of ghaghra and choli (a blouse). Ghaghra is a

skirt made of red, black and white cotton, embellished with pieces of mirrored glass that are embroidered on it.Banjara women wear a full length skirt with borders embroidered in mustard and green thread. They also wear pretty silver anklets. Silver, brass, gold, cowries, ivory, animal bone and even plastic are used in making a Banjara wardrobe. Culture Karam festival which falls in the month of September and October, is the highlight festival followed by tedany visitor trevelling to these tribes in India. Other festivals of the celebrated include Maghe, Baba Bonga, Sahrai, Ero, Asaria and Namah. They also celebrate haunting festival called Disum sendra on the eve of Baishakhi Purnima.
Posted by Mr Travel at 10:13 PM

Banjara people are very much fascinated and like non-vegetarian food. Saloi (made from goat blood and other parts of goat) is non vegetarian dish made especially by Banjara People. Banjaras prefer eating spicy food.

The occupation of Banjars are gathering of forest products and agriculture. These tribes are experts in traditional hand embroidery with mirror works.